Wednesday, October 2, 2013

September Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played


Coffee Beans
I believe September was my first full month of regular posting, with no data reports! What has the world come to, when there are no data reports? Well, it could possibly be one of the reasons the U.S. government has shutdown, but I'm not positive.

If you only skimmed posts here occasionally in September, here are some posts you might have missed:
Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS (Part 1)
Dear Mr. Iwata, Please fix this Nintendo of America problem...
Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer - Updated Wii U GamePad Version
Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS (Part 2)
Coffee Shop! Permanent Wii U price drops on games!

Now, what coffees did I consume and games did I play in September, even beating one of them? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Coffees Consumed
In our "Coffee House" we roasted up the Beaumont Classic Roast coffee blend daily, which has been a staple coffee blend for us for quite some time now. We went through almost two "270" cup containers of it in September, and I'm still enjoying the blend. It's not too strong, and not too weak.

Another coffee blend I had during September was a Caribou Coffee "Coffee of the Day" blend on a business venture. I don't buy coffee from coffee shops much these days, but if I were to have to choose between a Caribou Coffee "Coffee of the Day" or a Starbucks "Coffee of the Day" blend, I would probably go with the Caribou Coffee more often. While I can enjoy my coffee drinks strong and dark roasted, and I drink them black 99% of the time, Starbucks' coffee from the stores often seems a bit over roasted to me. The Caribou Coffee blend I had was a good medium roast blend, and I didn't feel like I was drinking coffee that had an almost burnt flavor to it.

Games Played
The "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in September is: Pure Chess, Kung Fu Rabbit, LEGO City: Undercover, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Toki Tori 2+, Rabbids Land, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and Pushover.


Pure Chess is now available on iOS and Android devices, and I downloaded the free mobile version of Pure Chess last month on Mrs. Coffee's NOOK HD+ Tablet. I have really enjoyed my time with the game, and if you missed my write up on the mobile version, you can read it HERE. I haven't made any purchase in the mobile version yet, simply because the tablet device I play it on isn't mine. I am planning on getting the Wii U version of Pure Chess when it releases though (hopefully later this month!), and I'm looking forward to getting more than one online match going at time!

Kung Fu Rabbit was my first Wii U eShop purchase. The game released at a low price of only $4.99, and being that it's a platformer game, I figured I would give it a try. I haven't beaten all the levels in yet, but have enjoyed my time with the game and have found it challenging. Kung Fu Rabbit is currently on sale on the Wii U eShop for only $2.49, and the sale ends tomorrow (Oct. 3rd).

LEGO City: Undercover is my September "Game of the Month", well, if I did "Game of the Month" awards! While I started playing LEGO City in August, it wasn't until September that I really put some time into the game. I ended up beating LEGO City: Undercover's story in September, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. If you are even a little bit interested in LEGO City: Undercover for the Wii U, I would highly recommend you give the game a try. Unfortunately though, I encountered a serious issue with the game, that I'll be posting about separately. In short, if you get the game, make sure to plan on playing it and attempting to beat it within 90 days of purchasing it!


Toki Tori 2 received a big update in September, and after the update is now named Toki Tori 2+ on the Wii U eShop. After I updated the game, I played through a few more of the levels, and I am still really enjoying the game because it makes me think. Despite having only two basic moves to start (not sure if more are unlocked or found as you play), the levels and puzzles that I have encountered so far really show me the development team spent time being creative with putting the game together. Toki Tori 2+ will be a game I continue to play through, just slower than other games though due to its pacing and gameplay style. If you enjoy slower paced games, with puzzles that require you to think to progress through levels, you probably will want to check out Toki Tori 2+.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the game played for the first ever official "CoffeeWithGames Game Night". If you missed the posts about the CoffeeWithGames Game Night, you can read them HERE and HERE. While Black Ops II's online Wii U community may be small in numbers, there are many excellent players online and many have achieved the "Master Prestige" level. Amazon is still holding a sale on Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U, with its price down to $19.99 for those of you that might be interested in it.

