Favorite Wii games countdown #9: Rune Factory Frontier

Some moments in life, whether we recognize it or not, end up as major turning points. In my gaming life, one such moment was when I asked my buddy if I could borrow the GameCube game Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life from her. She often mentioned it in our conversations about video games, so I figured I should try it out. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, but it was infinitely addictive.

Rune Factory Frontier is pretty much the exact same way. A little rough around the edges: load times are rather atrocious, and you find yourself encountering them much too often because the segments between load times are painfully small. But infinitely addictive: the game has all of those key RPG elements that submerge the player into the experience like nothing else can. And, like we all know from the time Harvest Moon first began, taking care of a farm and livestock can be surprisingly addictive. Rune Factory Frontier is definitely worth your time whether you're a Harvest Moon/Rune Factory pro or a newbie to the series.

Honorable Mention: Klonoa

As platformers go, Klonoa is a pretty decent game. The voice acting is ultimately corny, but the gameplay's got it where it counts.

A Game I Should Have Finished: Metroid: Other M
Nope, I never did finish this one. Other M belongs to a category that I like to call "Deep, Engrossing Games". In other words, the player needs to devote more than just a few minutes at a time to it. And one can only play so many "Deep, Engrossing Games" at the same time. Right now, those are Okami and Kingdom Hearts II for me, and I barely have time to play those. Someday I will finish Metroid: Other M and give it a proper review.

Favorite Wii games countdown #10: Excite Truck

Christmas morning 2006: there are 3 presents of varying sizes; one for me, one for my brother just below me in age, and one for the brother below him. Mine's the biggest. I have an inkling that it's what I've been clamoring for for months now: a Wii system. I hold it in my lap while I wait for my turn to open. Joe opens something (can't remember what), then Dave opens something. It's finally my turn. I open cautiously, trying not to get my hopes up. My heart does a gleeful somersault: it's a Wii! Best Christmas unwrapping ever! In the next round of opening, Joe and Dave receive the two things that I totally saw coming: a second Wii remote and a game. The game is Excite Truck.

So you see, my earliest Wii memories revolve not only around Wii Sports, but also Excite Truck. It's likely other gamers had the same problem as me with Excite Truck: everything gaming-related up to that point in my life pretty much screamed in my face to use the D-pad to steer. Even after I grasped the motion-controlled nature of the game, it was a while before I grasped the overall feel of the game. Steering in Excite Truck is, shall we say, a little quirky? I hope I'm not turning anyone off to this game, however, because once I got the gameplay down, I loved Excite Truck! Still do, 'smatter of fact. There's little else that offers the thrills and satisfactions that Excite Truck has: catching 5-star air, then landing perfectly on all four wheels for a speed boost; smashing into other racers with bone-crushing force; the list goes on. Try this one out if you get the chance!

Honorable Mention: Link's Crossbow Training

Link's Crossbow Training came packed in with the Wii Zapper accessory. For how cheaply it comes, it's a pretty darn good experience. I still play this one once in a while.

A Game I Should Have Played: Excitebots: Trick Racing
I heard this game was a lot like its predecessor, only better. I've got it on my Gamefly Game Q, but then I've got about 20 other games on there as well. Someday soon...

Something big is happening!

A special day is nearly upon us. What is it? Why, it's the one year anniversary of this blog! Yeah, it's kind of a big deal. And I plan to celebrate with a spectacular countdown of my list of top ten Wii games! The date? Oh yes, of course! March 15th is the very day! (The Ides of March, is that creepy or what?) Look forward to reading about a game a day for the next ten days, ending on my number one favorite Wii game. These posts will additionally include two other games: one honorable mention, and one game that I either should have played or should have finished. Also on March 15th, expect something awesome to happen. It's gonna be big! See you tomorrow with number 10 in the countdown!

Enjoy this Pushmo puzzle, will you!

I already shared this puzzle in an Infendo post, but in case any of my readers who don't also read Infendo are interested, here's a Mutant Mudds Pushmo puzzle for you to enjoy!

If you haven't already gotten the game Pushmo for your Nintendo 3DS system, then know that I can't give this game enough praise. Try it out for yourself today!

So ya wanna know about video game genres? Let's start with the platfomer!

When I first subscribed to Nintendo Power magazine many years ago, I was an ardent gamer, yes, but there were a few terms that frequently came up in the magazine that I didn't have a clue about. Most of them related to video game genres in one way or other. FPS, RPG, platfomer...what?!

Nintendo's most famous franchise being Super Mario and all, I thought it prudent to begin with the category that Super Mario belongs to: the platform genre. Even though we all know what a platform is, the idea of a platform video game is a little vague. Why can't Mario games just be "save the princess" games or something like that? Well, video games are different from other mediums because they can be controlled, right? So video game genres revolve around how the games are controlled. Platform games involve platforms. The player controls the character and uses jumps or other forces to land on platforms and avoid pitfalls. It's really important that platformers have some way for the player to jump at will, otherwise you'd be hard pressed to correctly identify a game as a platformer.

And, really, it's as simple as that. Super Mario games are of the platform genre. Some other examples include Rayman Origins, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, and Mutant Mudds. Play a platformer for yourself today!