Nintendo Wii

Endless Ocean for the Nintendo Wii is an underwater diving game.  In the game you get to swim around an Manaurai (Manoa Lai) sea, which is a fictional sea.  It does have real life animals, though.  The fictional part is made more as a smaller scale area that combines species that do not normally coexist so close together that effectively makes it more interesting.  Because these are real animals and the game gives information on them as you interact with them more, this game can be somewhat educational.

You swim using just the Wii remote, which is an issue I have with the game.  I really wish you used the nunchuck to control how you move around, but instead you just point at the screen in the direction you want to move, which is not too hard to get used to, however it would be way better with nunchuck controls.  You swim around just by holding the B button and you press A to interact with the fish.  Overall the controls end up being pretty simple, which works good for making this a kid friendly game.

The game has a pretty free form plot with you being able to go on certain missions or just dive and discover at your own pace and switch between the two ways as you please.  This allows for the game to be appealing to a larger audience including those that want a more relaxing paced game and kids that may not usually be able to do missions in games (by the way the missions are usually easy enough they can do them, too).   It does not, however, have any major action aspects to make it interesting for those that want a fast paced action game.

Overall, though, I love this as a good relaxing simulation like game.  I kind of think of it as an underwater Animal Crossing like game because my favorite parts of Animal Crossing are fishing and getting insects.  Thus the aspect of discovering new fish in this game is similar to that.   Of course, this is also a much more simplistic game with not as much other activities, but it suits the game well.  I hear you can add your own favorite music to swim around to by putting MP3 files on  an SD card, but I have not personally tried that.  Sounds like it adds some interesting depth to the relaxation aspect of this game.

I got this as a rental the day the movie came to theaters, but this is one of the very few movies I actually wanted to see in theaters because of my love for penguins and the first Madagascar movie.  Thus I put off playing the game until I saw the movie yesterday, as I wanted to see how it followed and did not follow the movie’s plot.

At first the game does not follow the movie plot at all, as it starts with you doing different things for the king to take a photo for his Madagascar travel brochure.  Basically this is the training tutorial mode and actually it is quite a fun and unique way to have a tutorial.  The tutorial plot aspect really makes the game start out fun.  It is kind of a long tutorial, but the plot aspect does not make it seem so long and boring like most long tutorials are.

The game then continues in a way that is somewhat similar to the plot of the movie.  In the game you play as the different characters depending on the level goals.   I did not play through the whole game because I wanted to send it back before the mailman came, so I could get another game soon, but I think you only ever get to play as Melman, Alex, Gloria, and Marty.

Overall it is a pretty good adventure game and the plot appears to be broken down into a lot of small parts to make the game go pretty long.  It was fun to play and is somewhat based on the movie, although not entirely, as it has some added scenes, which makes it more fun.  The graphics are great as far as Wii graphics go, especially with the cut scenes.  The sound is good with the characters talking and sounding realistic.

In this game you take on the quest to look for Barbaros’ treasure.  The start is kind of slow because it goes through the credits before it begins, which is kind of movie like, but at least the credits at the beginning are limited and not the whole credits.  You start on a plane and are introduced to a few of the main characters.  There is  Zack, who is an oddly dressed pirate that is part of the Sea Rabbit pirate group.  At that point you are introduced to who Wiki is.  Wiki is a flying golden monkey that is Zack’s sidekick.  As part of the intro stuff you also meet Captain Rose, who is the main enemy in the game.  This whole beginning and introduction of the characters is slow, but it really does help build a good plot for the game.  That and the graphics and sound effects are pretty good, especially interesting is the sound of Zack eating chocolate.

I have not played the game much past the beginning because while I think the whole plot aspect is good, overall I found it pretty confusing and boring.  It may get better later, but at the beginning all you do is search around and randomly try to figure out what you are supposed to be checking out.  At the point where you are trying to escape from the plane I kept clicking the lever and it was forever before it even ended up being the right thing to do.  In the mean time I guess it is supposed to be exciting to just watch the little goons beat up the ship. Basically the beginning is too slow with really boring tasks and if the beginning of a game cannot hook me into it then I am not going to waste my time with the game.

I really do not know why I decided to try Ninja Reflex.  I guess maybe it was the fact that Ninja was in the name.  I honestly did not know what to expect from it, so it is not like it was a highly anticipated game that disappointed me.  It just left me wondering why did I put this in my Rental Queue.

Basically the game is just a set of mini games that are supposed to help improve your reflexes/reaction time.  The mini games are not all that interesting, but are at least overall easy to play and friendly for the whole family to try out.   The main object appears to continue to beat the different mini games and then take the tests to improve your belt ranking.

The only really interesting part of the game is the meditation mode.  It is kind of funny how it coaches you through how to meditate.  Sure, it can be useful and helpful if you want to learn to meditate, but I am sure you can find something similar for free as a podcast or something online rather than purchase this game for that.

Okay, so most gamers are not girly even the girl gamers tend not to be, but there is a growing number of young kids including girls playing video games, especially when it comes to the Wii.  Those young girls may like a more girly game and Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey does deliver just that.  The game has more of an appeal to girls, but it does not go to far because it still is an adventure style game with you working through levels.

The game begins with you discovering you are a princess and being shown you castle, which is kind of in ruins.  In the game you go to the worlds of different Disney princesses and help restore order to their worlds.  As you do that you in turn help return your castle to its former glory.  The princesses that you help are Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella, and Snow White.  There is also a Beauty and the Beast thing you unlock at the end.

