Coffee With Games

Mutant Mudds Deluxe, easy enough for kids, hard enough for parents? One big difference between the PC and Wii U versions.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:01:20 PDT

Not all images are from Mutant Mudds, but one is inspired by it.

Coffee Beans
Mutant Mudds Deluxe released today on the Wii U and is available to purchase from the eShop for $9.99. The game was developed and published by Renegade Kid, and has an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Mild Fantasy Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

I purchased the PC version of Mutant Mudds last year when it released, and you can read some of my impressions of that version HERE. Bean 1 (our oldest son) started playing the PC version, after watching me play it, and considering his age he is pretty good at the game using mouse and keyboard controls.

I was planning on buying the Wii U version today so he could play it with a more standard controller and button layout (like what he's used to with the Mario games); plus, I really enjoyed the PC version and wanted to play the new levels added to the Wii U version.

I saw that Renegade Kid was doing a contest giving away copies of the Wii U game. It was a drawing/art contest, but they even made it possible for a "non-artist" like myself to be able to enter, giving us an option to create a digital image or collage using existing images.

Did we win one of the contest giveaways? Brew yourself some coffee, and hit the jump to see the image I created (if you missed it already) for the contest, and a video of Bean 1 playing one of the levels in Mutant Mudds Deluxe on the Wii U!

The Brew & Caffeinated Thoughts
The image above was the one I created for the contest, using an image from Mutant Mudds as inspiration. Instead of having Max in it though, I decided to involve the Beans, and make it like they were sucked into Max's world.

Yes, the Sacky Sit-Sits have taken the form of Bean 2, because he has inspired them with the muddy mess he makes along the way. Or, that was the idea, and Bean 1 has to clean up the mess while tracking down his younger brother.

Were we one of the winners though? We were!

Now, is Mutant Mudds Deluxe fun for the entire family, as the first image above says? Well, Bean 1 and I have both enjoyed our time with the game today. If you enjoy the platforming genre, or think you might enjoy the game, I do recommend you give this one a try.

Bean 1 was super excited to play it, and had been looking forward to the Wii U version after watching the trailer several times over the last week. Is Bean 1 any good at it? Here's a video of him playing through the first level in Mutant Mudds Deluxe:

Some of the levels in Mutant Mudds Deluxe are easy enough for kids to complete on their own, as the first image says, but many are challenging enough to probably require the help of a parent. Bean 1 is able to finish some of the levels without trouble, as you can witness in the video above, but in other levels he does request help.

One big difference between the PC version of Mutant Mudds and Mutant Mudds Deluxe Wii U is the timer in each level. The PC version has a timer that just keeps track of how long it takes you to finish a level, so you can spend 10 minutes in the levels hopping around if you want. The Wii U version of Mutant Mudds Deluxe has a timer that counts down though, and when it runs out you have to start the level over (or, at the last check point).

Having the timer count down makes Mutant Mudds Deluxe like the original Super Mario Bros. games, where each level had a timer counting down and you need to reach the end before it reaches "0:00". I think the timer might be a good thing though, as it might help Bean 1 to concentrate more on the task at hand of finishing the levels, but I'm not sure if it will be too challenging for him in some of the later stages.

Now, if Renegade Kid patches the Wii U version in the future, I think adding a "Timer Off" option, like turning off the check points is an option, might be a good thing to include.

Questions

Have any of you picked up Mutant Mudds Deluxe already, and if so, what do you think about it?

If you own a Wii U and haven't purchased Mutant Mudds Deluxe yet, and perhaps have some questions about it, feel free to leave them below!

Animal Crossing: City Folk, how much has it been played? Official Nintendo Channel data report

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:31:33 PDT

Tom Nook should be used in Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U, he could rob
you of your health as he does of bells in the Animal Crossing games.

Coffee Beans
The Animal Crossing games seem to follow the Mario Kart games formula, that formula being where only one game from the series is released per console. Animal Crossing: New Leaf just released for the Nintendo 3DS in the U.S. this week, and is the first 3DS Animal Crossing game. Before jumping to the trailer for the new 3DS game, we're looking at Tom Nook's Wii outing.

Animal Crossing: City Folk released for Wii on November 16, 2008. The game was developed by Nintendo's EAD studio, and it received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Comic Mischief" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

If you own a Wii, or even a Wii U because of its backwards compatibility with Wii games, you can now get Animal Crossing: City Folk for under $20 as a Nintendo Selects title. How many hours might you expect from the game if you have never played it though? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data to get an idea!

The Brew
Animal Crossing: City Folk now has approximately 456,147 U.S. Wii owners who have 38,477,386 Total Hours of game-play reported, with about 1,667 days possibly reported. The number of U.S. Wii owners with reported data has increased by just over 150,000 since July 2010, and over 80,000 since May 2011. The Total Hours reported have increased by over 15 million since July 2010, and over 9 million since the 2011.

City Folk players have averaged a total 84 Hours 22 Minutes "Per person" of play time with the game, which averages out to be 1 Hour 59 Minutes played per time reported. Its average reported "Per person" has seen an increase of 6 Hours 9 Minutes, from what was reported in May 2011.

Wouldn't K.K. Slider be good in Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U?
He could have a guitar "smash" special move.

How does Animal Crossing: City Folk's total hours "Per person" compare to other popular Nintendo Wii games? The 84 Hours 22 Minutes "Per person" actually makes Animal Crossing: City Folk one of the Wii's most played games in that category. It has a higher reported average "Per person" than games like Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and even Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

How was the game received by critics and customers though? The game has a "professional" critic review score average of 73.54%, based on 48 reviews on GameRankings.com. Its customer review score average is currently an 82.70%, based on 288 reviews from Amazon.com for both the regular and Nintendo Selects listings of the game.

Caffeinated Thoughts
I have said before that I purchased Animal Crossing: City Folk because the bundle that included the Wii Speak microphone was discounted when I did, and I wanted the Wii Speak peripheral to use for The Conduit's online multiplayer. I didn't think I would really enjoy Animal Crossing very much, but was really surprised by it.

If Animal Crossing: New Leaf is anything like Animal Crossing: City Folk on the Wii, then it should provide you with many, many hours of game-play fun. You have the option to buy the 3DS game either in a digital format, or you can purchase a physical copy of it. There was even a recent post and discussion about this, Animal Crossing - the Digital Push, by a guy that doesn't complete very many games.

If you haven't seen anything on Animal Crossing: New Leaf, here's the launch trailer for the game:

While the digital version might make sense for some, if you base your expected average play time with the new 3DS game, off of the Wii version's reported data, getting a physical copy might make more sense. Why? Looking again at the average time City Folk has been played per session, it's nearly 2 hours per session. I doubt I would care about having another game in my 3DS, if I'm dedicating so much time on one like Animal Crossing. This is the type of game, from my experience with it, that can take over your system and not leave the disc drive/cartridge slot for weeks at a time.

We haven't played Animal Crossing on the Wii in a while, and as of now it's in retirement on our game shelf, but Mrs. Coffee does get interested in it randomly, so I never know when it's coming back out of retirement. Also, if you saw the image captions above, it's because Nintendo revealed a new Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U character from the Animal Crossing games today in their E3 Nintendo Direct. I think K.K. Slider, Tom Nook, and even Brewster could be very interesting and fun characters for Super Smash Bros., and knowing how Nintendo is doing DLC in some games now, perhaps Super Smash Bros. will get DLC characters after it releases?

The Nintendo DS game released in 2005, and while the Wii released in 2006, City Folk wasn't released on it until 2008. So, if you're only a Wii/Wii U owner interested in the series, buying City Folk now might make sense when looking at the series' release history. Seeing how much Animal Crossing: City Folk has been played and enjoyed by Wii owners though, makes me wonder if Nintendo will release an Animal Crossing Wii U title, sooner than later.

If you're interested in winning The Humble Bundle 8 games, as mentioned in the data image above, simply like this post on Facebook, HERE, to get an entry!

Questions
Are you a Nintendo 3DS owner that has perhaps recently purchased Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the system? If you had never played the series before, what do you think about it?

If you own Animal Crossing: City Folk are you still playing it, or has it been retired to your video game shelf?

You can see Animal Crossing related games and products to buy from Amazon.com linked below:

Interview: Sniper Elite V2 Wii U - What about an eShop digital version, demo, and reasons to play this version?

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:02:40 PDT

Do armor-piercing rounds work on this, really?

Coffee Beans
Did you know that Sniper Elite V2 on the Wii U runs at a higher resolution than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, due to the Wii U's hardware strengths? If not, you can read where Rebellion's CEO and Creative Directory, Jason Kingsley, said it in the first interview about the game posted up last week, HERE.

Sniper Elite V2 released last month for the Wii U on May 21st, and it received an ESRB rating of "MATURE" with "Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of. If you're looking to buy the game, you should be able to find it now on sites like Amazon.com and in stores like GameStop.

What if you're a Wii U Deluxe Set owner and like downloading your games to take advantage of the Deluxe Digital Promotion though? While there isn't a Wii U eShop digital version yet, I did ask 505 Games about it, as well as if they are planning a demo for the game. Brew yourself some coffee, and read on to find out those details as well as what features Wii U owners might enjoy if they have already played another version of Sniper Elite V2!

The Brew
When I asked 505 Games if Sniper Elite V2 will get a Wii U eShop demo of some sort, their response was very straightforward like when I asked them about the DLC for the game.

They answered, "We currently do not have any plans for this."

What about getting the full game on the eShop for purchase though, so Wii U Deluxe owners might be able to get the game and take advantage of the Deluxe Digital Promotion? The answer to this question wasn't as clear.

I specifically asked, "While the Wii U version is having a physical retail release, is there a plan to make Sniper Elite V2 available to purchase from the Wii U's eShop? If so, when can Wii U owners that perhaps like to buy their games digitally look at getting the game? June? July?"

505 Games responded with, "We are currently discussing this.", but didn't clarify any further on it. So, being that it had been almost 2 weeks since I first asked about, I asked about it again to make sure there hadn't been any change from the first answer. They responded that there is still, "No news about the Wii U Shop".

Now, if you're a Wii U owner and have perhaps already played another version of Sniper Elite V2 (or, have access to another version), what features might you find enjoyable and notice make a difference from the other versions? Being a Wii U and PlayStation 3 owner myself, this is something that I was interested in.

I asked, "If there are Wii U owners that have perhaps already played Sniper Elite V2 on another system, what GamePad features do you think they would really enjoy and notice make a big difference from the other versions?"

Rebellion's Mr. Kingsley, the CEO and Creative Director, answered this saying, "Well firstly there's obviously the mirroring allowing the game to be played completely on the GamePad. This could be a big thing for gamers who don't want to disturb partners sharing the TV, or want to try and play Sniper Elite V2 in bed! Being a fiercely adult game, the privacy aspect could be handy too if the player has children and obviously doesn't want them to watch the game on the TV as they're playing. I think above all though, the GamePad enhances the tactical elements of the gameplay to help you avoid open firefights as much as possible. Being able to now track the positions of traps and explosives, see your heart rate (important when making precision shots) and other subtle tweaks really help make the stealth and setting up the perfect shot more rewarding."

The Wii U GamePad showing the weapons on the left/right side, with the map in the middle.

Caffeinated Thoughts
As for Mr. Kingsley's response, being a parent with young children, I can greatly appreciate the Off-TV GamePad play. I have used it in many Wii U games, and find I often use it the majority of the time to play games if it's an option. Even Bean 1 uses it for playing some Wii U games.

Personally, I think that having a demo of at least one level from the game would be a great way to let Wii U owners interested in the game (and who perhaps have already played another version of it), see how it plays and the benefits the GamePad adds to it. Sniper Elite V2 has a demo on Steam, so it would be nice to have an option to try the game out, especially considering many other Wii U games have demos available now.

If you missed the launch trailer for the game, you can see it below and some of the Wii U's features mentioned:

I think having Sniper Elite V2 on the Wii U eShop from the first day it released, along with a demo, might have been the best way to get the game out and create a positive buzz for it, despite it lacking some of the content found in the other versions. The demo could have been tailored around a specific level that took good advantage of the GamePad quick weapon selection and enemy tracking features, as well as giving Wii U owners a good feel for the overall gameplay.

Questions
If you have played Sniper Elite V2 on the Wii U, what do you think about the game? If you have already played and beaten the game, do you know how many hours it took you from start to finish?

You can buy the different versions of Sniper Elite V2, from Amazon.com linked below:

Sonic and the Secret Rings, how much has it been played? Official Nintendo Channel data report

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:17:22 PDT

Coffee Beans
On May 17th, Nintendo announced they had made a deal with SEGA securing the release of the next Sonic the Hedgehog title, known as Sonic Lost World, as an exclusive title for the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems. Sonic Lost World is said to be an "action platforming" game, which makes it the first Wii U Sonic game in that genre. Before looking forward at the Wii U's first Sonic action platforming game though, let's take a look at the Wii's first action platforming Sonic game that was released over 6 years ago now.

