I really don’t understand how there are game review sites and blogs out there that are claiming that using Wii Fit cannot get you in shape. That’s almost impossible. If you bother putting the energy it takes to turn on the power put in the disc and start up Wii Fit, you’ll find that you’ll be doing real exercises. For instance, one has you lying on your back working your abdomen muscles by lifting your legs and arms to meet in the air. For those that know, this is a V-crunch. How can you make the claim that doing 15-30 reps of V-crunches a day will not eventually lead to a loss of fat if not tight abs? You dont need a gym to get a 6 pack, you only need a floor and the will power to do it. So does that mean game reviewers are going to say using the floor wont get you fit either?

Although Iwata stated that Wii Fit’s purpose was to make you more aware and not necessarily make you fit, the latter is a given if done intelligently. You can’t do crunches a day and NOT get a result. However, if you use Wii Fit and you are shoving Fried Chicken, Cheeseburgers and French fries with Ranch Dressing in your mouth, then yes, you are wasting your time. Nintendo did not include instructions on how to diet, so it’s pretty clear to me that if you want to get fit you have to learn how to do that part on your own. It’s not Nintendo’s Industry to tell you how to eat right. Given that, I imagine Iwata said that Wii Fit is not intened to make you Fit as a CYOA statement (‘Cover Your Own Ass’). However, Nintendo did create software that states “look if you do exercise daily, we will measure it for you and even make mini games out of it”. Unfortunately, neither Nintendo nor NASA has the technology that will make people do exercise on a daily basis. I’m sure there are millions of people that would prefer Wii Fit be nothing but an In-Home-Do-It-Yourself liposuction kit.

I mentioned in one of my previous postings how I liked the soundtrack to The World Ends With You. I know this genre isn’t for everyone, but I love the sounds of Japanese Pop and Electronica music. The music is available for purchase on iTunes but I thought I’d give you a listen. This genre matches the Anime look and feel of the game. Hard to believe this much music was made for a DS game. This kind of thing is expected for the PSP. It’s a first for the Nintendo DS to have a soundtrack like this one. ‘Calling’ is probably my favorite. When your fighting battles and hearing this music, it really gets you energized. You’ll need that since you’ll be controlling two characters at the same time; one on each screen.

These songs includes works from Takeharu Ishimoto, Makiko Noda, Leah, SAWA, WAKAKO, Ayuko Tanaka, Hanaeryca, and JYONGRI. The actual soundtrack contains about 36 tracks.

The folks at Penny Arcade have achieved what every video game blogger could dream of… which is get a video game based off of their creations. Today, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness arrives on Xbox Live Arcade. The characters are alter egos of Penny Arcade creators Mike ‘Gabe’ Krahulik and Jerry ‘Tycho’ Holkins. If your not familiar with the Penny Arcade characters, the web comics are located here. I am looking forward to playing this game.

It’s almost a no brainer that Wii Fit will be a hit. It was only a few years ago, Nintendo would have been ridiculed for coming up with such an idea. Now, it wouldn’t surprise me to see numerous knock offs of Wii Fit by the end of the year. There are many game review sites that believe Wii Fit will not do that well. I strongly disagree. The target audience was practically standing in line before the game was ever dreamed up.

People spend not hundreds but thousands of dollars on exercise equipment they will only use once. The biggest culprits are those who buy treadmills. For this reason, if your serious about getting a treadmill, buy one used; it’s virtually brand new. Forking out $250 for a Wii and an additional $90 for Wii Fit is a bargain. Spending $350 as opposed to $3500 along with a promise that exercise will be fun! Come on, this game is going to be in just about every Wii owners living room.

Personally, I plan to get Wii Fit as soon as I can. I have a feeling it may be a little hard to find so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

For a moment, imagine playing a fantasy game where you are an adventurer. You regularly visit the King or townsfolk to get your daily quest. Then you head out to battle through the caves and foreign lands, level up a few times, gain gold to purchase new equipment only to finally return a victor in search of a hefty reward. In My Life as a King, this all happens but you are not the adventurer; you are the King who sits back waiting for the adventurers to return safely with that prized item you requested.

