Sunday, September 29, 2013
PCA: National Coffee Day! Free coffee notification.
Coffee Beans
This is a quick post, to remind my fellow coffee drinkers that TODAY, September 29, 2013 is National Coffee Day!
If you are out and about on this fine day, there are a few coffee chains celebrating National Coffee Day (that's every day in our house, so not sure why it's only celebrated one day a year at these other places...for SHAME!), and you can get some free or discounted coffee drinks at some of them.
Here are a few coffee chains that are giving away free coffee today:
Caribou Coffee - Get a free small cup of Amy's Blend coffee. You need to print the coupon or show it on your mobile phone to get it.
Dunkin' Donuts - Get a free small coffee using the Dunkin' Donuts mobile app coupon.
Krispy Kreme - Get a free small, 12 oz., coffee.
McDonald's - I believe there are certain McDonald's locations participating as well like last year, giving away free small cups of coffee, but it depends on the location.
I'm already on my second pot of Beaumont Classic Roast coffee for the day, with at least one more planned later this night. So, I won't be making any special trip out to get any at the local coffee shops that are participating in our area.
This Public Coffee Announcement was not paid for or endorsed by any coffee shop, coffee provider, or coffee distributor!
Questions
Have any of you already participated in 2013's National Coffee Day today? Did you find a local coffee shop that was doing a coffee promotion, and if so, which coffee shop was it?
Perhaps you're like me though and enjoy coffee every day, and instead have just brewed yourself some coffee at home on this fine Sunday?
Friday, September 27, 2013
FPS Friday! CoffeeWithGames Game Night - Black Ops II Wii U match footage
Coffee Beans
Well, it has been an interesting week. Sunday started off with the first official CoffeeWithGames Game Night playing some matches in Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U. Then Monday night I started working on putting together a video of one of the matches from the Game Night.
Before I digress into the video rendering issues I have experienced though, the video above is from the very first match of the CoffeeWithGames Game Night on Sunday. I believe it's also the very first video I have uploaded in 1080p, though I'm not very good at telling the difference between 1080p and 720p myself.
I have been using the Elgato Game Capture HD device since January of this year, and while I initially had some issues with rendering files out back in January in my video editing software, I quickly solved that problem. Then Monday happened. I tried rendering out one of the Black Ops II matches from the previous night, as I had done many times before with videos and trailer, but upon rendering the video out from the match, it became EXTREMELY blurry.
So, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and yesterday (Thursday), I randomly spent time trying to fix the rendering issues. Again, I now capture my gameplay videos using the Elgato Game Capture HD, but I edit them together using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0 edition, which is the video editing software I have used for pretty much the last 3 years.
No matter what I tried, how many times I re-recorded the match, re-rendered the video, it was always turning out extremely blurry after rendering the video. So, while my solution for what I HOPE is a permanent fix using Elgato video files with Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD, I think that's for another post altogether.
If you watched the video above, you can see the match went pretty well for the team I was on. I was able to play for just over an hour, and got in several more matches in the game, all playing just regular Team Deathmatch battles. The first match was actually my best match in terms of my kill/death ratio for the night, but I enjoyed all of the matches.
So, while the first CoffeeWithGames Game Night was a success in terms of getting some matches in, being that a new Call of Duty will be releasing in just over a month now for the Wii U, I'm not sure how many more Black Ops II Game Nights there will be!
If you own a Wii U and are interested in Black Ops II, it is STILL currently on sale for just $19.99 on Amazon.com. You can click the image above to be taken directly to the game's Amazon.com page if you would like. If you own a Wii U and Black Ops II, my NNID is Coffees and feel free to send me an invite.
Questions
Have any of you been playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U and enjoying it, but perhaps are now looking forward to when Call of Duty: Ghosts releases in November for the Wii U?
You can see new and used prices for Black Ops II on Amazon.com below, as well as the pre-order page for Call of Duty: Ghosts Wii U:
*Disclaimer: My copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Wii U was provided by Activision for coverage purposes.
