Polish This

Polish. The word bothers me. Read Bildo's post about Conan getting delayed again "to polish the game even more." Excuse me for beating a dead horse, but this little rant is timely for me. You see, my work has delayed their main product again and they actually used "polish" as the excuse. Um... right... I'm in software test. I've seen defect log and it ain't pretty.

When a company tells its customers they're postponing a release for "polishing"... that is PR putting a positive spin on a bad situation. When a company tells itself they're postponing release for "polishing" ... that, my friends, is politics.

If I hear the "polish" excuse, I think the product has too many:

• Broken features... that is, good ol' bugs. Hopefully minor things like typos and not hangs or crashes.
• Half-finished features. Either the feature was poorly specced to begin with or the software engineer cut corners to finish on time.
• Poorly designed features. Maybe it sounded good on paper but beta testers found it boring.

I had a point to all this... but lost it. Meh. I'm just bitter they delayed Smash Bros Brawl again.

Adios Soulcalibur Legends

I'm not a fan of the fighter genre of video games. Too much button mashing for my liking. Except for the excellent Super Smash Bros series. However, I'm a daddy and a gamer. The kids and I bond while playing video games, so that means I play games outside of my comfort zone. For example, Soulcalibur Legends for the Nintendo Wii.

My son and I received the game through our GameFly account. Two days later it's back in the mail. We enjoyed Soulcalibur 2 for the Gamecube. Rather, my son enjoyed it and I tolerated it. Hehe. The Wii version looks about the same but features a cooperative quest mode. Completely unimpressed. This is a next gen game? My advice: save your money and your time.

What I disliked about the game the most were the controls. Okay, it's cool using the Wiimote like a sword... for about ten minutes. This makes me sound like a wimp but the constant, fast, and repetive motions made my arm joints sore. I didn't bother looking through the game's options to see if there were alternate control schemes available. To be honest I'd rather play Super Smash Bros Melee with the kids or watch the boy play Super Mario Galaxy.

Princess Power

After returning Puzzle Quest to GameFly, I put a few games for my daughter at the top of the queue. They sent us Disney Princess Enchanted Journey for the Nintendo Wii. If you have a young daughter who adores Disney princesses, this is the game for you. We've had fun this weekend playing the game together. My 12-year-old son even played it with his sis, but I doubt he'd admit it to his friends at school.

The controls are easy to learn and use. You use the Wiimote and nunchuck to move the princess avatars around 3D worlds from the Disney movies. You can also jump, climb ledges, and use a magic wand to defeat the occasional non-scary enemy.

Two features she (okay... we) enjoyed were customizing her princess avatars similar to a simplified version of Sims 2 and the two player cooperative play. I encourage my daughter to be more than a princess (she says her favorite princess is Mulan because she is a warrior too) ... but sometimes it's just plain cute to indulge her with the pinkness and tiaras. With the two player co-op mode, we could enjoy the game together.

The completely voice-acted plot is similar to the other Disney princess types of games: help a different princesses restore order by completing simple mini-games. For example, we were helping Snow White's friends sorting gems by color or helping Ariel's crab buddy escape a friendly octopus in a whack-a-mole style game.

My only complaint is the game is too short. We completed in the four-day Thanksgiving weekend without trying too hard.

All things considered, I recommend this game for your young daughter under 8. Rent it if you can, because replay is minimal.

More Godfather and New PC

We spent Labor Day weekend at the house (the first weekend for some time now). I finished many small projects around the home and made big progress on cleaning out the garage. My son and I took the dog on long walks every day. Monday we went to a BBQ with good beer and bratwurst. Ahhh... the summer is winding down. Fall will soon be here, which means MMO season for me.

I played Godfather a couple nights this weekend and made capo in the Family. I have complete control over Hell's Kitchen, Little Italy, and Brooklyn, and I need to hit a compound to control all of Midtown. New Jersey is next on the list. My payday is a nice $60K a week after giving the Don his cut. I put the pile of cash from paydays and missions to good use upgrading my characters weapons and clothes. He's looking sharp in his black suit. I won't spoil the plot but I had fun RPing my character's revenge on a rival family after they wronged me. Bastards.

The new computer arrived Saturday and I set it up in the loft. No monitor or speakers came with it, so I hooked up a little, old CRT and a cheap pair of speakers. Hohum. The faster processor is nice, but I'd updgraded the hell out of the other PC. The specs aren't that much different... both have 2 GB RAM and beefy graphics cards. But the crappy monitor hurts. The quality and size of the monitor has a real impact on the experience. I'll have to save my nickels and pennies for a hot 22" widescreen flat panel.

The wireless network (or lack of one) is the issue I have to fix ASAP, or to be exact have the folks at Verizon fix for me. Currently we have Earthlink DSL plugged into the one computer, which worked great when I was the only online gamer in the house. I need to call Verizon in the next day or two and sign up for their FiOS service. They'll rewire the house with fiber optics and setup a wireless network. Even splitting the internet connection, Avril and I will have 2-3 times the speed. Beautiful. Eventually. Fingers crossed the FiOS install is quick and painless.

Death Penalty in the Godfather

I've been playing Godfather: Blackhand Edition on the Wii almost exclusively for the past week. Yes, it's that good. My character is a soldier in the Corleone family now. I recently completed missions involving horse heads and taping guns behind toilets.