Sonic and the Secret Rings was Sonic's first retail outing on the Wii in the "action platforming" genre, the first of many though. The game was developed by SEGA of America, and released for the Wii on February 20, 2007. It received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Cartoon Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

If you own a Wii, or even a Wii U, you can find Sonic and the Secret Rings for under $20 now if you're interested in the game. How many hours can you expect from Sonic's first action platforming Wii game though? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data to get an idea!

The Brew
Sonic and the Secret Rings has approximately 707,727 U.S. Wii owners who have 9,108,257 Total Hours of game-play reported, with about 2,295 days reported. U.S. Wii owners have averaged a total of 12 Hours 52 Minutes "Per person" of play time with the game, which averages out to be about 1 Hour 25 Minutes played per time reported. So on average, Wii owners spend about an hour-and-a-half with the game each time they sit down to play it.

How many hours have you played?

How does Sonic and the Secret Rings' hours "Per person" compare to the other Sonic Wii games? Well, its average reported is actually the lowest out of all the retail Wii Sonic games in the "action" genre. It's lower than Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Unleashed.

What about critic and customer reviews for the game? Its "professional" critic review score average is 70.71%, based on 51 reviews on GameRankings.com. The customer review score average is currently a 62.72%, based on 125 reviews from Amazon.com.

Caffeinated Thoughts
The last Sonic game I purchased in the action platforming genre was Sonic Adventure, and I did purchase Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed for our Wii U this last December, and I have enjoyed my time with that game. I was a fan of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast and really liked the game (could be nostalgia, but I enjoyed it for a number of reasons, one being the VMU usage).

While we have looked at the reported Wii data for several Sonic games over the last few years (here, here, here, here, and here), this is the first report on Sonic and the Secret Rings, partly because of the recent Sonic Lost World Wii U news. If you haven't seen anything on Sonic Lost World since it was announced, here is the reveal trailer for the game:

I am definitely interested to see how this game turns out, especially with Nintendo getting behind it enough to make it an exclusive for the Wii U and 3DS when it releases. I like the brightness and colors of the game seen in the trailer, as it somewhat reminds me of Sonic Adventures. Also, seeing what looks to be 2D/3D gameplay elements mixed together, has me interested to see how it all fits together.

Now, will Sonic Lost World remain as an exclusive for the Wii U and 3DS at least until a Wii U successor releases from Nintendo, or will it just be an "exclusive" for a limited time like other games have been in the past? I think that remains to be seen, but either way, I hope it turns out to be a great Sonic game. Also, for the sake of the game, hopefully it has a release date that is sooner than expected (June or July would be nice), and releases at least 2 months before the first 3D Mario Wii U title, so that it's not competing against it for sales right away.

Are you interested in winning The Humble Bundle 8 games, as mentioned in the image above (the basic games, seen below)? If so, simply like this post on CoffeeWithGames' Facebook page, HERE, to get one entry!

These games and soundtracks, Steam key(s) included!

Questions
If you played Sonic and the Secret Rings, what did you think about the game? Would you recommend it to Wii or even Wii U owners who might be interested in picking up a cheap Sonic game until Sonic Lost World releases?

If you consider yourself a Sonic fan (or, even perhaps not), are you excited about Sonic Lost World from what you have seen and looking forward to learning more about the game?

You can buy Sonic and the Secret Rings from Amazon.com below, as well as pre-order Sonic Lost World for the Wii U and 3DS:

Interview: Sniper Elite V2 Wii U - What about the DLC and Miiverse updates?

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:27:57 PDT

Excellent sniping spot! Behind the planes, behind a tank, and behind sandbags!

Coffee Beans
Sniper Elite V2 released a few weeks ago for the Wii U, and the description for the game on the Wii U's eShop says, "You are elite US sniper, Karl Fairburne, sent behind enemy lines into besieged Berlin during the final moments of World War II. You uncover a horrifying plot which threatens to kill millions of civilians throughout Western Europe, and which would irreversibly change history as we now know it. Make every single bullet count or the world dies with you."

If you don't know, the game was originally developed by Rebellion and published by 505 Games for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 last year. The Wii U version currently has a MSRP of $59.99, and received an ESRB rating of "MATURE" with "Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

I reached out to Rebellion and 505 Games with some questions about Sniper Elite V2 on the Wii U, such as will the game be updated to allow in-game pictures to be posted to its Miiverse community? Also, what about the DLC for the Wii U version? I did receive answers to these questions about the game, and a few more as well, so brew yourself some coffee and hit the jump to learn more about Sniper Elite V2 for the Wii U!

That's not a camera lens view, and I doubt they would say "Cheese!"

The Brew
First up, Sniper Elite V2's Miiverse community is active. Right after the game released, I saw some comments about players not being able to take in-game pictures and post them to the Miiverse community, as well as some Wii U owners wondering if the game will receive the DLC found in the other versions of the game released last year.

I asked specifically about the free multiplayer expansion pack that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions have, and if there is any plan to make the DLC and online multiplayer mode(s) available for the Wii U version.

505 Games' answer was very straightforward about the DLC. They said, "We currently do not have any plans for DLC."

Some Wii U owners might not be happy about it, but many of those who have the game and are active in its Miiverse community really seem to be enjoying it, even despite it not having the DLC and multiplayer modes. Here are a few examples:

What about updating the game to make the Miiverse in-game picture functionality work though, like basically every other Wii U game? This question (along with the next) was sent directly over to Rebellion, and their CEO and Creative Director, Jason Kingsley, answered it with: "With the game just launched, it's probably a bit early to talk about updates or new content yet!"

So, until the game is updated to take advantage of the Miiverse feature for in-game picture posting (or, if it never is), Wii U owners will have to draw their own Sniper Elite V2 X-Ray Kill Cam shots to share with friends and other Wii U owners, to show the cool effect from the game. Some have already done so, as you can see in the two images below.

Drawn by hand on the Wii U GamePad!

While Sniper Elite V2 on the Wii U might be missing out on some of the content found in the other versions, I did ask which version the Wii U port was based off of and if the Wii U version looks and runs better than the other console versions.

Mr. Kingsley replied, "We can't really go into specifics, but all versions of Sniper Elite V2 are running off our powerful in-house engine - Asura - which is very adaptable. We even use it to power our mobile games. The game also runs at a higher resolution on Wii U than it does on Xbox 360 and PS3 due to the platform's hardware strengths."

Mr. Kingsley's statement about the Wii U version running at a higher resolution does seem to be backed up by some in the Miiverse community, and from at least one comment it seems the Wii U version does not have a screen tearing issue found in the PlayStation 3 version; or, at least not as bad/noticeable.

Caffeinated Thoughts
I can sort of understand Rebellion not including the online multiplayer in the Wii U version, because the online community would probably be small (and it's apparently almost non-existent now in the other versions from what I have read). I do think that Miiverse can help solve some online community aspects in games though, with players finding other Wii U owners to hop into online matches from Miiverse.

While they don't have any plans to release the multiplayer, co-op, or DLC for the Wii U version right now, I am glad to know that Rebellion took the time to make the Wii U version run at a higher resolution.

If you missed the trailer for the Wii U version of Sniper Elite V2 released a few weeks back, you can see it below:

The day the Wii U trailer was released, I received a message from a friend who had not seen the trailer, and didn't even know that Snipe Elite V2 was releasing on the Wii U. I found his message and the timing of it pretty ironic. Why did I find it ironic?

His message said that he was, "playing a cool Xbox game right now...V2 Sniper Elite." Again, he had not seen the Wii U trailer, and we had not discussed the Wii U version prior to him messaging me. He described the game in the message as, "Tenchu Stealth Assassins meets Call of Duty", and while I haven't played Sniper Elite V2 I have played the other games he mentioned.

From some of the footage I have seen of the game and some of the comments I have read about the game since I received the message, I think his description of Sniper Elite V2 seems like a very good way to describe the game.

I have not played the game, but I am interested in it, and I think I would enjoy the Off-TV play feature the most from what I know about it on the Wii U. I do hope that Rebellion/505 Games at least take the time to update the Wii U version to take full advantage of Wii U specific features though, such as posting in-game images to its Miiverse community, and perhaps even adding alternative and custom control options to the game.

Questions
Have any of you had a chance to play Sniper Elite V2 on the Wii U, and if so, what do you think about the game? If you have played another version of the game, as well as the Wii U version, do you like the GamePad controls and the way they are implemented in the game?

You can order Sniper Elite V2 for the Wii U from Amazon.com below:

Announcing the CoffeeWithGames Twitter contest winner...

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:10:20 PDT

Coffee Beans
Did you miss all the posts in May that showed how you could enter for a chance to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking? If so, starting in the middle of May I included in some of my regular Nintendo Channel data posts a way to enter to win the games, by simply using Twitter and tweeting out each post @ a company, and including a post specific hashtag in it as well.

From my count, there were seven chances to enter the giveaway (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7), but even with multiple opportunities to enter, only one person really took advantage of multiple chances to enter.

Congratulations to Jeremy on winning, and a big thanks to him for the multiple tweets and entering the contest! Jeremy is a regular around here (who even won the 2 years' worth of coffee a few years back), and you can follow him on Twitter, HERE!

If you missed out on entering this giveaway, make sure to keep an eye (or two) open for ways to enter to win more game giveaways, in the very near future!

If you didn't enter the contest, and are interested in the games, you can see see them on Amazon.com below:

May Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:17:54 PDT

Coffee Beans
It's already June, and that means E3 is right around the corner and I'm sure this will be a busy month with video game news. If you perhaps skimmed here occasionally during May, here is a recap of some of the posts from the month you may have missed, but possibly find interesting:
1) Do you enjoy FPS games and ever wonder how much FPS games on the Wii are/were played? If so, you may find the Conduit 2 official Nintendo Channel data report interesting, HERE.
2) Are you a Star Wars fan? Then you may find it interesting what the Wii's "least played" Star Wars game is, according to the average hours reported "Per person" in the United States, HERE.
3) What is the best Metroid game of all time? I don't know because I haven't played all of them, but Super Metroid is regarded pretty highly by many, and you can now buy it on Wii U's Virtual Console until June 13th for just 30 cents. If you wonder how many hours you might expect from the game, check out Super Metroid's official U.S. Nintendo Channel data, HERE.
4) The Wii U now has two Batman games that you can buy. One is Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, a Wii U launch title, which my neighbor has played and really enjoyed on the system. The other is LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes which released last month for the Wii U. If you're wondering about how many hours you can get from the game, you can read the LEGO Batman 2 Nintendo Channel data report for the Wii version, HERE.
5) Did you skip Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii, but are perhaps interested in it for the Nintendo 3DS? Are you curious as to how many hours you might expect from the game? You can see the average hours reported for the game, "Per person", in its official Wii U.S. Nintendo Channel data report from last month, HERE.
6) Did you not own a Wii, but do own a Wii U? I think one big benefit of the Wii U is its backwards compatibility with Wii titles. If you own a Wii U and have a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, you might be interested in the Super Mario Galaxy games. While I only played the original, you can see how many hours you might be able to expect from Super Mario Galaxy 2, HERE, in last month's Nintendo Channel data report.

Now, what were two new coffee blends I consumed in May, and what was our most played Wii U game during the month? Brew yourself some coffee, let's take a look at what games I played, and coffees I consumed during May.

Coffees Consumed
May was back to being more "normal", than April was. In April, we only brewed up one coffee blend during the month, but in May we brewed four blends, plus I had an iced coffee drink as well.

Here's the short list of the coffees I consumed in May:
1) Maxwell House Gourmet Roast
2) Puroast Dark French Roast
3) Maxwell House Dark Roast
4) Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast
5) Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee

The lowest priced coffee we have purchased...

The Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast was the first completely new coffee blend for us, and Mrs. Coffee purchased it for us from ALDI. It was their store brand coffee blend, which made me wary of it before we even opened it. While I have purchased store brands of other items, we had never tried it with our coffee blends before. The container she purchased was 33.9 OZ (over 2 pounds!), and like the Maxwell House blends she normally buys, it said it can make "...UP TO 270" cups of coffee. So, if I (we) didn't like it, we would have a backup supply of coffee for a while.

The container even had a coffee roast guide that put this blend as a "MEDIUM" roast coffee, while letting us know the range for the coffee blends is: MILD, MEDIUM, MED-DARK, or DARK. The real question though, is how did it taste?

I was very surprised by it, in a good way, because it had a good solid flavor for a medium roast coffee. If you like your coffees more dark roasted, this might not be for you; but, if you are cheap (I think Merriam-Webster wants my picture for the word's definition update next year) and enjoy a wide range of coffee blends, I would highly suggest giving this one a try. Not only was this the lowest priced coffee blend Mrs. Coffee has found for us yet (only $5.49 for it!), but it surprised both of us by not being a weak blend. We enjoyed it so much, that after we finished the first container in May, Mrs. Coffee bought us another one that has now started June off for us as well.

