Gaming - Madden

It's been a long time, but EA may finally be releasing a version of Madden that excites me enough to make the purchase. And while those impressions alone are probably enough to make me a believer in the Wii version Madden NFL 07 (my only real concerns are finding the money and TIME for it in law school) here is a second opinion to consider.
Honestly, imagine a football game where you make a pass, even controlling its speed, by making an actual throwing motion (or simply flicking your wrist if you'd rather)? Want to juke? Simply make the appropriate gesture with the controller. If it works as well and as naturally as these impressions suggest I see Madden for the Wii as being a bigger step forward in videogame football than even the leap to 3d.

Gaming - Everyone's favorite Italian Plumber

15 years. That’s how long it has been since the last true 2D Mario game came out. At least that was true until this May when Nintendo released New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS. For anybody who grew up playing Super Mario, such as myself, this new entry in the series is a must (and if you didn’t and enjoy playing video games at all go out and get yourself an NES/SNES with Mario now).

While every previous Super Mario Game has evolved the franchise with New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo really has opted to go back to basics. Granted various characters and gameplay elements from all the previous games have been included, even the 3D ones (triple jump and wall jumps for example) and there are even some new gameplay additions, most notably Mega Mario and Shell Mario. But ultimately I think the look and feel of the game will remind people more of the original Super Mario Bros than anything, which is in no way a bad thing (except perhaps for the lack of Yoshi).

In terms of controls and gameplay it is classic Mario. Everything from the plot to save the princess to the world layout and the koopas and goombas should look very familiar. Perhaps most important the controls are spot on and should feel natural almost immediately to any fan of the series. One thing that I was especially happy to find is that Nintendo did not throw in any DS specific features just for the sake of using say the touch screen or microphone. While the DS’s special features have opened up all sorts of new gameplay opportunities it is good to see that Nintendo realizes they don’t have to use them just for the sake of using them.

When it comes down to it New Super Mario Bros. is just fun. Like any 2D Super Mario Bros game you could probably beat it rather quickly if you wanted to, but you are going to want to go back and explore all the secrets to really take advantage of the game. That and it is simply fun to pick up and play a level or 2 from time to time. I should note that Nintendo has also included some multi-player options, but I, unfortunately, have been unable to try them out yet.

Score 9.5 (Out of 10 by increments of .5)

Speaking of Italians (though not really). Viva Italia and congrats on the World Cup win!!! If anyone knows please tell me this, what the hell was Zidane thinking?

Gaming – Play Super Monkey Ball, Save Lives

Despite what some politicians may have led you to believe, it seems video games may not be all bad after all. A recent study actually found that surgeons who played video games like Super Monkey Ball (a great game in its own right. The original is arguably the most played party game among me and my friends) prior to performing certain surgical drills performed better and faster than those who had not. These results supported an earlier study by the lead investigator, Dr. James “Butch” Rosser, which suggested “playing video games sharpened eye-hand coordination, reaction time and visual skills.” So it seems the message here is to start playing some Super Monkey Ball and save lives… or you may at least want to ask your surgeon to.