deKay's Lofi Gaming

Mario Party 8 (Wii)

Had a go of this today with my wife, on the Shyguy Train board. Things got off to a bad start for me, as for the first four turns I couldn’t roll higher than a 3, and by turn 8 I was still starless while everyone else had two or three. However, I somehow managed to turn it around, and on the final turn had three stars, beating everyone else. To further prove my superiority, I then won all three …

Mario Party 8 (Wii)

It seems an hour and a half is the going rate for a two-player game of this. Today’s board was “Koopa’s Town”, or something named similarly, and was somewhat different to any of the other boards I’d played (even on previous Mario Party games). You see, there are hotels along the board, and as you pass them, you invest coins in them. Whoever has the most coins invested, owns the hotel. However, if the total number of coins invested (by …

Mario Party 8 (Wii)

Another game tonight, this time on the King Boo level. Waluigi won this time though, nabbing the “proper” star just before I got the “hidden” star twice, resetting the castle and sending us back to the start. Bah! After that, we played the bowling and puzzle mini-games.

Mario Party 8 (Wii)

This arrived today, and my wife and I played one game on it this evening. A game that took an hour and a half! That’s a bit of a stretch compared to our usual games of Carcassonne and Puzzle Fighter. We played the “Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk” course over 15 turns, and, of course, I won. However, I only won because of the outcome of the final turn, which could have caused any of three of us to win.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch): COMPLETED!

No, I didn’t think a crossover between the worlds of Mario and the Rabbids would work either, but somehow, it does. Perhaps it’s partly because the gameplay doesn’t borrow from either party, and Mario + Rabbids becomes its own thing. Instead of precision platforming or nonsensical minigames, this game provides a fun turn based strategy game interspersed with some puzzles (mainly of the switch pressing or block pushing variety). It’s not quite Xcom or Ubisoft’s earlier Nintendo title Ghost Recon: …

Viva Pinata Party Animals (Demo) (360)

Downloaded this demo this morning and had a go. You know, I think the mini-game-tastic Wii has spoilt other mini-game titles somewhat. Just hammering buttons and stuff seems like a step back after the varied events in things like Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Mario Party 8. It isn’t bad, but there’s something just not there with it. Oh, and the animals seem to be voiced by sound-alikes rather than the original voice actors, which makes it …

Super Paper Mario (Wii)

So, off into Chapter 3 (again having faffed around in town for ages, doing some cooking, exploring, talking to people, shopping, etc.) and again, it is ace. I mean, what’s not to like about a chameleon version of Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons who eats your Pixl-friend Tippi the moment you meet him? Amazing! And the graphics on this level – everything is giant pixels! And! There’s a bit where a Koopa Trooper collects a star to make himself …

MySims (Wii)

Time quota critical! Game bail! Game bail! Wii explosion imminent! Abandon console! I have hit the Giant Brick Wall of Too Many Games. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had Super Paper Mario, Bioshock, Sonic Rush Adventure, Mario Party 8, Phoenix Wright 3 and now MySims all arrive. None are especially short. I don’t have time! Gah! Especially since I can see MySims becoming the huge time drain that it’s spiritual ancestors The Sims, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon …

The Room (Switch): COMPLETED!

It isn’t clear why this game is called The Room, because there aren’t really any rooms in it. It plays like an escape room – which many puzzles, and puzzles within puzzles – but no actual rooms. Sure, there are a couple of doors but they’re free-standing portals really. Aside from that, it was a nice little thing to play. You’re given a puzzle box with various holes and buttons and handles to try and use or open hatches and …

Things I’ve been playing recently

A few things that might not warrant a full post each. Or I’m lazy. Or both! Or neither. Super Mario 64 (Wii U) Technically, I’ve been playing this on the Wii U, but it’s actually the N64 game on the Wii Virtual Console via the Wii U.  Erm, but anyway. I’ve not got very far in, and playing it was mainly to entertain my daughter, but I’ve picked up about 15 stars. It’s still one of the best games ever made, …

Top 10 Game Boy Advance Games

Ah, the Game Boy Advance. To many, a portable SNES without enough buttons to effectively be a portable SNES, and one with a screen invisible in all but the glow of a 100W lightbulb. That didn’t stop it from having arguably the best catalogue of games of any system, however, and with the lit screen of the GBA SP (further refined in the GB Micro), it became and remains my favourite handheld ever. And I loved my DS and 3DS a lot. …

In defence of the Wii

Nintendo’s Wii gets a bit of a hard time on gaming forums and newsgroups. In the eyes of many, it’s still a console for kids and/or old people. If you enjoy playing Wii games, the 360 and PS3 owners sneer at you as if you can’t afford a “proper” console (even though the 360 is cheaper!). They wonder how you can possibly like playing games with “last gen graphics” and “tacked on waggle”. What they’re not realising, is that graphics …