Fall Update

So it's been a bit since I posted, ok, more like four months since anything substantial.  I've been very busy with the new house, work and ramping up for the holidays, but thought I would slam some gaming updates into a single post before the end of the year.

Here we go..

Game Purchases:

This is always a fun topic and despite everything else going on I've made some purchases to keep myself in the incomplete.

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Humble Bundle for Android 3
• Humble Indie Bundle 6 [gift]
• Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
• Resident Evil 4
• DeBlob 2
• Professor Layton and the Curious Village
• Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
• Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

I won't go into much detail other than it's great to finally play LTTP.  I put in a few hours back in Sept and need to get back to it.  So far it's been a really cool game and surprisingly more difficult than expected.

Epic Mickey and RE4....  Well, I was very excited for Mickey as the art style looked good and the hype machine was in full force.  I decided to pre-order it on 11/2 and included RE4 as well since it was selling from Amazon for a good price.  I was shocked to learn that a demo was released a week or two later, prior to release, and it's a good thing.  The short version is that I cancelled my pre-order due to the terrible demo and haven't made it around to re-ordering RE4 yet.  I was very disappointed in Epic Mickey as it had so much promise and it looks and sounds so good.  The problem is that it's just not fun to play and the paint/thin mechanic gets old quickly and interrupts the flow of platforming.  All the useless character side quests don't add anything meaningful that I could see either.

...and then there's Professor Layton.  The release of Miracle Mask for the 3DS caught my eye and I've been learning more about the series ever since.  I hate to admit, but this was one of those games I would ignore based on the kiddie-ish nature of the box art.  After some exchanges on Twitter with KnucklesSonic8 and Parko I started looking at the previous titles in the series, but had no intention of buying them to start from the beginning.  Though the cheap side of me prevailed as Miracle Mask isn't coming down in price for probably another few months so I ended up buying the first game, Curious Village, for about $12 used.  (perfect condition at BestBuy)  I poured about 4 hours into it in the first few days, which is huge for me, and I have to say I'm pretty hooked.  Strangely enough Mrs. Incomplete, a non-gamer, liked the puzzles as well and spent a little time solving the ones I had already gone through.

I happened to notice the next two games in the series at WalMart for a pretty good price ($9 and $14) which I ordered last week.  I'm excited about all things Layton at the moment and am looking forward to going through the games.  

On a related note it's good to see Nintendo continuing to support the puzzle DLC in the first game after all this time.  It was a bit interesting to configure wifi as I guess the 3DS is emulating the DS's OS which doesn't support modern security like WPA/WPA2.  I ended up creating a virtual access point which downgrades the security to WEP, but locks down the connection so only the 3DS can use it.  (yay buffalo routers!)

Demos:

• Marvel Pinball 3D - Cool like the first, just not sure the 3DS is the way to go.
• Fractured Soul - Sort of an interesting concept, but it got boring.
• Adventure Time: HIKWYSOG? - Not sure yet.  I don't watch the show so I don't get all the in-jokes.  I like the Zelda II gameplay and have another 4 demo attempts to get a better feel.
• Rayman Origins - *sigh*  I went through some levels again to compare against my time with the Wii version.  Clearly this port is sub-par and feels terrible.
• Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion - sigh again.  Such a wasted opportunity.

3DS Streetpass:

What, who, where?  That's right, I picked up another streetpass tag in November at work of all places.  I forgot that I left my 3DS in standby and must have picked up someone walking by or at the office next door.  It turns out I swapped some New SMB2 data and had some coin challenges to take on.

First off I think it's still pretty damn cool how all the streetpass stuff works and it was alot of fun to beat that other anonymous person's record.  Then the problem soon sets in....  There's no communication back to that person with your updated score.  (at least I don't think so)  Where are the options to add them as a friend or send some smack-talking swapnotes?

New SMB2 Gold Classics Pack (DLC):

Speaking of NSMB2, anyone else check out the free Gold Classics pack recently?  It's quite the coin explosion and brought me from 12k up to 36k, but I have to say it's fun despite the lack of difficulty.  I'm undecided on purchasing the other packs just yet.  Overall it's good to see Nintendo getting into DLC even if  their pack "bundle" option is just the price of the individual levels.  I guess they provided that option for convenience?

Mario Kart 7 Online:

Even though our time zones are wildly different I caught up with Stevo from nintendonation.net for a few rounds of MK7 online.  I think he was taking it easy on me and I learned a few lessons for the night.  1)  Time to level up in the solo game so I can have access to better vehicles.  2)  My hands hurt after awhile of playing this and I'm not sure how to fix it.  3)  While nothing wildly new for the franchise, MK7 is a fun game and does online well.  (despite my gripes of the blue shell and not being able to switch cars/accessories enough between races)

Mutant Mudds:

Game complete, er finished, er beat.  Hell, I don't know what to call it, but I made it through the last main level [5-4] after purchasing in February, getting to 5-1 in March and running into a big wall of frustration.  It doesn't really matter how long it takes as long as I can stay ahead of Scott from Coffeewithgames.  

Seriously though, this is one of the top 3DS eShop games around and is definitely worth your time.  (even on PC or iOS now!)

Rayman Origins:

November ushered in a month of Wii titles with my new gaming/PC setup in the office which included a number of hours with Rayman Origins.  I'm in area 2, maybe a few levels in and having a blast.  It's just a great platformer that has a good feel, great comedy and looks good too.

DeBlob 2:

I've been tracking it's price for awhile and picked it up for $9 a few weeks ago from Amazon.  The jury is still out and I need to put more time into it before deciding if I like it.  It seems like a quirky, funny game kind of like how Rayman IS, but at the moment it's moving a bit slow for me.  I'm looking for a little more depth and hopefully the next few levels will provide that.

What's Next:

Maybe try to post more than 1.25 times a month in 2013.. :)  Actually I'm collecting data for a post on game expenses of 2012 and possibly a comparison going back to 2008.  Yes, there are pivot tables and I'm contemplating some charts..

I also want to reflect on the 3DS as I've had it for over a year now and had time to play a variety of games to get beyond the honeymoon/3D phase.  Will it remain my favorite now that I have my Wii back or fall by the waste side?

I may also do another "gaming rig" post for the new office and TV setup.  I'm not quite where I want to be with the room or the setup, but it's better than it was and gives me some good PC and Wii gaming along with multiple screens for work.

What have you been up to?  Also let me know if you have any thoughts on the games mentioned or even your gaming rig.  I know some of you might be switching it up soon...

Also, if I don't post again before Christmas or New Year, have a merry one and hope to hear from you soon!