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LostWinds is a very beautiful, yet short title for the Nintendo Wii Ware The game implies that there will be Chapters or Episodes released regularly in the same way Sam and Max games have been (where you buy each episode individullly). This game has some of the best uses of the Wiimote. For instance, your character automatically jumps and climbs up small ledges. You…or better yet the Wiimote is the wind. If you even slightly move the Wiimote, wind wind begins to blow in the local area affecting the background and foreground objects. The harder you shake the Wiimote the stronger the wind blows. You can guide slipstreams by pushing a button and drawing out the current direction. You can create a vortex by drawing a circle with the Wiimote or you can just give your character a jumping boost by creating an updraft by pushing a button and swiping upwards. Using these abilities, you must uncover the forgot story of LostWinds. (more…)

Finally, Wii Ware made it’s debut yesterday. What is Wii Ware? Wii Ware is a service that allows you to purchase and download games and applications immediately in the comfort of your own home. Many Wii owners probably aren’t aware that their new white box can even venture into the online world. The games available right now are:

LostWinds $10
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My life as a King $15
Pop $7
Defend Your Castle $5
TV Show King $10
V.I.P. Casino Blackjack $7

From what I’ve seen so far, these games are far superior than anything on the Wii’s current Virtual Console store. Which really isn’t surprising since Virtual Console games are older generation games.

Shibuya Shopping Center, Tokyo, Japan

Big things definitely come in small packages. I’ve never had so much to say about a little DS cartridge.

When Nintendo first announced the DS, their intentions were to give developers the tools to go beyond current video game ideas. Although many gamers like myself love the idea of porting over, real-time strategy (RTS) games, puzzle games, and other traditional uses of a stylus-based interface, Nintendo was more interested in ideas that had nothing to do with any game currently in the market. In my opinion, The World Ends With You (WEWY) is exactly one of those games. Calling this it a role playing game (RPG) is quite misleading. When I first began to play it I almost hated it cause I was so confused on what’s going on. The truth is, it’s it’s own genre. (more…)

Originally to be released the same time Wii Ware came to the US, the Nintendo Channel arrived earlier. From this channel you’ll be able to watch game videos, view newly and upcoming released games, and best of all Nintendo DS Demo Downloads. So far you can download demos wirelessly to your DS for Brain Age 2, Flash Focus, Crosswords DS, Jam Sessions, Disney Friends, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Cooking Mama 2 and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.

Another nice feature is a game recommendation system. You’ll be able to rate games and it applies your answers to the demographics you provide in a short survey. This data is used to provide recommendations made by people that play the games. The system only uses data that shows that you have played the game for at least an hour. Finally, game ranking scores made my millions of gamers (not just one single person such as, me deciding that GTA IV should be a 9, oops I mean 10, *snickers). Nintendo put together a very nice video about the channel here.

Finally, the following games may not have suffered completely from poor sales,  but I believe they could have received more love if they were also released on the Xbox 360.

Lost Kingdoms
Sadly, many people don’t even know this series existed. This GameCube exclusive is what you’d call a card-based action game. Unlike most card battle video games, you are still required to fight in real time. So if you have a sword card, you press a to swing the sword. You can only swing your sword as many times as sword cards in your deck. As with traditional card battle games, your deck is face down and you are dealt them as they come. So if you want good weaponry, include good weapons. This game is a full adventure with maps and puzzles to discover as opposed to what you’d think a card battle game would be. So why would this be better on Xbox? Xbox Live of course. This, not only opens up multiplayer battles and coop adventures, but the ability to trade, sell, or buy new cards online. You could go as far as build an in-game auction house where you could buy or sell your rare cards. As with Guitar Hero’s music downloads, I’m sure Activision would be more than happy to allow you to purchase ‘Booster Packs’ or other specialty cards from the Xbox Live Market Place. (more…)