Duck the Puck! NHL Slapshot's Hours Debut

Coffee Beans:
     NHL Slapshot was released on September 7, 2010 for the Nintendo Wii with a MSRP of $59.99.  $59.99 included the game, NHL Slapshot, as well as the NHL SLAPSHOT Hockey Stick game accessory.
     The game can be played by 1-4 players, and the description for NHL Slapshot on the Nintendo Channel reads, "Deke, check, and shoot with the all-new NHL SLAPSHOT Hockey Stick game accessory, included with NHL Slapshot.  Simply plug the Wii Remote and Nunchuk into the hockey stick and take over any game like a true NHL All-Star."

     NHL Slapshot was developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports.
     The ESRB rating for NHL Slapshot is "E for Everyone", with no Content descriptors listed for parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent on the ice with Wayne Gretzky since NHL Slapshot released?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     NHL Slapshot has 3,236 Wii owners reporting data through the Nintendo Channel on its debut, with 168 days reported.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     NHL Slapshot has 50,175 Total Hours of game-play reported on its debut, with an average "hockey" time of 15 Hours 30 Minutes "Per Person"(or console) reporting data.
     NHL Slapshot's average play-time per session is just over 1 Hour 45 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     NHL Slapshot's Amazon.com sale rank is #804, and it is currently selling for $46.99.
     (Sale rank and advertised price were recorded around 11:35PM, on 2-22-11)

Review Score Averages:
     NHL Slapshot's "professional" review score average is 77.38%, based on 21 reviews on GameRankings.com.

     NHL Slapshot has a 4.5 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 41 customer reviews.
     NHL Slapshot's customer review score average is 90.24%, when converted to a 100% scale.

You can click the "41 customer reviews" and read what the customers had to say!

     (Review score averages recorded around 11:35PM, on 2-22-11)


Odd Bean:
     I thought it was interesting that NHL Slapshot received and "E" rating from the ESRB, which made me wonder, "Does this hockey game have any fighting?"
     Well, according to NHL Slapshot's Wikipedia page, it says, "It is the first game in the NHL series since NHL 2005 to receive an E rating, mainly because the game does not include fighting."


Filtered Thoughts:
     I remember thinking, "Gimmick!" after seeing the NHL Slapshot Hockey Stick when the game was announced for the Wii.  I really didn't think the use of the shell, with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk would work well at all, but after reading several "professional" reviews and many customer reviews, it seems the set-up functions pretty well.
     Here's a quick video that shows the NHL Slapshot Hockey Stick setup, as well as a few tips when using it, followed by some game-play footage that shows players being able to use Wayne Gretzky:


     I haven't played NHL Slapshot, but I enjoyed hockey games a lot during the last generation of consoles.  While 168 days isn't extremely fast for a Wii game to debut, it does make NHL Slapshot the fastest Wii hockey game to debut that was released in 2010.
     As for NHL Slapshot's price, as I stated in the "Coffee Beans" section the game released with a MSRP of $59.99, but Amazon.com now has the game with a list price of $49.99, and has put it on sale a few times during the last month.  So, if you're interested in NHL Slapshot, you may want to watch Amazon.com's prices to see if/when the game goes on sale again if the current asking price of $46.99 isn't your budget for the game.
     I think seeing the average hours of 15 Hours 30 Minutes "Per person" reporting data, should be encouraging to the developers and show them the Wii owners that are playing it seem to be enjoying it a good amount.  I think if the game included online play, the game-play hours would be even higher.  So, perhaps if there's a NHL Slapshot 2 in the works, hopefully online multi-player will be included.

Questions:
     Have any of you played NHL Slapshot, and if so what did you think about it?  Is it a game you would recommend to other Wii owners looking for a fun hockey game, and did the NHL Slapshot Hockey Stick function well from your experience with it?

If any of you are interested in NHL Slapshot, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Too Sick To Game

Miidicine...medicine for Miis?  Click to enlarge.

