My very "coffee with games" birthday...

Coffee Beans
Last week, as has happened every year for my entire life on the same day, I turned another year older. Crazy, I know.

Last week, on my "September Brewed - Coffees Consumed, Games Played!" post, SOMEBODY attempted to spill the beans about my birthday in the comments. FYI, I know who you are, and where you sleep!

So, what items did I get for my birthday last week? Brew yourself some coffee (if you haven't already), and take a look below (picture included for skimmers)!

August Brewed - Coffees Consumed, Games Played!

Coffee Beans
September 2012 is already upon us, and August has vanished like the Statue of Liberty when David Copperfield is around. If you just visited the site occasionally when you saw CoffeeWithGames posts pop up on other sites, here are a few posts you might have missed in August:

• Critics vs. Customers! New Review Feature
• Played more than Mario? Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Hours Report
• Critics vs. Customers! Best & Worst 3DS Launch Titles
• President Obama, Space Camp, & Six Flags Fun Park? How they are oddly connected.
• Did You Board the Nintendo 3DS XL Hype Train?
• Free Games Giveaway! Connect With Coffee
• CoffeeWithGames Turns 3!

September has just started brewing, but what coffees did I consume and games did I play in August? Brew yourself a fresh pot of coffee, and let's take a look!

Coffees Consumed

The three Green Mountain coffee blends I had listed for August, were from our trip when we visited family and we were using my mom's Keurig coffee machine. The Green Mountain Coffee Gingerbread, Green Mountain Coffee Golden French Toast, and Green Mountain Coffee Spicy Eggnog were all brewed and consumed in early August, before we made our trip back home.

The Maxwell House Dark Roast coffee blend was waiting for us when we arrived home from our trip, sitting on the shelf right where I had left it, imagine that! It lasted us a few more days, and when it ran out Mrs. Coffee purchased us the Maxwell House Gourmet Roast. The Gourmet Roast blend lasted us almost until the end of August, and then Mrs. Coffee purchase us the Maxwell House House Blend coffee. We still have right around half the container of it as September has started up, so it should last us a little while longer.

Maxwell House is our "go to" coffee blend now, for two reasons really. It has a good price and decent variety of coffee roasts available. We usually buy the "240 6 FL OZ CUPS" ground coffee containers, and enjoy them while they lasts.

Games Played

What's the "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in August? They are: Super Mario Bros. 3, New Super Mario Bros. DS, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, PAYDAY: The Heist, Blacklight: Retribution, Rage of the Gladiator, Madden NFL 13 Demo, Punch-Out!!, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Little Big Planet, and GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64.

Super Mario Bros. 3 - We have made it I think to World 6 now, maybe World 7. It has been about a week since we last played it, but we are making slow progress in it. Bean 1 has greatly improved though, and can now beat multiple levels in the game just by going through them with normal items found in the levels.

New Super Mario Bros. DS - Bean 1 was really enjoying this one, until the DS he was using stopped functioning properly. He still runs around the game, but for some reason the DS' touch screen does not register touches, so changing World maps and using stored items in the game can't be done anymore. The bottom screen displays everything properly as it should, but for some reason the touch function just doesn't work, even after trying to calibrate it again. We had completed the game, and were working on all the secret exits before the touch screen stopped functioning.

Super Mario World - Bean 1 and I have beaten this one a few times, using the "Star Road" shortcuts. Bean 1 often calls the game "Mario Super World", but like Super Mario Bros. 3 he has made some great progress in improving his game-play, and can complete entire levels on his own now.

Super Mario Bros. - Playing through and beating the original is still challenging, and if you haven't played it, I highly suggest going into the final level with a fire flower at the least.

Super Mario 64 - Bean 1 has "finished" one mission in a level all on his own. He is able to run around most of the levels pretty well now, knows how to use the cannons, and enjoys climbing trees in the game. The first Star he found on his own was in "Course 1 BOB-OMB BATTLEFIELD".

