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?

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?

May Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played

Coffee Beans
It's already June, and that means E3 is right around the corner and I'm sure this will be a busy month with video game news. If you perhaps skimmed here occasionally during May, here is a recap of some of the posts from the month you may have missed, but possibly find interesting:
1) Do you enjoy FPS games and ever wonder how much FPS games on the Wii are/were played? If so, you may find the Conduit 2 official Nintendo Channel data report interesting, HERE.
2) Are you a Star Wars fan? Then you may find it interesting what the Wii's "least played" Star Wars game is, according to the average hours reported "Per person" in the United States, HERE.
3) What is the best Metroid game of all time? I don't know because I haven't played all of them, but Super Metroid is regarded pretty highly by many, and you can now buy it on Wii U's Virtual Console until June 13th for just 30 cents. If you wonder how many hours you might expect from the game, check out Super Metroid's official U.S. Nintendo Channel data, HERE.
4) The Wii U now has two Batman games that you can buy. One is Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, a Wii U launch title, which my neighbor has played and really enjoyed on the system. The other is LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes which released last month for the Wii U. If you're wondering about how many hours you can get from the game, you can read the LEGO Batman 2 Nintendo Channel data report for the Wii version, HERE.
5) Did you skip Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii, but are perhaps interested in it for the Nintendo 3DS? Are you curious as to how many hours you might expect from the game? You can see the average hours reported for the game, "Per person", in its official Wii U.S. Nintendo Channel data report from last month, HERE.
6) Did you not own a Wii, but do own a Wii U? I think one big benefit of the Wii U is its backwards compatibility with Wii titles. If you own a Wii U and have a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, you might be interested in the Super Mario Galaxy games. While I only played the original, you can see how many hours you might be able to expect from Super Mario Galaxy 2, HERE, in last month's Nintendo Channel data report.

Now, what were two new coffee blends I consumed in May, and what was our most played Wii U game during the month? Brew yourself some coffee, let's take a look at what games I played, and coffees I consumed during May.

April Brewed! Coffee Consumed & Games Played

Coffee Beans
April was a busy month for gaming around here, and while the amount of coffee consumed in the month stayed the same, the number of blends brewed in the month was pretty low from previous months. There was no April Fools post, like one in a previous year, but there was a debut data report, a WiiWare Wednesday post, and even one of my more rare opinion pieces!

If you only skimmed occasional posts here in April, here's what you may have missed:
1) Do you enjoy playing darts? You might want to download the free WiiWare demo for Dart Rage and try it out, and you can see its official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report, HERE.
2) Want a highly rated Wii fishing game? If you own a Wii or even a Wii U, you should check out Fishing Resort. Its official Nintendo Channel debut data report, HERE.
3) Was Xenoblade Chronicles good? Apparently so, and it had a solid number of hours reported over its first year. You can read its official Nintendo Channel data report, HERE.
4) How many hours can you expect to play Red Steel 2 before beating it? You can see the average hours reported "Per person" for the game in its official Nintendo Channel data report from last month, HERE.
5) Have you been interested in getting a Kirby game, but wanted to know how many hours you could expect? If you own a Wii or Wii U, I would suggest starting with Kirby's Adventure from my short time with the game so far. See how much the Wii version was reported to have been played since it released, in its official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report posted last month, HERE.
6) Yes, I covered a darts game and a fishing game in April, but I also covered one of the Wii's best racing games (my opinion, I know) where you could play darts and fish randomly, DURING races. If you skipped ExciteBots: Trick Racing, you can see the average hours you might expect from the game, HERE.

Now, what coffee(s) did I consume and games did I play in April, even seeing the credits roll in one? Brew yourself some coffee (seriously, wall of text below!), and let's take a look!

Coffee(s) Consumed
This is short, and simple. During April we only brewed up Maxwell House Gourmet Roast coffee. We did go through one full container of it in April though, and the second container which we bought in April is about empty. Mrs. Coffee enjoys the blend a lot, and I think it has a nice, solid, flavor as well.

Games Played
Assassin's Creed III - Why did the colonists win the Revolutionary War? One going theory is because they threw a tea party, and chose coffee as their drink of choice during the war instead. The very first night I played Assassin's Creed III, I noticed a coffee reference in the game and even took a picture of it. I don't remember another coffee reference in the game, but that doesn't matter. I ended up putting a good number of hours into the game in early April, and on April 14th I tweeted the following out:

Credits now rolling in Assassin's Creed III, on the GamePad! 90%+ of the game played on just the GamePad. @ubisoft @nintendoamerica#WiiU
— Scott (@CoffeeWithGames) April 15, 2013

Speaking of putting in a good number of hours into the game, I'm a little confused on what my play time with the game actually was. My Wii U's Daily Log channel shows one number, while my save file shows two different times (I didn't notice this until today). You can see in the image below two times shown on my Assassin's Creed III save file, as it appeared after I beat the game:

39 hours, or 20 hours? Which one was it?