This cup image was altered to make it look like my drink,
without cream and/or sugar. Yes, it's sad, I know.

The second new coffee blend I had in May, at least "new" in a while, was the Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee. This actually was a mistaken coffee order, but I decided to give it a try anyway. We had gone out for ice cream at a Baskin-Robbins location, which just so happened to be a Baskin-Robbins/Dunkin' Donuts joint location. We asked the employee to add a medium coffee to our order, but with the hustle and bustle of juggling multiple customers, he heard "Medium iced coffee". He asked if I wanted room for cream and sugar, and after I picked myself up off the floor from laughing, I kindly said no, and told him he could be a stand-up comic. (Only part of that previous sentence is the actual account of what happened.)

So, how was the iced coffee drink? Surprisingly, very strong. I don't drink iced coffee beverages very often, and actually I can't remember the last time before this Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee that I had one. If you don't like strong coffee though, you should definitely leave room for cream and sugar in this one. If you do like your coffee blends strong though, this might be something you can enjoy during the hot days of summer that are probably right around the corner.

Games Played
The following "Instant Coffee" list doesn't contain all of the games I "played" in May, as I was volunteered to play some by Bean 1, or I would hop on some to play for just a few minutes to help him out if he was having trouble. One of those games for example, was Fluidity, which he plays from time-to-time. While I would help him get through certain sections, I wouldn't play the entire level/levels.

The "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in May is: Kirby's Adventure, Kirby Mass Attack, New Super Mario Bros. U, Rayman Legends Challenges App, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Toki Tori 2, Nintendo Land, Trine 2, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Mario 64. Instead of breaking down each individual game like I did last month, I'm going to talk about just a few them in a little more detail.

First, what was our most played Wii U game out those listed? It's kind of interesting, but between myself and Bean 1, Kirby's Adventure was the most played game on our Wii U in May. If you missed the video in last month's post, the following video is footage of Bean 1 playing Kirby's Adventure on our Wii U:

Bean 1 has really been enjoying Kirby's Adventure, and Kirby Mass Attack on his DS even more. If you have never played a Kirby game, just from my time with both Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Mass Attack, I would easily recommend both of them. If you own a DS and/or 3DS, I would highly suggest finding a copy of Kirby Mass Attack, because of the amount of content the game has and the fact you should be able to find it for under $15 now.

Nintendo Land received some decent play-time in May, not only from Bean 1 and me, but also from a cousin of Bean 1 who visited us for a few days. She had never played it before, and she really enjoyed playing Animal Crossing: Sweet Day the most. It was interesting, because she's a few years older than Bean 1 and she described the mini-game as, "It's like Easter, and hunting for eggs." When she said it, I thought it was an interesting description, and thought that Nintendo could have even released some free DLC Easter Bunny costumes for it, and changed the candies to Easter eggs to help promote the game and Wii U during Easter week.

I unlocked Trine 2's exclusive Wii U level back near the end of April, but I didn't play it in April. I finally played and beat the Wii U's exclusive level, the Dwarven Caverns, in the middle of May though. There was one spot where I encountered an audio glitch, and I haven't played back through the level to see if it happens every time, but it was a bit odd hearing it happen and makes me wonder if perhaps it was missed in QA testing, because it was a new level? The last level is challenging in certain spots though, with trying to figure out the mechanics of certain switches and equipment to progress through it, and I did enjoy my time playing through it despite the weird audio glitch.

While Super Metroid was my only "new" game purchase in May, I still haven't played it yet, but I didn't want to pass up its awesome sale price. As for the other games I listed above, if you have any specific questions (even thoughts) about any of them I played in May, feel free to ask me in the comments section below, or by emailing me at Scott(@)CoffeeWithGames.com.

Questions
Did any of you buy any new games in May, or perhaps any new systems like the Wii U Basic Set that I highlighted in a post?

Also, what games did you find yourself playing in May, and did you enjoy any new coffee blends in the month?

Coffee Shop! The best Wii U Basic Set sale yet, and why it might make sense for many to buy it, instead of the Wii U Deluxe Set.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 31 May 2013 22:58:40 PDT

Coffee Beans
The White Wii U Basic Set released just over 6 months ago in the U.S. with a MSRP of $299.99. The system doesn't include Nintendo Land ($59.99 MSRP) and it doesn't include the Wii U GamePad Stand/Cradle Set ($19.99 MSRP), like the Wii U Deluxe Set ($349.99 MSRP) includes. Also, the Wii U Basic Set has 8 GB of internal storage (really only about 3 GB available for downloads and storage), while the Deluxe Set has 32 GB of internal storage (about 25 GB available for use).

For me, having Nintendo Land, the GamePad Stand/Cradle Set, and the extra memory was enough to justify the $50 price difference at launch for the Deluxe Set, and the Deluxe Digital Promotion was just icing on the coffee cake.

Now though, there is a Wii U Basic Set sale that might make more sense to buy over the Wii U Deluxe Set, for many people. If you have been holding off on getting a Wii U system until a price drop, now might be a good time to grab one. Brew yourself some coffee, and hit the jump to see a sales breakdown between the Wii U Basic Set and Wii U Deluxe Set, and why buying the Wii U Basic Set might make more sense for you right now!

Totals as of current sales prices for individual items with the Basic Set.

The Brew
As the image above shows, right now you can get the Wii U Basic Set, along with a copy of Nintendo Land, the GamePad Stand/Cradle Set, and a 500 GB external HDD for only $334.86! The best thing about it, you can pick and choose which accessories and/or game(s) you want to buy with the Basic Set, and save even more.

Target currently has the Wii U Basic Set on sale for just $239.99, HERE, which is a 20% savings off its MSRP. Right now, you can get Nintendo Land on sale for under $30 and you can get the Wii U GamePad Stand/Cradle Set for under $20 from Amazon.com.

If you are concerned about extra memory for save files and eShop games, Virtual Console games, and perhaps even full digital retail games on the Wii U Basic Set, you can grab a 500 GB external HDD for $50 right now. If you already have an extra external HDD not being used, you can subtract $49.99 from the left total in the image. This means you can get the Wii U Basic Set with Nintendo Land and the GamePad charging cradle for $284.87.

If you aren't concerned with extra HDD space, you could grab at least one other Wii U retail game at a regular MSRP of $59.99 and get the Wii U console, two games (at the very least), and the GamePad Stand/Cradle Set for under the cost of the Wii U Deluxe Set.

Really though, if you aren't concerned about the color of the system, the Deluxe Digital Promotion (meaning, you don't think you will download a lot of games, to take advantage of the offer), and the Wii U console stand doesn't matter to you (we don't even use our console stand, just the GamePad Stand/Cradle), then I really do think this is a great deal.

Caffeinated Thoughts
I am very interested in this Wii U Basic Set sale for my parents, because of a certain game that is supposed to be heading to the system, but hasn't officially been announced yet. My parents wouldn't probably ever need any extra HDD space, not care about the Deluxe Digital Promotion, and the color of the system wouldn't matter.

While I have been debating on this Wii U deal for the last week now, I just wanted to make sure everybody around here that might be interested in a Wii U, is aware of the sale that is happening.

Personally, I'm guessing that Target is clearing inventory of the Wii U Basic Set, and Nintendo is allowing them to discount it without actually taking a loss. I think it will be interesting to see what Nintendo does for the Wii U Deluxe Set moving forward, and hopefully we know more about the Wii U's future with E3 right around the corner.

Questions
If any of you don't own a Wii U yet, does this sale make you interested in it, perhaps enough to grab it? If you don't own a Wii U yet, but are waiting on a price drop, what would be the "magic" price for you to grab one?

You can see Nintendo Land, the GamePad Stand/Cradle Set, and the HDD on Amazon.com used for the prices in the image, below:

Fortune Street, how much has it been played? Official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data report

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:25:31 PDT

Coffee Beans
About 2 weeks ago, Matt from DigitallyDownloaded.net and I were exchanging some emails, and he inquired about the game-play hours for Fortune Street. It had been almost a year since I had last covered the game, and you can read the first Nintendo Channel data report on it, HERE. It has now been more than a year since I covered the game, so let's take another look!

Fortune Street released in the U.S. for the Wii on December 5, 2011, with a MSRP of $49.99. The game was developed by Square Enix, and published by Nintendo for its U.S. release. It received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Comic Mischief" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

A description for the game on the Nintendo Channel says, "Players race around the board trying to accumulate wealth and hit a target value while buying, selling and trading property with friends and family to see who can be the first to cash out. What appears at first to be a simple property-buying board game offers multiple levels of money-maximizing opportunity."

The game has been out almost a year-and-a-half now, but how much has it actually been played? If you own a Wii or even now a Wii U, and skipped over Fortune Street when it released, how many hours might you expect from the game if you decide to buy it now? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data to see how many hours Wii owners have reported playing the game, and what the average hours "Per person" are reported so far!

The Brew
Fortune Street now has approximately 22,186 U.S. Wii owners who have just over 450,000 Total Hours of game-play reported, with about 539 days reported. This is an increase of over 10,000 more U.S. Wii owners with game-play data reported for the game, and just over 300,000 more Total Hours of game-play reported, compared to when we looked at it last May.

U.S. Wii owners have averaged a total playing time of 20 Hours 25 Minutes "Per person", which averages out to be about 2 Hours 36 Minutes played per time reported; at least according to the data from the Nintendo Channel. This means each session U.S. Wii owners are playing Fortune Street, they are putting over 2 1/2 hours into the game.

Are those supposed to be wheels of fortune in the top portion?

How does Fortune Street compare to other board game Wii games, in the reported average hours "Per person" section? Compared to the popular Mario Party games, Fortune Street's reported average hours "Per person" is lower than both Mario Party 8's and Mario Party 9's, by about 5 hours. Compared to the Wii's Monopoly games though, MONOPOLY and Monopoly Collection, Fortune Street has a slightly higher reported average "Per person".

What about the critic and customer review averages for the game, have they changed much in the last year? Fortune Street's "professional" critic review score average has increased slightly, now sitting at a 70.07% critic review score average, based on 28 reviews on GameRankings.com.

Its customer review score average has increased pretty significantly since last year though, and is now sitting at an 80.43%, based on 138 reviews on Amazon.com. The customer review score average has increased by nearly 15 percentage points and more than doubled the number of customer reviews in its average, compared to the last year.

Caffeinated Thoughts
If you have never seen any footage from the game, the trailer below might give you a decent idea of what to expect if you are familiar with board game video games:

Like last year, I still haven't played Fortune Street, and with how much Bean 1 enjoys games with the word "Mario" in their titles, I don't know if I would grab Fortune Street first, or one of the Mario Party games instead. I know they offer different game-play experiences, but from some of the customer reviews it seems that the Mario Party games are more suited for younger children, than Fortune Street is due to its learning curve.

I do find it interesting that Fortune Street has a higher reported average "Per person" than the Monopoly Wii games though, as those games should definitely have more name recognition here in the U.S. market, but perhaps the online multiplayer aspect in Fortune Street has really benefited the game.

If you are interested in a chance to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking, simply make sure you're following me on Twitter, HERE; and tweet this post out using the Twitter button beneath the post (seen in the image below). Also, include the hashtag #FortuneStreetCoffee and tweet it to @NintendoAmerica as well. The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
Have any of you been playing Fortune Street consistently over the last year, and if so, do you know how your hours played compare to the average reported? If you play the game pretty consistently, how is the online community now? Is it easy to find an online game against other players, or is it better if you know people to play the game with?

Also, if you own a Wii U and Fortune Street for the Wii, do you think the game could benefit any in game-play because of the GamePad, if Square Enix was to port it over to the Wii U?

You can buy Fortune Street, and other board game Wii and Wii U (sort of) games from Amazon.com below:

Super Mario Galaxy 2, how much has it been played? U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data report

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:24:42 PDT

Coffee Beans
E3 is right around the corner and while Nintendo won't be holding their typical E3 press conference, they will be doing a Nintendo Direct for the Wii U on June 11th, and smaller conferences at E3 as well. The Wii U's first 3D Mario game is supposed to be shown this year, and even be at E3 in playable form (maybe even at the Best Buy E3 Wii U demo stations?).

Before looking forward at the Wii U's first 3D Mario title, with whatever trailer and news Nintendo shares at E3, let's take a look at one of the Wii's 3D Mario action/platforming games: Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 released for the Wii on May 23, 2010 with a MSRP of $49.99, and received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Mild Cartoon Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of. The game was developed by Nintendo's EAD studio, like the original Super Mario Galaxy was as well.