CONNECT WITH COFFEE
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Coffee Shop! Permanent Wii U price drops on games!
Yesterday, September 20, 2013, was the first day for the first official manufacturer's suggested retail price drop on the Wii U Deluxe Sets to take place. The Wii U system has been out less than a year now, releasing just last November in the U.S., and the Wii U Deluxe Set originally released with a MSRP of $349.99.
For those of you, unlike myself, that didn't buy a Wii U system when it released or before yesterday, you can now find at least two Wii U Deluxe Sets to buy at its new lower MSRP of only $299.99. There is the standard Wii U Deluxe Set bundled with Nintendo Land, and the newer Limited-edition Wii U Deluxe Set that comes with a digital eShop version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, the special customized Wind Waker HD Wii U GamePad, as well as a digital download copy of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. If you're looking for the White Wii U Basic Set though, apparently that one is going the way of an honest politician, and will probably become more difficult to find as a new product.
So, while the Wii U has now seen its first official MSRP drop, what about Wii U games that have been released? Well, some Wii U games have now apparently seen official price drops, some pretty significant price drops.
Brew yourself some coffee, and see if any of the following new Wii U games prices and deals stand out to you, and if you would recommend any of them to your fellow Wii U gamers!
CoffeeWithGames Game Night! Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U
Coffee Beans
Announcing the first official, official CoffeeWithGames Game Night! While I have randomly played online games with some of you in the past, it wasn't always scheduled. Hopefully, with this new feature (mentioned last month), it will become more of a regular event and allow us to have fun gaming together!
Tomorrow night, Sunday, September 22nd at 11:30 PM EST, I will be hopping into Call of Duty: Black Ops II's online multiplayer on the Wii U, to play some Team Deathmatch battles!
My NNID is Coffees, and if you own a Wii U feel free to add my NNID to your Wii U friend list. I have written a few times before, about how I enjoy Black Ops II and I will be recording my matches tomorrow night as I have in the past as well.
If you want to try and make this CoffeeWithGames Game Night, I'm planning on playing for at least an hour (until 12:30 AM EST), and feel free to leave a comment below with your NNID and I'll look for you tomorrow night and send you an invite! I probably won't be using voice-chat in the game, as my current headsets have been dismantled recently by the Beans (our sons), but that should be remedied in the next month or so, for voice-chat in future CoffeeWithGames Game Nights.
If you just purchased a Wii U this weekend, maybe because of the new system price drop and The Wind Waker HD bundle, right now is an excellent time to grab Black Ops II for the Wii U because it's currently on sale for under $20!
I believe the Black Ops II sale is currently in Best Buy stores and BestBuy.com online, as well as on Amazon.com. So, if you are one of the people that maybe grabbed a Wii U this weekend, planning on hiding it away until Christmas morning from your family, you could always grab Black Ops II at Best Buy today, and hide in a closet tomorrow night playing the game on just the Wii U's GamePad for the first CoffeeWithGames Game Night!
CONNECT WITH COFFEE
*Disclaimer: My copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II for the Wii U was provided by Activision for coverage purposes.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Did ye talk like a pirate, or did ye play as a pirate? Rabbids Land & The Pirate's Precious Jewels - Caffeinated Thoughts
Rapid Rabbid cannon fire. How every Talk Like a Pirate Day should start!? |
Yo-ho-ho! Ahoy, again, me hearties! If ye didn't talk like a pirate yesterday, maybe ye played as one without even realizing what yesterday was!
Yesterday was Talk Like a Pirate Day, and me felt the need to play a game with a pirate.
Me received Rabbids Land for the Wii U from the sutlers at Ubisoft last year, and me fired it up again yesterday aft a while since playin' it, so that me could be chased by a pirate! If yar interested in Rabbids Land, smartly brew yerself up some of the finest fire-roasted black java beans around, and point yer deadlights below to see one of me favorite Rabbids Land mini-games!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 2DS/3DS release plans, cross-platform play, & more! (Part 2)
Coffee Beans
Last week, I published the first part of an interview I had with Ripstone's Phil Gaskell regarding Pure Chess that will soon be heading to the Wii U and 3DS systems. In the first part of the interview, we covered whether Pure Chess has real-time online multiplayer, how many "Play By Mail" games the Wii U and 3DS versions will have compared to the PlayStation 3 version, and if either the Wii U or 3DS version would feature Trophies like what are in the PlayStation 3 version.
