Sweet new Wii Bundle! 25th Anniversary 'New' Super Mario Bros.Edition!

Here it is folks! I've decided it IS now THE time to stop holding off on purchasing that Wii for those kiddos, If you are as nostalgic as I about playing the good ol’ Mario games of yore, you might wanna check this new Bundle out.

Here we have a bright RED and shiny new 25th Anniversary (Of Mario Bros.) Wii bundle, but this one has both controllers, the nunchuk and the main remote, which is the upgraded remote with the new Wii motion technology [Remote Plus]. Of course, it wouldn’t be a 25th anniversary Mario party without a complimentary game from the extensive Mario world, so…that ‘s what they give you. The NEW Super Mario Bros. game, in addition to the standard Wii Sports package! All for the same price as the standard package! Not to shabby!

I’m seriously talking to the wife about this one….the kids would love it, but so would WE. I was just gazing upon all those old Mario Games with fond memories of my youth, and wishing I could go back and play them all over again…It looks like Nintendo is now giving us the chance to do just that! I’ve played all of the old NES and Super NES games, up until Nintendo 64, which I never ended up getting. Around this time, I was becoming a…er..adult, and had responsibilities I had to tend to.

If we do get it, there is another Mario game I’ve noticed getting rave reviews-I’ve seen video of the Super Mario Galaxy, and sequel (2), and they both look really amazing.

Though, I’m still loaded up on my PC games, and we’re STILL planning on getting the PS3 soon [GT5 here I come!]…but, might have to delay those a bit….I need to dig in my pockets and see what kind of change I can muster up here…

Oh yes, GT5, I WILL have you soon...

5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted!

I stumbled along this article, and believe it to be a must-read for ANYONE whom plays games more than just casually, or knows anyone whom they have ever called 'addicted' to their video games.

There is a disturbing amount of truth evident here, in the psychological tried-and-true methods to which game designers strive for ever more profitable game designs. For some, reading this i'm sure will be an enlightening, if not shocking, experience. For others, it will merely put words to what they may already know about themselves. The dark secrets of why they play the games they love.

I am one of them.

Please check out this humorous but cautionary tale on the funny site: Cracked.com HERE

-An excerpt:
"Why is your mom obsessively harvesting her crops in Farmville? Because they wither and rot if she doesn't. In Ultima Online, your house or castle would start to decay if you didn't return to it regularly. In Animal Crossing, the town grows over with weeds and your virtual house becomes infested with cockroaches if you don't log in often enough. It's the crown jewel of game programming douchebaggery--keep the player clicking and clicking and clicking just to avoid losing the stuff they worked so hard to get."

In other hilarious/related news: "Addicted Gamer Sues Game-Maker, Says He is ‘Unable to Function’

By: David Kravets of WIRED.com

GTA 4 -in mayhem we trust.

I LOVED GTA-Vice City. Being a child of the 80's, the tropical Miami-Vice esque city with all those songs from my childhood cranked up while cruising in an old [generic version] of a White Chevy Nova, never got old. The neon lights of the disco, the wispy rain of the occasional florida thunderstorm. For me, its immersiveness that make me love or forget a game.

For me, the cleverest gimmick that the devs dreamt up, is the vehicle's radio stations. Just to be able to drive up to some rich Billy Idol style mission target, side view your machine gun out your window, mow down your objective in a spray of bullets and blow out the tires, causing him to careen into 3-4 other cars and catch them on fire, knocking down light poles with the ensuing explosions, splattering a gaggle of screaming mall shoppers- all while grooving smoothly to White Snakes 'Here I Go Again' is nothing short of sublime.

The bemoaning critics, the electioneering Senators,and susie-Q Christian's view on why i play these games is humorously far off the mark- which testifies to their ignorance of the subject of which they posture:
I, Dear Mr./Mrs. Fear Monger, play these games because they are a escape from our all-too politically correct, overly-polite, Utopian society that we strive to live in. And at the same time, enjoy the re-creation of a very vivid period of time that a great many of us, the X-gen game-players, have lived through. I play to hear that long lost song that i fell asleep to, as a insecure, pimple-faced 14 year old boy. I play to let out a little aggression of daily stress, which is a daily affair in a modern, hectic working U.S. life. I play to appease a creative mind, that has always wondered, "What IS it like to pay for the services of a prostitute, then accidentally run her over with your 79' El Camino, thereby allowing you to relieve her of the cash you just provided her?" What IS it like, to jump off the highest building in the city, and parachute down to infiltrate a mafia king's home? Do a triple-reverse flip with a dirt-bike, fight off a whole platoon of comically robotic Army Guardsmen, with Grenades and rocket launchers, then stealing the smoking remains of their hummer-all to park it in your newly purchased exotic mansion garage!? I think the first time i played this game, i was laughing non-stop for about an hour, it was all just so randomly humorous, in it's over-the-top exaggerations and mayhem.

Back then, the graphics were good, however untextured, but they had their own style. San Andreas, vastly increased the area to play in, with an additional 2 large city's, another awesome mix of early rap and grunge hits, and added a sweet 'heat-shimmer' effect to the hot summertime atmosphere of early-90's L.A..

So, judging by the screenshots, this version IV looks to be a giant leap in the graphics and fidelity of the detailed environment, and i'm sure there will be uncountable missions to perform, hooker's to cuddle, bro's to cohort with, and unlimited enemies to de-pixelize. (hopefully with hilarious and awe-inducing moments of grandeur)

Looks Like Rockstar ushers in another addition to the emerging concept of modern art- the video game.

Here is a link to the site, as well as to the inevitable patches:

www.rockstargames.com/IV/

And, an interesting philosophical take on the game play virtues from a couple Harvard egg-heads:

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/games/2008/05/23/gta4-choice-and-consequence/

check it out!