PAYDAY: The Heist - I played another level on my Steam version in August, and it reminded me quickly of how touch the A.I. can be in the levels! It's definitely a challenging game and there are a lot of police officers, SWAT team members, etc., thrown your way as you try to complete your mission objectives.

Blacklight: Retribution - A free FPS game? Good. A free FPS game on Steam? Awesome! I have enjoyed my brief time with Blacklight: Retribution, though I haven't yet purchased any of the in-game items. I should probably start a video game "schedule" and post it up, where it will have certain times and games I will be playing and maybe some of you could join in. Otherwise, my schedule right now is pretty spastic.

Rage of the Gladiator - I played and completed a few matches in the game, and will probably be playing a few more this month as well.

Madden NFL 13 Demo - I gave the demo a try for the PlayStation 3. I won a few games, and lost a few games. The demo didn't sell me though, because of small things in it that I don't think the Madden series should have considering how long they have been making them. Players running through apparent hologram people on the sidelines, cars that look like they're made from cardboard boxes, no replay function, terrible camera shots of recently completed plays. Perhaps the retail version fixed some of the issues before it shipped, but the demo didn't sell me on the game.

Punch-Out!! - I'm still slowly making my way through Title Defense mode, I completed on more match in Title Defense mode in August, but didn't play it but one night.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - I think I have made decent progress in the game, and I have been enjoying my time with it. I did get "lost" or confused on how to make progress at one point, but that was resolved after taking a break and picking it up again. I'm not sure how many hours of game-play I can expect from it, but I have probably played it around 10 hours so far.

Little Big Planet - I started this up for Bean 1 randomly one night in August and he is making a little progress with the game-play, but having to hold the R1 button to grab onto objects is a little challenging for him still. I had never really played it before, and I am finding it interesting as I play through some of the levels with him watching. I might need to start a new file though, and start from the beginning to understand the storyline and more of the game-play elements in it, but so far the game-play seems pretty solid and I like the graphical style in the game.

GoldenEye 007 - Which one? GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64. The game turned 15 years old on August 25th, and I put many hours into back when it originally released. I have been playing through some of the single player missions, and enjoying the game. If I can ever "pull the trigger", I will have two posts up on GoldenEye 007 sometime this week (said that last week also!).

Thoughts/Questions

I enjoyed all of the games I played in August, even my brief games with the Madden demo, though it failed to sell me on the game. If you are looking for a great way to play the old NES and SNES Mario games, I think buying a cheap Wii console and purchasing the Mario games off the Virtual Console is a great way to go about it.

If you have a Steam account and like FPS games, I do recommend giving Blacklight: Retribution a try, especially considering its free. If any of you have PAYDAY: The Heist on Steam or for the PlayStation 3, and want to try some cooperative matches in the game, leave a comment below or feel free to email me at Scott(@)CoffeeWithGames.com to let me know when you play the most.

What video games did you play in August, and did you have a drink of choice while gaming? Are there any games you played in August that you would recommend others to check out? Also, if any of you are Nintendo DS owners, have you ever had an issue where the touch screen stopped registering any "touch" on it? If so, were you able to fix the problem?

The "Free Games Giveaway" winner is...

Coffee Beans
Last Saturday, I posted up the "Free Games Giveaway! Connect With Coffee" post. It contained details of how to enter a contest/giveaway for the PC games BIT.TRIP BEAT, Fieldrunners, SpaceChem, and Uplink. The contest/giveaway ended Thursday, and the picture above shows that I did the drawing for the winner as I have done in past contests. Empty coffee container, drop the names in it, shake it up, pull one out. The coffee container used for the drawing was a 33 oz. Maxwell House Gourmet Roast container that "MAKES UP TO 270 6 FL OZ CUPS" of coffee.

Who was the winner of the games? Jump past the break below to find out!

Free Games Giveaway! Connect With Coffee

Coffee Beans

Do you like free games? Here's a chance for you to win not just one game, but four games! Fieldrunners, BIT.TRIP BEAT, SpaceChem, and Uplink are up for grabs, and each is compatible with Android, Windows, MAC OS X, and Linux platforms.