I also had the chance to ask what chess fans in general might enjoy about the game, and what features should appeal the most to them. You can read the first part of the it, "Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS - Trophies, Multiplayer, & More", HERE.
Now, are there any plans on releasing Pure Chess outside of European and North American eShops, perhaps in Japan and Australia? Is there any plan to update the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions of Pure Chess to allow cross-platform play?
Brew yourself some coffee, and find out the answers to those questions and a few more, below!
Coffee Shop! Humble Bundle & Wii U Game Deals - 20% off, or more...
Coffee Shop
Next Friday, September 20th, the Wii U is scheduled to receive a $50 price drop at retailers. This will be the Wii U's first official price drop on the Wii U Deluxe Set, bringing its new suggested MSRP to $299.99.
Along with taking a look at some Wii U retail and eShop game deals in this post, I'll also highlight the current Humble Indie Bundle 9 deal that is taking place. So, if you're planning on buying the Wii U Deluxe Set at its new MSRP of $299.99 next week (or, perhaps already have it reserved and paid-in-full), or enjoy indie type PC games this might be a Coffee Shop post for you.
Brew yourself some coffee and see if any of the following game deals stand out to you, and if you would recommend any of them to your fellow gamers!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer - Updated Wii U GamePad Version
Coffee Beans
Earlier this week, Activision released an "Official Call of Duty: Ghosts Single Player Campaign Trailer".
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U, as you can see here, here, and here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the changes, like sliding, in Ghosts might change up gameplay and strategy in online multiplayer.
While Call of Duty: Ghosts will be releasing for the PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 5th, I am most interested in the Wii U version of the game. Why?
Well, there are multiple reasons, but the biggest reasons are Call of Duty: Ghosts' Wii U GamePad Off-TV Play feature, free online multiplayer, and the optional Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls for when my GamePad battery gets low.
I have updated the "Official Call of Duty: Ghosts Single Player Campaign Trailer", to show how I will most likely spend the majority of my time playing the game, showing the trailer on just the Wii U GamePad.
Brew yourself some coffee, and watch my updated Wii U version below!
Pure Chess - Caffeinated Thoughts (NOOK HD+ Tablet version)
Coffee Beans
Pure Chess recently released for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices. The game has been developed by VooFoo and published by Ripstone. Last week, I posted an interview with Ripstone's Phil Gaskell about Pure Chess coming to the Wii U and 3DS, and you can read the first part of the interview, HERE.
What's the best part about the mobile release of Pure Chess though? It can be downloaded and enjoyed for an awesome low price of FREE.
You read that right, Pure Chess for iOS and Android devices can be downloaded for free. Is it worth downloading and using up the megabytes of required space though? In short, absolutely!
What will the free version of Pure Chess get you, as for choices of how to play a game of chess, and what does the Pure Chess "Complete Game Pack" offer content wise? Brew yourself some coffee, and hit the jump to see details of what you can expect from Pure Chess now on iOS and Android devices!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Coffee Shop! 3DS game deals - save 20%, or more!
Coffee Beans
The Nintendo 2DS is releasing next month at a suggested retail price of $129.99, $40 less than the suggested retail price of the regular Nintendo 3DS. It is probably what we will end up getting Bean 1 this holiday season for Christmas, unless there is some other shiny new toy that turns up between now and then.
There are already a few games on my list to get Bean 1 eventually, if not day one, and between now and Christmas I'll be paying closer attention to 2DS/3DS deals. If you currently own a Nintendo 3DS, or perhaps are planning to grab a Nintendo 2DS this holiday season, below are some current Nintendo 3DS games that are at least 20% off their MSRPs or List Prices.
