Marvel Super Hero Squad - fun for kids but problematic

We just rented Marvel Super Hero Squad - for play by a pair of under 10's - and it's not a bad game, but it's not great either.

On the positive side is the simplicity of the game - it's basically walk around and smash stuff. The kids love being able to play as the Super Hero squad - which are mini-versions of the Marvel heros we all know and love.

The co-op mode - aka 2 player missions - is very problematic though. The Player 1 is always really in control with the camera following that player. If Player 2 lags behind well they're just left out.

The camera angle  also swings around erratically at points making the game difficult to play.

Overall if you can pick up this game for $20 or less, it's decent fun for a few hours.

Have a Wii Christmas

After 3 years of not having enough Wii's on store shelves -- this year there are plenty of them.

so many that Nintendo is now advertising heavily to get rid of them.

Cyber Monday Nintendo Wii deals on Amazon - Guitar Hero Metallica only $25

Last year Amazon had some amazing deals on Wii games and gear on Cyber Monday and this year looks to be the same.

Sports games like Madden 10 and Tiger Woods 10 both have been marked down to $29.99.








Another big deal is Guitar Hero Metallica for $25 Guitar Hero Smash Hits
 is also only $25, Guitar Hero World Tour is only $17 !!

Lots of other smaller deals with reductions of 5-35% or so as far as we can tell.

EA Sports Active More Workouts - PROBLEMS - onscreen doesn't track and other quirks

We've been playing EA Sports Active More Workouts for just over a week now.

Overall it's a fun game - and a decent workout but it does have some very serious flaws.

For one, there is a chronic delay between the time you do an action and the on-screen avatar does the action. There are also some really bad tracking problems with some exercises where no matter what you do, the Wii doesn't recognize that you've done the exercise correctly.
At this point if the game doesn't track properly after one or two tries, i just skip the exercise and move on to the next one.

The other annoying thing - being a Wii Fit user too - is the fact that this game doesn't do daily weigh-ins!! That really sucks.

The six week challenge is interesting, but after you finish a workout there is no alert/notification for when the next workout is - you have to manually look at the calendar to figure it out - that's just a lame oversight by lazy programmers.

Also with the six week challenge there is no way to change your scheduled workouts for the current week - only for next week. Another piece of major suckage in our opinion.

SUCKAGE aside, this is the best REAL workout game for the Wii period. When it works it's awesome and we've never sweated more playing a game - EVER.

Wii Fit or Just a Wee Bit -of exercise? Study aims to prove whether Wii Fit matters

The American Council on Exercise has a report out this week about the efficacy of the Wii Fit for real exercise.

The study is titled, "Wii Fit or Just a Wee Bit" and you can get the full report here.  If you don't have the interest in reading the full report, I'll save you the grief.

The Council basically found that most of the Wii Fit exercises fell below their recommended fitness guidelines.

“I guess anything is better than nothing, but we were a little bit underwhelmed with the exercise intensity of some of the exercises,” says Porcari. “The Wii Fit is a very, very mild workout.”

Darth Vader Wii Sensor Bar Holder

Waving a Wii Mote around is kinda like using the Force isn't it?

Now there is a Darth Vader sensor bar for the Wii that will show that it's the Dark Side of the Force that the Wii will lead you too.

Specifically designed to work with the Wii first party sensor bar, the sculpture-quality Darth Vader figure safely supports the sensor bar while maintaining full range and performance. The detailed Darth Vader, made from high-density resin, accurately depicts the iconic character and his red-bladed lightsaber. With the sensor bar fitted into the lightsaber, fans will surely feel that Darth Vader is watching their every move. The Darth Vader Sensor Bar Holder is a must have for any player with a bit of the dark side in them.

Oh and the best part? It's not ridiculously expensive either. You can pick one up from Amazon for just over $30.

EA Sports Active :More Workouts - out today, but it doesn't include EA Sports Active exercise accessories

EA Sports Active: More Workouts is out today and it looks like a worthy challenger to Wii Fit Plus.

But there is at least one big problem. As opposed to the Wii Fit Plus which comes as both a standalone disk as well as a complete package with the Wii Balance Board - EA doesn't include the required accessories as part of their package.

If you read the fine print this is what it say:
* EA Sports Active leg strap and resistance band are not included on EA Sports Active More Workouts and are required for use. They are available on EA Sports Active Personal Trainer or EA Sports Active Accessory Pack. *

Also whereas Wii Fit Plus is a $20 upgrade this is almost double the price. You might get luck on ebay though ().

But bottom line is this is likely more $$.

REPORT: Playing Wii Fit is good for your health

Guess what? Wii Fit is actually real exercise.

Well at least that's what a Nintendo sponsored study concluded. The Japanese researchers measured the metabolic equivalent values (a standard method of estimating energy expenditure) of 12 people ages 25 to 44 as they played Wii sports games and did Wii fitness programs.