Not only will you get the games, but you will also get the official soundtracks for each as well. Now, how do you go about entering? Brew yourself some coffee, and take a look below!

Critics vs. Customers! New Review Feature

Coffee Beans

What is "Critics vs. Customers"? The image above shows the "professional" critic review score average for a Wii retail game as 48.41%, and the Amazon.com customer review score average for the exact same game as 87.08%. How can there be such a huge difference?

If you have wondered why I usually write professional, as "professional" when it comes to the general video game critics' review score average in my posts, it's because I find most of the critic review scores for games to be so similar to each other, and it's almost like I can get more useful information about games from reading user reviews on Amazon.com, video game forums, and smaller blogs, than I can from reading reviews from sites that are supposed to be considered "professional".

The "professional" critics are often getting paid to play the games they review (either paid for writing the review and/or getting a free copy of the game), while the majority of the user reviews are probably from paying customers that are just trying to inform other potential customers of the good/bad they can expect from the game.

With Critics vs. Customers we will look at a wide variety of games and see how games did with the critics' review score averages from MetaCritic.com and GameRankings.com, and customers' review score averages from sites like Amazon.com. General information and trailers about the games will be provided as well if possible, and maybe even more developer feedback on the posts.

If I have played the game being covered then the piece will probably be titled, "Critics vs. Customers AND Coffee" (or something close to it), and I will try to give my insights on the game and what I thought was bitter and/or sweet about it.

Caffeinated Thoughts
Many times game developers will have in their contracts that they may get a bonus or higher return on their games, if their game can meet certain MetaCritic review score averages. If you were to take a look at the image above and base your opinion on the game just on the "professional" critic review score average, you might not even give that game a try.

Why should developers not get a bonus because the "professionals" apparently are the wrong target audience for the game and perhaps don't even complete the game before writing their "reviews", while the customers that are playing, and paying for, the very same game seem to really be enjoying it?

I wrote a post on this topic of video game reviews, "Should There Be Game Review Standards?", ironically just over 2 years ago (almost to the date of this post being published). I hope this new feature can perhaps shine a spotlight on older games, and even new releases, from a different angle and give potential buyers a different look at what paying customers think about the games, instead of just the paid critics.

Question
Can you identify which game is used my image above, with the critic review score average of 48.41% from GameRankings.com and the customer review score average of 87.08 from Amazon.com?

Coffee, or chocobos? FINAL FANTASY FABLES: Chocobo's Dungeon Hours Report

Do you have a favorite chocobo?

Coffee Beans
     FINAL FANTASY FABLES: Chocobo's Dungeon was released for the Wii on July 8, 2008 with a MSRP of $39.99. The game was developed by h.a.n.d. and published by Square Enix, and it received an ESRB rating of "Everyone 10+" with "Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes" listed as content for gamers and parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have U.S. Wii owners spent retrieving memories in Chocobo's Dungeon? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Drinking coffee from a Mario castle? Not exactly.

Sorry Mario, but your coffee is in another castle?

Coffee Beans
     Mario has a history of visiting castles, but often leaving them in worse shape than when he enters them. Super Mario World is a perfect example of this as Mario not only goes in and removes certain castle residents, but he then destroys most of the castles making sure the residents can't return.
     We have been playing Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64 a lot over the last month and seeing many castles in the games. Bean 1 says things like, "Let's go to the castle!", or "Mario goes to the castle!", or "We beat the castle!". Anything to do with the castles seems fun for Bean 1, and he really enjoys playing/watching the castle levels in the Mario games.

     Perhaps the castles in Mario is what influenced me to finally drink coffee from a castle. What do I mean by "drink coffee from a castle"? Brew yourself some coffee, and then take a look!

December Brewed! Coffees Consumed, Games Played - Happy New Year!