Brew yourself some coffee and see if there are any games that jump out at you, or perhaps that you would recommend to others!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
The CoffeeWithGames birthday gift goes to...
Coffee Beans
Last week, I posted up the "What's a birthday without a gift? CoffeeWithGames turns 4!" post where I talked about what I had done on the site over the last 4 years, and what I plan to do moving forward with it. I was also giving away a CoffeeWithGames birthday gift of sorts, if you left some feedback on the post.
Well, the winner of the gift was..........................Robert!!!!!
(His name is there, you just click and drag your mouse around it.)
What did he win, you might be wondering? The Humble Bundle Weekly Sale: Paradox Games bundle, which included Europa Universalis III: Complete, War of the Roses: Kingmaker, Warlock: Master of the Arcane, Leviathan: Warships, Dungeonland, and The Showdown Effect.
Hopefully the games can help him remain incomplete to an even greater extent, and thanks to everybody that provided feedback on the post!
Friday, September 6, 2013
Dear Mr. Iwata, Please fix this Nintendo of America problem...
There are some people in the video game industry that like to place all the blame for Nintendo's current financial and Wii U situation on Mr. Iwata, the current CEO of Nintendo Company and now CEO of Nintendo of America as well. Some of those people deny that employees and management in other regions for Nintendo, like at Nintendo of America for example, might actually be part of Nintendo's overall problem as well though.
There is currently one Nintendo problem though, directly related to Nintendo of America's region, that I don't think Mr. Iwata made and might not even be aware that the problem exists. At least, I don't think he would have made this decision, based on one of his own more recent comments. It is a problem that Mr. Iwata now as CEO of Nintendo of America can hopefully address and get fixed though, for consumers and Nintendo investors.
What problem do I think Mr. Iwata as CEO of Nintendo of America should fix? Brew yourself some coffee, and keep reading to see!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS - Trophies, Multiplayer, & More (Part 1)
Coffee Beans
Last week, Ripstone's Phil Gaskell told us how they were thrilled at Ripstone to hear about the upcoming Wii U price drop and new 2DS system. Ripstone is planning on releasing Pure Chess for the Wii U and 2DS/3DS eShops in the next few months, and Knytt Underground is looking like it will be an early 2014 Wii U eShop release from Ripstone as well.
With Pure Chess being the first Wii U and 2DS/3DS game from Ripstone, and being a big chess fan myself, I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Gaskell some questions about the upcoming release of Pure Chess on the Wii U and 2DS/3DS. I had not played Pure Chess before sending over the questions, though that has changed in the last week with the mobile version releasing on Android and iOS devices.
What Pure Chess features should appeal the most to chess fans? Will Pure Chess on the Wii U and 3DS offer the same number of "Play By Mail" chess games as the PlayStation 3 version, or has the number been increased or decreased?
Brew yourself some coffee, and find out the answers to some of these questions and a few more, below!
Monday, September 2, 2013
June, July, & August Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played
Coffee Beans
As I mentioned last week, I took July off from posting and worked a bit behind-the-scenes on a few things, as well as had some fun finishing up the Beans' Star Wars May the 4th video from this year. If this is the first post you are seeing in a while, here are two posts from June and one from the end of August I want to highlight:
1) It's Official - Wii's U.S. Nintendo Channel, Forecast Channel, News Channel & more taken offline.
2) Dear Nintendo of America...
3) Ripstone "thrilled" about the Wii U price drop, and 2DS
While I didn't post anything in July and just a little at the end of August, I did find some time to play games during those months and of course, I was consuming lots of coffee, as usual. Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at what games I have been playing and coffees I have been drinking during June, July, and August!
Coffees Consumed
In June and July, there was basically only one coffee we brewed up, and it was the Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast. I had mentioned in the "May Brewed!" post that this is the lowest priced coffee blend we have purchased, and we still find it enjoyable.