If you own a Wii or Wii U and haven't played Super Mario Galaxy 2, but are interested in it, how many hours can you expect from it? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data to see how many hours Wii owners have reported playing the game, and the average hours reported so far!

The Brew
Super Mario Galaxy 2 now has approximately 660,796 U.S. Wii owners with over 23,000,000 Total Hours of game-play reported, with about 1,100 days reported. This is an increase of nearly 650,000 more U.S. Wii owners with game-play data reported for SMG2, than were reported when its data first debuted in May 2010.

The 23+ million Total Hours of reported game-play is more than half the time span of the world's recorded history. If you're not sure what that is, it means Super Mario Galaxy 2 has been played for more than 2,500 years worth of time.

From the Nintendo Channel data reported, U.S. Wii owners have averaged playing the game 35 Hours 28 Minutes, which averages out to about 2 Hours 2 Minutes played per time reported.

For some comparison, Super Mario Galaxy 2's reported average hours "Per person" are now higher than the original Super Mario Galaxy's, but lower than its 2D competitor's, that being New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In short, based on the averages reported "Per person", you can expect more replay value from Super Mario Galaxy 2, than the original Super Mario Galaxy.

How have the critic and customer reviews changed for the game since we looked at the game in May 2011? Well, Super Mario Galaxy 2 still ranks in the Wii's "Top 10" games according to critics' reviews averages on GameRankings.com, and its review score average is slightly higher now at a 97.35%, based on 56 reviews on GameRankings.com.

The game's Amazon.com customer review score average has increased slightly as well, and is now sitting at a 92.85%, based on 400 customer reviews; compared with having 284 customer reviews in 2011.

Caffeinated Thoughts
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not a game in our Wii/Wii U collection, and it's one I still haven't played. If we did end up getting it now, I would play it on our Wii U in the system's Wii mode though, due to me trying to limit the disc drive use in our Wii.

If you have never seen any footage from the game, here's a trailer for it that might get you interested, especially if you're a fan of Luigi and are happy about the "Year of Luigi":

Nintendo made the original Super Mario Galaxy, which released in 2007, a "Nintendo Selects" title in 2011. Surprisingly, or perhaps not knowing Nintendo recently, Super Mario Galaxy 2 has still not made it in the Nintendo Selects lineup of Wii games, and finding the game online for under $50 new, is a bit challenging on the world's largest online retailer. Even GameStop doesn't have the game available to be purchased new online. Which, makes me wonder if Nintendo is about to expand the Wii's Nintendo Selects lineup of games, and add Super Mario Galaxy 2 to it? I don't know, but I do find it interesting Amazon.com and GameStop.com don't currently have the game in stock to sell directly.

If you are a Wii U owner and didn't own a Wii, you probably know by now that the Wii U is backwards compatible with Wii games (unlike the Xbox One and PlayStation 4?). So, if you haven't played Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can play it on your Wii U if you have the proper Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers.

I know many consider the Super Mario Galaxy Wii games to be the best looking games for the system. I think it will be interesting to see if the Wii U's 3D Mario keeps the same graphical art style as those, and really shows what the system can do (I hope), or if Nintendo will change it up like what has been done with the Zelda games over the years.

I'm thinking the Wii U's first 3D Mario game might even be titled Super Mario Universe, continuing off the "Galaxy" theme; but Nintendo could just throw a "U" on the end like they did with New Super Mario Bros. U, and call it Super Mario U. No matter what they call it though, I am interested to see the art style of the game and what direction they have gone with it.

While I'm thinking the setting will be more like the Super Mario Galaxy games, I kind of hope they do a throwback to Super Mario 64's setting with Princess Peach's Castle being where you run around and select levels from.

Now, if you want a chance to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking as the image above mentions, here's what to do. Make sure you are following me on Twitter, HERE. Then, tweet out this post using the Twitter button beneath the post (seen in the image below if you're not sure), and include the hashtag #SuperMarioGalaxyCoffee and tweet it to @NintendoAmerica. The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
Have any of you perhaps recently played and beaten Super Mario Galaxy 2, if so, what'd you think about the game? If you played the original SMG and SMG2, which one did you enjoy more?

Also, with Nintendo revealing the Wii U's first 3D Mario action title in just a few weeks (12 days really!), is there anything you're hoping to see from the game?

You can buy Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, and a few other Mario related items from Amazon.com below!

If you're interested in reading/seeing older data reports on Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can find them linked here, here, here, here, here, here, and also here.

Donkey Kong Country Returns! How much have U.S. Wii owners reported playing? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:23:56 PDT

Coffee Beans
Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have been platforming buddies since the 90s. Sometimes they work together, other times they work to help the other out. It just depends which adventure you play.

Donkey Kong Country Returns was one of Nintendo's surprise Wii games at E3 2010, and the game released on November 21, 2010 that same year with a MSRP of $49.99. It was developed by Retro Games (known for developing the Metroid Prime games), and of course published by Nintendo.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is now available for the Nintendo 3DS system with a MSRP of $34.99, and like the Wii version, it also received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Mild Cartoon Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

If you own a Wii or Wii U, or now even a Nintendo 3DS, and are interested in Donkey Kong Country Returns (3D), how many hours can you expect from it? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data and the average hours reported!

The Brew
Donkey Kong Country Returns now has approximately 406,053 U.S. Wii owners with nearly 10 million Total Hours of game-play data reported, with about 911 days reported. This is an increase of almost 400,000 more U.S. Wii owners that have had game-play data for the game reported, than when it first debuted in December 2010.

The game's average reported play time of 22 Hours 54 Minutes "Per person", seen in the image below, averages out to be about 1 Hours 47 Minutes played per time reported.

For comparison to other Nintendo Wii platforming games, Donkey Kong's reported hours "Per person" are lower than New Super Mario Bros. Wii's, but slightly higher than Kirby's Epic Yarn's.

What about critic and customer reviews for the game? The last time we looked at the reported data, DKCR had a "professional" critic review score average of 87.79%, based on 53 reviews on GameRankings. Now, the game has a critic review score average of 87.87%, based on 55 reviews on GameRankings.com.

Its customer review score average was 89.86%, based on 306 reviews from Amazon.com. Donkey Kong Country Returns now has a customer review score average of 89.69%, now based on 427 reviews on Amazon.com.

Caffeinated Thoughts
It's been a while since I last played Donkey Kong's platforming Wii adventure, but as I have stated before, I really did enjoy my time with the game. I have done several Nintendo Channel data reports on the game over the last few years, and you can take a look at the different times reported for the game over the years: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

While I haven't played through the game just by myself, Mrs. Coffee and I play through the entire game together, just like we did with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. If you haven't seen anything on Donkey Kong Country Returns, here's a video of Mrs. Coffee and I playing through one of the levels in the Wii version:

I believe that Monster Games (probably best known for Excite Truck, ExciteBots, and PilotWings Resort to Nintendo fans) is the company Nintendo hired to port Donkey Kong Country Returns from the Wii to the 3DS. While I'm really glad to see Monster Games continuing to work with Nintendo, I do hope that they have been working on another, newer, game for either the Wii U or 3DS.

I think it would be interesting to see what Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D's average hours "Per person" end up being, and specifically what the average hours reported per time would be. Unfortunately though the 3DS, like the Wii U, doesn't have a Nintendo Channel where all the game-play data is reported. I think it would be interesting because of the portability of the game on the 3DS now, if it would end up having a higher or lower average overall.

Do you want a chance to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking? Simply make sure you're following me on Twitter, HERE, and tweet out this post using the Twitter button beneath this post (it's in the image below if you're not sure). Include the hashtag #DonkeyKongCoffee in it, and tweet it to @NintendoAmerica. The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
Have any of you played through Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii in the last year, and if so, what did you think about the game? If you own a Nintendo 3DS, have you already purchased Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for the system, and if you have had a chance to play it, what do you think about it?

If you have played both the Wii and 3DS versions, do you prefer one more than the other; assuming you have had the chance to play the 3DS version a decent amount already?

You can see Donkey Kong related games and items below!

SMB: The Lost Levels - better lost, than never? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel Data Report

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:23:09 PDT

Coffee Beans
Are you planning on buying Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for your Nintendo 3DS? If so, you might want to check out Best Buy's current pre-order bonus with the game. What might that be? If you pre-order the game from Best Buy right now, you will receive a download code for SMB: The Lost Levels for your Nintendo 3DS' Virtual Console, when Donkey Kong's new 3DS adventure releases later this week! You can see the details, HERE.

SMB: The Lost Levels was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1986, but only in Japan. It was the true sequel to Super Mario Bros. in Japan, being called Super Mario Bros. 2 there. It never released for the NES in the United States, but thanks to digital distribution the original NES version finally did reach our shores in a more accessible way.

Nintendo made SMB: The Lost Levels available on the Wii's Virtual Console service on October 1, 2007 and it is available to download for just $6 (600 Wii Points). The game is also now available to download from the 3DS eShop for just $4.99. The game received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE", on both systems, with no content listed for parents and gamers to be aware of.

If you have never played the real sequel (depending who you ask, I know) to the original Super Mario Bros., how many hours can you expect out of the game? How many U.S. Wii owners have game-play data reported for SMB: The Lost Levels, since it released in 2007? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Better than the original?

The Brew
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels has approximately 116,065 U.S. Wii owners, who have the 481,632 Total Hours of game-play reported (seen above) through the Wii's Nintendo Channel with about 2,058 days reported. The game's average reported play time shown of 4 Hours 9 Minutes "Per person", averages out to about 24 Minutes played per time reported.

For some comparison to the other NES Virtual Console Super Mario games, SMB: The Lost Levels' reported average play time "Per person" is actually the lowest of them. Those other games being Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 (titled in America), and Super Mario Bros. 3.

How much has SMB: The Lost Levels' Wii Virtual Console release has made Nintendo, just off its U.S. release? The game's U.S. digital release has made Nintendo over $600,000 since it release in 2007, based on the information from the Nintendo Channel data and its $6 price.

Caffeinated Thoughts
If you haven't seen any footage of SMB: The Lost Levels, the video below is the video for the game on the Wii's Nintendo Channel, and I find it a bit odd for an info video. Take a look:

I don't know if they were recording somebody playing the game for the first time ever, but I think it's funny the player skips over the mushroom (Bean 1 does that quite often), and is just running and jumping around quickly, without much planning.

As for the data, while I find it interesting this game has the lowest reported average out of all the Super Mario Bros. NES games, that it is actually a dollar more than the standard price of NES Virtual Console titles on the Wii, is surprising. Maybe Nintendo of America had to do more work in getting the original version localized for the Virtual Console, since it was only originally in Super Mario All Stars on the SNES?

Have I ever played Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels? No, I haven't! After reading up more on the game in the last week though, I'm interested in it. Not only because it has the words "Super" and "Mario" in its title, but also because the game said to be pretty challenging, and that's supposedly one big reason why Nintendo of America didn't originally localize it. I guess the the subtitle, "The Lost Levels", is appropriate. But hey, it's a Mario title, so better ~~late~~ lost, than never...right?

Being that we don't have this one in our collection, I will probably just wait until Nintendo releases the game for the Wii U's Virtual Console to get the added GamePad play; well, if they release it for the Wii U's Virtual Console. I haven't see any information on it, but I would imagine they will at some point, considering it has "Mario" in its title, even if abbreviated!

There have been three previous chances to enter for a chance to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking. You can still use do those things to gain extra entries, and here's a fourth opportunity! Make sure you're following me on Twitter, HERE; and tweet out this post using the Twitter button below the post (it's pointed out in the image above, if you're not sure). Include the hashtag #SuperMarioCoffee in it, and tweet it to @NintendoAmerica. The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
If you have played every NES Super Mario game, even if only in digital form, where would you rank SMB: The Lost Levels? Better than the original, but not as good as Super Mario Bros. 3? Perhaps it's your favorite one?

Also, if you have played The Lost Levels, do you know how many hours of game-play you have gotten out of the game, whether its the Wii Virtual Console version, and/or even the 3DS Virtual Console version?

You can see a few Mario related items below, including the SNES Super Mario All Stars which includes a version of SMB: The Lost Levels in it:

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes! How much have U.S. Wii owners reported playing? Official Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:22:21 PDT

Coffee Beans
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (LB2) was developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game released last June for the Wii, (and the 3DS, DS, PC, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and Xbox 360) with a MSRP of $39.99. The game just released for the Wii U, and has a MSRP of $49.99. Both Wii and Wii U versions of the game received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE 10+" with "Cartoon Violence" listed as content for gamers and parents to be aware of.

How many U.S. Wii owners have data reported for the game, since it released last year? Also, with the Wii U version of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes now out, how many hours can you expect from the game if you have never played it? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data!