    
Coffee Beans:
     Some of you may have noticed last week that I only did one "data" story, and that was it.  I didn't do my "FPS Friday" post as I had done 4-weeks in a row prior to this past Friday, and I didn't get to finish my post(now coming this week) I was working on about Mrs. Coffee and I finishing Donkey Kong Country Returns.

     Well, last Thursday morning I woke up feeling a little cold.  I thought, "What'd we leave the heat on last night?!"  I finished getting ready for class, and as I was about to leave Mrs. Coffee handed me an egg, cheese, and toast sandwich she had prepared me...I usually wolf those down...but after one bite, I said something like, "I'm not hungry, but I'll take it with me."
     As I was sitting in class, I was still feeling cold, but dismissed it after another classmate said, "It's cold in here!"
     After surviving the drive home, I walked in the door and set my still unfinished breakfast sandwich and backpack on the table, and told my wife that I wasn't feeling well, and was going to lie down.
     I slept Thursday afternoon until about 4:30PM when she woke me up, and when I checked my temperature it was around 102 degrees at the time.  She found some Nyquil-ish type cold/flu medicine and gave it to me.

     I stayed up Thursday evening like a zombie watching our son, but played the "Stay as far away as possible" game, hoping to not get him sick.  I ended up staying in the bed pretty much all day Friday with a fever, then helped watch our son for a few hours again Saturday morning, and as soon as my wife walked in the door, I headed straight back to the bed.
     Before I got sick last Thursday, I had told a blog follower(who runs his own gaming blog, MyLittleGamer.Blogspot.com) that I would try to play some online matches of ExciteBots: Trick Racing with him and/or his son, and record footage of the matches.

     It didn't happen Thursday, and it didn't happen Friday.  When I was awake Saturday morning, I knew it wasn't going to happen then either, so I sent him a message Saturday afternoon before passing back out, letting him know I was sick and I wouldn't be hopping online to play for a while because I was sick.

     I got out of the bed briefly Saturday evening to eat some soup, and headed back to it soon after.  I was taking the cold/flu medicine about every 4 hours(as directed), but it didn't really help with sleeping, as I just found I myself to be tossing and turning often.
    
     Saturday evening I decided to bring my DS Lite to the bed, and see if perhaps I could play some while I was tossing and turning...after only playing for a period of about 10 minutes, I knew I was too sick to play!  I couldn't concentrate on the game enough with my headache, neck-ache, backache, and random coughing fits, so I put the DS Lite away, and went back to tossing and turning for a few hours before falling asleep again.

    Today marks the fifth day of fighting this(apparently the flu), but I'm feeling better than I was this past Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday...though feeling better than those days, isn't saying a whole lot!
     I should be getting back to posting on a more regular basis this week, with a data post coming later tonight...

Thoughts/Questions:
     I really hope all of you and your family/friends stay well, and avoid getting what I've had.  This was the first time, in the longest, that I can remember actually being too sick to game, and instead preferring to sleep.
     Can any of you recall being so sick, that you didn't feel like gaming or doing anything other than sleeping?

The Donkey Kong Island Report - Hours of Pain, or Hours of Pleasure?

Coffee Beans
     First, happy Valentine's Day to all of you!  I hope you all had a great day, and perhaps had the chance to spend it with others.  For this report, we're taking another look at Donkey Kong Country Returns!
     Donkey Kong Country Returns was released 86 days ago, and we last looked at the game-play hours as they were reported on January 17.
     I'm including a video of my wife and I playing World 1-1, Jungle Hijinxs, with this week's data report, and you can find the game-play video in the "Filtered Thoughts" section down below.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent on Donkey Kong Island in the last 29 days, and were those hours of pain, or pleasure?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for the United States of America, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     How many players does Donkey Kong Country Returns have reporting their play-time data?
     Donkey Kong Country Returns now has 111,906 Wii owners reporting their game-play data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Reported Player Increase:
     Donkey Kong Country Returns has seen an increase of about 34,904 gamers reporting game-play data, since the data reported on January 17.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Donkey Kong Country Returns now has 1,523,884 Total Hours of game-play reported, an increase of 693,524 Total Hours of game-play in the last 29 days.
     The average play-time for DKCR is 13 Hours 37 Minutes "Per person" reporting data, which is an increase of 2 Hours 49 Minutes more than the last average reported.
     The average play-time per session(or day) reported for Donkey Kong Country Returns is just over 1 Hour 59 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Donkey Kong Country Returns' Amazon.com sale rank is #43, and it is currently selling for $43.99.
     (Sale rank and price recorded around 11:45PM, on 2-14-11)

