Snake! Snaaaaaake!!!

Hideo Kojima released a very awesome picture of a Snakeskin 3DS that will launch with the Special Edition of the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D remake for that system when it launches in Japan.  No official word on this until January 20th, and no word whether this will be available in the US for it's Q1 release, but I am already frothing for this one!

The Gaming Journal 1/2/2012

Another slow day in gaming today.  Did manage to score most of the achievements on uDraw: Instant Artist, and got to get greedy with Wario on my lunch break.  Here is how it broke down...

Game Played uDraw: Instant Artist=Xbox360: Time logged: Around 2 Hours

Unlocked the following achievements:

• COLOR CRAZY-30GS
• JUST A WARM UP-20GS
• GET INSPIRED!-20GS
• SIT BACK AND RELAX-20GS
• CANVAS COUNTRY-50GS
• ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST-20GS
• LOOK, NO MESS!-10GS
• FANCY PANTS-10GS
• SPLAT SUCCESS-10GS
• STROKE OF LUCK-10GS
• IT'S CUSTOMARY-20GS
• ANIMATED ARTIST-20GS
• MY PERSONAL EFFECTS-10GS
• LOCKDOWN!-10GS
• PLACE YOUR MARK-30GS
• TILTING HERO-30GS
• LOST IN PAINT-20GS
• ART CAMP CRAZY-50GS
• DOTS TERRIFIC!-5GS
• I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER-5GS
• COLOR FILL CRAZED-5GS
• ARTIST IN TRAINING-10GS
• COLOR CONUNDRUM-50GS
• REMMY'S APPRENTICE-50GS
• INTERMEDIATE ARTIST-30GS
• BEGINNER ARTIST-30GS
• ADVANCED ARTIST-30GS
• GREAT START!-20GS
• PICTURE THIS-50GS
• PERSONAL MASTERPIECE-5GS

Tried for the minigame ones, but found the tilt controls too frustrating, and the alien splat game almost painful.  uDraw is a neat concept, but you have to push down on the stylus too hard to make it fun to draw, and the tilt controls are too awful to have fun playing.  Strangely enough, I enjoyed painting by colors the best and found it slightly relaxing.  Unlocked 30/39 for 680/1000GS bringing my Gamerscore to 104,607.

Game Played Warioland 4=3DS Virtual Console: Time logged about 8 minutes

Got through the intro cinematic and the first level while on my lunch break.  I never beat this on the GBA, so I'm going to try to go all the way this time around.

Game Played Mario Kart 7-3DS: Time logged about 5 minutes

Further customized my Mii and attempted to get three stars on my last 50cc circuit.  Only had time for one race though.  Nothing unlocked today.

Game Played Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword-Wii: Time logged about 40 minutes

Started a couple of side quests, expanded my wallet to now hold 900 Rupees.  I can now carry one more item in my pouch.  Caught a few bugs today and generally ran around delivering Pumpkin Soup and trying to find a missing child.  Still loving the game :)

That was it for 1/2/2012.  I'm off work tomorrow, so hopefully there will be more gaming activity :)

The Gaming Journal 1/1/2012

This new year brings a fresh idea.  Starting today, I will document gaming activity and achievements within games to track progress and maybe lend a hand to those stuck somewhere that I have been able to complete.  So here goes my first journal entry on the first day of 2012:

Game played Mario Kart 7: Time logged 1:11

Today I finished all cups in 50cc with 1st place and unlocked the ability to use my Mii as a racer.

Also unlocked were the following racing mods by coin collecting:

• Cloud 9 Body
• Egg 1 Body
• Slick Wheels
• Mushroom Wheels
• Paraglider

Attempted 150cc races, but only got silver on the Mushroom Cup.  This is going to be a tough go as it seems the computer teams up to crush you at 150cc.

Game Played BlayzBloo-3DS: Time Logged about two minutes

Downloaded it from the eShop for $4.99 and just gave it a whirl for a sec.  Seems fun so far, I'm hoping you can unlock more characters.  The game play is really shallow.  I was hoping for more of a Smash Bros. experience.  I recommend waiting on a price drop on this title.

Slow gaming day as I worked most of it.  I'm about to try the UDraw tablet on the 360 for the first time.  I'm pretty excited about this one :)

Tech Predictions Sure to be Wrong for 2012

Happy 2012 everyone!  I hope 2011 was good to you and the new year brings many amazing things!  With all the news and innovations in 2011, it made me wonder what's to come...I submit to you my list of Seven tech predictions for the last year on earth according to the Mayans.  If we make it as a species, it will be fun to look back on this and see how wrong some of these might be.  Join the time capsule and post your predictions, tech or not, in the comments and let's see if we have Nostradamus in our midst.

1. RIM will stop production of Tablets and Smart phones and become a software only provider and begin to regain profits.
2. Windows Phone will gain HUGE market share with the introduction of Windows 8 tablets, which will raise demand by creating a better environment with PC, XBOX, tablet and phone.
3. Sony and Microsoft will announce a new console, probably at the E3 conference in June.
4. 3D TV's, as they are now, will become passe and will only be invigorated by an affordable glasses-free tech, that's available on a big screen.
5. Nintendo will release six new colors of 3DS systems by year's end to add to the four already available.
6. Shigeru Miyamoto will officially announce retirement, thus crushing many fanboys souls.
7. I will finally catch all 649 Pokemon, just in time for the announcement of a NEW game in the series.