I did also consume a good number of the Keurig K-Cups in July, when I visited family and friends on a quick trip out of town. My mom has a Keurig Coffee maker, and lots of Keurig K-Cups that she keeps stored in a Keurig K-Cup Storage Drawer. I probably went through a 10-20 K-Cups on my trip, as well as having some regular coffee brewed as well.
In August, we brewed up two different coffee blends. The first blend was Maxwell House Gourmet Roast, followed by the Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast.
Games Played
Here's the "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in June, July, and August: Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Mutant Mudds (PC), Trine 2: Director's Cut, Kirby Mass Attack, Kung Fu Rabbit, Super Metroid, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, F-Zero, Kirby's Adventure, Toki Tori 2, Donkey Kong, LEGO City Undercover, Super Mario World, and Pure Chess.
Instead of breaking down each individual game that was played over the last several months, I'll highlight and talk about a few of the ones I spent the most time with.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is my most played game on our Wii U, and will probably have the "most played" title for a long, long, long time to come. Why is it my most played Wii U game? Because of Black Ops II's online multiplayer, coupled with the fact it has Off-TV Play. Being able to have a show playing on Netflix, while playing matches in online multiplayer on the Wii U GamePad is how I have played the majority of my matches in the game.
Mutant Mudds Deluxe released for the Wii U eShop on June 13th and I was planning on buying it the day it released, but was fortunate enough to win a copy of the game! If you're wondering how I won a copy of the game, you can read about it and some of my thoughts on the game, HERE. If you have never seen any gameplay footage from Mutant Mudds Deluxe, the following video is of Bean 1 beating the first level using the GamePad's Off-TV Play feature.
Kung Fu Rabbit was our first Wii U eShop game to actually purchase, and not one we either won in a contest or received directly from the developer. A few things were pretty ironic in the month after it released in early May. One of our family members actually had just gotten two rabbits as pets, and we didn't know about it until late May. Then one day in late May/early June, my phone buzzed and it was one of our neighbors letting us know that there was a rabbit outside our house, and had been pretty much all day. I had known about Kung Fu Rabbit releasing, but didn't really look at it until the two rabbit incidents. When I saw it was only $5, I decided to purchase it and give it a try, thinking that Bean 1 might enjoy it as well. While we haven't beaten it yet, we have completed a good number of levels (I think two complete worlds), and Bean 1 is able to finish some of the levels on his own. If you haven't seen any footage or gameplay of how Kung Fu Rabbit plays (it's a platforming game), here's the eShop trailer for the game:
LEGO City Undercover was one of the gifts to me from Mrs. Coffee and the Beans this year for Father's Day. The opening cinematic I think is very well done, in typical LEGO game humor, and I have enjoyed riding and running around the city so far. While LEGO City Undercover doesn't have any local (or, online) multiplayer that Bean 1 and I can try, Bean 1 does enjoy driving (and crashing) vehicles around the city, and he is learning to follow the pathway points to the next mission objectives in the game. From my early impressions of the game, I think this is a great choice for parents with younger children that might be looking for a more kid friendly/family friendly open world game. It also has at least one coffee reference in i
Pure Chess is scheduled to be releasing later this year for the Wii U and 3DS, but you can currently get it on the PlayStaton 3 and PlayStation Vita, and as of last week you can now download the game for "FREE" on iPhone, iPad, and Android type devices. Mrs. Coffee has an eReader tablet device and I downloaded Pure Chess to it last week, and have really been enjoying it. If you enjoy chess, or have ever been interested in it, I would highly suggest downloading Pure Chess.
So, from June until now, I have had four new games added to our Wii U library: Kung Fu Rabbit, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, LEGO City Undercover, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate which isn't even opened yet. Mutant Mudds Deluxe was the most played over the last few months out of all of those, though I have enjoyed my time with the other two new Wii U games. As always, if you own a Wii U feel free to add me to your Wii U's friend list. My NNID is Coffees.
Questions
Have any of you purchased or had new games added to your video game library over the last several months, and if so, are you playing any of them on a regular basis?
Also, did any of you find yourself brewing up new coffee blends during the last few months, like I did with the Keurig K-Cups on my trip out of town?
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