Nintendo Wii Games: Dec 17, 2009

Littlest Pet Shop Friends

Littlest Pet Shop Friends

By Anitra Elmore (Cary, NC) reviews

Littlest Pet Shop Friends for the Wii was a huge hit in our house. My little party planner had a great time getting ready for the "party of the year" with her pet friends. This was one of those games I had to keep telling her she'd been playing too long. And, if you have kids you know that's a major indicator that the game was pretty cool. I like that it's a multi-player game that caused the kids to do some problem solving. There is a lot of reading (as mentioned in the other reviews), so be prepared to read if your child is younger than 2nd grade.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Arcade Legends Full-Size Arcade Cabinet - 9500

Arcade Legends Full-Size Arcade Cabinet - 9500

By Brian Z "Brian Z" (Pennsylvania) reviews

Let met first say that I have been waffling about this purchase for a number of years (thought about the original AL). I have the consoles and a big screen but there is something special about returning to my youth and standing in front of an arcade machine (as well as being able to use the 'old school' joysticks and trackball). This machine is beautifully constructed, has 125 games and allows you to play classics the way they were intended. Although there are some 'subpar' games (Speed Coin?) Being able to play Robotron with 2 sticks, Defender with 6 buttons (wow- that game is tough), Bowling, Centipede, Millipede with a trackball is fantastic. My only reservation is that they need to come out with a few more of the standard classics for this - hoping for Pac-man, DK and a few others. Otherwise, I can readily recommend it. I know it's not for the 'purist' arcade collector, but I don't have room for 100 machines (or 2 for that matter) and I don't want to screw around with emulators, MAME, etc. One-stop shopping and great fun! Hope the add-on packs come soon.

Wii

By Richard Michalik "Rich Michalik"

I have owned almost all of the game systems that have come out except for a few of the Nintendo. I just was not a big fan. These days I'm a huge XBOX 360 fan. When I saw the controllers for this new system I though if Nintendo pulls this off it will be huge for them. I decided to give the system ma try and waited in line for 13 hours at Wal-Mart with my 9 year old daughter. She loved the wait and interacting with all the other people waiting for the release. By the time we got it home that night we were both to tried to hook it up that night so it stay in the box till the next morning. The hook up was easy. I spent the money on 3 extra controllers and nunchucks and Trauma center (which I haven't had a chance to play yet) and Zelda. The game that comes with the unit was one of the smartest decisions by a company I have ever seen. This reminds me of pong back in the 70's when everyone at least tried playing the first video games ,because the games are so easy to play that everyone can and will be talked into playing them. I can't wait to get my 76 year old mother year to play some golf and bowling. We had friends over on Sunday to watch the Bears-Jets game. They are not video game fans to say the least and made fun of me for sitting in line for 13 hours. I talked them into trying the system and then had to talk them into getting off the system because the game was starting and they were having too much fun playing a video game. They apologized to me for making fun of me waiting inline for that long.

I knew going into the purchase the unit was small, but it still shocked me how compact it is. It's a nice sleek design that is simple. The main interface on the unit is manageable and ready for many upgrades. It seemed all of the online features were not available yet except for the Nintendo shop. 10 dollars for a Nintendo 64 game is a little steep. They need to take a look at that. The Mii interface was neat and I had to stop my daughter from creating miis for each child in our neighborhood. The only con I had witht he system was the remotes ran on AA batteries. It would have been nice for them to be on a rechargable system. I'll just have to go get a battery recharger.

Will I stop playing and recommending the XBOX 360. NO, because I still believe the 360 is the best on the market at this time (The Wii could change that in time). But I will be spending less time on it because of the Wii. If you are on the ledge about this system get off and go and find one. It is worth it. If you're looking for a system that the entire family can enjoy this is it. You will not be disappointed.
P.S. If you're going to trash the system without playing it goes somewhere else. People come here for opinions on if this is a good buy for them. Not for some flamer that's close-minded and loves only his playstation or XBOX and everything else stinks no matter what.