Quick Brewed Thoughts - James Bond 007: GoldenEye

Coffee Beans:
     So, this past Tuesday, November 2, GoldenEye was released for the Wii.  I purchased it Tuesday on my way home, and played it late Tuesday night, right before going to bed.  I just finished playing some more, and I am only on the fourth mission in the single-player campaign, but here are my thoughts so far:
     Graphics - Glad to see another game go with the realistic style of the original Red Steel.  They seem crisp, and effective for what the style/setting of the James Bond universe.  The levels seem pretty interactive as well, with items that can be destroyed placed throughout the levels.
     Sound - I'm not really sure what it is, but the sound seems strange.  Either the in game music is too low, or the voices aren't high enough, not really sure on this one.  I have adjusted them, hoping the adjustments will help.
     Level Designs - Definitely updated levels from the original, not the same.  The second level, Facility, has a really different feel compared to the original.  Perhaps the more I play the game, and get to know the levels, the more "familiar" they will become like the original.
     Controls - There are a lot of control options in the game, not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing for new comers trying out the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls for the first time.  I don't think the default control settings are decent enough though, and I have changed my controls to "Experienced 3" for now.
     Mission Stats - I love data.  I love statistics.  I loved how the original GoldenEye on the N64 provided the number of times I fired my weapons, as well as specific places I shot the enemies.  This GoldenEye doesn't seem to have that, unless the data is provided at the end of the game...which is a bummer.  The one thing it does have is how much time I have spent on each level, so I guess that's a plus?

     I haven't even attempted the multiplayer in the game, local or online, so I don't have thoughts to share with those experiences yet; but as soon as I do, I'll write up my thoughts and hopefully share some videos with them as well.  In the meantime, here's the menu trailer from the game...this is the video that starts playing if you leave GoldenEye sitting on the menu for a few minutes:


Questions:
     Did any of you pick up GoldenEye on the Wii this week?  If so, what are your thoughts on it?  Bitter, or sweet?


If any of you are interested in GoldenEye for the Wii, you can see prices listed on Amazon.com linked below for both bundles:
 

The Party Has Started - Wii Party Data Debut

Coffee Beans:
     Wii Party was released on October 3, 2010, in North America; with a MSRP of $49.99.  Wii Party was developed by Nd Cube and Nintendo EAD, and published by Nintendo.

     The debut game-play hours below are for the United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide.  So, from October 3 through November 1, how many hours did Wii owners party with Wii Party?  Let's take a look...

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Wii Party had 5,475 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel 30 days after it released.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Wii Party has 54,046 Total Hours reported for its debut, with an average of 9 Hours 53 Minutes per person reporting data.

     The debut average play-time "party" session for Wii Party is just over 2 Hours 18 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Wii Party's Amazon.com sale rank is currently #9, and is selling for $46.99. (recorded around 10:45PM on 11-4-10)

Review Score Averages:
     Wii Party's review score average on GameRankings.com is 73.33%, based on 21 "professional" reviews.

     Amazon.com shows Wii Party having a 4 out of 5 Star rating, based on 20 customer reviews.
     You can see the customer review score breakdown in the picture below:

Thoughts:
     For data comparison, Wii Party took 14 days longer than Kirby's Epic Yarn did, to have data debut on the Nintendo Channel.
     I have not played Wii Party, and I don't plan to play Wii Party.  Mrs. CoffeewithGames got us started with the Rayman Raving Rabbids party mini-game games, and we own the first three in that series.  I personally don't see what Wii Party offers, to justify spending $50 on it at this point.
     I have stated before in a discussion of Wii Party on another site, that I feel like Wii Party is a game Nintendo has had sitting around since 2007 or 2008,  just waiting to release it with the "Wii" name hoping it would sell tons.
     The reason I think Wii Party is an older game that has been sitting around, is because Wii Party doesn't have online functionality of any sort, doesn't use the Wii Balance Board, and most importantly, it doesn't use Wii MotionPlus in any way.  It just seems really odd to me, for Nintendo to release Wii Party this far into the Wii's life cycle, and it not use any peripheral that's been out.
     The fact that Kirby's Epic Yarn debuted faster than Wii Party, makes me wonder if perhaps Wii owners aren't really into Wii Party...or perhaps it will end up being a huge Christmas gifted game, and the hours will improve slowly but surely.

Questions:
     Have any of you played Wii Party?  If so, what do you think of it?  Is it worth the $50 if you already own other Wii party games?


     If anybody is interested in Wii Party, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below:

October Brewed, November Roasting

     October has already come and gone, and it was an extremely busy month!  We had my family come and visit for a few days, as well as Mrs. CoffeewithGames' mom and grandma visit for a few days.  I had another birthday(another year younger), school, and found time to continue blogging.
     A site note: the CoffeewithGames Monthly Reader Points page is current through September, and October's totals should be up by the end of this week.  I should hopefully be contacting the leader for each month listed, by the end of November/beginning of December.
     I had many different coffees in October, and found time to play a few video games, so let's take a look at the October totals!