The Brew
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes now has approximately 36,975 U.S. Wii owners with the 1,108,297 Total Hours of game-play data reported, with about 335 days reported. This is an increase of just over 33,000 U.S. Wii owners that have had game-play data for the game reported, since its debut hours report last July. Also, the reported Total Hours have increased by over 1,000,000 Total Hours just since last report, which is excellent for a Wii title less than a year old.

The game's average reported play time of 29 Hours 59 Minutes "Per person", averages to be about 2 Hours 35 Minutes played per time reported through the Nintendo Channel. This means that if you play LEGO Batman 2 like the average U.S. Wii owner has, you should be able to expect at least around 30 hours of game-play from it.

How does LEGO Batman 2's average hours "Per person" compare to other Wii LEGO games though? Compared to the original LEGO Batman's, LB2's reported average is about 7 hours lower right now. Compared to LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7's reported average, LB2's average is about 9 hours higher than it is right now. What about compared to Captain Jack's LEGO adventure? LEGO Batman 2's average is higher than it is by almost 6 hours right now.

Last July, the Wii version had just two "professional" critic reviews in its overall average on GameRankings. Surprisingly, the game still only has those two critics' reviews averaged, and its critic review score average is still 81.50% on GameRankings.com.

The customer review score average numbers is a very different story. Last year the game had 24 customer reviews on Amazon.com, and its review score average was 85.83%. Now, LEGO Batman 2 on the Wii has a customer review score average of 87.66%, based on 180 customer reviews!

Caffeinated Thoughts
The description for the Wii U version says, "Batman and Robin return in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for Wii U. Experience one of the best-selling games of 2012 with new and enhanced gameplay utilizing the Wii U GamePad. With help from other famous DC Super Heroes including Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, the Dynamic Duo are in for a fight to put the notorious villains Lex Luther and The Joker behind bars and save Gotham City."

I still haven't played either of the LEGO Batman games, but just tonight I watched the Wii U trailer for LEGO Batman 2 about 20 times in a row (seriously), with Bean 1 and Bean 2. Bean 1 was then repeating one of the lines from it, after watching it so much! If you haven't seen the trailer for the Wii U version, it shows off some of the "enhanced gameplay" Wii U features with the GamePad. Take a look:

I personally think the two player mode, with player one using the GamePad and player two having the TV is an awesome setup. We have LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, and Bean 1 and I have played it together. The way the screen starts attempting to split up in it, can be a bit confusing to him, but with the Wii U's GamePad element he could concentrate on one screen and myself (or, the Mrs. or even Bean 2 one day) on the other.

While LEGO Batman 2's Wii U price is currently more than double that of the other console versions, I think for some LEGO game fans the local co-op using the Wii U GamePad might be enough for them to justify picking it up. If you don't own a Wii U (yet), you can get LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for under $20 on most of the other consoles now. Which with how many hours the game has reported averaged on the Wii, I think it's a great price.

Have you missed the first two opportunities to get entered for a chance to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking? If so, here's a third opportunity! Make sure you're following me on Twitter, HERE; and tweet out this post using the Twitter button below the post (pointed out in the image above if you're unsure which button), AND include the hashtag #LEGOBatmanCoffee and tweet it to @TTGames. The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
Have any of you played and beaten LEGO Batman 2 since it released last year? If so, what do you think about the game?

If you own a Wii U, are you interested in picking up that version, perhaps just because of the way the local multiplayer is done, with each player having their own dedicated screen?

You can see LEGO Batman 2 for the Wii and Wii U, and a few other Batman related items, below!

Super Mario Bros. 2, how much have U.S. Wii owners reported playing? Official Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:19:56 PDT

Coffee Beans
Super Mario Bros. 2 (SMB2) was originally released in the U.S. for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1988. Nintendo re-released SMB2 for the Wii's Virtual Console Service on July 2, 2007, and it is available to download for 500 Wii Points, which is $5. The game was just released for the Wii U's Virtual Console service this week, on Thursday. You can purchase it through the Wii U's eShop now for only $4.99, or you can currently get it 50% off if you buy Super Mario World at the same time.

Both the Wii and Wii U versions of SMB2 have an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with no content listed for parents and gamers to be aware of.

SMB2's description on the Wii U eShop says, "Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad embark on a quest together to save the day against the villainous Wart. Pick up items and throw them at your adversaries to clear levels in seven fantastical worlds. Even enemies can be picked up and tossed across the screen.

Each character has a unique set of abilities: Luigi can jump higher and farther than any of the other characters, Toad can dig extremely fast and pull items out of the ground quicker than anyone, and the princess is the only one who can jump and hover temporarily.

This unique installment in the Mario series will keep you coming back for more!"

If you own a Wii or Wii U, how many hours of game-play can you expect from Super Mario Bros. 2? How many U.S. Wii owners have game-play data reported for the game, since it released back in 2007? Brew yourself a nice, full, pot of coffee this fine day, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Nintendo Channel data for Super Mario Bros. 2!

The Brew
Super Mario Bros. 2 has approximately 256,673 U.S. Wii owners that have reported the 1,269,953 Total Hours of game-play data shown above, with about 2,142 days possibly reported.

SMB2's average reported play time is 4 Hours 57 Minutes "Per person", which averages out to be about 32 Minutes played per time that is reported through the Nintendo Channel. So basically, if you play Super Mario Bros. 2 like the average amount that just over 250,000 U.S. Wii owners have, you should expect about 5 hours of game-play from it.

For some comparison to other NES Virtual Console Mario games, SMB2's reported average play time "Per person" is about half the reported average of Super Mario Bros., and only about a third of what the reported average for Super Mario Bros. 3 is. When compared to SMB: The Lost Levels' (the real Super Mario Bros. 2, at least in Japan?) reported average though, Super Mario Bros. 2's average is slightly higher.

There is not a "professional" critic review score average on Metacritic.com or GameRanking.com for the game, but SMB2 does already have some ratings on the Wii U. The game is at a 92.63% rating based on the Wii U eShop Star ratings for the game (19 so far), when the customer Star ratings are converted to a percentage. The game has an 87.03% review score average on Amazon.com, based on 54 customer reviews there.

How much has Super Mario Bros. 2 made Nintendo off its U.S. Wii Virtual Console release? So far, the game has made Nintendo just over $1,280,000, according to the approximate number of U.S. players with data reported and the game's $5 price point.

Caffeinated Thoughts
Have I played SMB2? I have, but only on the original NES! It had been a while since I had seen any footage of the game, at least before I watched the eShop trailer for it earlier today. The theme music, though toned differently from the other Mario games, was immediately recognizable to me, and I remember enjoying this game on the NES when I was little. I don't know if I would still enjoy it as much now, but from what I remember of my time with SMB2 (probably more than 20 years ago now), it was a fun game and I liked how I could play as different characters in it.

If you haven't seen any footage from Super Mario Bros. 2, here's the trailer for the Wii U version of the game:

I never purchased the Wii Virtual Console version, but I'll probably end up buying SMB2 for our Wii U, like I did for Kirby's Adventure. I still haven't done the Wii to Wii U system transfer yet, so the 50% discount on the game does give me another reason to consider doing the transfer soon, because we already own Super Mario World.

If you have heard about the sale on Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Wii U eShop, it is a limited time offer, and you can see how Nintendo is promoting the deal on the Wii U's eShop front page in the image below:

Now, how can you enter to win Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking as the data image above mentions? If you want to be entered in a drawing for those games make sure you're following me on Twitter, HERE; and make sure to tweet out this post using the Twitter button below (pointed out for you in the image below, if you're unsure), AND include the hashtag #SuperMarioCoffee and also tweet it to @NintendoAmerica. This will run for a few weeks, so there will be a few chances to enter the drawing multiple times (there has already been one). The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
Have any of you taken advantage of the Wii U sale on Super Mario Bros. 2 yet, or planning on doing so? If you have played the Wii U version already, but never played the game before, what do you think about it?

If you played the Wii Virtual Console version, do you know how many hours you have played the game? Also, if you're a fan of the Super Mario Bros. games in general, do you enjoy Super Mario Bros. 2, even though it is slightly different from the others (at least, from what I remember)?

If you're interested in an original copy of Super Mario Bros. 2, you can see it on Amazon.com below for a cool $350, as well as other Nintendo items:

Coffee Shop! Game deals for the PC, PS3, 3DS, & Wii U!

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:43:50 PDT

Coffee Beans
Amazon.com is running some pretty incredible deals on a good number of PC games right now, and along with highlighting some of those, there are a few PS3, 3DS, and Wii U deals you might be interested in.

When I say incredible deals, I don't just mean 10% off titles. No, I mean some PC titles 75-88% off their "List Price" on the site. You also don't need any special coupon(s), special code(s), or special pass phrase(s) to get the deals.

Brew yourself some coffee, and hit the jump to see what games you can find!

The Brew
First up, some of the PC games -
1) You can get Bioshock & Bioshock 2 for under $5! That's right, BOTH Bioshock games are on sale for just $4.99 in the Bioshock Dual Pack, HERE, which is an 88% savings from the "List Price"!
2) Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is on sale for just $7.49; that's a 75% savings from its "List Price" on Amazon.com! Get it, HERE!

3) Dead Space & Dead Space 2 for under $10? I know one guy that I think would recommend them. Right now, you can get the Dead Space Dual Pack for only $7.99, which is an 80% savings, HERE!
4) Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Standard Edition is on sale for just $4.99, a 75% savings, HERE!
5) Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition & Dragon Age 2 can be grabbed for under $10 right now, bundled together. The Dragon Age Pack includes both games discounted 80% from the "List Price", HERE, and can be purchased for only $9.99!
6) Mark of the Ninja is a 2D side-scrolling game, with a heavy emphasis on stealth. The game has a customer review score average right now of 95.71% on Amazon.com, based on 28 reviews. You can grab the game right now for only $3.75, which is 75% off, HERE!
7) Metro 2033 can be picked up for only $4.99, HERE!
8) Last, but not least in the PC titles, The Walking Dead from Telltale Games, for the best price I have seen it yet! For only $9.99, a 60% savings, you can get the entire season of The Walking Dead. It includes Episode 1 - A New Day, Episode 2 - Starved for Help, Episode 3 - Long Road Ahead, Episode 4 - Around Every Corner, and Episode 5 - No Time Left. Again, this is the ENTIRE first season of the game series from Telltale Games, and for under $10. Don't walk away from this one, if you have been interested in it, get it HERE.

PlayStation 3 deals -
1) Crysis 3 is on sale for $24.99, a 58% savings, and the game released just back in February! Get it HERE!
God of War: Ascension is on sale for only $39.99, which is $20 off its list price, HERE.
Just Dance 4 is on sale for $19.99, which is a 50% savings, HERE.

3DS deals -
1) Mario Kart 7 is on sale for $29.99, HERE.
2) Paper Mario: Sticker Star is on sale for $24.99, a 38% savings, HERE.
3) Resident Evil: Revelations is on sale for just $17.76, HERE.
4) Super Mario 3D Land is on sale for $29.99, a 25% savings, HERE.

1) Assassin's Creed III is on sale for just $29.99, a 25% discount, HERE.
2) Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is on sale for $24.99, a 50% discount, HERE.
3) Scribblenauts Unlimited is on sale for $42.78, HERE.

If you own a Wii U, also make sure to check out the eShop as you can currently grab two games that are on sale. You can get Super Metroid for only 30 cents right now, through June 11th. If you wonder how many hours you might expect from Super Metroid, you can read/see the latest official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report for the game, HERE.

You can also now get RUNNER2 on sale for $11.25, until May 30th. I already purchased Super Metroid, and might be taking advantage of the RUNNER2 sale soon!

If you haven't seen any footage of RUNNER2, I'm including its Wii U trailer below:

Question
Would you recommend any of these games at their discounted prices, or know of any other game deals happening now that you would recommend?

If so, please leave feedback below!

Super Metroid! How much has it been played? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:20:08 PDT

Coffee Beans
Super Metroid originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1994. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console service on August 20, 2007, and is available to download for 800 Wii Points, which is $8.

Nintendo just released Super Metroid for the Wii U's Virtual Console service, and you can currently purchase the Wii U version for only 30 cents until June 13th, and then the game should be available for $7.99. Both the Wii and Wii U versions received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Mild Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

The software description for the game on the Wii U eShop says, "The Space Pirates, merciless agents of the evil Mother Brain, have stolen the last Metroid from a research station, and once again Mother Brain threatens the safety of the galaxy! Samus Aran must don her awesome array of high-tech weaponry to retrieve the deadly Metroid hidden deep within the cave-riddled planet Zebes. Super Metroid features excellent graphics, with a huge variety of enemies and worlds to explore. The side-view action will be familiar to many players, only now there are new weapons and items, including the Grappling Beam, which allows Samus to swing across large chasms, and the X-Ray Scope, which reveals secret passages."

