Wii Video Games Portland OR

By Jeff McKinney
Video Game Editor 
 

I Don’t Think The Ancient Greeks Ever Imagined Donkey Kong on Ice Skates

What It Is

As I’m writing this, we are just a few days away from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver so I figured it would be the perfect time to review Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games for the Nintendo Wii and DS/DSi. This is the second Olympics game (Beijing’s Summer Games was the first) to take some of the most popular and loved characters from the worlds of Nintendo and Sega and pit them against one another in a quest for gold. Playing as one of 20 characters including Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach and Tails, gamers will compete in 27 Olympic events ranging from ice-hockey to figure skating.

Why It’s Fun

At it’s core, Olympic Winter Games is a collection of sports challenges like the downhill ski race in which up to four players choose a character and race each other down the slope. Introducing the comic stylings of iconic Nintendo and Sega characters into the race turns this game from a fun competition into a hilarious party game as each of the characters have hysterical personalities and all sorts of humorous actions. Just seeing Yoshi on skis is priceless!

You don’t need the Wii Balance Board to play or enjoy this game, but if you have it, it adds a new level of physical fun to the event challenges, especially Skeleton (that insane sport in which you lie face-down on a board and fly down a course).

Moreover, it’s fun to see familiar characters whose paths would never cross actually in competition with one another.

Who’s Going To Love It

This game was a huge hit with my family at a recent get together. We had kids as young as 5 playing with adults approaching 40. Even the grandparents enjoyed watching and rooting for the “kids” playing. My five year old nephew needed a little help getting started (setting up the game requires someone who can read) but quickly mastered the game-play and was schooling a room full of 30-somethings in the nuances and competitive play of the game in no time.

Nintendo and Sega are two game companies with a very large and devoted fan following. These groups of people, regardless of age or sex, will love playing against each other as their favorite characters including Bowser, Knuckles and Tails.

What To Be Aware Of

In addition to playing as the Nintendo and Sega characters, the game can also be played using Miis, which can be customized with sports equipment and clothing from the game’s store.

While, as noted, the balance board is not required to play Olympic Winter Games, however, a Wii Nunchuk is.

The Nintendo DS version of the game features an exclusive story-based adventure in which the player battles through levels and bosses on various missions.

Fun Scale

4 out of 5

It has to be fun or it wouldn’t be on Time to Play. But some games are more fu...

By Jeff McKinney
Video Game Editor 
 

What It Is

When the 1980’s began, video games were predominantly played in establishments outside of your home where over-sized cabinets housed the games and quarters were inserted into slots to play. These barbaric sounding spaces were called arcades and they are where Punch-Out!!, the video boxing game, made it’s 1984 debut. A sequel, Super Punch-Out!!, arrived in the arcades in 1985 but as the decade approached its end, more and more people were playing games at home. The game makers responded to this shift by creating home versions of their arcade games and in 1987, the first home version of Punch-Out!! was created for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

The game would go on to receive several updated versions including a Mike Tyson edition, a Super NES iteration and now the latest, Wii edition. The gist of the game remains the same today as it did when Neander-gamers played in arcades—you are a boxer fighting a cast of comical characters in an increasingly difficult succession of matches. To win, you must punch, jab, duck, block and find the right combination of moves to knock out your opponent.

So what has changed? As you would expect, the graphics, interaction, and mechanics have all been updated to take advantage of the Wii’s hardware power. With the Wii’s motion sensitive controllers you now have to physically swing your arms to throw punches rather than press buttons like in the previous games. The biggest change might be the addition of a Head-to-Head Challenge Mode that, for the first time, allows two players to fight each other in the ring.

Why It’s Fun

The Punch-Out!! Games have always been known for the over-the-top fighters you face in the boxing ring. Each one has a distinctive and comical personality with outlandish looks, trash-talking taunts, and signature moves, which have only gotten funnier with each new game. In one of the early matches you will face off against King Hippo, an obese oaf whose trunks can’t stay up on their own. The one new character to enter the game is Disco Kid, who loves to boogie as much as he loves himself. While all of the fighters (there are 14 in total) are incredibly entertaining they are also challenging and you will have to figure out what combination of moves is required to beat them.

The other element of Punch-Out!! that I found to be the most fun is the head-to-head mode where you can duke it out with a friend. The game’s Wii-Remote and Nunchuk control system is so easy to grasp that two people can instantly pick it up and get in the ring for a comical yet competitive match. This is also a great way to determine who is going to take out the trash or clean the dishes.

Who’s Going To Love It

Whether you have been playing Punch-Out!! since the days of arcades and .25-cent games or this is the first time you have ever heard of it, you will enjoy this game. Playi...

Video Game Review:

What It Is

Did you know that Wii Sports is the most successful selling video game of all time? It's true. By the beginning of 2009, Wii Sports, which comes with the Nintendo Wii, had sold well over 40 million units and passed sales of Super Mario Bros, which formerly held this coveted sales title.

Now it's time to return to the world of Wii Sports with the latest game in the series, Wii Sports Resort. Sports Resort is a collection of 12 new games contained in a resort-like environment called WuHu Island. The sports (games) include Air Sports, Archery, Frisbee, Basketball, Canoeing, Cycling, Power Cruising, Table Tennis, Bowling, Swordplay, Golf, and Wakeboarding. The game has been designed to take full advantage of the new Wii Motion Plus, a small device the snaps into the bottom of the Wii Remote and gives the player incredible control over the onscreen character.

See more of this review in Jeff McKinney's full length article!

Manufacturer:
Nintendo

Brand:
Nintendo

Age Recommendation:
6 and up

MSRP:
$49.99

Intro Year:
2009