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed was randomly picked out of a stack of games by Bean 1 and requested for me to play, the very last day of September! I raced several races, on different tracks. I still enjoyed my time with this game, and should probably spend a bit more time beating the main mode and unlocking everything. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: I think the vehicle transformations with the track designs are brilliant! The way some of the tracks can change from lap to lap is something I would like to see in Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, but I doubt that will go as far as this one.

Art Academy: Sketchpad found its way on our Wii U console in September. I wouldn't really classify this as a game, as much as a learning tool. I purchased this for Bean 1, because he has been drawing so much here recently, and I thought he might enjoy it and hopefully learn some things once they get lessons added. We haven't used it a lot yet, but the drawing/painting tools included are pretty impressive (speaking from a non-artist's perspective). If you're not familiar with this title, its description on the Wii U eShop reads: "Art Academy: Sketchpad is a robust art application that anyone can enjoy - from beginners to experts of all ages. Unleash your creativity using realistic stylus and touch screen-based controls. The tools at your disposal allow for an amazing level of detail. The huge variety of pencils, colored pencils, and pastels behave just like the real thing - with additional tools to further enhance your experience."

Rabbids Land was played during September on Talk Like a Pirate Day. If ye missed me post on it, ye can read 'bout me adventures with the game, HERE. Below is a video of my favorite mini-game from Rabbids Land:

Pushover - This is a game I'm helping Phil, of SuperPhillipCentral, test out. He has put the game together for one of his classes, and I was able to first try it out late Monday night. Bean 1 was watching me as I played it, and if you're wondering if it left an impression on him, the very first thing he requested when he awoke from his deep non-coffee slumber on Tuesday was for me to fire up the game! I'm not sure if Phil has any plans to release what he has put together, but if you want to know more about it you may want to keep an eye on his site, HERE.

Questions
Did any of you purchase a new game (or, application) in September like I did with Art Academy: Sketchpad? If so, what did you get? Also, did any of you perhaps beat a game in September, like I beat LEGO City: Undercover, and is it one that you would recommend to others?

On the coffee side, did any of you take advantage of National Coffee Day and get some free coffee, or brew up anything new coffee wise in the month?

13 comments:

  1. It annoys me a little that the "lessons" that we were promised with Art Academy that still haven't shown up. I'm horrible at art. I need those lessons :P


    It's been a busy month for games for me as well. I've been getting stuck right into both FIFA and PES soccer though, and Etrian Odyssey IV which was finally released in Australia. Those have been my main three.... and of course Animal Crossing ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. "It annoys me a little that the "lessons" that we were promised with Art Academy that still haven't shown up. I'm horrible at art. I need those lessons :P"


    I didn't even know there were lessons planned, so I was surprised to see that portion...and like you maybe on the art side, I have trouble drawing stick figures! The odd thing about "coming soon", is that if it has said that since it released, what is "soon" exactly to them?


    I haven't played a soccer game like FIFA or PES in a long time, but the last "soccer" one I did play was Mario Strikers Charged on the Wii and I enjoyed it a lot.


    On Animal Crossing, if we get another one, it would probably end up being the Wii U version, whenever that happens.


    Thanks for the comment and feedback!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Coffee as usual and I'm glad you mentioned starbucks. Honestly I dislike their regular coffee and it always tastes over-roasted, bitter or just plain burnt most of the time. It's only when you add gobs of sugar and flavor with their flappa-mappa of the month does it become tolerable... Anyway, I digress. I did have a Caribou k-cup in August and thought that was ok.


    Games have been pretty light actually with being out of town and busy with work. Trying to get an accurate total on the YTD gaming expenses and some gift card balances to gauge my timing of a Wii U. Probably aim closer to the first of the year.


    3DS:
    - Bionic Commando (Gameboy VC): This game is just plain awesome. Can't say enough good things about it.
    - Animal Crossing NL: Only for a bit. Actually first time I picked it back up since July. Still cool in some ways, though not being an OCD collector does take away a big element of the game. Also was kind of bummed when my favorite town critter left suddenly.