If you own a Wii or Wii U, how many hours can you expect from Super Metroid? Also, how many U.S. Wii owners have game-play data reported for the game through the Nintendo Channel, since it released in 2007? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Nintendo Channel data for Super Metroid!

How quickly have you beaten it?

The Brew
Super Metroid now has approximately 125,793 U.S. Wii owners with game-play data reported, with about 2,093 days possibly reported. This is an increase of about 23,000 more players with game-play data reported, than when we first looked at the game a few years back.

The game now has 1,329,906 Total Hours of game-play reported, an increase of 381,538 Total Hours since its August 2010 data report. Its average reported now of 10 Hours 34 Minutes "Per person", seen in the image above, is a 1 Hour 20 Minutes increase from its August 2010 average. Wii owners are spending a little over an hour each time they play the game, according to this reported data.

For some comparison to other Wii Metroid games, Super Metroid's reported average "Per person" is about 6 hours lower than Metroid: Other M's and almost 12 hours lower than the reported average for Metroid Prime 3.

Super Metroid has a "professional" critic review score average of 95.50%, based on 11 reviews on GameRankings.com. Its Amazon.com customer review score average is a 90.00%, based on just 6 reviews of the Virtual Console version. BUT, the reviews average for the Super Metroid SNES cartridge Amazon page is at a 97.05%, based on 95 customer reviews.

How much has Super Metroid's Wii Virtual Console release in the United States made for Nintendo? The game has made Nintendo just over $1,000,000, at least according to the approximate number of players with data reported and the game's $8 price point.

Caffeinated Thoughts
I played the SNES version many years ago, but I never purchased it on the Wii's Virtual Console service. I have already purchased Super Metroid from the Wii U's eShop though, for the awesome price of only 30 cents. If you own a Wii U or a Wii and haven't seen anything on the game, here's a trailer for the Wii U version:

It's probably been 15+ years since I last played Super Metroid, and while I haven't given the Wii U version a try just yet, I am looking forward at seeing how it has held up over the years. I know in the last Super Metroid post, there was one person that thought the Wii Virtual Console version was not very good at all, but they had never played it on the SNES. While I think I remember watching my brother play the last boss battle multiple times in the game, I'm not sure if I ever played through and beat the game completely by myself. I hope the game lives up to what I remember about it, at the very least.

While I mentioned in "The Brew" section that Super Metroid's reported average "Per person" is lower than Metroid: Other M's and Metroid Prime 3's, I think it should be noted that those two games were full retail releases, not available through (just) the Wii's Shop Channel. But, I think it shows how lower priced digital titles, even if older in this case, can really be a great value.

Now, you may be wondering how can you enter to win the games mentioned in the data image above, right? If you want to be entered in a drawing for those games make sure you're following me on Twitter, HERE; and make sure to tweet this post out using the Twitter button below (pointed out in the image below if you're unsure) AND include the hashtags #SuperMetroidCoffee and #WiiU and also @coffeewithgames in it (should be enough room for all!). This will run for a few weeks, so there should be multiple opportunities to get entered in the giveaway. The winner has been announced, HERE.

Questions
Have any of you already downloaded and played the Wii U version? If so, what do you think about it if you had never played it before?

If you played and beat the Wii Virtual Console version of Super Metroid, do you know how many hours you have played the game? Also, if you were a fan of the game back on the SNES, do you think it has held up well over the years?

You can buy (or, look at) a few Metroid related items from Amazon.com below:

Movie Magic Monday! Iron Man's average hours, total hours, & review scores averages. Official Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:00:01 PDT

Coffee Beans
Iron Man 3 released last Friday, and is doing a nice job of wracking up hundreds of millions of dollars. With Iron Man 3 having just released last week, for this Movie Magic Monday feature we're taking a look at the first Iron Man video game on the Nintendo Wii.

Iron Man was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement, and published by Sega. The game was released on May 2, 2008 and received an ESRB rating of "TEEN" with "Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

A description for the game on Amazon.com says, "Iron Man, one of Marvel's most indestructible Super Heroes, is blasting onto video game platforms and the big screen next year (2008). The epic, action-packed Marvel Studios production will be directed by John Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow. This third-person action game will immerse players in explosive militaristic combat from the film with loads of additional content created exclusively for the game."

The original Iron Man movie has a runtime of 2 Hours 6 Minutes, but how many hours can you expect from the Iron Man video game? Did the "additional content created exclusively for the game" as the game's description says, add more hours of "explosive militaristic combat" to the game than what the movie provided viewers? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official Nintendo Channel data for Iron Man!

How many hours have you contributed to its overall data?

The Brew
Iron Man has approximately 114,111 U.S. Wii owners that have reported nearly one million "Total Hours" of game-play, as seen in the image above, with just over 5 years of data possibly being reported.

The game's average reported play time of 8 Hours 11 Minutes "Per person", averages out to be about 1 Hour 33 Minutes played per time reported on the Nintendo Channel. So, Wii owners have played the game in shorter sessions each time they play it, than it would take them to watch the movie.

While the Iron Man movie this game was based off of did extremely well at the box office, and has a 93% "CERTIFIED FRESH" on RottenTomatoes' Tomatometer, how was the game received by critics and customers?

Well, the game's "professional" review score average is 42.64%, based on 14 reviews on GameRankings.com. Its customer review score average though is 80.00%, nearly double the critic average, based on 18 reviews from Amazon.com.

Caffeinated Thoughts
If you never saw any promotional videos for Iron Man when it was releasing, below is one of the first trailers released for the game:

I have not played Iron Man, but I did see the original movie and its sequel, though I have not seen Iron Man 3 yet. I was a bit surprised to see Iron Man's average hours "Per person" sitting above 8 hours, but from what we saw in two March Movie Magic Monday posts, I probably shouldn't be anymore. It appears movie tie-in games are enjoyed a good deal by people that buy them, even if not by the critics that review them. (You can see the Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon movie based Wii games data reports, HERE and HERE.)

Surprisingly, there has not been an Iron Man 3 movie-based video game released for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 like the two previous movies had (unless I'm not looking at the right places). The Wii U and mobile platforms, 3DS and Vita, aren't getting an Iron Man 3 video game either, from what I can tell.

Sega was the publisher of both the Iron Man and Iron Man 2 console video games, and I'm wondering if perhaps some of Sega's latest ventures (like funding Aliens: Colonial Marines for a few years), is a result of them not licensing/publishing an Iron Man 3 home console game for this movie?

Even without an Iron Man 3 home console game, if you are perhaps in a store this week and see Iron Man for cheap, I would say based on the reported average hours "Per person" and some of the user reviews for the game that it might be worth grabbing if you're a fan of Iron Man. Also, if you're a Wii U owner, without a Wii, remember you can play Wii games on your Wii U system as well. So, even without an Iron Man Wii U game right now, you can grab this one for your Wii U (assuming you have the proper controllers!).

Questions
First, have any of you seen Iron Man 3 yet, and if so, what did you think about? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

If you played the first Iron Man game, or perhaps even Iron Man 2, did you enjoy it enough that you would recommend it to other gamers that might stumble upon it now for relatively cheap?

You can see Iron Game games and movie related products on Amazon.com below:

May the 4th, was it with you? What is the Wii's least played Star Wars game? Official Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:15:15 PDT

That's no moon, but that might be Bean 1.

Coffee Beans
May the 4th, was it with you? If you didn't sleep all day, I hope that your Saturday, May the 4th of 2013, was an eventful day! While there were no Star Wars video games played in the Coffeehouse on May the 4th, there was at least one Star Wars movie watched (Episode III), and Bean 1 and Bean 2 ran around in the backyard for a little while with some Star Wars gear. (Which, one of them may, or may not, be in the picture above. It probably depends if you ask me, or Mrs. Coffee.)

Speaking of Star Wars video games, there were at least six retail Star Wars games released for the Wii and at least three Star Wars games released on the Wii's Virtual Console service, from my count. We own three of the Wii retail Star Wars titles, but only two of them have been played.

The game-play "Force" (if you will!) was very strong behind the Wii Star Wars retail titles, with each of them now having more than one million "Total Hours" of game-play reported. But, which Wii Star Wars retail game does the "Force" appear to be the weakest with, resulting in the lowest amount of replay value? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the least played Star Wars Wii retail game based on the average hours reported "Per person".

The Brew
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels is the Wii's least played Star Wars game "Per person", according to the data reported through the Nintendo Channel. The game was released on November 11, 2008, and it was developed by Krome Studios and published by LucasArts. It received an ESRB rating of "TEEN" with "Fantasy Violence" listed as the only content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

Not a day's worth of lightsaber training at the Jedi Academy?

As the image above shows, the reported average is 6 Hours 42 Minutes "Per person", and when compared to the other Wii Star Wars games this makes Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels the least played Star Wars game on the system "Per person".

Just because the game has the lowest reported average "Per person" out of all the Wii Star Wars retail games, doesn't mean Lightsaber Duels hasn't been played by a lot of Wii owners though. The game now has approximately 275,065 U.S. Wii owners with game-play data reported via the Nintendo Channel, which is over 65,000 more U.S. Wii owners with data reported than 2 years ago.

For comparison to other Wii games, Lightsaber Duels currently has more U.S. Wii owners with data reported than Endless Ocean does, which released before it; but it has less Wii owners with data reported than Animal Crossing: City Folk, which released just a few days after it in 2008.

Did critics and customers enjoy swinging their Wii Remotes like lightsabers in the game though, considering it has the lowest average play time "Per person" of all the Star Wars games on the system? Well, the game has a "professional" critic review score average of 54.89%, based on 18 reviews on GameRankings.com. The game's customer review score average is 72.53%, based on 83 customer reviews from Amazon.com. The difference between the critic and customer review averages is probably a reflection of the game being enjoyed by a much younger audience, probably its target audience, which might not care if everything is pixel perfect in a game.

Caffeinated Thoughts
I haven't played Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels, though I have watched some of The Clone Wars cartoons and the movie. If you haven't seen any footage from Lightsaber Duels, the video below is the trailer for the game:

I have enjoyed several Star Wars games over the years, including The Force Unleashed on the Wii, but one disappointment in recent years was there not being an exclusive Wii Star Wars game that used the Wii MotionPlus accessory. Knowing that Lightsaber Duels released a few years before the Wii MotionPlus accessory was and it attempted to translate Wii Remote swings to lightsaber swings, I'm surprised there wasn't a sequel to the game using the Wii MotionPlus accessory.

I kept thinking there would be a Wii Star Wars game released with extremely accurate lightsaber game-play, like what Ubisoft did with Red Steel 2, but there was never one that used the Wii MotionPlus accessory. Considering Microsoft was able to get Kinect Star Wars, and used that game to heavily promote/sell Kinect units, I'm surprised (or, maybe I'm not at this point?) that Nintendo didn't pay to get a Wii Star Wars game released that used the Wii MotionPlus accessory.

If Nintendo is wanting to sell a few more Wii MotionPlus controllers to Wii U owners, I think one great way would be to announce an exclusive Wii U Star Wars game that uses Wii MotionPlus controls for the lightsaber actions in it; I would probably buy it day one. While I really do enjoy the Wii U and think being able to play games on the GamePad is great, I think it's unfortunate that we will probably not see a Star Wars game released with Wii MotionPlus controls now, because of Nintendo's move away from "motion controls" as they were on the Wii.

Questions
Have any of you played Lightsaber Duels, and if so, what did you think about the game? Does it do a good job of translating Wii Remote swings to lightsaber swings?

Do you think it's unfortunate that Nintendo never had a Wii Star Wars game released that used Wii MotionPlus controls for the lightsaber controls? Also, did any of you play any Star Wars video game(s) or watch any of the Star Wars movies for May the 4th this year?

You can see some Star Wars related games and items on Amazon.com below!

FPS Friday! Conduit 2 has been played how much? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:02:23 PDT

Coffee Beans
I never did play Conduit 2. If you missed my wall-of-text April Brewed post earlier today, you can see what games I played during April, HERE. If you already read the list, you may have noticed that I didn't play a FPS during the month. It was the first month this year that I had not played a FPS, but I did get a good bit of gaming done.

Conduit 2 released as an exclusive Wii FPS just over 2 years ago now, on April 19, 2011. The game received an ESRB rating of "TEEN" with "Animated Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of. It was the sequel to the other exclusive Wii FPS The Conduit, which released in 2009.

While there really hasn't been a hint of the Wii U getting Conduit 3 yet, did U.S. Wii owners enjoy Conduit 2? How many hours have U.S. Wii owners reported playing Conduit 2, since it released just over 2 years ago, and how do its averaged hours "Per person" compare to some other Wii FPS games? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

How many hours have you played?

The Brew
Conduit 2 now has approximately 13,736 U.S. Wii owners with data reported through the Nintendo Channel, which is more than double the number that had data reported about 5 months after it released. The 431,734 Total Hours of game-play now reported (seen in the image above), is an increase of just over 380,000 Total Hours from the game's initial data that was reported almost 2 years ago.

