SSB now works on our Wii

I realized that Easter break for my Daughter is a week away. Guessing that it would take Nintendo longer than that to get a cleaned Wii back to me. I decided to try to clean it myself. I did just that and it works.

I vacumed it from the back with a small computer vacum, and took a can of air and blew it into the disk compartment. The disk now works. We were playing SSB after her homework was done.

I do intend to send it back, but now I can do it after the Easter break.

Happy Gaming.

Super Smash brothers give some Wiis a black eye.

On Sunday after breakfast and clock changing my daughter and I went to our local EB games to pick up our reserved copy of SSB.

We inserted the disk into our Wii received a popup about updating the Wii the Wii updated rebooted itself and then a message came up that the Wii could not read the disk. I thought my daughter hit a button or something as the disk was loading and made a comment to her about not pressing buttons until the game can up and then reinserted the disk. The game came up after the second disk insertion and we played for many hours.

Later that night after she went to bed I was about to do some late night gaming but I received the same “can not read disk message”. It turns out that according to Nintendo :

“Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive. Nintendo has specialized cleaning equipment that can resolve this problem. (Please do NOT attempt to clean the lens yourself, as you may damage the system.)”

Any with this problem Wii has to be sent back to Nintendo to be cleaned. Nintendo will cover all costs.

If you are having this problem you need to go to following link.
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/repair_form_us_ssbb.jsp

Well it looks like we will be dusting off and playing the old xbox over the next few weeks.

It will give me some time to catch up on reviews for games we have played.

I must give kudos to Nintendo for promptly acknowledging and addressing the problem at no cost to its customers.

Happy gaming

Spielberg is a Wii fan

Mr Spielberg is a big Wii fan. He is working on the development of a Wii Game for EA called Bloomblox.  The previews I have seen look like this game will be a solid multiplayer family game.  Follow this link to get a look at the game.

Good enough for the Queen of England….

The Queen is a Wii Player. Read this.

Guitar Hero 3 A+

Guitar Hero 3 was a family gift this Christmas. This game gave our family and guests days of solid entertainment. The music line up is incredible it contains some of the greatest rock music of recorded.

I was fascinated that our daughter was really into the music. it seems her favorite song is also one of my favorites ” Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine. I love watching her get into the song with the guitar that comes with the game.

The game play is good. The community aspect of the game is what sets it apart from other games.  If your Wii is connected to the Internet you can join it to GuitarHero.com and view all of your statistics from game play the site.

We completed the game on easy in about 3 days and it was all fun.  We have started to play the game on medium and it continues to be fun.

Wii Sports cheat codes and easter eggs

Follow this link to a page that lists the cheat codes and easter eggs for  Wii Sports.

Wii Retirement

Lately I have been seeing articles like this one from Fox News. Senior citizens are indeed fond of the Wii. Retirement homes across the country are embracing the Wii.

The Wii is doing what every great product has done, creating a market for itself.

If you have any doubt that the Wii has opened new gaming markets watch this video.

Wii Sports A+

Unlike every other gaming system currently on the market, the Nintendo Wii has a game included. Wii Sports is more than just a game, it is 5 sports games plus a few extras. Wii Sports includes Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf, Tennis, training modes for all of the aforementioned games and a fitness test.

Even those with very short attention spans will get much satisfaction from weeks of playing Wii Sports alone. All games can be played versus the computer or a live opponent. Rather than getting an extra game with the system I suggest a second Wiimote and Nunchuck controller. This will enable one to play all the games with a live opponent.

In baseball the Wiimote is used to pitch and hit. The game is very realistic and satisfying.

Bowling is my personal favorite of the included games. The feel is great and you really get the sensation that you are bowling.

Boxing is a real workout. The Nunchuck and the Wiimote are used to punch and move.

Golf is a bit frustrating for me as golfer I have not managed to get the feel for the swing.

I find Tennis frustrating as well. It could be because I am a bad tennis player. My 8 year old, WiiGirl, who has spent two summers at tennis camp, constantly beats me like a rug in the game. When I do win I am a sweaty hyperventilating mess.

Wii Sports is a winner

Brunswick Bowling F

Rather than waste your time reading this review I will tell you this game graded an F.

With that said I wasted my time playing this game. I love Wii bowling and Wii bowling this game is not. During game play the Wiimote feels very detached from what is happening on the screen. Wii bowling feels like bowling this does not.

WiiGirl normally loves to create characters in game. The character creation in this game is very limited.

We were expecting this game to be as good as Wii Sports Bowling with better graphics and more options, but it is not. If you like bowling on the Wii, stick with the free version for now it is the best.

After playing this game the people at Brunswick really need to watch what they attach their name to.

Cars Wii C

I love racing games and have been looking for a great racing title for the Wii. My search continues.

Like most games based on movies this is a weak title. WiiGirl seems to replay Cars occasionally. She and I do race each other in this game now and then. It is a good racing game for small children. I give Cars Wii a grade of C.

Nevertheless, Cars should be a good buy as it is over a year old, and will be discounted in most stores.