Well, that's it for this installment, I hope to get some good replies!  This will be a fun one to look back on...

Nintendo Loves Fanboys

While Nintendo is still celebrating the 25th anniversary of their phenomenal Legend of Zelda series, they want to celebrate their happiness with you.  For a limited time, 9/28/2011 through 2/20/2012, you can experience the multiplayer hit for the Game Boy Advanced, Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures, for FREE!  You heard correctly. Nintendo knows how to show their fans they love them as this is the 12th free game so far available on the 3DS.  The download is simple, head over to your DSi Ware or Nintendo eShop and download the title gratis.  

But, so you won't forget that Nintendo also wants your hard earned cash, they have also added some mouth-watering 3D game play videos for their upcoming first party hits including Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion 2, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Paper Mario and Mario Tennis.  All these trailers look incredible and prove that the mustachioed plumber still has plenty of game left in him.  Until then, enjoy your free Zelda and play with your friends on this chapter of one of gaming's most beloved series.

How To Get Your Free 3DS Ambassador Games

Earlier this month, Nintendo announced the 3DS Ambassador program, a program meant to reward the early adopters of the handheld who paid the $250 price tag before their price drop to $169.99.  The incentive has been a bit vague and the release dates and instructions on how to attain these games has been scarce.  After a bit of digging, I found how to get them and that the first ten NES games are available as of today!  So, here is a quick guide to walk you through the steps into a nice collection in your Virtual Console.

First go into the e-Shop

Go to Settings and Other

Select Your Downloads

The games will show on the list with a download again option

You will now have access to the 10 free NES Virtual Console Games

The games being given to ambassadors so far are:

BALLOON FIGHT

DONKEY KONG JR.

ICE CLIMBERS

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

ZELDA II: THE ADVENTURE OF LINK

METROID

NES OPEN

SUPER MARIO BROS.

WRECKING CREW

YOSHI

(Remember, to qualify, you must have purchased your 3DS before August 11th, 2011.  The second set of 10 will be GBA titles and will be available for download sometime before the end of the year.)

Zelda 25th Anniversary Flipnote Contest

by jose martinez

Break out the ol' DSi

For all you Zelda fans out there, Nintendo announced a contest that will put your creative skills to the test.  The Make Your Own Zelda Flipnote contest began on August 8th and will run through September 9th.  The object is to create an animation utilizing Zelda characters to tell a short narrative using your DSiWare Flipnote Studio.  You will be able to download a soundtrack for your epic 20 second masterpiece.  The trick is that if you traded in your trusty DSi for a 3DS, you're out of luck, as this application is not on the new handheld.  You can still do things the old way and submit a hand drawn entry, but that just screams carpal tunnel.   In any case, I'm glad I held on to mine, because you better believe there will be an Elvis0fTheDead entry in this contest.  For more details and tips on how                                                                          to draw Link, check out the official site HERE.

                 

Netflix on 3DS Hands On Review

It has finally arrived!  The long awaited Netflix app for the Nintendo 3DS.  So, how does this application fare on the handheld?  Is it everything we had hoped and dreamed?  Here's the scoop:

Reggie announces Netflix support coming to the 3DS

Let's start with how to set it up.  This app is completely simple to find and install.  First, go into the 3DS e-Shop.  There you will find Netflix with the "New" tag and in the first spot.  It will show up as long as you performed the latest update that came out in June.  If not, you'll have to do that first.  It's a free download, so download away.

Super simple to find in the e-Shop

Once you've unwrapped it, tap it to open and you will be asked if you are a subscriber.  If you are, just go to www.netflix.com/activate with the code displayed on your 3DS screen to get the application set up.

This app will get some mileage

Select what you want to watch and enjoy.  The touch screen interface is smooth to control as you swipe through the viewing selections.  This is a very natural way to use the interface and is really a nice addition.  

Touch screen title navigation is welcome

The titles take a bit to load as it is a full feature app.  It shows your que and also all the suggestions and categories.  The system does have a search function by pushing Y, and best of all, if you press B in the main menu, it pops up a window with the categories in text form for fast selection of different categories without loading every single cover art.  This step really speeds up the process.

The picture quality is solid from start to end

The movie loads up fast on the device.  It clocked it at around 15-40 seconds to start after making my selection, which is much faster than I had anticipated.  While viewing movies and TV shows on it, I never had an issue with it having to buffer or adjust picture quality due to a change in signal.  The screen does not provide an HD experience due to the 3DS display, but it is a very clean image from beginning to end.  There is no 3D content available for the 3DS, but the Green Lantern 3D movie trailer that became available a while ago gives me hope for the future of this being available.

One thing that was a happy surprise is the charging dock for the 3DS that comes with the device.  It's absolutely perfect for it to be used in this manner.  I keeps the system charging, while you get to enjoy a hands free viewing experience.  It's almost as if they knew from the start that this service would be available.

Overall, this is a great and reliable experience on the handheld, and offers a great alternative when you're not in the mood for gaming.  It's not 100% mobile as WiFi connection is required for use, but this is a small thing as free WiFi is available in so many places. The app is FREE, which makes it the best value in the e-Shop next to the Pokedex 3D.  Get it now!