Coffee Beans
     Happy New Year! December was super busy, with January and the new year in full swing, let's take a quick look at the coffees and Ed Hardy Energy Snacks I consumed, and video games I played in December.

Coffees (and Energy Snacks) Consumed in December
     Maxwell House Dark Roast - I believe this was purchased by Mrs. Coffee for us early in December, and was one of the 270 cup coffee containers. It didn't survive through December, but we did enjoy it.
     Community Coffee - I consumed several different blends of this during December. We had some Community Coffee Medium Roast at our house, but we also consumed some Community Coffee blends while we were visiting family in Louisiana.  Mrs. Coffee's family likes to brew the Community Coffee blends.
     Folgers Coffee - This was another coffee blend I consumed when we were visiting family.  The Folger Coffees blends are what my mom likes to brew.
     Maxwell House Gourmet Roast - This is another big 270 cup coffee container, that was purchased after we arrived back home from Louisiana.  We still have a good amount left, and it should last us at least another 2 weeks or so.  I think Mrs. Coffee enjoys this blend a good bit, because it's the second time she has purchased it in 2 months.
     Trader Joe's WAKE UP Blend - Upon arriving home from Louisiana, we had a lot of packages in the mail.  One of the packages was pretty big, and it contained a 28 oz. (1 LB 12 OZ) container of this Trader Joe's WAKE UP Blend Medium Roast coffee.  Like in the past, this Trader Joe's coffee blend was mailed to me from fellow reader Charlie, who writes on his own blog at NicodemusAtNite.com.  Thank you Charlie!
     Ed Hardy Coffee & Chocolate Rocks - What do you do to stay awake while driving through the night? Well, I chose to eat some Ed Hardy Coffee Rocks, and the Chocolate Rocks, to help me stay awake.  I found the Ed Hardy Energy Snacks to be great while driving, as I was able to eat a few at a time, without overdoing it.  I ate them in moderation, so I would not become super caffeinated and get pulled over for driving 100+ mph, but I was in the driver's seat for about 13 hours with the help of Ed Hardy's Energy Snacks.  Not only did I find them useful, but I discovered Mrs. Coffee was sneaking some of them after we made our final stop!

Games Played in December
     Super Mario Bros. - I played this random nights in December, as our oldest son plays the "delay fish" game before bed.  Basically, the "delay fish" game is where he names everything he can possibly think of to delay going into his room by a few minutes, that I may fall for. Super Mario Bros. is one of those things.  I did end up beating Super Mario Bros. in December, when Mrs. Coffee and I had some friends over one night for a Christmas get together. It took me multiple tries, but I eventually made the dash just right, and hit the switch(if you have played it, you know what I'm talking about).
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Played some more online, and a bit more of the single-player for a video project (not just the coffee one).  Haven't played it since we left before Christmas, and since we made it back. Perhaps a few rounds in a bit to see how it's playing would do well.
     Tenchu: Shadow Assassins - A game on my New Year's Video Game resolution list.  I had played this on and off, but really started playing it a good bit in December attempting to finish my resolution.  Did I finish the game?  That's for another post!
     New Super Mario Bros. Wii - When Mrs. Coffee and I visited family out of town, one of my friends brought this over to my parents' house and Mrs. Coffee, he, and I played through this in one night.  We "completed" the game, by using the canons (he knew where they were), and defeated the final boss in just over 3 hours.  I did record a lot of it, but my PC's HDD is almost 100% full, so I'm having to shuffle files around now.
     Endless Ocean: Blue World - Another game on my New Year's Video Game resolution list.  I had played this almost 2 years ago, but started a completely new file in December so I could try and actually pay attention to the storyline.  I have enjoyed my time with the game, actually much moreso than I thought I would.  Was I able to reach the end of Endless Ocean: Blue World though?  More later!

