New Super Mario Bros. Wii game + lunchbox + T-shirt for $59.99 USD

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Peter

Since New Super Mario Bros. Wii reads like a love letter to 20-something gamers who’ve played every 2D Mario title over the last two and a half decades, it seems appropriate that Amazon is selling a bundle with the game, a T-shirt, and–best of all–a New Super Mario Bros. Wii-themed lunch box for $59.99 USD: New Super Mario Bros Wii Amazon Exclusive Limited-Edition Bundle

Remember, New Super Mario Bros. Wii by itself regularly sells for $49.99 USD, so this is a pretty sweet deal. If you’re planning on buying the game anyway and have an extra 10 bucks to spare, please use the link above to help support Brainstorm Warning.

And yes, it’s been 24 years since I first played the original Super Mario Bros. and I’ve since (allegedly) outgrown lunch boxes, but my inner child lit up with innocent glee when I saw this bundle.

On the trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Peter

Judging solely from the trailer, Avatar is the sort of embarrassingly oversimplified, blindly anti-military, pro-ecoterrorism, trope-ridden narrative that has no place in the modern storytelling landscape.

You’re 17 years late, Mr. Cameron. Ferngully premiered in theaters in 1992–and 20th Century Fox at least had the common decency to market it as a children’s movie.

You might have been able to get away with this sort of schlock two decades ago, but Pixar and Miyazaki have since proven that animation, either hand-drawn or computer-generated, can tell deep and complex stories while still appealing to children.

It may well be that Avatar has the kind of moral complexity to engage a modern audience exposed to quality animated and/or science fiction films. There is precedent for great films with awful trailers. If that is the case, I suggest that Mr. Cameron fire the people responsible for compiling the Avatar trailer currently airing on television.

Purchases from a local Game Crazy liquidation sale

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Peter

Game Crazy is in the process of closing 200 stores across the United States. Yesterday, my wife and I visited a local Game Crazy where all items remaining in the store were 50% off.

I picked up the following:

AM CD/DVD Game Cleaner Manual Machine ($5, new). I bought this to replace a hand crank-style Maxell CD/DVD cleaner that I’ve used for about 10 years. One of the parts came off my Maxell CD/DVD cleaner years ago, but I still have it and just plug it back into place any time I needed to clean CDs or DVDs. The AM brand cleaner didn’t come with a lens cleaner disc, so I’m keeping my old Maxell disc handy.

Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand ($10, new?). When I spotted Boktai in the display case, I was somewhat surprised to see that it hadn’t sold already. For those not already familiar with the game, it’s a Gameboy Advance title that has a solar sensor built into the game cartridge. Playing where sunlight reaches the cartridge affects gameplay in interesting and creative ways.

On the drive home from Game Crazy and before I unwrapped the game, I felt a twinge of buyer’s remorse for buying a GBA game for $10 when I already have a backlog of games to get through. I was concerned that the solar sensor might just be a silly gimmick, but after playing through the game’s first mission, I found myself impressed with how the developers (Konami) incorporated the solar sensor feature without making the special hardware feel extraneous or tacked on. The game would be an impressive title even without special hardware, but the solar sensor adds to the experience.

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Video: Nekketsu Oyako (Thermal Blood Parent and Child) (Playstation)

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Peter

Nekketsu Oyako is a beat ’em up also known as Thermal Blood Parent and Child or Hot Blooded Family. The game was released for the Playstation in December 1994 and for the Sega Saturn in July 1995.

On an interesting side note, the game’s first level ends with the player being swallowed whole by a giant whale. The “belly of the beast” trope was listed in a recent GamesRadar article entitled Myth in games.

Click past the break for direct feed footage of the first two stages with Rio selected as the player character.

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Japanese voice cast for Ni no Kuni: The Another World

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Peter

Ni no Kuni (English title: The Another World), the Nintendo DS role-playing game collaboration between Level-5 (Dragon Quest VIII, Rogue Galaxy, Professor Layton and the Curious Village) and Studio Ghibli (My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) looks amazing. The game will also features extensive voice acting.

Below is a list of Japanese voice talent for Ni no Kuni:

Oliver: Tabe Mikako
Maru: Masami Nagasawa
Gyro: Yo Oizumi
Nyandal the 14th: Norito Yashima
Caura: Eri Watanabe
Buhiden: Junpei Mizobata
Shizuku: Arata Furuta
Mari: Chieko Kuroda (Actress starring in Taiyou no Uta)

Source: Level-5 Shares Ni no Kuni Time Frame and Voice Cast

Scribblenauts Challenge 4-11 hint

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Peter

The King and his Sheep are just going to knock a Drawbridge into the lava and a regular Bridge isn’t long enough to cross the chasm in front of the Fort. The Large Wooden Gates are there for a reason.

Scribblenauts Challenge 3-6 hint

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Peter

Having trouble completing Challenge 3-6 in Scribblenauts on the Nintendo DS? Press Up on the directional pad immediately after starting the challenge to see more of the stage. The rest is up to you and your imagination.

Update: Aion open beta keys now available to all North America Fileplanet users

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Peter

Aion open beta keys are now available to all North American Fileplanet users, including those with free accounts. Click here to request an open beta key.

Remember that the open beta client download is over 9GB and the beta ends Sunday, Sept. 13.

Aion “open” beta keys available only via pre-order or paid Fileplanet subscription

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Peter

UPDATE 9/8/2009: Aion open beta keys are now available to all North American Fileplanet users, including those with free accounts.

NCSoft’s misleadingly-titled “open beta” for Aion is not open at all. It requires either a pre-order (which costs money), a Fileplanet subscription (which costs money), or a closed beta key (and if you already have a closed beta key, this article isn’t relevant to your interests).

I discovered this only after downloading the 9+GB (gigabyte) “open” beta client via BitTorrent and installing the client on my computer. Learn from my mistake: Do not download the Aion open beta unless you already have an open beta key. Avoid wasting bandwidth on NCSoft’s false advertisement/bait and switch, skip this beta, and wait for a trial. Better yet, play an online role-playing game by a company with scruples.

Reading about hypoglycemia

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Peter

I’ve suspected for a while now that I have hypoglycemia, a condition where the body has trouble regulating the amount of sugar in the blood. I’ve experienced most of the symptoms for as long as I can remember, but I just thought my body was just being troublesome. I won’t bore you with a lengthy explanation of how frustrating a condition like hypoglycemia can be; a quick perusal of the symptoms should give you a rough idea.

My wife and I already eat fairly healthy. We limit our intake of fatty foods, sweets, caffeine, and alcohol. We choose whole wheat breads whenever we have the option. We avoid fried foods. We try to work vegetables and fruits into our diet. We eat red meat only on rare occasions.

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