Overall I think this is a great game for girls that are into the Disney princesses.  The cool thing is that it does have two-player cooperative play kind of like the Wii LEGO games.  The graphics are pretty good and really make you feel like you have entered the princesses’ worlds.  Lastly the game is pretty easy for young kids to get the hang of and be able to beat, although because of this they may get tired of it quickly.

I am a big fan of the LEGO Star Wars and Indiana Jones video games, so I have known about the Batman release for awhile.  I am not really interested in Batman, however, considering it has the LEGO gameplay aspect it may be fun.  The main thing is it sounds like it will be a kind of unique plot line, as it seems it is not going to follow a specific Batman movie or movies or at least that is the impression I have gotten from the articles I have read about it.  Sounds like graphic wise this game is really going to be one of the better ones, although, that might not be realized in the Wii version like in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.  The Wii version will be more interesting gameplay, though, with its use of the Wii motion controls, which may even include through the Batarang.

LEGO Batman is expected to be released September 23, 2008 for major consoles and handheld systems.   You can already pre-order it and at least if you do so at Game Stop you will get one of four LEGO Batman character keychains when you pick it up.

If you are into Elvis and/or Rock & Roll music this is at least an interesting game to check out, but be warned it does kind of stink. To start with let me say I think it had some great potential and at first I was actually impressed with it. First off the idea is kind of unique with you being an Elvis like character in a music land scenery using a guitar as a weapon. Basically I thought the graphic part of the game was original and appealing. While the graphics were top quality it was not what made it a bad game. Even the sound is pretty good with different rockish tunes in the levels.

It was the gameplay experience that made this into a horrible game, which is what it usually comes down to for me anyways. The tutorial is pretty easy and actually one of the better tutorials for a Wii game. The problem is that it is does not seem to end up really preparing you for the real levels. The real issue, though, is the controls are horribly done. You jump by lifting the nunchuck and executing a double jump takes way more skill than any casual gamer who might even think of picking this game up probably has. The worst part is the camera angle is never set up right and you have to do an aim with the Wii remote changing of view type thing as you move through the game with the joystick on the nunchuck. Now if you have ever played computer games were you move with the arrows and change the camera angle with the mouse, then that is kind of what you end up doing with the slight issue of it not being anywhere near as precise.

Bottom line is this game is just plain frustrating, but if you can manage to somehow get a hang of the controls with little frustration it can be kind of a fun or at least unique adventure game.

Photography is one of my favorite hobbies and I have been looking for a newer photography video game ever since I beat Pokemon Snap on the Nintendo 64 for the umpteenth time. When the Wii came out I felt it was the perfect console for a photography game and was hoping for at least an updated Pokemon Snap game. While that has not happened, I finally found something to satisfy me in Wild Earth: African Safari.

In Wild Earth: African Safari you take on the role of a photojournalist in Africa. You walk around in a safari like setting and take photos as prompted. There are different shots you are going for from stationary objects to animals doing specific things. Overall it is easy to do the tasks, but it is still thrilling to play as long as you like photography or at least are into animals.

The controls work good with you using the nunchuck to move around, zoom in, and zoom out. You use the Wii Remote to point and take photos, as you would expect. The graphics are decent with the animals and scenery looking pretty realistic, although the scenery in particular is not all that detailed.

Overall this is an awesome game if you are into photography like me. Adventure game lovers may also find it interesting to explore the African scenery and take photos, but do not expect all that much action. It also has some interesting mini games you can unlock and can be a fun two player cooperative game.

I am a big fan of the LEGO games even though the only ones I have played are LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones. It was because of how much I enjoyed the Star Wars ones that I for the first time ever bought a game on the day it came out. I usually like to rent a game and try it before buying, but thankfully buying LEGO Indiana Jones for the Wii turned out to be worth buying right away instead of waiting for it to be shipped from my Game Queue.

The first level of the Wii version is pretty straightforward until you get near the end at which point it gets kind of confusing. It did take me almost an hour to figure out what I was supposed to do, but then again I would not want the game to be too easy, as what would be the fun in beating it too fast. I do not really like that it got hard so fast, but I much prefer it to be challenging compared to the first LEGO Star Wars, which was too easy to beat. LEGO Indiana Jones may not have any more depth than LEGO Star Wars, but at least it has more challenge and still has the funnest aspect of being able to play cooperatively with someone else. Oh, and no matter how challenging the game gets I at least never feel like too much of failure because it is impossible to get a game over as you always have unlimited respawns.

Overall the game uses the Wii controls decently, but it is not among the best Wii capability games. Really the only interesting Wii specific control is using Indiana Jones whip. It is decently realistically controlled, but as a Wii release it is kind of disappointing that there is not more Wii-movement controls. At least the controls remain easy and straightforward, though.

LEGO Indiana Jones is a much try for all LEGO and Indiana Jones fans, but if you are not much into either or adventure style games then skip this on the Wii, as it does not give any Wii specific fun. I am not saying it is a bad game, as personally it is one of my favorites, but it is just as good as a Playstation game as a Wii one because the added Wii controls are not enough to make it stand apart like my other favorite Wii games. The humorous LEGO cutscenes on any version are also part of the fun, such as Indiana Jones pulling out a duck instead of the artifact near the end of the first level.