I did leave the game paused/on quite often, so being near 40 hours overall doesn't surprise me (the Wii U cut off several times due to the game being paused for an hour). I just wonder if the 20 hours shown are more of a direct reflection of when I was actually moving in and playing the game? I thought that perhaps my play time was around 15-20 hours when I had completed it, before even looking at the time(s) on the file. Overall though, I enjoyed my time with the game, and it offers a lot of content (notice in my save file image, I finished the game with only 37% of it complete).
LittleBigPlanet - Bean 1 really enjoys this game, and laughs hysterically when certain things happen in it. It could be Sackboy falling in a hole, getting pounded by something in the level, or just racing vehicles in levels and watching them make jumps. I am volunteered by him to play some of the levels every now and then, and this is how I ended up playing LBP in April. I didn't play it a lot, but I did beat a few of the levels when I would randomly sit down to play it. I'm not sure how much we have really progressed in the game, but I do enjoy it when I play it.
Nintendo Land - Bean 1 and I played some matches of Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, Luigi's Ghost Mansion, and Mario Chase. We also attempted a few rounds of Metroid Blast, so he could start learning the controls in that mini-game as well. Bean 1 played Donkey Kong's Crash Course on his own, and I showed him a trick (a few months ago) to get around the blowing in the microphone aspect, which results in hilariously loud "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" phrases at the Wii U GamePad. It works, and if you don't like blowing into the GamePad's mic, or have little kids that may run out of air quickly, just teach them to talk to it loudly. Bean 1 also played Yoshi's Fruit Cart, and is incredibly good (for his age!) at Pikmin Adventure! I think Nintendo Land will continue to be a slow burner for us, with some months where it's played a lot, and other months perhaps not at all.

Rabbids Land - Last month in my March Brewed post I asked, "How many hours does it take to unlock all the mini-games in Rabbids Land?" I already had more than 10 hours of play time logged for the game, but still didn't have all the mini-games unlocked. Well, I unlocked the rest of the Rabbids Land mini-games in early April, and my current play time is now 12 hours 21 minutes.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed - I'm making some slow progress in this one, but still really enjoying the game. I'm working my way through the game's career mode and unlocking new tracks, and leveling up some of the racers in the game (slowly, but surely).
Toki Tori 2 - I ran out to Best Buy in early April to grab a Wii U eShop card. Why? We had some saved up Best Buy Reward Zone coupons, that almost covered the price of the eShop card, which I planned to use to grab Toki Tori 2 and other Wii U eShop games. I did end up getting Toki Tori 2, but without having to use my eShop card! I have enjoyed my short time with the game, and some of the puzzles I have encountered so far are incredibly well designed.

Do you know the names of these characters?

Trine 2: Director's Cut - If you have played Trine 2, you may remember how the levels in the game have hidden items scattered about. After I finished the game's main campaign (saw the credits roll) a few months back, I had been going back and attempting to find the items I had missed in the different levels. In April, I found all of the hidden map pieces, and finally unlocked the Wii U's exclusive level!
World of Goo - Bean 1 can start this one up on his own, and he is even beating some of the levels in it. I played some levels in the game with him watching, and I'm not really sure how many more levels we have left (if any), because we have reached one, and I'm not really sure what to do in it. It's gotten a good bit of play time though, and was well worth the price of admission I paid for it, which I think was around $1.

Mario Kart DS - I don't how many times I played the different mini-games in this one during April, but it was a good bit. One thing I am learning though, Bean 1 will probably soon be able to beat me in a race! He's doing power-slides, finishing first in many races, and even completing entire cup races in first. Having Mario Kart on the go is a nice option for him in the car, and it's gotten a lot more play time these last few months from Bean 1 (and I) playing than it ever did in the many years before.
Mario Kart Wii - We have had Mario Kart Wii in our collection for a few years, like Mario Kart DS, but I think because of Bean 1 the game has actually been played more recently, than the past years combined as well. I really enjoy just listening to the music in some of the levels, and I think Moo Moo Meadows is probably my favorite track right now because of its tune. Bean 1 is pretty good in this one, but the items in the game are pretty ridiculous. He'll often be in 1st place approaching the finishing line in the last lap, then get hit with by a Spiny Shell ( the evil blue shell!), sometimes followed up by consecutive hits from Red Shells. He sometimes gets frustrated when it happens, because he's understanding finishing the race in different places gets different points now, and I get frustrated for him when I see it happen! I really hope Nintendo balances Mario Kart U, more than Mario Kart Wii.

New Super Mario Bros. U - I beat the last level in New Super Mario Bros. U, again, in April because Bean 1 had attempted it a few times on his own. We usually run around in the game just playing random levels now, and Bean 1 actually enjoys running around the world map, launching from the cannons randomly placed around it. We started playing some of the "Challenges" and "Boost Rush" levels under the game's "Play with Mii" section, and even Mrs. Coffee attempted a few of the Boost Rush levels. How many hours have we played New Super Mario Bros. U? According to our Wii U's Daily Log channel, our play time is currently 30 hours 13 minutes, over 20 "Times Played". If you finished the main campaign of New Super Mario Bros. U, have you found yourself going back and playing the game more?
Super Mario 64 - I still haven't finished this game! We have collected 20+ stars though, and the file has not yet been deleted, so we are making some progress. Bean 1 enjoys running around the castle and different levels, and can even complete a few of the hunts for stars in the levels. This one seems to be a slow burner for us, played pretty randomly, but we definitely enjoy it when its played.

Kirby's Adventure - I never owned Kirby's Adventure on the NES, but I can remember watching a friend play it. When Nintendo put Kirby's Adventure on sale for only 30 cents to help promote the Wii U's Virtual Console service, I bought it the first day it became available. I think that Kirby's ability to suck up an enemy and copy its power is really awesome. I have really enjoyed my time with the game, and Bean 1 has enjoyed playing the game as well. Here is a video (again) of him playing in a few of the levels:

Kirby Mass Attack - This is a new one that is now in our collection! With how much Bean 1 was enjoying Kirby's Adventure on the Wii U, I took advantage of an Amazon.com sale on Kirby Mass Attack last week and grabbed it for him for just $12.72. Not only have Bean 1 and I played the game, but Mrs. Coffee has as well. So far, we're enjoying the game and the touch screen mechanics haven't really given Bean 1 any trouble. Seeing how well the touch screen controls work in the game (from my time with it anyway, not sure if the later stages represent any problems?), I think it'll be interesting if Nintendo releases a Wii U Kirby game like Mass Attack, where the GamePad's touch screen is the main (or, even only) way of controlling the game.

The quick "Instant Coffee" list of games (also including demos) I played in April is: Super Mario 64, Assassin's Creed III, World of Goo, Rabbids Land, Toki Tori 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, Mario Kart DS, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, Mario Kart Wii, LittleBigPlanet, Kirby's Adventure, Trine 2: Director's Cut, Kirby Mass Attack, Fat Princess, Rayman Legends Demo, Rayman Legends Challenges App, and Nintendo Land.

Questions
Did any of you perhaps get a new game in April, like how Kirby Mass Attack joined our collection? If so, what game(s) did you get, and have you enjoyed it?

As always though, what games did you play in April (even if not necessarily "new"), and coffees did you consume during the month?

March Brewed - Coffees Consumed & Games Played!

Coffee Beans
March saw several new Wii U releases, the most in quite a while actually. I mentioned some of the new Wii U games that released in March, HERE. While I ended up not buying any of those, yet, all of them have landed in my current "Wish List".

If you only skimmed posts or stopped by only occasionally in March, here's what you might have missed:
1) One reason I find Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's multiplayer addictive, HERE.
2) What is the most played Mega Man game on the Wii, based on Total Hours reported? You can read that report, HERE.
3) Why you should never give up in a Black Ops 2 online multiplayer match, HERE.
4) What is the Wii's most played Need for Speed game, based on Total Hours reported? Find out HERE.
5) What are current Wii U trade-in values, for both the Basic Set and Deluxe Set? Find out HERE.
6) A new feature, done twice in the month, Movie Magic Monday! If you like dragons, you might like this one. If you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland, you might find this one interesting.
7) ZombiU has been patched! You can see the full patch notes and details I gathered on the ZombiU patch, HERE.