Review Score Averages:
     Donkey Kong Country Returns' "professional" review score average is 87.69%, based on 48 reviews on GameRankings.com.

     DKCR has a 4.5 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 215 customer reviews.
     Donkey Kong Country Returns' customer review score average is now 90.41%, when converted to a 100% review scale.  You can see the customer review score breakdown for DKCR in the image below:

     (Review score averages recorded around 11:45PM, on 2-14-11)

Filtered Thoughts:
     Since the last report, Donkey Kong Country Returns has crossed 1,000,000 Total Hours of game-play reported, in 65 days reported.  I think it's interesting, though not unexpected, that Donkey Kong Country Returns took 65 days to cross one million Total Hours of game-play reported after it released, while New Super Mario Bros. Wii took just 44 days to cross one million Total Hours reported after it released.
     As for the play-time with the game in our house, my wife and I have completed Donkey Kong Country Returns 100% (102% now!), since I did the last report, and we had a blast with the game...even though we aren't "officially" done yet.
     The video below is of my wife and I playing through World 1-1, Jungle Hijinxs, in Donkey Kong Country Returns.  I'm playing as Donkey Kong and she's playing as Diddy Kong in the video.
     SPOILER ALERT - Also, if you don't want to know how to get all the K-O-N-G letters or where all the puzzle pieces are in World 1-1, you shouldn't watch the video, as we do collect them all in the video.  Here's the video:


     I think DKCR will continue to see a steady increase in game-play hours, but like I stated in the last report, Donkey Kong Country Returns' Amazon.com sale rank is still lower than New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario Kart Wii.  While DKCR has definitely sold well for Nintendo, I wonder how the game is going to end up with sales in a year's time.

     While we enjoyed our overall time with DKCR, many of the hours/levels were agonizingly painful (in a video game difficulty sense!)!  
     Being today was Valentine's Day though, if you're looking for a video game to spend time with a "special" someone in your life, I would highly recommend Donkey Kong Country Returns...just beware the game is challenging, but it will give you many hours of pleasure.

Questions:
     Have any of you been playing Donkey Kong Country Returns in the last few weeks, and if so, have any of you beaten it?  Also, have any of you perhaps played through the entire game co-op with another person, like my wife and I, and found it to be really enjoyable?  Or, was your experience more "pain", than "pleasure"?

If anybody is interested in Donkey Kong Country Returns, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Amazon.com Sales - 50+ PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii Games/Accessories Sales

Coffee Beans:
     Here's a list of PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii games currently on sale.  The list is separated by console, and the accessories/games are listed alphabetically for easier browsing.  Each accessory/game is linked directly to its sales page, and clicking on each accessory/game name will redirect you to the sales page.
     Every accessory/game listed is either sold directly from Amazon.com, or is fulfilled by Amazon.com, which means you won't have to deal with third party vendors.
     Also, every video game or video game accessory listed below includes free shipping.

PS3:
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for $47.49(Save 21%, Ships Free)
Call of Duty: Black Ops for $47.99(Save 20%, Includes Free Shipping)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Collection for $39.99(Save 56%, Ships Free)
Dead Space 2 for $41.99(Save 30%, Includes Free Shipping)

Dead Space 2 Collector's Edition for $59.95(Save 25%, Ships Free)
DualShock 3 Wireless Controller - Black for $43.99(Save 20%, Ships Free)
DualShock 3 Wireless Controller - Blue for $43.99(Save 20%, Ships Free)
DualShock 3 Wireless Controller - Silver for $42.99(Save 22%, Ships Free)

