Viva La Blob Revolucion!

Apparently blobs of color aren't just cute, they can be downright revolutionary:



De Blob has been percolating for a while, but this certainly re-piqued my interest in what is shaping up to be a truly unique Wii game.

The Best of the Wii

Only Nintendo could have had me running around like a fool at ungodly hours in the morning on Black Friday 2006 in search of an elusive Wii.

A year later I cannot find a reason to regret that trek through toy stores, video game stores, big box retailers, a Sears (of all places) and finally the holy duo of Costco stores on opposite sides of town. It amazes me that people are still having to jump through these hoops more than a year later!

In hindsight, the Wii lives up to the hype. It has successfully achieved our goal of shifting some gameplay back into the living room from our computers. Yeah, some of the early games we got were oversold and underdeveloped, but there have been some real gems.

Here is my take on the best that has made it home since we got our beloved glowing blue machine:

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
For sheer fun, it is hard to beat Lego Star Wars. This is a simple straightforward game. Yeah, there are denser, more intricate games out there, and I'm fully aware this is just a glossed-up port from the old versions, but who cares? We have wasted endless hours retracing our steps looking for elusive Minikits and bonus bricks. More importantly, there aren't that many games that really let two players share the game in such a satisfying way, let alone with lightsabers in hand. The game is fast paced and whimsical. Darth Vader using a polaroid to explain things to Luke Skywalker? Priceless.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
If you want dense and gorgeous, this is the game for you. In contrast to Lego Star Wars this is a complex, dense world that requires your undivided attention. This was the launch title that really got the Wii going and it was worth the hype. With intricate game play that built consistently through endless hours of discovery, Twilight Princess truly raised the bar. Even watching someone else play is an experience. The wizards at Nintendo designed a lush and beautiful game that succeeds on a more important front: It is thoroughly challenging.

Super Mario Galaxy
Fast forward a year later and Nintendo hits another home run -- this time with their whimsical plumber on his never ending quest to save his dearly beloved princess from the evil clutches of Bowser. Where Zelda was dark and dense, here it is all about bright colors and hyperactive settings. Hopping from planet to planet, you realize the broad canvas the game creators created, and how easily this game could have been mediocre. But clever animation, a good sense of humor and crisp game play controls make this a must-have for the Wii.

Excite Truck
I would never have purchased this, had it not been included in that fateful Costco bundle. I mean, off-road 4x4 racing? One of the best games we own? Really? Yes, really. The controls are a bit iffy sometimes and there's not much more to it that that description. So if you want to hate, there you have your reasons. That said, this game has gotten more action than any of the rest we own. Sometimes simplicity trumps all else. There is something supremely gratifying about super turbo jumping your way to the finish line!

Elebits
Do you remember those cool supernatural zappers in Ghostbusters? If ever there was a use for the Wii Remote, that would be it. Apparently I was not the alone in thinking that. While a Ghostbusters game will have to wait a bit, the guys at Konami clearly got the message with Elebits. Instead of chasing specters, your job is to find little energy thingies hiding throughout a house. There are few things more gratifying than zapping sofas around a room with a flick of your wrist!

Rayman Raving Rabbids 1 & 2
Slamming doors on outhouses. Cow flinging contests. Washing underwear competitions. Sawing branches. Carrot Juice spraying. Oh, yeah, and plunger shoot-em-ups. All with screaming, yelling, yes, raving rabbits. While the first version was sometimes a bit clunky in the controls department, the warped Frenchmen behind this sublime brand of lunacy have brought their A-game to the sequel. There have been plenty of party games in the past year, but these are by far the cream of the crop! Not only will you want to play this together with friends -- it will make you laugh together too!

Super Paper Mario
Considering how amazing Super Mario Galaxy turned out to be, it is very easy to forget the placeholder Mario game that Nintendo released earlier in the year. Much more similar to the old Super Mario Games, this one is a more straightforward take on the plumber and princess story. For the most part a scrolling game, if you played the old ones you will feel right at home with this one. That is when the game flips things around on you and forces you to learn different skills you need to beat the big bad monsters. This Mario was a worthy challenge over the summer, and stands on it's own.