Filtered Thoughts
     Can you all believe another year has already flown by?  Crazy.  If any of you are wondering, "Coffee, why aren't you posting much right now?"  Well, we were out of town for a little over a week, then I was sick.  I have been working since we got back also, and now school is starting up.
     Also, to add a little more to my craziness, as I mentioned above, my computer's HDD is nearly 100% full (typing this on Mrs. Coffee's laptop actually), and I just installed a new PSU and GPU (Christmas gifts), and am waiting on a DVI to HDMI cable to show up any day now, because the one that came with my PC is AWOL.  Once I get my desktop back 100% functioning with the HDD cleared off some, posting should pick back up a bit.

Questions
     What coffees did you consume (or other beverages) and games did you play during December?
     Also, do any of you have Endless Ocean: Blue World by any chance?

Hot Coffee in Modern Warfare 3? Yes Please!

What good are night vision goggles, if your eyes can't stay open to use them?
Order of successful night vision goggles usage: drink coffee, then use night vision goggles.

Coffee Beans
     What's more awesome than drinking coffee and playing video games? Drinking coffee, and finding coffee related items/references in video games while playing!
     I received Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the Wii last month, and as I was playing through the game's single-player campaign I recorded a lot of footage from the levels.
     I was still early in the campaign, when I ran across something coffee related. What was it? Take a look below.

November Brewed! Coffees Consumed, Games Played

Coffee Beans
     First, if you are the proud owner of a 2011 Club Nintendo Original Calendar, don't forget to change your month to December!

     Now, November was a great month! Not only was it Thanksgiving, and we have a lot to be thankful for, but we also had a family member visit us for a week. I was able to play a good bit of games, and consume coffee and caffeinated products throughout November. So, without further delay, let's take a look at the games I played and the coffees I consumed in November!

I Drank Coffee from a Toilet, and Will Continue!

Coffee Beans
     Have you ever heard the phrase, "My coffee tastes like toilet water!", or something similar?  Well, I drink my coffee black, so some of you may think that phrase applies to my coffee.  It has gone a step further though, and I can now say that I have consumed coffee from a toilet, and I will continue!

     What do I mean that I have consumed coffee from a toilet?  Take a look!

October Brewed! Coffees Consumed, Games Played

Coffee Beans
     I turned a year older early in October, and you can read about some gifts Mrs. Coffee got for me HERE.  I have been working more hours each week than I would like, especially with school and full-time family duties each day, but I am grateful for a job; especially one where I can grab a cup of coffee each day on my way home.  Speaking of coffee, if you missed my review post, "Surviving 48+ Hours Without Coffee?  Ed Hardy Energy Snacks Review", you can read that to see how I went for just over 48 hours without any coffee, and I didn't get a caffeine headache!
     Now with November brewing, what coffees and caffeinated products did I consume and what games did I play in October?  Let's take a look!

September Brewed! Coffees Consumed, Games Played

Coffee Beans
     Tests, homework, tests, homework, family, tests, homework, work, tests.  This is how I pretty much feel September went, along with daily coffee consumption of course, and finding time to play a few games as well.
     So, with October already brewing, let's take a look at the games I played, and the coffees I consumed during September!

The Winner of 2 Years' Worth of Coffee Is...

Coffee Beans
     Last month, I posted up a contest/giveaway for 2 years' worth of coffee, and that contest/giveaway is now over!  To enter the contest, the entrants had to write a poem about coffee, with at least one video game reference in it.
     If you have entered any of my contests/giveaways in the past, you know how I usually randomly select the winner; but for those of you that don't know how I select the winner, the images below explain it(you may remember the first two images):

     So, who won the contest/giveaway and what was their poem?  Let's take a look!

Grab Your Wakizashi! Samurai Warriors 3 Report

Coffee Beans
     Samurai Warriors 3 (SW3) was released for the Wii in North America on September 27, 2010 with a MSRP of $49.99.  The game was developed by Omega Force, and published by Nintendo for its release in the United States and Europe.
     Samurai Warriors 3 received a "Teen" rating from the ESRB with "Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco, Violence" listed as content for parents/gamers to be aware of.
     SW3 is classified by Nintendo as a "Tactical Action" game on its press page, and the game features a single-player campaign, local split-screen multi-player, as well as online multi-player for 1-2 players.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent hacking and slashing in Samurai Warriors 3 since it released last year?  Let's take a look!