EyePet for $24.99(Save 38%, Includes Free Standard Shipping)
FIFA Soccer 11 for $39.95(Save 33%, Ships Free)
Madden NFL 11 for $37.99(Save 37%, Ships Free)
NBA Jam for $34.90(Save 30%, Ships Free)

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for $47.99(Save 20%, Ships Free)
Sports Champion for $24.99(Save 38%, Includes Free Standard Shipping)
You Don't Know Jack for $29.99(Save 25%, Ships Free)

Wii:
FIFA Soccer 11 for $29.95(Save 40%, Ships Free)
GoldenEye 007 for $39.99(Save 20%, Ships Free)
Just Dance 2 for $29.99(Save 25%, Ships Free)
Just Dance Kids for $19.99(Save 33%, Includes Free Standard Shipping)

Kirby's Epic Yarn for $39.54(Save 21%, Ships Free)
Madden NFL 11 for $29.99(Save 40%, Ships Free)
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for $29.96(Save 40%, Ships Free)
Metroid: Other M for $33.09(Save 34%, Fulfilled and Ships Free by Amazon)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii for $34.99(Save 30%, Ships Free)

FPS Friday - Killzone 3 Multi-player Beta Thoughts & Video

Coffee Beans:
     Killzone 3 will be releasing later this month, February 22 to be exact, and Sony currently has the "Killzone 3 Open Beta" for the game's online multi-player and Botzone modes available for download on PlayStation 3.
     I downloaded the Beta last Thursday, and have played a few matches since then.  Here's a video of me playing just one match from of the online multi-player from the Killzone 3 Open Beta:


     While I only played as the Field Medic class in the video, the Killzone 3 Open Beta has five classes you can choose to play as, and they are:

• Engineer
• Marksman
• Tactician
• Infiltrator
• Field Medic

     The game describes the Field Medic class by saying, "The Field Medic gives what the battlefield takes away.  Life is his to give and take but the truly skilled Field Medic can bring soldiers back from the brink of death to be more effective than they ever were before."

     The Killzone 3 Open Beta has three multi-player modes, and each is listed below with the description for each mode:

• Guerrilla Warfare - "The winning faction is the team that reaches the pre-set body count first, or accumulates the highest number of kills before time runs out."
• Warzone - "Warzone features multiple randomized mission types for each faction to accomplish, creating dynamically changing gameplay from one game to the next."
• Operations - "The ISA and Helghast battle for control of specific objectives - the ISA on the offensive and the Helghast defending.  The best players are featured throughout the match in cutscenes depicting their successes."

     Each mode can be played with 8 players on each team, for a total of 16 players online.

     The map that you see in my video above is called Frozen Dam, and it's the only map in the Open Beta.  Other areas of the map open up that you didn't see in my video, in the other multi-player modes.

Filtered Thoughts:

     I've enjoyed my brief time with the Killzone 3 Open Beta, I'm about to go hop back into some matches right now, and while I only showed/talked specifically about the Field Medic class, I'm hoping to try a few of the other classes in the next week.

     The graphics look extremely nice, even on my standard definition television...though reading text is extremely annoying, like most PS3 games on my standard definition television.

     I think the game controls pretty well, but adjusting back to dual-analog controls(from Wii Remote and Nunchuk FPS controls) takes a little while for me to get used to, as I don't have the Sony Move to play the game with.
     I do like how the Botzone mode allows you to play each class, with all the "perks" of each class already unlocked.  It allows you to test each class' strengths, before spending your points that are earned through leveling up in the online multi-player.

     I can't say I'll be purchasing Killzone 3 because of the Open Beta, but I have been enjoying my time with it so far.

     If any of you are playing the Killzone 3 Open Beta and want to find me online to try and play together, my PSN name is Hoj_Latte.

Questions:

     If any of you have been playing the Killzone 3 Open Beta, what do you think about it?  Has it helped you to determine whether you are buying the game or not?

If you are interested in Killzone 3, you can pre-order/reserve the game on Amazon.com linked below: