Nintendo Wii Games: Dec 28, 2009

Nintendo N64 Console

>>>Nintendo N64 Console W/ One Controller<<< click more detail :

By Jill (Los Angeles, CA) - reviews

I missed a couple of generations of consoles during late high school and college, so now I'm catching up. I bought this as a Valentine's gift for my husband specifically so we could play Smash Bros. (since that's how we spent many nights in college), and it's as fun now as it was then. I have very little to say against Nintendo in general, and this is no exception; it's a great console with some great games available.

Monday, December 28, 2009

>>>Lego Rock Band <<<

By A. Auerbach "Writer2B" (NJ near NYC) - reviews

We love Rock Band in our house but, by our own admission, we aren't great musicians. Well okay, one of my kids is, but it's a drag when there's only one and you can't simply 'play along' as the game advances because the songs get that much more difficult.

But with this version - you can play along not only without a penalty for choosing 'easy', you can even choose a super easy/no fail mode so you simply can't mess up and still have fun playing. If you don't do anything you won't get the stars you need but if you do a minimal amount (i.e. hit ANY drum pad when the note needs to be played or 'strum' the guitar/bass at the right time - no need to press a button - or simply speak in time to the microphone) you'll be fine.

Lots of the same fun things as in Rock Band - make your own people, buy cool outfits & things for them. In addition this version has challenges which you can play and fun lego scenes occur as you 'rock' the house (typically you earn these as you successfully play songs in venues). The first one (and on a trailer so I'm not giving much away) is playing loud enough (getting enough stars) to knock down a building. And yes, we have successfully completed these challenges with two out of the three on the no fail mode.

This version is clearly geared for a slightly younger set - both in terms of the no-fail option and in terms of avoiding excessive profanity/explicit content in songs. Makes us no never mind - we're enjoying it immensely!

edited to add:

The review who said this does not have online support is right. For those familiar with Rockband, this version is like a hybrid track pack. You get new people, scenarios and venues to work your way through, but the songs are the songs which are included and you cannot buy new songs to play (I can't see that this'd change with this version - going to the online store to buy new tracks is not even shown as an option).

>>>Wii Net Connect<<< click more detail :

By J. Decelles (North Chelmsford, MA United States) - reviews

I got this for my Wii since it was cheaper than setting up a wireless network, and cheaper than the USB Wii Dongle (which costs about as much as a Wireless Router),

I plugged this into the back of my Wii, plugged in an ethernet cable hooked up to my wired router and 2 minutes later I was downloading updates for my Wii.

I have not had any issues with this product, but one thing that might be of concern is that the cat5 ethrnet cable doesn't "lock" into place. It fits snugly, but a tug on the cable can remove it from the adapter. This might be considered a safety feature, since if your foot accidentally snags on your cable it will pull the cable out instead of pulling your Wii off your entertainment stand.

>>>Nerf N-Strike Elite Bundle<<< click more detail :

By Morgan J. Murray (Walnut Creek, CA) - reviews

A great shooting game that is appropriate for young children. Finding codes with the red view finder adds to the fun for kids. I thought including a foam dart launcher was unnecessary, but when my 9 year old was playing the video game and then asked if the gun could shoot real darts, I understood that the designers had done their research!

>>>Wii Music<<< click more detail :

By Jason Phillips - reviews

Potential buyers, please be careful when reading some of the reviews posted here: nearly all of the negative reviews will try to convince you that this game is simplistic, shallow, or aimed at a very young audience. This could not possibly be further from the truth.

First off, this is, perhaps, the only real music game on the market today; yes, there are the Guitar Hero / Rockband games, but, however fun they might be, those games are nothing more than a glorified Simon Says, where you simply hit the correct button on your fake instrument at the correct time as shown on screen.

This game is not simply about performing a part as indicated. Instead, Wii Music puts you more in the position of a band leader: first you select a song, then assign instruments out of the 60 available to different roles, each of which holds different possibilities for what will occur when you play, i.e., a violin assigned to the role of "chord" for a song will follow the main harmonic movement of the song. Assign that same instrument to the "harmony" role, however, and it will notes that are roughly in contrapuntal relation to the main melody, or put it in the role of "bass", etc.

Once you assign instruments, you record each part, one by one, until you have created an entire arrangement. While recording an individual part, you can do whatever you want to change the feel of the song: hold out a note for a suspension, throw in fills and riffs, completely change the rhythm, shake things up for the chorus or bridge of the song, etc. The final recording can be a truly original take on the song, according to the musical vision you carried out.

If you have a musical ear, or at least a musical curiosity and willingness to take the time to be truly creative, this game will offer you more than any other on the market. Most reviewers who are actually trained musicians have praised this game, and rightly so -- don't listen to the voices online who don't understand the point.

Bottom line: if you're looking for a simple, quick game to pick up like Guitar Hero, you won't understand the point of this game, but if you truly enjoy music and would, for instance, enjoy trying to create your own folk arrangement of Beethoven' Ode to Joy for 2 violins and a banjo, buy this game.

>>>Wii Kama Wireless Controller <<< click more detail :

By D. Bernstein (East Coast) - reviews

Let me say from the start that the only reason I purchased this was to play the boxing games, like Wii sports boxing. Those who are avid players of these games are aware of how frustrating it can become when you're really into the game and find yourself limited in your motion by the two remotes being tethered so close together. I have not found this to be a problem with any other games that I've played so far, only with the boxing games. For this purpose I have found this device to be great! I love being able to make several right crosses or uppercuts without worrying about the nunchuck or the remote being pulled to the point of breaking one or the other. I have found this wireless nunchuck to be very responsive, well, at least AS responsive as the tethered nunchuck. Overall, this has definitely added to my enjoyment of the boxing games and I recommend it fully. Five stars for performance, four for battery life.