I used to worry about getting iced (as they call it) until I realized there is no penalty for dying. Previously I would move slowly through areas and avoid any area that looked risky. Now I'm the fucking Terminator when I hit enemy warehouses and compounds. Add my crew and paid off cops to the mix... good times. Last night I gained control of all of Little Italy.

The only real penalty for dying in the game is when there is a Mob War (that is, I aggro a rival family by icing too many of their associates). Then some of my extorted business are burned. The trick is to know the quickest route to an FBI agent, so you can bribe him. The result is you win the Mob War and aggro is completely reset.

Another "feature" is when I extort a business deep in rival territory, I mean their goons are crawling all over like ants, just focus on extorting the owner. Even if I die right after a successful extortion, I get credit for it and receive a cut come payday.

The game is easy after you learn the controls (except for the stealth missions... they still frustrate me). Even though it's easy, I'm still having a great time playing it. Last night I meant to get to bed early. No dice. I was up in the loft playing Wii after midnight.

I highly recommend this game (if you couldn't tell by the way I've been raving about it).

Godfather Hooked Me

The Godfather for the Wii has me. I'm hooked now. The kids are heading off to bed early tonight so Daddy can play.

The Godfather was fun the first couple nights I played, but my character was low level, poor, and an outsider to the Corleone family. Plus I'm a clumsy oaf, so learning the Wii's controls is a long process. I lost count of how many times I died because I was trying to punch someone when I meant to pull out my pistol.

But last night it all clicked. My character has moved up in the Family, and I have the controls down. I understand bribing cops and shaking down store owners. I can drive. I can shoot. I can use cover. I even have the start of my own crew. Times are good.

The game makers did an excellent job with the story. I'm not reliving the plot of the movies. Instead, I have my own character that is weaved into the Godfather canon. I'm not "third mafia thug to the left" but a character with his own story and agenda. Beautiful.

Okay, I don't want to mislead anyone with what I wrote earlier. The controls are actually simple. It's more of a matter of learning what button accesses my weapon selection or remembering to shake the controllers to strangle someone or how to aim at someone's kneecaps to cripple instead of kill. (Did I mention I don't let my kids play or watch me play?)

P.S. I meant to post this already but must have clicked Save now instead of Publish Post. Ooops.

GameFly and The Godfather

My son and I have split a GameFly account since the beginning of June, which allows us each to have one console or handheld game rented at a time. Overall my experience with GameFly has been good. The service is cheaper than renting from a local store. Plus we can try games we otherwise wouldn't if we had to buy them.

If you're not familiar with GameFly, it is a web-based service similar to Netflix except they deal in console and handheld games. You create a list of games you want and when you return a game, they send the next one on the list subject to availability. The games come with a pre-paid shipping envelope for easy returns.

My son has had a few Wii and DS games. I had Marvel Ultimate alliance for a few weeks, but since than haven't been so lucky. First, I got a DS game for my daughter on my share of the account. Ariel's Undersea Adventure isn't much fun for Daddy. Second, we had a shipping problem with the Godfather for the Wii. After five days I got worried. At seven days I reported a problem.

They have a well designed interface for reporting problems. I selected the game from the two they'd sent, selected my problem, and then confirmed my selections. Voila. The next day they sent out a replacement copy of the Godfather. Impressed.

With a bit of luck, I'll be spending my nights as a thug in the Corleone family in a couple days.

-Link

Marvel Ultimate Alliance Done

Last night I finished Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the Wii. My team of superheroes gave Doom a severe spanking. If I had to grade the game, it would get a solid B+ from me. The wide selection of heroes was great. The usual suspects from the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Avengers were on duty in addition to lone characters such as Spiderman, Deadpool, and Blade.

I dabbled in a variety of Marvel comic books when I was a kid, so the massive amount of content in this game was a blast (allies, villains, and locations). If you like Marvel comics, get this game. If you like action RPGs, get this game.

I let the game manage gear and skill points for me, so I could jump into the plot and kicking villain ass without the learning curve. Hindsight: should have done it myself instead.

The controls were easy to learn on the Wii. I played X-Men Legends on the GameCube, and I think the Wii's controllers are a big upgrade for the series.

The shortness of the game and the linear plot are my biggest complaints. I completed the adventure in 15 hours, and that was with taking my time and admiring the setting. Replay value is low because of the rigidly linear plot. You have one quest at a time and the paths through the zones are straightforward. Sure, you get side quests, but they're typically things can't help but do as you move along the main quest line. For example, recovering a book or a sword that is conveniently placed near the sub-boss.

Cheat codes are for wusses. Except when they improve game play and make it more fun without neutering the challenge. For example, temporarily turning off aging in the Sims 2 while you get the family going. I wish I would have checked out the cheat codes for Marvel Ultimate Alliance at the beginning of the game instead of at the end of the game. I highly recommend getting
the cheat code for unlocking all the hero costumes (check out GameFAQs). Then you can dress up your heroes in their best duds without blowing your credits on upgrades.

Oh, my team? Captain America, Storm, Thor, and Colossus with Iceman on the bench to sub in when one of my mains took a dive. My son liked Moon Knight and Deadpool, so he'd pick one of them when we played co-op mode.

Time to ship the game back to Gamefly. I wonder what game I'll get next...