Coffees Consumed in October:

• Trader Joe's Organic Fair Trade Five Country Espresso Blend (Dark Roast) - this was the coffee reader Nicodemus_at_Nite, of Nicodemus@Nite.blogspot.com, mailed me back in September, and I still had some left over at the beginning of October.
• Maxwell House Breakfast Blend (Mild) - this was a 34.5 oz container of coffee, that Mrs. CwG purchased from Wal-Mart, as she finds whatever is the lowest priced container of coffee when she goes, and this 270 cup container was discovered
• Dunkin' Donuts Ground Coffee Whole Bean Original Blend - This coffee was purchased when my family was up visiting, the very first weekend of October.  We still have some left, and will probably be having more of it during November
• Macchiato from Caffe Driade - when my family was visiting, we went to Caffe Driade, a local cafe, and it was only my second time there.  I tried the Macchiato, and I can safely say it was the strongest Macchiato I have ever had.
• Community Coffee Ground (Medium Roast) - When Mrs. CwG's mom and grandma came to town, they had packed their own package of Community Coffee.  Community Coffee is a coffee that is from the Louisiana coffee company of the same name, Community Coffee Company.
• Starbucks House Blend -  I love when I discover gift cards that I still haven't used, or have money left on them, and that's how I ended up with my cup of Starbucks.  I had the Starbucks' gift card just sitting in my wallet for months, and called up the 1-800 number to check my balance, and sure enough had enough on it.

Games Played in October:

• WCW vs. NWO: Revenge - I played this a few nights in October, and hooked my Nintendo 64 up to the television when my family was visiting, to see if my brother remembered the game.  The game is still a lot of fun, and I can see why I played it so much with my friends when it was released back in the 90s.
• Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - I played this game the most in October.  I am still working my way through the game's single-player "Career" mode, as I have become stuck on a few competitions and am having trouble getting through them.  There are a few things that Greg Hastings Paintball 2 on the Wii does, that I hope to see other FPS type games learn from.
• Monster Hunter Tri - I hunted a few nights in October, and with the help of the guys from NinTemple.com and Brad, from WhoBurnedMyToast.Blogspot.com; I was able to finally increase my Hunter Rank to reach a new level of monsters in the game.

     We had a lot of coffee in the house during October, and some of the coffee is still in the house, and will probably be brewed now in November.

     While I didn't play as many games in October as the past few months; as I mentioned above, I played Greg Hastings Paintball 2 a lot in October.  

     If you didn't see any of the Monster Hunter Tri or Greg Hastings Paintball 2 videos that I posted up in October, you can find them on my YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/CoffeewithGames.

Questions:

     What games did you play during October, and did you find yourself drinking a lot of coffee during the month?

Gamers Enjoy Crafting - Kirby's Epic Yarn Data Debut

Coffee Beans:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn(K.E.Y.) was released on October 17, 2010, in North America; with a MSRP of $49.99.  K.E.Y. was developed by Good-Feel and HAL Laboratory, and published by Nintendo.

     The game-play hours below are for the United States of America, not world-wide.  So, from October 17 through November 1, how many hours have Wii owners weaved into the kingdom of Patch Land, with Kirby and possibly also with Prince Fluff?  Let's take a look...

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn has 6,591 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel 16 days after it released.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     K.E.Y. has 55,605 Total Hours reported for its debut, with an average of 8 Hours 26 Minutes per person reporting data.

     The average play-time per session for Kirby's Epic Yarn is just over 2 Hours 25 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn's Amazon.com sale rank is #10, and is selling for $49.99. (recorded around 10:15PM on 11-2-10)


Review Score Averages:
     K.E.Y.'s review score average on GameRankings.com is 90.48%, based on 23 "professional" reviews.

     On Amazon.com, Kirby's Epic Yarn has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating, based on 16 customer reviews. (review score averages recorded around 10:15PM on 11-2-10)

     You can see the customer review score breakdown in the picture below:

Thoughts:

     For comparison: Kirby's Epic Yarn had its game-play hours debut faster than Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, and also faster than the recent Wii release, Wii Party.

     I have not played Kirby's Epic Yarn, and due to reading that it's a shorter gaming experience, I'll probably just end up renting it one day; or waiting for a price-drop on it.  I don't know if the game-play hours reported "Per person" correctly reflect about how long the game completes, but from what I have read it seems like it would be about right.

     The Amazon.com sale rank for K.E.Y. actually surprised me when I checked it.  I wasn't expecting the game to even be in the "Top 20" on Amazon.com, much less the "Top 10"; but perhaps the overall positive reviews and the "newness" of Kirby's adventure is helping the game's sales, and I think it'll be interesting to see how it performs throughout the Christmas holiday, compared to other Nintendo Wii games.

     Kirby's Epic Yarn has been reviewed really well overall, and it seems that the biggest "complaint" against the game is that it's to easy.  I found the 2 star rating customer review on Amazon.com really interesting, as it was a mom writing her son's experience with the game.

Questions:

     Have any of you played Kirby's Epic Yarn, or plan on picking it up over the next few months?  If you have played K.E.Y., what do you think about it; and if you have beaten it, how long did it take you to finish it?

     If you are interested in Kirby's Epic Yarn, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below:

Hours Played - WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 and WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010

Coffee Beans
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 (WWE '09) was released on the Wii on November 9, 2008; and WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 (WWE '10) was released on October 20, 2009.  Just this past Tuesday, October 26, WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 was released.

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 has had 716 days of game-play data reported, while WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 has had 371 days of game-play data reported, through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Do the reported game-play hours for these two WWE wrestling games show some Wii owners enjoy wrestling games?  Let's take a look...