Tag: Wii

the ultimate birthday cake

A lot of people are making birthday cakes with video game themes these days, but this one I’m about to show you really takes the cake.  (That was a really bad pun, wasn’t it?  Nonetheless, I refuse to apologize because some of you deserve it.   You know who you are.)   The design of this cake comes from the Nintendo Wii game Super Mario Galaxy (which is one of the best games ever, in case you didn’t know).  Not only is it cake, but it’s also animated.  There’s cake and Rice Krispy treats, but also electrical wiring, motors, MP3 players, a wooden frame, fiber optic lights, and so forth.  (Obviously it’s not all edible, at least for normal people.)

For starters, here’s a picture of it:

super-mario-galaxy-cake

But that picture is not a good representation of it.  At the creators’ homepage, you can see a lot more pictures of it, up close and from different angles.  (Just scroll past the text, unless you’re interested in that.)  But they also have a video of the cake in motion, as well as a few behind-the-scenes shots.  For your convenience, here’s the video:

I read the FAQ by the cake’s creators, and they’re not professional cake-makers.   In fact, they make just 2 cakes a year, or 3 if they volunteer one for a friend.  In the FAQ, someone asked them why they don’t start a cake business, because someone would pay a lot of money for that.  The creators said they don’t want to make it a business, though if someone offered them “a lot of money” they would build them a cake.  However, no one has ever offered them money for it.

The same people have made numerous cakes, with themes like Elmo, Halo, Wheel of Fortune, and so on.  That’s a lot of work for a birthday cake that gets destroyed rather quickly.   But, then again, there are sites that are talking about it (such as this one), so they are getting some publicity.  Maybe they feel famous.

I think it’s pretty safe to say I never got a birthday cake like that… but that’s okay, because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and people like me.   I don’t need any fancy cake to tell me I’m special.

recreation of original Punch-Out

There is a new version of the original Punch-Out!! coming to the Nintendo Wii!  As you probably recall, this was originally released on the first Nintendo, the NES, as Tyson’s Punch-Out!! and was one of the best games on that system.  And, the original game is still fun.

This is a recreation of the original game, using updated graphics and using the Wii’s motion controls, so it has a lot of potential.

Here’s the first trailer for the new Punch-Out!!

Of course, this new version has a lot to live up to, with high expectations.  But hopefully the developers will keep the fun of the original while updating it.

It is scheduled to be released in Spring 2009.

I’m looking forward to it!  I don’t think it can be better than the original, but if they can make it anywhere close to as good as the original, it will be awesome!

unusual video of Wario Land

You should watch this video of Wario Land: Shake It, a new game for the Nintendo Wii.  This looks like it would be a fun and interesting game, but even if you don’t like games, you’ll be surprised by this video.  The whole YouTube site can’t even handle its awesomeness.  (Watch it and you’ll understand what I mean by that.)

Wario Land: Shake It

If you aren’t familiar with Wario, he’s not your typical video game hero.  Actually, he’s more of a bad guy, and the only good he does is so he can get more riches (coins).  As seen toward the end of the video, he gets out of breath from running, and as you can see in other videos / games of him, he sometimes gets some explosive gas.

one way to become a ninja

The Nintendo Wii is good for many things, especially gaming.  But it is about to have a new feature.  There is a new game coming out in March 2008 that trains you to be a ninja!  (Yeah, you heard that right.)  It’s called Ninja Reflex, distributed by Electronic Arts.  As you train and develop your skills with your personal Sensei, you can eventually earn a black belt.  Now you can train to be a ninja in the very comfort of your own home.  But wait, there’s more!  As some of you are probably already intensely hoping for, this game will include multiplayer support, with up to four players.

ninja senseiIt sounds awesome, right?  Not to reduce your expectations any, but, the president and CEO of Nunchuck Games said, “Ninja Reflex channels the accessible multiplayer fun of Wii Sports and the self-improvement aspect of Brain Age into a martial arts universe that is ideally suited for the Wii and Nintendo DS.”  I don’t know if comparing a ninja training game to a combination of Wii Sports and Brain Age is the best strategy for hyping a product.  I’m pretty sure it isn’t.  But nonetheless, this will not dampen my enthusiasm.  Ninja training sounds awesome, especially if you eventually get good enough to beat the crap out of your Sensei (like the third boxing training level on Wii Sports, although you beat him up more when you’re less accurate, which perhaps makes it even more fun).

Now that I’ve given my preview of hype, let me suggest a feature to the people working on the game.  (What?  You mean they don’t visit this site?  Well, they SHOULD!  I’m sharing my tips anyway!)  The game should have an online mode, not just for playing people online, but for when your training leads you to black belt status, the gaming company actually sends you a black belt in the mail.  Somebody should make this happen…