Its reported average play time of 31 Hours 25 Minutes "Per person", averages out to just over 2 hours for every time the game has been reported played. This simply means that U.S. Wii owners have played the game about 2 Hours 4 Minutes each time they sit down to play it, at least according to the reported data.

Now, has Conduit 2 been played more than GoldenEye 007 and Metroid Prime 3, as the image asks? As for the "Total Hours" reported, Conduit 2 is below both of those games, but in the average hours "Per person" section it's a different story.

Conduit 2 is now "neck and neck" with GoldenEye 007's average "Per person", being lower than it by just 3 minutes. Compared to Metroid Prime 3's average "Per person" though, Conduit 2 is almost 10 hours higher. This means that U.S. Wii owners that bought and played Conduit 2, apparently had more play time from the game than U.S. Wii owners of Metroid Prime 3. The hours "Per person" would be a reflection of the all important "replay value", that is often talked about for games. So, we can say Conduit 2 offered more replay value for its average player than Metroid Prime 3, but about the same replay value as GoldenEye 007, at least according to the official Nintendo Channel data.

What about review scores? The game currently has a "professional" review score average of 66.34%, based on 41 reviews for the game on GameRankings.com. What about customers that purchased the game though? Conduit 2 has a customer review score average of 89.41%, based on 17 "Amazon Verified Purchase" customer reviews.

If you're interested in reading an actual review, I suggest you read a review by Jeremy, of NintendoFuse.com, that he wrote for the game, HERE. He provided the number of hours he had spent in the game's single player and multiplayer before writing his review, which I appreciate seeing in reviews. Soon after Conduit 2 released, a controversy surrounding the game arose after one "professional" review of the game was published. If you missed what happened with the issue, you can read about it, HERE.

Caffeinated Thoughts
If you never saw any footage from Conduit 2, the trailer below will give you an idea of what weapons you can expect to be battling with in the game:

I think Conduit 2 having a higher average "Per person" than Metroid Prime 3, is a good example of why many companies focus on multiplayer aspects in games. Am I more likely to recommend a friend go out and buy a great single-player (only) focused game for $50 or $60, or am I more likely to recommend a game with online multiplayer and a single-player campaign (even if short), that I find myself playing on a more regular basis? Probably the latter.

Knowing how High Voltage tried to step up and support the Wii with a game genre that was/is popular, but not published very often on the Wii (compared to the other consoles at the time), I'm wondering if HVS will perhaps try to continue that for the Wii U? I wonder if they might release Conduit 3 for the Wii U, or perhaps even find a publisher to get behind The Grinder for the Wii U?

After the original The Conduit game, it really seemed like High Voltage Software was going to be able to try new things on the Wii, such as their once "Mature" themed Gladiator A.D. game, but something happened with their publisher relations. They made drastic changes to what they had originally shown for Gladiator A.D., instead releasing the more colorful "TEEN" rated Tournament of Legends, and another High Voltage FPS game in development, The Grinder, vanished from the Wii radar altogether. I know some seem to be thinking Nintendo is having third party struggles (still) with the Wii U, so I hope that Nintendo of America might be more open to publishing games such as what Gladiator A.D. once was, and even The Grinder.

Questions
If you own a copy of Conduit 2, do you know if the online community is still decent enough to hop online and get into a match quickly? If you played both games from the series, which one did you enjoy more?

If you were a fan of The Conduit and Conduit 2, do you hope that High Voltage Software perhaps makes a Conduit 3 sequel for the Wii U? Or, would you prefer them to instead release their once shown Wii FPS game that disappeared, The Grinder, for the Wii U first?

If you're interested in Conduit 2, it can now be found used for under $20 at GameStop and on Amazon.com (even new on Amazon from some sellers). You can also see both games from the series on Amazon below:

April Brewed! Coffee Consumed & Games Played

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:38:31 PDT

Coffee Beans
April was a busy month for gaming around here, and while the amount of coffee consumed in the month stayed the same, the number of blends brewed in the month was pretty low from previous months. There was no April Fools post, like one in a previous year, but there was a debut data report, a WiiWare Wednesday post, and even one of my more rare opinion pieces!

If you only skimmed occasional posts here in April, here's what you may have missed:
1) Do you enjoy playing darts? You might want to download the free WiiWare demo for Dart Rage and try it out, and you can see its official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report, HERE.
2) Want a highly rated Wii fishing game? If you own a Wii or even a Wii U, you should check out Fishing Resort. Its official Nintendo Channel debut data report, HERE.
3) Was Xenoblade Chronicles good? Apparently so, and it had a solid number of hours reported over its first year. You can read its official Nintendo Channel data report, HERE.
4) How many hours can you expect to play Red Steel 2 before beating it? You can see the average hours reported "Per person" for the game in its official Nintendo Channel data report from last month, HERE.
5) Have you been interested in getting a Kirby game, but wanted to know how many hours you could expect? If you own a Wii or Wii U, I would suggest starting with Kirby's Adventure from my short time with the game so far. See how much the Wii version was reported to have been played since it released, in its official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report posted last month, HERE.
6) Yes, I covered a darts game and a fishing game in April, but I also covered one of the Wii's best racing games (my opinion, I know) where you could play darts and fish randomly, DURING races. If you skipped ExciteBots: Trick Racing, you can see the average hours you might expect from the game, HERE.

Now, what coffee(s) did I consume and games did I play in April, even seeing the credits roll in one? Brew yourself some coffee (seriously, wall of text below!), and let's take a look!

Coffee(s) Consumed
This is short, and simple. During April we only brewed up Maxwell House Gourmet Roast coffee. We did go through one full container of it in April though, and the second container which we bought in April is about empty. Mrs. Coffee enjoys the blend a lot, and I think it has a nice, solid, flavor as well.

Games Played
Assassin's Creed III - Why did the colonists win the Revolutionary War? One going theory is because they threw a tea party, and chose coffee as their drink of choice during the war instead. The very first night I played Assassin's Creed III, I noticed a coffee reference in the game and even took a picture of it. I don't remember another coffee reference in the game, but that doesn't matter. I ended up putting a good number of hours into the game in early April, and on April 14th I tweeted the following out:

Credits now rolling in Assassin's Creed III, on the GamePad! 90%+ of the game played on just the GamePad. @ubisoft @nintendoamerica #WiiU
— Scott (@CoffeeWithGames) April 15, 2013

Speaking of putting in a good number of hours into the game, I'm a little confused on what my play time with the game actually was. My Wii U's Daily Log channel shows one number, while my save file shows two different times (I didn't notice this until today). You can see in the image below two times shown on my Assassin's Creed III save file, as it appeared after I beat the game:

39 hours, or 20 hours? Which one was it?

I did leave the game paused/on quite often, so being near 40 hours overall doesn't surprise me (the Wii U cut off several times due to the game being paused for an hour). I just wonder if the 20 hours shown are more of a direct reflection of when I was actually moving in and playing the game? I thought that perhaps my play time was around 15-20 hours when I had completed it, before even looking at the time(s) on the file. Overall though, I enjoyed my time with the game, and it offers a lot of content (notice in my save file image, I finished the game with only 37% of it complete).
LittleBigPlanet - Bean 1 really enjoys this game, and laughs hysterically when certain things happen in it. It could be Sackboy falling in a hole, getting pounded by something in the level, or just racing vehicles in levels and watching them make jumps. I am volunteered by him to play some of the levels every now and then, and this is how I ended up playing LBP in April. I didn't play it a lot, but I did beat a few of the levels when I would randomly sit down to play it. I'm not sure how much we have really progressed in the game, but I do enjoy it when I play it.
Nintendo Land - Bean 1 and I played some matches of Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, Luigi's Ghost Mansion, and Mario Chase. We also attempted a few rounds of Metroid Blast, so he could start learning the controls in that mini-game as well. Bean 1 played Donkey Kong's Crash Course on his own, and I showed him a trick (a few months ago) to get around the blowing in the microphone aspect, which results in hilariously loud "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" phrases at the Wii U GamePad. It works, and if you don't like blowing into the GamePad's mic, or have little kids that may run out of air quickly, just teach them to talk to it loudly. Bean 1 also played Yoshi's Fruit Cart, and is incredibly good (for his age!) at Pikmin Adventure! I think Nintendo Land will continue to be a slow burner for us, with some months where it's played a lot, and other months perhaps not at all.

Rabbids Land - Last month in my March Brewed post I asked, "How many hours does it take to unlock all the mini-games in Rabbids Land?" I already had more than 10 hours of play time logged for the game, but still didn't have all the mini-games unlocked. Well, I unlocked the rest of the Rabbids Land mini-games in early April, and my current play time is now 12 hours 21 minutes.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed - I'm making some slow progress in this one, but still really enjoying the game. I'm working my way through the game's career mode and unlocking new tracks, and leveling up some of the racers in the game (slowly, but surely).
Toki Tori 2 - I ran out to Best Buy in early April to grab a Wii U eShop card. Why? We had some saved up Best Buy Reward Zone coupons, that almost covered the price of the eShop card, which I planned to use to grab Toki Tori 2 and other Wii U eShop games. I did end up getting Toki Tori 2, but without having to use my eShop card! I have enjoyed my short time with the game, and some of the puzzles I have encountered so far are incredibly well designed.

Do you know the names of these characters?

Trine 2: Director's Cut - If you have played Trine 2, you may remember how the levels in the game have hidden items scattered about. After I finished the game's main campaign (saw the credits roll) a few months back, I had been going back and attempting to find the items I had missed in the different levels. In April, I found all of the hidden map pieces, and finally unlocked the Wii U's exclusive level!
World of Goo - Bean 1 can start this one up on his own, and he is even beating some of the levels in it. I played some levels in the game with him watching, and I'm not really sure how many more levels we have left (if any), because we have reached one, and I'm not really sure what to do in it. It's gotten a good bit of play time though, and was well worth the price of admission I paid for it, which I think was around $1.

Mario Kart DS - I don't how many times I played the different mini-games in this one during April, but it was a good bit. One thing I am learning though, Bean 1 will probably soon be able to beat me in a race! He's doing power-slides, finishing first in many races, and even completing entire cup races in first. Having Mario Kart on the go is a nice option for him in the car, and it's gotten a lot more play time these last few months from Bean 1 (and I) playing than it ever did in the many years before.
Mario Kart Wii - We have had Mario Kart Wii in our collection for a few years, like Mario Kart DS, but I think because of Bean 1 the game has actually been played more recently, than the past years combined as well. I really enjoy just listening to the music in some of the levels, and I think Moo Moo Meadows is probably my favorite track right now because of its tune. Bean 1 is pretty good in this one, but the items in the game are pretty ridiculous. He'll often be in 1st place approaching the finishing line in the last lap, then get hit with by a Spiny Shell ( the evil blue shell!), sometimes followed up by consecutive hits from Red Shells. He sometimes gets frustrated when it happens, because he's understanding finishing the race in different places gets different points now, and I get frustrated for him when I see it happen! I really hope Nintendo balances Mario Kart U, more than Mario Kart Wii.

New Super Mario Bros. U - I beat the last level in New Super Mario Bros. U, again, in April because Bean 1 had attempted it a few times on his own. We usually run around in the game just playing random levels now, and Bean 1 actually enjoys running around the world map, launching from the cannons randomly placed around it. We started playing some of the "Challenges" and "Boost Rush" levels under the game's "Play with Mii" section, and even Mrs. Coffee attempted a few of the Boost Rush levels. How many hours have we played New Super Mario Bros. U? According to our Wii U's Daily Log channel, our play time is currently 30 hours 13 minutes, over 20 "Times Played". If you finished the main campaign of New Super Mario Bros. U, have you found yourself going back and playing the game more?
Super Mario 64 - I still haven't finished this game! We have collected 20+ stars though, and the file has not yet been deleted, so we are making some progress. Bean 1 enjoys running around the castle and different levels, and can even complete a few of the hunts for stars in the levels. This one seems to be a slow burner for us, played pretty randomly, but we definitely enjoy it when its played.

Kirby's Adventure - I never owned Kirby's Adventure on the NES, but I can remember watching a friend play it. When Nintendo put Kirby's Adventure on sale for only 30 cents to help promote the Wii U's Virtual Console service, I bought it the first day it became available. I think that Kirby's ability to suck up an enemy and copy its power is really awesome. I have really enjoyed my time with the game, and Bean 1 has enjoyed playing the game as well. Here is a video (again) of him playing in a few of the levels:

Kirby Mass Attack - This is a new one that is now in our collection! With how much Bean 1 was enjoying Kirby's Adventure on the Wii U, I took advantage of an Amazon.com sale on Kirby Mass Attack last week and grabbed it for him for just $12.72. Not only have Bean 1 and I played the game, but Mrs. Coffee has as well. So far, we're enjoying the game and the touch screen mechanics haven't really given Bean 1 any trouble. Seeing how well the touch screen controls work in the game (from my time with it anyway, not sure if the later stages represent any problems?), I think it'll be interesting if Nintendo releases a Wii U Kirby game like Mass Attack, where the GamePad's touch screen is the main (or, even only) way of controlling the game.