    PC/Steam:
    - Limbo: Still kind of creeps me out at times.
    - Nightsky


    Wii:
    - Bonk's Adventure
    - Bonk's Revenge
    - Super Mario Bros 3
    - Rise of the Guardian: Watched some of it


    Regarding Art Academy, I've been interested in the 3DS version and thought that it had some good instructions. Is it just the Wii U version lacking lessons? I also really suck at drawing, I mean really. Outside of stick figures my mad skills consist of drawing cubes.

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  4. I haven't picked up anything new really. Glad to hear you're enjoying Toki Tori 2 - I haven't played the sequel but the original on the PC was a lot of fun (okay, well, it's not the ORIGINAL original - apparently that game made its debut on one of the Game Boy systems, but you get what I'm saying).

    Pretty good selection of games there - pretty broad variety. My own moth sort of looks like that though. Seems like I've been all over the map myself. No singular focused game or huge release, so I've been working through a handful of smaller review titles like:

    The Enjoy Gaming 3DS titles
    AiRace Speed
    The new expansion to Magic 2014

    But some shooters that don't take a ton of time to work through:

    Just finished Battlefield 3
    Just started Modern Warfare 3

    Poking at my daily iOS games:

    Puzzle & Dragons
    Tekken Card Tournament
    Star Wars: The Force Collection

    I also found some time to play some Heroes of Might & Magic 6 on PC the other day
    And I still do my daily check-in to Might & Magic: Duel of Champions

    I spent most of last weekend playing through Persona 4 Arena

    And I'm o my first Super Bowl in my online league in Madden 25 - hoping to get that game in against my opponent Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  5. STILL on that Bonk kick. I may cave one day and buy one to see what Bean 1 thinks, at that point it may be Bean 2!

    Bionic Commando sounds like one I should look at to get ideas from....maybe. It's actually why I enjoy playing the older VC games some, seeing what the developers were able to do 20 years ago, with less technology.

    On Art Academy, the Wii U version shows something like, "Lessons - Coming Soon". I didn't know it was going to have lessons, so that's good for when they get them up I guess. Bean 1 is drawing a lot these days, so hopefully he can learn some good stuff. We doodled on it one night, and I drew an apple based off one of their pictures, but I was kind of confused with trying to figure out the different things to use. Got the basics down eventually.

    "Anyway, I digress. I did have a Caribou k-cup in August and thought that was ok."

    I'm not a HUGE fan of the k-cups in general, because I'm cheap, but I did learn pretty quickly with them that you need to make the cup (water amount) small if you're looking for a stronger blend. That's my biggest issue with the k-cups, is that I would have to use 3-4 K-cups (at least) to get the amount of coffee for about 2 cups of coffee at my normal brewing strength.


    Thanks for the comment and feedback!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "And I'm o my first Super Bowl in my online league in Madden 25..."
    Not even halfway through the real season, and you're burning through games online!


    I haven't played and beaten any of the Battlefield games as for the single-player campaigns, but I did play Battlefield 1943 some on the PS3 and I think the Beta test for Battlefield 3 on the PS3 2 years ago maybe (can't remember when now)?


    I played and beat Modern Warfare 3's campaign, and played the online multiplayer a decent bit on the Wii when it released. I enjoyed the single-player campaign a good bit, as I thought the story was well done and some of the levels well done with how they flowed together.


    On Toki Tori 2 and the original, not sure if you've seen the news, but Two Tribes is about to release the "original" (Wii version I think) to the Wii U eShop. They're doing it at a discount price of like $1.99 or $2.99 I think.


    Thanks for the comment and feedback!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not sure that EDGE or Rush were ever on Wii, only PC. But yeah, coming to Wii U, $1.99 intro and 2.99 or 3.99 after.


    EDGE has been something I wanted on 3DS for awhile as it's a pretty cool game.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yep, still bonking about as the oldest like's it. Still one of my favorites and while Bonk's Adventure is my original favorite, #2 [Revenge] is growing on me.


    BC is quite a cool game for VC/Gameboy. Not exactly like the NES version in a good way.


    Have to agree on the k-cup. Had a small brew and I'm pretty cheap as well. Using those on a daily basis would cost a fortune!!

    ReplyDelete

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