Journal tomhudson's Journal: [Wii] Pinball Hall of Fame, SimCity Creator, Blazing Angels 11
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Pinball Hall of Fame
This is NOT one of those "legacy games console remix" titles. The controls are easy - nunchuk button for the left flipper, wiimote B button for the right, and use the thumbstick on the nunchuk to launch the ball.
Need to bump the table to get the ball to go where you want? Just pretend you're giving it a thump by shaking your left or right hand.
There's a decent collection of tables, plus, as you get credits, you unlock other tables. Go to their site for more. The screenshots don't do it justice, since they can't follow the ball like in the game (which is well done, by the way).
1 to 4 players.
Summary: Buy!
SimCity Creator
This was on my "I'll buy it eventually" list. So, when I saw it on sale, "eventually" became "yesterday."
I would have been happy with a remake of SimCity or, even better, SimCity 2000. It's neither. Somehow, they managed to fit SimCity 3000, (garbage dumps, advisers and all) into the Wii.
It's not completely similar to the PC version, so you'll have to take the tutorial. But it IS SimCity. Some of the advisors are real flakes, but at least you can fire them and hire other advisors
You can also enter online contests with your cities. Each contest has a goal - when your city meets that goal, upload it to the server and see how it rates against the current leaders. See more at Electronic Arts. (also available for the DS).
Summary:If you're a simcity fan, sure. If you haven't discovered simcity, be warned - it's not that simple.
Blazing Angels
You HAVE to run through the tutorial. But it's fun - half-way through, the tutorial turns into your first aerial duel.
How many times have you played a flight sim, and you've found yourself not just moving the joystick, but MOVING THE JOYSTICK. You know what I mean -it' not just the joystick moving in it's base, but you end up instinctively moving the base as well, even though that doesn't do anything
It doesn't make shooting down the enemy any easier, but it IS fun.
That you start out with a crappy, underpowered and obsolete biplane just makes it better. It has the usual stuff - unlock newer planes and arcade play by completing your missions - which basically take the whole of world war 2. One thing I noticed is that they got the torque twist right on the biplane - with full throttle, you won't be making much of a left turn no matter how hard you try, but right turns are easier (engine torque). The P51 Mustang should be fun
Up to 2 players only, but that's understandable - 4 player play would probably be overtaxing this generation of Wii. As in any flight sim, the graphics are important - and, just as with Prince of Persia, UbiSoft is no slouch in that department.
Summary: You're going to need at least 1 flight sim at some point - this one is good.
As for me, I'm off to unlock some more pinball tables
I paid off my mortgage (Score:1)
Well not really but if I was being paid for the number of hours I spent on the tables trying to crack them I would have put a big dent in it.
Different tables. I have the Gottlieb Pinball Classics. Still can't get the William's one here.
Blazing Angels
I am having trouble with the ground attack mission in the campaign - can't stop/bomb the germans early enough. Gave up (and played pinball) a few months back. Will try again soon.
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I'm still in the (admittedly slow) process of going through as many games as possible and finding the ones I really like, before investing a significant amount of time in them. I can always lend them to my daughters, so it's not like I'm losing my investment - plus I'm picking up pointers on good game design by sampling a wide range :-)
I've "sort of" set myself a goal of 50 games in 50 weeks. I still have 3 that I've bought but not opened (AMF Bowling Pinbusters, Game Party 2, and King of Clubs Minigolf)
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You have my time and I will have your job.
Then you can play Wii and I can work.
Easy fixed.
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Don't tempt me ... :-)
Besides, my days there are numbered. I've outlasted everyone who's been hired in the last 3 years, and I'm the last non-Russian there. It would be foolish to think that the meat-grinder won't stop.
I'm getting tired over a lot of things. For example, by law, they're required to give me 2 weeks vacation each year. Last year? I was told I couldn't take a summer vacation. I was the only person who couldn't - I wasn't replaceable. I FINALLY got a week off - in OCTOBER. That's not ex
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"So, are you sure you still want my job? Because, if you can do threaded networking code in c and c++ under *nix, and also do javascript, php, css, perl, sql, and the rest of the LAMP stack, administer bsd machines remotely via ssh, and all the other stuff, "
I can't even get perl to parse an int returned by a C program, but can I fake it for long enough to get paid a few times?
"and you can work in Montreal, you will probably soon have the opportunity."
But I promised the wife would not take a job els
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can I fake it for long enough to get paid a few times?
Probably not ... first, there's the IQ test (if you're in the "average" range, you're out). Then there's the interview, where you have to whiteboard your solutions to practical questions - the stuff we deal with daily. To give you an idea, we had someone interview who worked for NetApp for a decade as a coder - he wasn't good enough (for example, his proposed "solution" search algorithm and implementation was bloated as all hell).
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My specialty is developing, working with and manipulating rule systems - think energy markets and contracts.
Strategic drivers, corner cases, risk parameters and econmoic drivers. Syntax sucks. Which is why I find dealing with programming a pain in the ass - you have to deal with the syntax and grammar very carefully, and doing it for living makes it no fun to do as a hobby.
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Watch your six (Score:1)
Let me know if you have trouble with BEF part of the campaign I think I have worked out how to "Stop messing around and deal with the armoured column" at the bridge.
Almost had it, just a little too close to ground. I still need work on my controller skills. Charging controller may help.
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Thanks. Sounds like a plan. Unfortunately, for the next little while, a LOT of my time is going to be taken up setting myself up in business, seeing potential clients, etc., but I'm also determined that, unlike when I was working for my former boss, I'm going to makes sure I have some "me time."
Me time (Score:1)
I made that mistake a few years ago - now there is always one hour a day that is mine.