Wii Sports
Simply perfect. These five games were a masterstroke in defining what the Wii can be. Even a year later, with all the fancier games that have followed, it is hard to knock what Nintendo achieved with this game. Anyone can play and that makes it the great gaming equalizer. When even people who claim to hate video games fall in love, you know that this is much bigger than the hardcore gamers would lead you to believe.

Here's a few others worth checking out:

Dance Dance Revolution: I have no rhythm whatsoever, so this one sometimes just frustrates me. That said, any video game that really gets you moving is a good thing.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution:
This is a bare bones game that really makes good us of the Wii's motion sensing technology. While there is not much to it, for the price you really do get a good solid game.

The problem with playing with cute digital bunnies...

I have to hand it to the cracked out geniuses at Ubisoft. Whatever their marketing team is smoking, I want some.

Check out this brilliant promo for Rayman Raving Rabbids 2:



Considering Lego Star Wars, and a shrink-wrapped Super Mario Galaxy are sure to demand too much attention in the coming weeks, it may be a while before we get to plunging rabbits.

How can your resist?

There goes another $50 of goofy fun to feed the glowing blue machine.

Racers use the force for amazing Mexican food

Three things I'm loving after this weekend...

1) The Amazing Race 12

The Amazing Race is finally back and it's still, by far, the best thing on TV today. While we may soon see a drought of comedies and dramas on TV, rest assured, we have plenty of globe-trotting fun ahead of us still!

Two episodes in, I'm generally liking this batch of bickering travelers. The first few eliminations got rid of deserving teams (the first for being out-jackassed by a real jackass, the second for just not keeping up).

I have no clue who will make it to the million dollar mat. There are plenty of strong teams running around right now trying to catch up to Phil Keoghan.

I'm just glad to be along for the ride. So far they've been to two of my favorite places in Europe, Ireland and the Netherlands. I can't wait to see where the camels come from next week!

Now if only they would hire someone to wipe off the cameras this season when it rains...

2) Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace

We took a drive up to Boulder, CO today to wander around the Pearl Street Mall and enjoy a beautiful sunny day. A while back we'd read a review of Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace in Westword, so we'd kept it in our back pocket for the next time we trekked in that direction.

The review was right. We only sampled their brunch and lunch offerings, but it's superb Mexican food, with their own twists. We started with and avocado salsa with fresh chips that was a perfect mix of soft avocados with a bit of mild tanginess. I had some garlic shrimp tacos which were absolutely perfect. They came with a Mexican coleslaw which I thought I would hate, and ended up devouring. Others had a chorizo torta, which looked a little heavy, but delicious, and an enormous seafood burrito with fried oysters, shrimp and other things I don't remember. It was like no burrito you have ever seen and it looked mouthwatering.

If you're up on the mall up in Boulder, make a point of checking Centro out.

It's fantastic fresh food, with clear Mexican flavors done in great unique ways.

3) Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for the Wii

Lego Star Wars has been an ongoing relationship this year. It was love at first sight as we played through it. But the dark side crept in slowly, leading to some serious hate dealing with glitchy Game Cube memory cards and controllers.

In the words of Yoda, "Hate leads to suffering," so, not being gluttons for punishment we put the controllers down for a while, knowing a proper Wii version was on its way.

The wait is over, and the verdict is in: The dark side of the Game Cube is gone. Long live the Wii.

While this new version of the game is just a slightly tweaked combination of the two games that came before it, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk are a significant improvement. It is much more satisfying swashbuckling your way towards the Lego Death Star, than just thumbing it in.

It's not the most complicated game around. It's just plain, make-you-smile fun. The story elements have a wicked sense of humor and there's something sublime about using your light saber to smash Lego's to pieces. Watching C-3PO hop around when a leg pops off? That's just classic.

I hope Super Mario and his galaxy of friends are patient next week, because I think they may have to wait in line a bit while we knock out a Death Star or two.

Getting a charge out of your ports

From the it's so brilliant, I can't believe no one did this before file:

The USB rechargeable battery via Engadget. Next time your wii remote or other alternative electronic device goes dead, just unplug your mouse and keyboard, and voila: New AA's in just four hours.

You can't swing a cow these days without hitting a sequel

There's a sequel to Rayman Raving Rabbids coming soon for the wii.

It involves multiplayer underwear washing.

Need I say more?