Dr. Mario on WiiWare is pretty fun to play online, so I thought I’d post our Friend Codes to share with anyone out there that has bought this game as well. By now you know the drill. Just post your Friend Code below, add me and Ray, and we’ll add you guys as well. See you online!
Tim: 6356-3108-1184
Ray: 9884-9991-8644
“When the Wii was first announced, Nintendo’s focus towards an expanded audience came with promises of new and exciting gameplay through the use of innovative and intuitive controls. In that case, Wii Fit is the quintessential Wii title, as promised.”
Ray sent me this pretty awesome replacement cover for Super Smash Bros. Brawl to share with you all. Ray’s Mario Kart Wii replacement covers were a necessity since the official box art isn’t very good. Brawl’s box art is fine as is, but I must admit, I dig the sideways box art and the way Ray fit in every character! Keep in mind that he physically placed each and every one of the characters himself using ripped character art from the game, no small feat. The spine art is optional of course, so if you don’t like it you can just cut it off and use the front. One more shot of the box art plus the download after the break!
[Update]: Ray made a version without the ESRB logo for non-U.S. gamers.
Someone wanted to see the current 2P START! friends standings on the Mario Kart Wii tournament going on right now, so here they are!
[Final]: Here are the final standings with Ray beating me out by an inch! Good job everyone, see you at the next tournament!
“Mario and his friends are back for their eighth kart-racing competition since 1992, and the core gameplay still remains intact after all of this time. Although Gamecube’s Double Dash!! aimed high with two characters per kart and character-specific power-ups, the Wii installment scales everything back by operating as the follow-up to the portable DS title.”
When I went to Best Buy to purchase Mario Kart Wii yesterday, I was asked if I wanted a $5 extended warranty on the game to protect it from scratches. This sounded absolutely ridiculous, so I declined. However, the manager was kind enough to remind me that the game came with the Wii Wheel, a piece of hardware that was ALSO covered by the $5 warranty! This makes the $5 warranty much more valuable than normal $5 warranties because it protects so much more. I still wasn’t convinced I needed it until she revealed that if the Wii Wheel ever lost its wireless connection, I could get it replaced. WHAT?!?!? The scary part to me is that this line probably works on some ignorant parents that buy the game for their kids. There were so many things I could have said at that moment, but I kindly declined for the third or fourth time and left the store shaking my head. I suppose if you’re worried that your piece of plastic will cease being plastic or fail to hold your Wii Remote, the warranty will give you peace of mind. Anyone else get peddled like this?
So there’s been a lot of talk going back and forth on the usefulness of Mario Kart Wii’s pack-in, the Wii Wheel. The consensus seems to be that it’s better than using the Wii Remote by itself since you have something round to hold onto, but it doesn’t really DO much (see image above) and still isn’t as precise as a traditional control scheme. I can see myself trying it out while I quickly charge the batteries in my Wavebird and never touching it again. It may get some use from curious, casual visitors that want to play, but I doubt I’ll be using it much. I realize that the game would be $50 with or without the Wii Wheel, so it truly is a freebie, but just out of curiosity, what would you do if you were given a choice?
What do you guys think? Is this merely intriguing or is it a must-buy? I have no doubt Guitar Hero: On Tour will sell millions, and that attachment looks pretty cool, but for me, Guitar Hero is about holding a Guitar, blaring high quality sound through your home entertainment system, and rocking out with your friends. I can’t imagine you’d feel like a rock star holding a DS, with mediocre sound, by yourself. If you watch the little commercial on the IGN page, I think you’ll know what I’m talking about. When they show the kids playing the DS with the touch screen strumming, it just looks a little weak. That’s not to say it won’t be fun, and I know it’ll be much better than the hot-selling cell phone version of the game, but it still won’t be the same. It does look like there will be some extra features like blowing out fires from pyrotechnics gone wrong by blowing into the DS mic, or signing autographs on the touch screen for raving fans. We’ll see if those add to the fun or take away from the action. And there will be some nice multiplayer action too, which is a must. I will say that this is a no-brainer for Activision and I’m glad to see they’re putting the effort in to make this a quality release.
Awhile back, Ray and I scoffed at Sega’s bold prediction that Mario & Sonic at the Olympics would sell 4 million copies worldwide. The game was pretty much crap mediocre and we had faith that consumers would recognize this despite the fact that Mario and Sonic were in the same game for the first time. We were wrong. Turns out they’ve now sold 5 MILLION copies worldwide between the Wii and DS and expect continued sales due to the fact that the Olympics are still 4 months away. Unfortunately, Ray did purchase the game and helped them reach that 5 million, but I forgive him because his 6.6/10 score for the game should have deterred others from buying the game. I’m a bit upset that this game sold so well because it just means more of the same from Sega, Sonic + Mediocre Game = Profit.