"The range of energy expenditure in these active games is sufficient to prevent or to improve obesity and lifestyle-related disease, from heart disease and diabetes to metabolic diseases," the study's lead author, Motohiko Miyachi, a project leader at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo, said in a news release from the American Heart Association.

The intensities of yoga and balance exercise were significantly lower than those of resistance and aerobic exercise, but these exercises are effective in improving flexibility and in fall prevention, researchers said.

“Energy expenditure is the most important information to measure the effect of video games,” said Miyachi.

Wii Fit Plus is relatively inexpensive ranging from $17 on Amazon and on eBay it's about the same ( )

Prices for The Conduit for Wii plummet now it's less $30

Remember all the hype last year and in the early part of this year about The Conduit?

It was supposed to be the first great first person shooter for the Wii with awesome multi-player and it has delivered.

But as is the case with all Wii games after a few months, pricing drops. Originally this was out at $49.99 but the current Amazon pricing is under $30.

Over on eBay, ebay auctions for The Conduitare coming in at the $20-30 range as well though we have seen a few copies go for $15.

The Conduit was a decent game @ $49.99, but at under $30 it's a steal.

Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked - a Lame Duck or a real new cooking game for the Wii?

Ever since the first Cooking Mama - we've seen more than our fair share of cooking type games for the Wii.

This new one - from the Food Network is a bit different though.

Typically the food Wii games involve challenges to get users doing kitchen actions. With Cook or Be Cooked, the claim is that they have real recipes and you might actually learn to cook.

I'm not so sure I'll use the wii to learn how to cook, but hey you never know and it's a bit different than anything else so far seen on the Wii.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games out Today

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games: is a sports party game that takes players on the Wii platform to Vancouver, Canada, host city of the official 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Much like the Summer Olympics version of this game, you get to play a whole bunch of winter events.

This time around though you can use the Wii Balance Board functionality allowing for a more interactive and realistic gaming experience.

The summer game was ok though it has since ended up in the $14 price range. If you're really eager to get this game early you're going to pay in the 30-$45 range likely for the next few months at least.

You can check out the
and see for yourself if you can get luck and beat the $30 mark on a luck auction.

Wii Fit Plus - Broken in Canada!! - Metric only, no option for LBS!!

Attention Canadians!! Nintendo has a CRITICAL BUG in Wii Fit Plus.

As opposed to Wii Fit which provide measurements in pounds and inches, Wii Fit Plus only provides kilograms and centimeters!

There is no option of Canadian to change the setting! That's WRONG.

Most doctors in Canada measure their patients in pounds and inches and to have metric - when Wii Fit didn't, is a  HUGE FLAW.

The only workaround is to go into your Wii menu system settings and change your region to the U.S. That will screw you up for updates and the wii shop.

Wii Fit Plus coming Oct 4. Time to upgrade

Wii Fit is an awesome 'game' that somehow we got a little bored off.

We got the game and board the day it came out , used it a whole lot in the first three months but since then it gets used infrequently.

That's likely to change come October 4th as Wii Fit Plus is released.

It's just more of the good stuff that attracted us to Wii Fit in the first place, just refreshed and improved. And oh yeah and at a list price of under $20,  it's cheap too.

Dead Space Extraction - Wii - Is it better than the Conduit?

Dead Space Extraction has now been out for a day, and the early review are all very good.

Metacritic has given the game a total score of 82 based on 19 critic reviews. Average users review are now about 9. That's astounding.

So critically this is a better rated game then the Conduit, but this game doesn't have the same kind of multi-player in it.

That's where this game is different. This game is all about the story and the depth of the story.

It's not just a point and shoot the bad aliens, there is a real story here that makes this game work, according to every review i've seen so far.

It also means that at some point this game will be played out and the price on the shelves will drop, dramatically. Wait three months and this game will be in the $19.99 value bins, no matter how good it is because all the hard-core gamers will have already finished the game.

NHL 2K10 : Great Game if You Don't Use WiiMotion Plus Controler. Shooting is really hard.

We got a copy of NHL 2K10 from 2k sport the other week. The first week of gameplay was the most frustrating experience we've had with a sports game.

The simple act of shooting the damn puck wasn't easy or intuitive. The printed manual for the game is useless and the in-game tutorial omits instructions on how to shoot.

We looked through forum after forum and found no acceptable answer ..except for one.
Disable WiiMotion Plus.

Without the Wii Motion Plus this game works. Shooting the puck is a simple flick of the wrist and not some mystical imposible contortion.

The actual gameplay is slick, though a little challenging.  Scoring goals is not easy.

The Mii skills section -- which is something that other early reviews of the game were keen on - TOTALLY SUX AND ISN'T PLAYABLE. It's soo disappointing. We thought that the Mii part would be a great/easy way for kids to get into the game but 2K totally f*cked it up.

This is however the ONLY hockey game on the Wii so what choice do we have? The game is workable enough that it can be fun, but we're hoping that the Braniacs that run 2K get their shit together and make a better game next year that anyone can actually play right out of the box.