Now, what games did I get around to playing in March, and what coffees helped me make it through the month? Start brewing yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

December Brewed - "Coffees Consumed", "Games Played", & "Caffeinated Thoughts"

Coffee Beans
Did Santa Claus come to your town? I hope everybody had a great holiday season, and has gotten the new year off to a great start so far. December was a bit busy around here, maybe the total of "3" posts for the month was a clue? If you're reading this and missed the posts in December, there are basically 2 you might be interested in:

     1) Are you interested in ZombiU, but not sure about the game because of a few reviews you have read, or maybe things you have heard about it? You might find "Critics vs. Customers! ZombiU reviews, or zombie reviewers?" an interesting read.

     2) Want to see Bean 1 throw a Mario fireball? Watch the video embedded in the "Merry 'Mario' Christmas!?" post.

With another month (and year) gone, what coffees did I consume and what games did I play during December? You know the routine, brew yourself some coffee and let's take a look!

Coffees Consumed

Maxwell House coffee blends were the "go to" coffees for us during the month, with us finishing off a Maxwell House Original Roast container and a Maxwell House Daily Brew container as well. The Master Chef blend was a smaller container of coffee that Mrs. Coffee purchased for us in the middle of the month, but it didn't last us about a week with one of the Maxwell House blends.

I also brewed up some our Kona Blend Coffee, which is one of the coffee blends I received for my birthday last year. We still have some of the Kona Blend Coffee, as it's whole bean coffee and I use it as a "backup" coffee when the others run out, or start running really low. When we went out of town for a long weekend, Mrs. Coffee purchased us some Folgers Black Silk coffee in a small container to bring with us, and we enjoyed it while it lasted.

Games Played
Here's the "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in December: Trine 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, ZombiU, Nintendo Land, Rage of the Gladiator, Mario Kart DS, Mutant Mudds, BIT.TRIP Runner, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, and New Super Mario Bros. U.

Many games would be green with envy over Trine 2's graphics and art style.

Trine 2: Director's Cut - I have completed the main campaign in Trine 2, which took me right around 20 hours, and I am now working my way through the Goblin Menace levels. Like I mentioned last month, I'm still pretty much playing using only the Wii U's GamePad and not even looking at our TV. The graphics and art style have continued to impress me throughout the game, and I enjoy the slower paced design of the levels with puzzles scattered throughout. I have found that Trine 2 is an excellent game to have a pot of coffee brewed while playing, because of how often I stop to think of how to keep progressing through the levels.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Black Ops 2 could really be used by Nintendo to help "sell" the Wii U to the "hardcore" players, especially those that are married and/or have roommates they have share a TV with. The ability to play Black Ops 2 on just the GamePad, is absolutely awesome. I completed Black Ops 2's single-player campaign on just the GamePad early one morning, while Mrs. Coffee was using our Wii system (not the Wii U) to watch a show on Netflix. I have also enjoyed quite a few multiplayer matches using just the GamePad, while she uses the TV to watch something on Netflix.
ZombiU - I completed ZombiU's single-player campaign in November, but attempted Survival Mode a few times in December. I haven't made it far, or lasted very long at all though. I have now loaned out ZombiU to our neighbors, but I'm not quite sure how far he has made it now. Last I checked, he had made it to Buckingham Palace. If you own a Wii U, and haven't played ZombiU but are interested in the game, European Wii U owners just received a demo of it, and it might be hitting the North American eShop on Thursday. So, make sure to keep an eye out for a ZombiU demo possibly hitting the eShop this week if you have been interested in the game. If you missed the ZombiU post in December, here's a video of Mrs. Coffee and I playing one of the game's multiplayer modes:

Nintendo Land - I played this early in December, and then when we visited some family out of town one weekend later in the month. My cousin and I played Battle Quest together, with him doing the sword fighting and me using the GamePad for the bow and arrows. I still want to finish off the Metroid Blast levels here soon, but I have a few other Wii U titles to finish before the.
Rage of the Gladiator - I played a few rounds of this on Mrs. Coffee's iPhone early in the month, and when we were traveling out of town. It did get an update though, and I need to get that downloaded and see what it changed/updated.
Mario Kart DS - Bean 1 has made some incredible gameplay progress in this one. He can beat the Eyerok boss in the Level 1 mini-games (I think Level 1). He can now even do "power slides" in the game, and complete one of the mini-game challenges that require 4 power slides in a lap. When we were out of town visiting family, as we were leaving a parking lot, he said, "Daddy, can you power slide?" While it caused me to laugh, because I'm sure he was 100% serious, I had to sadly inform him we couldn't do it in our car. My time with this game during the month was helping Bean 1 beat the mini-game challenges. I think we have made it to the Level 4 challenges so far, but I think he erases them after he takes over, or they auto-erase when you leave that section of the game; I'm still not sure about it.
Mutant Mudds - I completed the main levels of Mutant Mudds on December 31st. When I finished the last level, I had 24/40 levels completed. Bean 1 started playing Mutant Mudds a good bit in December, and volunteered me to play the game all the time. Mutant Mudds released for iOS devices in early December, and is available to purchase for just $0.99 on them. While I don't own that copy of it, I am looking forward to learning more about Mutant Mudds Deluxe for the Wii U in the next few months. If you haven't played Mutant Mudds, but enjoy platformers, I do recommend it.

