Friday, May 18, 2007

Top 5 Wii channels


Which channel do you use most often? Which keeps you interested? And most of all which channel deserves that number one spot?

5. Photo Channel
A very amusing channel that lets you view photographs and listen to mp3's saved to your SD card. It also lets you draw on, mess around with, and make puzzles out of them. It's perfect for showing off pictures to friends and family and even lets you listen to mp3's while watching a slideshow. And best of all it's pre-installed into your Wii so those with out a wireless Internet connection can still enjoy it!

4. Internet channel
The recently released and free until June final version of the Internet chanel made great improvements over the Trial version. Although not perfect for reading text, this channel is great for showing Youtube videos or similar content to your friends. It's also handy if you just need to check your e-mail or something but don't want to start your computer.

3. Mii Channel
Mii's are cartoon charicatures of whatever you want. When you first bought you Wii one of the first things you probably did was make a Mii of yourself. I know I did. Some people will complain that there is not enough custimization but hopefully Nintendo will address that by releasing some kind of update. And with the upcoming Mii Popularity channel, the Mii Channel will see increased use.

2. Wii Shop Channel
Without the Wii Shop channel, we wouldn't be able to download our favourite classics from the past. Wii Points would be useless and the Wii would lose one of it's best selling points: the Virtual Console. Also, according to Nintendo, original games are going to be released on this channel.

1. Disc channel
How expected. Of course this was going to take first spot. And the Wii knows this too by making you unable to move it from it's first channel space. Remeber the first time the two discs disappeared to be replaced by the Wii Sports logo. And this channel will undoubtedly play host to many classics to come.

Feel free to post a comment on what you feel should and should not be on the list.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Retailers expected the Wii to fail?

It seems like that to me anyway. In fact, when I walk into most shops, the first thing that hits me is a huge PS2/PS3/PSP row of shelves. Followed by a smaller Xbox/360 shelf and lastly, in the dusty old corner where nobody looks is the Wii/DS stuff. The GBA and Gamecube are long gone and never really had a presence.

Let's take a look at the DS vs. PSP situation. I'll admit that at the start it did look that the PSP was going to beat the DS. So I can understand why in the beginning they focused more on the PSP. But now that it is brutally obvious that the DS is going to be triumphant, why do they continue to cram the DS stuff in a corner, while the PSP is up in the front, glorified, with all the staff trying to stop people buying DS games.

Onto the Wii vs. PS3 vs. Xbox360. This really frustrates me because when the 360 was released the gave it decent shelf space. Not too much, but it wasn't crammed away like the DS stuff. Then came the Wii, which was fully prebooked, with more people waiting on hand. And guess how much shelf space they gave it? Three measly rows on a tiny shelf. It has now expanded to 5 shelves because a people are starting to take notice of it.
Now when the PS3 was released, though only 2 people prebooked it, it was given TWO whole columns. Thats 16 shelves.

I just hope this store, and I'm sure other stores realize that the Wii is a smash hit and change their tune before it's too late.


Tuesday, May 15, 2007

My Legend of Zelda game collection

I only really became a fan of the Zelda series a few years ago but I've got an OK collection by now:
My collection :D



So, I'll go through all the games and what I think of them starting with

The Legend of Zelda ( NES )
This is the game that started them all. But I didn't particularly enjoy this game but I guess I can attribute that to the fact that I started with a more complex and visually pleasing Zelda game. But in it's time I'm sure it was a revolutionary game in its time.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
This is the Zelda game that I enjoyed the least due to the before mentioned points and the fact that when you fight someone it goes to a side scrolling mode. This is apparently the Dark Horse of the Zelda series. And though a lot of people dislike it, many like it too.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Definitely my favorite 2d Zelda game and my 2nd favorite Zelda game of all time. It is so well designed, the graphics are beautiful, the music is enchanting, the weapons are varied, the controls are PERFECT and its also quite a lengthy adventure. Overall a masterfully crafted game and one of the best 2d games I have ever played.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The first 3d Zelda game that is often hailed as the best game ever made. I would have to disagree. Although I really enjoyed this game I would certainly not say it's the best game ever made, not the best Zelda for me either. Nonetheless an amazing game.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
I enjoyed this game nearly as much as Ocarina of Time but the 3 day limit kind of annoyed me.
Graphically similar to Ocarina of Time this is also a noteworthy addition the the Zelda series.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
With it's bold new cell-shaded graphics, many people who were hoping for a realistic Zelda game were disappointed . However I loved this game from start to finish except for thet Trifiorce piece quest.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The most recently released Zelda game and in my opinion, the best. From it's graphics to it's music to it's brilliant game design this was a joy to play from beginning to end. And it took me about 55 hours to finish which means it's by no means a short game.

Well, there ya go. Tell me about your favorite Zelda games!