Trader Joe's Coffee - Interview with NicodemusAtNite.com's Charlie

Coffee Beans
     If you have been reading my site for a while, you may remember a post from June 2010 which was titled, "Coffee by Mail?!"  In the post, I stated how my friend Charlie, who writes on his own site NicodemusAtNite.com, had mailed me a package of Trader Joe's coffee.
     Well, last month, another package arrived at the house from Charlie, and it contained this:

     Charlie and I met through a mutual friend, and I believe the first time we met we played GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64.  I remember we only played one match, and it was on the Temple level.  GoldenEye 007 was easily my most played Nintendo 64 game, and I enjoyed the game's single-player as well as its multi-player.  It was not until I played against Charlie in that match though, which was in 2002 or later, that I realized the respawn points were pre-determined in the levels, and he knew exactly where they were!
     Charlie started NicodemusAtNite back in April of 2009, and his writing/blogging was part of the inspiration for me starting CoffeeWithGames; so you can partially thank, or blame, him for CWG!
     Last June, Left 4 Dead 2 was Charlie's favorite game at the time.  In the last year, has another game moved into L4D2's place for Charlie, and are there any games he would recommend now?  Let's take a look!

August Brewed - Coffees Consumed, Games Played

Coffee Beans
     Family, work, school, and flying out for a friend's wedding is where a lot of my time was invested in August, but I did make time to play some games, and coffee consumption was a daily occurrence as usual.
     With the 31 days of August 2011 now history, let's take a look at the coffees I consumed, and the games I played during August.

Meet Our Coffee Maker - Krups

Coffee Beans
     Mrs. Coffee and I have moved a lot over the last several years, and we have toted along one coffee machine/pot with us during each move, and it survived all the moves in pretty great condition.
     I believe I received the coffee machine/pot as a Christmas gift either in 2000, or 2001, but I am not 100% positive because I can't find exact dates for when the series of coffee machines was released.
     About 3 years ago after we moved into our house, Mrs. Coffee(my wife) thought that our coffee pot we had been using took up too much counter space, so she went to the store and purchased us a new one.  You can see the "space saver" coffee machine below:

     My initial reaction was probably something along the lines of, "Why do we need another coffee pot, when the one we have works just fine?", but I knew in her mind that more counter space = win, so I let it be.
     Well, the "new" Hamilton Beach coffee pot that she purchased for us lasted right around a year, and then guess what, it BROKE!  Horror or horrors for a daily coffee drinker like myself, but luckily for us, I had stowed away our old coffee machine in a cabinet probably with the mindset of "Just in case something happens to this new one, we'll still have this one."

     So, what does our coffee machine look like that we use basically on a daily basis?  Have a look below!

July Brewed - Coffees Consumed, Games Played, & Site Notes

Coffee Beans
     July was crazy busy, as I thought it would be.  If you missed the post, Mrs. Coffee and I were blessed with a new son on July 4, and then Mrs. Coffee and I had our wedding anniversary a few days later.
     July has 31 days in it, and we had family visiting us for 15 of those days, and were out of the house for 2 of those days with the new guy being born.

     So, with a new baby, wedding anniversary, family visiting, and normal work, I'm surprised I played as many games as I did and kind of surprised I didn't consume more coffee toward the end of the month.
     What games did I play in July, and what coffees did I consume?  Let's take a look!

Coffees Consumed in July

June Brewed - Coffees Consumed, Games Played

Coffee Beans:
     June is over?  Really?  E3 has come and gone, and now we know a little bit about Nintendo's next console, the Wii U, though I really haven't expressed my thoughts about the system in a written piece here on the site...perhaps this month?

     July is here, and it's going to be crazy busy(more on that later), so let's take a quick look at the games I played in June, and the coffees I consumed.