Max and Grannie will thank you for playing, too!

BIT.TRIP RUNNER - Even though we own a Wii U, I still have not done the Wii to Wii U data transfer. One reason is because the Wii U does not have the Nintendo Channel, so I still use the Wii weekly to access and record game data; another reason is because I know some of our game save files won't transfer over to the Wii U. So, for now we are using our Wii as we were before we got the Wii U. Bean 1 voluntold me to play BIT.TRIP RUNNER one night, so I put it back in the Wii and gave it a try. I still haven't beat it yet, but I am close. I think a good solid day (or two, or three) of playing might be the solution to beating it.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed - One weekend we were heading out of town to visit family, my cousin that enjoys games a good deal said that Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed would be one of the Wii U games he would be interested in playing. So, I checked Redbox to see if it was available to rent from one in our area. It wasn't. I checked with Blockbuster in our area and online, thinking they might have it to rent. They didn't. Next, I decided to give GameFly a try and put Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed first in my queue expecting it to ship out and arrive before we left. What I didn't realize is that GameFly does not follow the typical queue order, and they don't ship from the top down. No, they ship the first available game in your queue, even if it's not the first game listed. So, this game joined our Wii U collection right before our weekend trip, when I purchased it. While my cousin played it a good amount, Bean 1 wasn't really aware of the game being "ours", so we hid and "re-gifted" it to him as another Christmas gift. We haven't played it a whole lot, but I really do like how each level seems to be designed around the three transformations: driving, flying, and boating. It really seems to keep each race fresh, and the courses seem to be well designed from those I have played so far.
New Super Mario Bros. U - This was a Christmas gift for Bean 1, and we left it sealed until he requested to play it (or, requested me to play it). That day wasn't until December 31st, so I opened it up and he attempted the first level and I thought he was going to beat it. After he tried a few times, I was voluntold to play it. I completed World 1, saved the game, and Bean 1 took over again for a bit. He ended up finding the magic "erase" button, and deleted the file in short order. Fortunately, World 1 isn't that challenging. While playing through World 1 though, I did find the background in the game, how it's layered anyway, a bit disorienting at first. I will say that I haven't been "wowed" by the graphics in it yet (our HD TV is not hooked up yet, so that may help); not like I was/have been with Trine 2 anyway. The gameplay is solid though, as is probably expected in a Mario platformer, but I noticed something in World 1 with a pipe that has me wondering if it changed from the older Mario games. I may have to put on my investigation gear, and see if the difference is what I'm thinking it is, or if I just don't remember the older pipes systems correctly.

Caffeinated Thoughts
I have really been enjoying our Wii U, and the games on it so far. I'm still debating on whether or not to keep the GameFly subscription going, or end it after the first month. You also may remember me commenting randomly about our HD TV hunt that started during the holidays, and we ended up purchasing one Christmas Eve (yes, I'm THAT kind of shopper). The TV is still in its box though, as we have been a little busy as I mentioned above. After getting some painting done this past weekend, and ordering the mount today, the TV should be going up on Thursday if everything arrives as planned.

While 2012 ended slower than I was planning here on the site with posts, and I have a few posts "in the works", I'm debating on a few things for 2013 that may change the frequency of posts (and type).

If any of you received a Wii U for Christmas, or are planning on buying one here soon, feel free to add my Nintendo Network ID to your Wii U friend list. My NNID is Coffees. As always, if you have any questions about the games I played, feel free to ask me in the comments below or by sending me an email at: Scott(@)CoffeeWithGames.com.

Questions
Did any of you perhaps get a Wii U, or other game related items, during the holidays? If so, did you get anything you would recommend?

If you perhaps didn't get anything new, what games did you play during December, and did you find yourself drinking any coffee during the month?