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The Wii and DS games of 2009January 6

So, 2008 wasn’t really the year of the Wii RPG that I had hoped it would be. 2008, as a matter of fact, wasn’t really the year for a whole lot on the Wii of any real substance. I’m not trying to discount everything that showed up on the Little Console that Could™. There were a handful of games here and there: Mario Kart Wii, No More Heroes, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Tales of Symphonia come to mind, and those games were fantastic. But the games I was truly expecting to see in 2008 simply never appeared. That’s probably why I ended up with a DS this Christmas. The Wii just hasn’t been giving me my fill.

But there is hope! All of that could potentially change in 2009. So, as we gaze somberly towards our future here in 2009, here’s a concentrated dose of what I’m looking forward to, both Wii and DS. Now, I don’t intend to pick up every game on this list, obviously. But it’s what is on my radar for the year. Only time will tell if any of it is worth acquiring.

Wii games

The Conduit
Genre: FPS
Dev: High Voltage / Pub: Sega
This one is kind of a no-brainer. A high-quality, cutting-edge, NON-WORLD WAR II first-person shooter on the Wii. I can get into this. Some preliminary videos have shown the enemies to be just a tad bit brain-dead, so I’m hopeful that the AI won�

A good 2008, an even better 2009December 31 2008

So, this year is finally drawing to a close. As it does, I look back on the experiences that shaped 2008, and look ahead and what to expect in 2009.

Watching the boys grow. This is easily the seminal moment of every year, but 2008 was different in this respect, in many ways. Caleb started Kindergarten and lost two teeth. Alex has been speaking more eloquently and interacting more intelligently (while we count down the days until he leaves the proverbial “terrible two’s”). They haven’t just been growing this year, they have really been expanding and exploding in ways I never expected. They have also finally gotten to the point where they are actually brothers, and speak (and fight) with each other as brothers to often do. I look forward to seeing how they progress next year, but this year has been especially eye-opening.

President Barack Obama. I know, he isn’t technically president yet. But Barack’s ideas are so drastically in contrast to this current, horrendously failed administration, that I am eagerly anticipating inauguration day. While I’m not walking starry-eyed blindly into some daydreamy, picturesque future, I am hopeful that things will at least be better than they have been. Though it honestly won’t take much for that to occur.

Youth ministry. This past year, I took over management of the teen outreach program at our church. It has been an amazing few months, with two girls accepting Christ, and one of them decidin

Christmas music for gamersDecember 22 2008

I admit it. I have a thing for chiptunes. Especially when the songs are developed using the same tools that crafted the music that shaped my childhood. The soundtrack to my youth consists of music from the Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Castlevania, Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Bionic Commando, Final Fantasy, and Ninja Gaiden (amongst others). If you’re anything like me, you have a similar soundtrack playing through your head constantly. If that’s the case, then I have the Christmas music collection round-up for you.

Doctor Octoroc released the first nine tracks to his Christmas album 8-Bit Jesus a little over a week ago. At the time, he claimed that another nine tracks would be forthcoming to complete the album, and he has made good on that promise. Each track of the album is a lovingly-crafted masterpiece of NES chiptun-ery. However, not only is each song a spirited re-imagining of a Christmas classic, but they are also performed in the particular style of a classic NES game. Enjoy such creations as Ryu the Red-Nosed Ninja, Carol of the Belmonts, and Icarus! the Angels Sing.  Truly the best Christmas NES chiptune album I’ve ever come across.

Ice and snow, cold and botherDecember 18 2008

So, this is what my wonderful state looks like at the moment. At least, what it looks like if all storm systems consisted of uniform colors and patterns.

It’s pretty nasty outside. We even had some of that thundersnow that Lewis Black screamed about on one of his albums. It’s ice raining. Hideous. I don’t rightly expect work to be one of the things I successfully venture to first thing in the morning.

So, what’s it doing in your neck of the woods?

      

Preparing for the New Year (some changes abound)December 16 2008

Lots of changes around here, and I’m not just talking about the new site design for Nerdflood.com. I want to change things up periodically, keep things interesting. The site was getting a bit cluttered, and I wanted to clean it up by going back to the original template I used when I first started the Nerdflood site. Most of the extraneous information I had in the sidebars has been moved to the online profile site I put together. It’s still a work-in-progress, so expect more changes there, even, as I find a way to present all of that miscellaneous content in a manner that is pleasing to the visual palette.

I haven’t been around much this month because, frankly, I’ve been very busy. During the day, working on massive corporate IT projects. And, in the evenings, working around the house, taking care of the kids, cleaning, washing dishes, doing laundry, etcetera. The wife has been bed-ridden of late; of course, I feel the need to point out, not due to laziness. She’s just been tired and queasy recently.

Being pregnant will do that to you.

We’re still early in the whole gestation process, so we know no specifics. The spawn is tentatively scheduled to arrive in or around July of next year. My wife and I are said to be “thrilled, with an odd blank stare that looks out into the vacant, desolate horizon”. Three rugrats will be an undertaking, for sure. However, Caleb is practically o