Bits and Bricks » Games

Nintendo announces Wii U at E3

Cecilie — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:19:53 +0000

I watched the live stream from Nintendo’s E3 press conference yesterday, and when they showed their upcoming console (or rather, the new controller for it), I was both excited and sceptical.

The name of the new console is Wii U. Yeah, very creative… But I guess it’s as to be expected. The focus for Wii U, as it was with the motion controllers for Wii, is the new controller. I looks a bit like the child of an ipad and an etch-a-sketch if you ask me, with a suitably white Wii-ish look. I’m not going to state any tech specs here, as those are readily available all over the net. My main concern with it is the size. I’m afraid it will be uncomfortable for long play session, but time will tell.

It was good too see that third party developers are already loving it and showing great support for it, that bodes well for the future of this console. Since we are finally getting awesome HD graphics as well, multi plattform games won’t have to be ported to a special low-res crappy version for Wii U as they often are for Wii (or not ported at all in other cases…). I was also very happy that it will be backwards compatible with all Wii controllers (and games), cause I have a lot of those

So now the question is: will I be so excited about it that I will stand in line for it all night on launch day like I did for the Wii?

LEGO Nintendo 3DS

Cecilie — Sun, 08 May 2011 15:25:16 +0000

For those who think the 3D function is just a gimmick, why not get a LEGO 3DS instead. This version by ape the monkey is brilliant. Click the image to see it on mocpages.

No, it doesn't play any games, but it doesn't hurt your eyes either.

Nintendo 3DS – first impressions

Cecilie — Wed, 04 May 2011 08:01:26 +0000

First impression: Yes it works, and yes it hurts…

After seeing the price point of the 3DS, I decided to wait until it either dropped in price or someone gave it to me for my birthday (or christmas). However, when I saw it at Manchester airport for £150, I just couldn’t help myself (that’s the equivalent of approximately 40-50% discount compared to norwegian prices!). I have yet to purchase any 3D games, but there are plenty of places where you can test the 3D effects on the 3DS without plugging in any games. So what’s the verdict? Well, there’s no doubt it works. I can clearly see the 3D effect. However, it does hurt my eyes. I haven’t gone to see any recent 3D movies, so I can’t compare it to that, but I have difficulty seeing myself using the 3D effect for long periods at a time. Luckily, it can be turned off. And the slider for adjusting the 3D effects works well, at the lowest setting, my eyes don’t hurt as much as at the highest setting I’ll come back with more insight after actually trying some games. But for now, I’ll just take my 3DS around to see if some Miis come to visit me Oh, and btw, WPA2 works! Hooray! (No, I don’t own a DSi, I’m upgrading from a DS Lite).

Tetris heaven

Cecilie — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:39:07 +0000

I’m a frequent reader of xkcd, and wednesday’s comic seemed like a dream that would never come true. However, in less that 24 hours, someone made this dream a reality! How awesome is that?

Motorized LEGO Starcraft 2 Siege Tank!

Cecilie — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:19:18 +0000

This is just awesome! Mark (petzoldhaus) has built a remote controlled Siege Tank from Starcraft 2 in LEGO, and it looks and behaves just like the real thing! Two of my favorite pastimes combined into one here

When Yatzy gets too boring

Cecilie — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:09:47 +0000

A normal activity when bored on vacation is playing Yatzy. But that relies a lot on luck, and quickly gets boring. So when there’s no old people around to entertain, why not go for something more action-packed? With a Nintendo DS for everyone, and Worms Open Warfare 2, everything is set for a real battle! Too bad then, that the game only supports two players in single-card play, and we only have two copies of the game, so multi-card play isn’t helping either. If it weren’t for the additional problem that the game is very limited and even buggy in single-card play, we could have played in pairs, but no such luck then. But it’s still a great past time, Worms is a superb game after all. (If you’ve never played any version of it, you’ve been missing out! I remember Worms Armageddon for PC as the all time best.) Our favorite weapon btw is the sheep What’s yours?