My story of how I got the GameCube is one of sadness. To begin, I was inside my local Toys R Us (back when they were cool) and was looking around the video game section. Anyone remember how they had you pay for the games in a separate section from the rest of the store? In any case, while I was there, I played a demo station of Soul Calibur 2. It was at that moment I wanted a GameCube.

I quickly returned home to formulate a plan to obtain the system, and, more importantly, Soul Calibur 2. I wanted the GameCube version for two reasons: 1: Most of my friends had that version. 2: Link was an exclusive character. So, sue me! It was also a good excuse to get the new Smash Bros. and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, which was like the Dreamcast game but with plenty of additional features.

What do YOU think? Beauty in simplicity

Posted on 13 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features | 0 comments

I’m an English kind of guy. I know my grammar, I know my punctuation, I know my spelling, and I use it all to the best of my ability, but no matter how many English classes you take, there’s one lesson you can only learn from experience: Beauty lies in simplicity. When you’re writing an essay, for instance, you will have the greatest chance at a quality piece by combing out every single unnecessary word that’s stowed around in all the nooks and crannies of the paper and leaving your reader with the simplest, most concise and effective iteration of your thoughts possible. After writing countless articles both for NE and other outlets, I can tell you with certainty that this advice holds true for any writing you will do.

Recently, I’ve found that this rule applies not only to my writing, but to the games I play as well. In playing Mario Sports Mix the past couple of days (review forthcoming!), I’ve noticed how much it has helped my enjoyment of the game that it is controlled in traditional “2-button” fashion, Wiimote held sideways. Likewise, New Super Mario Bros. is a game I just love to play, in part because of how simple it is to control. It’s not just Nintendo, though; Team-17’s Worms: Battle Islands is a two-button game, and I love that game as well. The more I think about it, the more I see a correlation. I don’t think I can think of a single Wiimote-held-sideways game that I don’t enjoy!

A Shadow’s Tale review

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Reviews, Wii | 0 comments

Game Info:

System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Platformer
Players: 1
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Hudson Soft

Pacing is something that can either make or break a game. Take too long to get to the interesting parts like, say, Final Fantasy XIII and most people won’t stick around to see what comes after all the corridors and tutorials. On the other hand, if the game starts out strong and then loses momentum, gamers will quickly get bored of the whole experience. A great game should be enjoyable from start to finish, and unfortunately A Shadow’s Tale (or “Lost in Shadow” for all you Americans) fails in that regard. The final result is a game with a few interesting ideas that ends up difficult to recommend thanks to some awful pacing and poor design choices.

My life with Nintendo – Part 2

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments

Here I am again with yet another post. This time I’ll be talking about the Nintendo 64!

My discovery of the N64 was a strange one. If I’m remembering correctly, I was at my cousin’s house. He didn’t own many games for it at the time, but he did have Pokemon Stadium in his possession. Now, looking back, I realize how boring of a game this really was. I mean, it was essentially a stripped down version of the Game Boy games. But at the time, I was freaking out that it was on a TV screen and not my tiny handheld.

That One Show – Episode… 5?

Posted on 13 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features | 4 Comments

It’s 2AM. I couldn’t get the normal uploader to work so it’s on Youtube instead. I’ll work on fixing things tomorrow! Goodnight everybody!

My life with Nintendo (Part 1: The Game Boy and Pokémon)

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments

This feature, in short, is about my life with Nintendo. I may have started late in the company’s long run of systems, but there’s no denying that Nintendo is a large part of my gaming life, even if it’s not the main focus. Today, I’m going to talk about my time with the Game Boy, and Pokémon – my greatest Nintendo obsession.

My obsession with Pokémon began in 1998 when the original show was airing on Saturdays on WB (now called the CW). This was even before they repeated everything the day after. They stopped doing that a few months later. The first episode I saw was the one where Ash was facing some trainer with a Parasect and Charmeleon refused to obey him and got owned by said Parasect. I don’t recall the name of the episode though (but I’m sure someone knows it).

February – What’s in store

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, Features, Wii | 0 comments

February isn’t a huge month for new games, but whether you’re interested in Dragon Quest or de Blob, you should take a glance through this month’s most notable Nintendo releases; there might be something that appeals to you. Heck, you might even find something to give as a Valentine’s Day present (NintendoEverything.com accepts no responsibility for failed relationships due to gifts of Mario Sports Mix).

Nintendo Wifi Connection – As bad as Xbox Live, only worse than Xbox Live

Posted on 13 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Wii | 0 comments

There seems to be an eternal argument going on about violent video games and children, and what sort of adverse affects that these video games may or may not have on such youngsters. Now, I’m no psychologist or specialist on the subject by any means- hell, my opinion doesn’t even mean any more than yours does- but I feel that I need to get this out there for people to read. You see, I’ve been playing a lot of Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Wii lately, and I’ve noticed a lot of very, very poor parenting going on as I play.

What’s the catch? A cautious look at the 3DS and its upcoming launch

Posted on 13 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, Features | 0 comments

I don’t know how long I’ve been a Nintendo fan– it’s been for as long as I can remember– but it’s days like these that make me prouder than ever to be part of a company that’s doing so many innovative and technically astounding things with the gaming industry. In 2006 they flipped over the idea of gaming as a niche hobby with the release of the Wii, and now, 5 years later, the 3DS is on its way out and it’s setting itself up to be yet another ingenious release from this veteran of the gaming industry.

On the surface, everything about the 3DS looks like it’s prepped for success: A great launch line-up, an awesome gimmick, tons of pre-loaded things to do, and a huge potential to grow. No matter how much I want to believe that this will be the system to end all systems, however, there’s that little voice in the back of my head that reminds me of past let-downs– sure, the Wii was awesome, but it didn’t deliver on all its promises– and so I go into this launch with a very excited, but very cautious hand.

What could go wrong, you ask? Well, I’ve been thinking it over, and a lot more could go awry than you might think. The following list is not just conjecture either; each item on it has it’s factual evidence to back it up, and as much as I hope that none of it’s true, I think there’s a pretty good chance that at least one or two of these will end up becoming a reality. If all of them somehow turn out to be true, then we could really have a perfect storm of bad events and the 3DS could suffer from an extreme case of Molyneux syndrome.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn review

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, Reviews | 0 comments

Game Info:

System: Nintendo DS
Category: RPG
Players: 1
Release date: November 29, 2010
Developer: Camelot
Publisher: Nintendo

There’s certainly no shortage of RPGs on the Nintendo DS, with Nintendo publishing Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Dragon Quest IX, and Glory of Heracles all over the last twelve months. Joining these titles on the crowded handheld is Camelot’s Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, the latest game in a series that has been off the radar since it last appeared on the Game Boy Advance. Fans have been begging Camelot for a new Golden Sun game for ages, so does Dark Dawn live up to expectations and, more importantly, does the series still hold up after a seven-year hiatus?