The quick "Instant Coffee" list of games (also including demos) I played in April is: Super Mario 64, Assassin's Creed III, World of Goo, Rabbids Land, Toki Tori 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, Mario Kart DS, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, Mario Kart Wii, LittleBigPlanet, Kirby's Adventure, Trine 2: Director's Cut, Kirby Mass Attack, Fat Princess, Rayman Legends Demo, Rayman Legends Challenges App, and Nintendo Land.

Questions
Did any of you perhaps get a new game in April, like how Kirby Mass Attack joined our collection? If so, what game(s) did you get, and have you enjoyed it?

As always though, what games did you play in April (even if not necessarily "new"), and coffees did you consume during the month?

ExciteBots: Trick Racing! Hours spent playing the Wii's most bizarre racer! Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:15:23 PDT

Coffee Beans
Can you imagine a video game sales pitch to a publisher which mentions, "Sandwiches: Drive through the ingredients in the proper order to make a delicious sandwich.", as a mini-game feature? Probably not? Yeah, I couldn't either until I saw it in motion and did just that in ExciteBots: Trick Racing on the Wii!

ExciteBots: Trick Racing released for the Wii in the U.S. on April 20, 2009, with two SKUs available for purchase. One SKU included the game with the Wii Wheel peripheral, the other SKU was just the game only.

ExciteBots was developed by Monster Games, the same developer behind the Wii launch title Excite Truck and the 3DS launch title PilotWings Resort. The game was published by Nintendo, and received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Mild Fantasy Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

How many hours have U.S. Wii owners spent making sandwiches, playing darts, bowling, and throwing pies at clowns during races in ExciteBots: Trick Racing, since the game released just over 4 years ago? If you own a Wii, or even a Wii U, how many hours might you expect from ExciteBots: Trick Racing should you buy it? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

40+ races, 19 ExciteBots to customize/unlock, local and online multiplayer.

The Brew
ExciteBots: Trick Racing has approximately 58,393 U.S. Wii owners with game-play data reported through the Nintendo Channel. The game's 875,169 Total Hours of reported game-play (seen in the image above), is equivalent to the game being played for almost 100 straight years!

The game's reported average of 15 Hours 0 Minutes "Per person", makes ExciteBots: Trick Racing the Wii's most played game in the Excite series on the system. That's more hours played "Per person" than Excite Truck, the Wii NES Virtual Console Excitebike release, and the WiiWare Excitebike: World Rally release. U.S. Wii owners have averaged playing the game about 1 Hour 29 Minutes each time they play it, according to the data from the image.

How was ExciteBots received by critics and customers? The game currently has a "professional" review score average of 80.19%, based on 27 reviews from GameRankings.com. The current customer review score average is 87.77%, based on 54 reviews for both SKUs of the the game on Amazon.com. Overall, positive reviews from critics and customers that played the game.

If you're interested to see what I wrote about the game over 2 years ago, you can read my piece "An Exciting Wii Racer - Ignored by Nintendo, Not Known by Wii Owners" HERE. If you're interested in reading an actual review (one with a score!), I suggest you check out SuperPhillip's review for ExciteBots HERE (If you're a fan of Saved by the Bell, you should spot a reference to the series in it!)

Caffeinated Thoughts
First, let me answer the second question (okay, really like fourth question) from above. If you own a Wii, or even a Wii U, is ExciteBots: Trick Racing a game you should look at buying? YES! If you enjoy arcade racing type games that have a great sense of speed, I highly recommend you give ExciteBots a try. The game can be found for under $20 new, and under $10 used. (Only $5 used HERE, at GameStop!) Now, if you're a Wii U owner interested in the game, you just need to make sure that you own a Wii Remote as well, because Wii games can't currently be played with the Wii U GamePad.

Just a little above average...

As for my reported game-play time with ExciteBots, the image above shows my reported time with the game as it appears on the Nintendo Channel. So, I have just over three times the number of hours played, as the reported average "Per person". Again, if you can grab the game now for under $10 used (I doubt Nintendo is still publishing it), I would highly recommend that you do so. You should easily be able to get around 10 hours of game-play from it just enjoying the single-player racing campaign on your own, without even playing local or online multiplayer or the mini-games in it.

Like I mentioned in my piece over 2 years ago, ExciteBots: Trick Racing had little (to no) advertising before and after it released, which I find unfortunate and might be a reason you have never heard of it (or, simply forgot about it quickly). If you haven't seen any footage from the game, the video below should give you a good idea of how the races are set up. The races in the video are of me racing online against Daemion from MyLittleGamer.Blogspot.com:

Monster Games (again, the developer) has a pretty solid record of racing games now, and in just a few shorts weeks their next game will be released for the Nintendo 3DS, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. I'm glad to see Nintendo has apparently formed a good developer/publisher relationship with Monster Games, allowing the developer to even try new things outside of their racing roots with series like PilotWings Resort and now porting Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.

Seeing that Monster Games has produced some really solid games for Nintendo platforms in recent years, like ExciteBots, I really hope that Nintendo will let the developer create either a new Excite game for the Wii U. If not a new Excite game for the Wii U, I think even a completely new racing game from Nintendo's F-Zero or Wave Race series for the Wii U (personally, I would like a Wave Race HD title right now) would be great.

Questions
If you perhaps played both Excite Truck and ExciteBots: Trick Racing on the Wii, which game did you enjoy more? If you enjoyed ExciteBots as much as I did (or, perhaps even more and paused playing it to leave a comment!), do you hope that Nintendo will get Monster Games to make an ExciteBots sequel for the Wii U?

Also, if you have played a lot of racing games on the Wii, can you think of one that is perhaps more hilariously bizarre and fun to play than ExciteBots?

You can purchase some of the games developed by Monster Games for Nintendo platforms linked below!

Coffee Shop! Kirby deals, 50% off used games, and Wii U deals!

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:03:20 PDT

Coffee Beans
If you didn't see it, I posted up the official Nintendo Channel data for Kirby's Adventure, here! While putting that report together, I was looking at Kirby games on Amazon.com, and found a few that were discounted pretty significantly.

I also received an email reminder this morning about a 50% off used video games sale that is still happening, and will be through this Sunday.

If you're interested in a few Kirby game deals, a 50% off used games sale, and some Wii U game deals, hit the jump to see what the deals are!

The Brew
First up, the Kirby video game deals!

Kirby Mass Attack is on sale for $12.72 directly from Amazon.com, or $11.98 from a vendor fulfilled by Amazon. Both are eligible for Amazon.com's free shipping for orders over $25, as well as free shipping if you're an Amazon.com Prime member. The game currently has a customer review score average of 92.50%, based on 88 reviews from Amazon.com.
Kirby's Epic Yarn, the Wii's first retail Kirby game, is currently on sale directly from Amazon.com for only $10.00! It is eligible for free shipping on orders over $25, and also if you're an Amazon.com Prime member. Make sure to check the sidebar on its Amazon.com page, under the "More Buying Choices" to see the option to buy it directly from Amazon. This game's current customer review score average is 90.45%, based on 264 reviews from Amazon.com. If you're wondering how many hours you can expect from Kirby's Epic Yarn, according to the Nintendo Channel data report from 2011, you should expect around 20 hours of game-play. Mrs. Coffee and I played through this one together, and we enjoyed it. With how much Bean 1 is enjoying Kirby's Adventure, we may end up adding it to our collection!

Yes? No? Maybe so?

What about the save 50% off used video games deal? It's HERE. GameStop is running the promotion online (assuming the games are available), and in GameStop stores around the country. Now, you may be thinking, "I bet the games are all junk!" Well, I went and fished through some of the games they have, and the following games could all be purchased for less than $5 (each, of course!).

Boom Blox, Cursed Mountain, Dragon Age Origins, Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, Kinect Adventures, Lair, Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Red Steel 2, Resistance 2, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure.

If you have been interested in Red Steel 2, but don't own it, I think if you can get the game for only $5, it would be a good investment. It would allow you to finally try out the Wii MotionPlus controls you probably have heard so much about, and should give you around 10 hours of game-play.

If you're a Wii U owner, here are a few Wii U game deals you might be interested in...

Assassins Creed III can be grabbed from Amazon.com right now for just $29.99, which is a 50% savings off its MSRP. I just recently finished the single-player campaign in it, and overall I enjoyed my time with the game. If you're enjoy completing games 100% before moving to the next, Assassin's Creed III offers you a lot of game-play, and is easily worth its asking price of $29.99. (It's also on sale for $29.99 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 right now as well!)

Have you played the world's #1 dance game brand series? If not, now is a good time to grab the latest in the Just Dance series. Just Dance 4 on the Wii U is currently on sale for just $29.99 from Amazon.com, which is a 40% discount from its Wii U MSRP of $49.99.

We don't own a 3DS in our house, but I have heard a lot of good about Resident Evil: Revelations for it from user reviews. If you don't know, Capcom is porting Revelations to the Wii U, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game currently has a MSRP of $49.99, but you can pre-order the Wii U version of Resident Evil: Revelations for just $39.99 on Amazon.com. A 20% savings on a Wii U game not yet released, isn't too shabby!

If you have been interested in one the Skylanders games, Amazon.com currently has the Skylanders Giant Starter Kit on sale for just $59.96, which is a 20% discount from its MSRP of $74.99.
I haven't played the Skylanders games, but I have done two data reports on the first game in the series. The reported game-play hours "Per person" were really good, and I do like the idea behind the game(s) a lot.

While you may enjoy shopping for online game deals at various sites, or even going out to physical retail stores to shop for game deals, let's not forget about the Wii U eShop deals!

Right now, there are two Wii U eShop games that are discounted, and one I can recommend. from my own time with the game.

The first one is Trine 2: Director's Cut. Trine 2 is currently on sale for just $9.99, which is a 50% discount from its normal price of $19.99. I own the game on the Wii U, and if you are looking for puzzle-platforming type game, I suggest you download it before the sale ends next week! There is a demo for Trine 2 on the eShop, so you can even give it a try before you buy it. I have played the game more than 40 hours since November, and have really enjoyed my time with the game.

The other Wii U eShop game on sale is Puddle. It's currently on sale for $7.49, which is about a 6% discount from its normal price. While Trine 2 has a playable demo available for you to try, unfortunately Puddle doesn't have a playable demo up yet.

If you aren't familiar with either Puddle or Trine 2, I have included their Wii U eShop trailers below:

Questions
Have any of you played any of these games? If so, feel free to leave a comment and feedback on if you would recommend them at their current asking prices shown above.

Also, if there are any other current game deals you have seen that you think are good, feel free to leave what game and where the deal is in the comments below!

Kirby's Adventure! How much has it been played? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report. (Wii Virtual Console)

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:31:14 PDT

Coffee Beans
Kirby's Adventure was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System on May 1, 1993 (almost 20 years ago!). The game was re-released through the Wii's Virtual Console service on February 12, 2007 for 500 Wii Points ($5), and just last week Kirby's Adventure was released for the Wii U's Virtual Console service on April 17th. You can currently buy Kirby's Adventure on the Wii U's Virtual Console, at an incredible introductory price of only 30 cents!

For parents (and gamers) wondering if Kirby's Adventure is appropriate for younger ages, the game has an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Comic Mischief" listed as content to be aware of.

If you own a Wii or Wii U and haven't played Kirby's Adventure, how many hours can you expect from the game? How many U.S. Wii owners have game-play data reported for the game through the Nintendo Channel? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Nintendo Channel data for the game!

How many hours have you played?

The Brew
Kirby's Adventure now has approximately 182,222 U.S. Wii owners that have game-play data reported through the Wii's Nintendo Channel, with 2,261 days possibly reported. This is an increase of about 36,864 more players with data reported, since we first looked at the game a few years back.

The game now has 1,114,778 Total Hours of game-play reported, which is an increase of 372,160 Total Hours since June 2010. The average hours now reported of 6 Hours 7 Minutes "Per person", is an 1 Hour 1 Minute increase since 2010. Wii owners are spending just over 35 minutes playing Kirby's Adventure each time reported played, according to this reported data.

While Kirby's Adventure for the Wii's Virtual Console doesn't have a "professional" review score average on GameRankings.com or Metacritic.com, it does have a good number of customer reviews already on the Wii U. Kirby's Adventure on the Wii U currently has a 90% review score average, based on 190 customer reviews from the Wii U's eShop page for the game.

How much has Kirby's Adventure's Wii Virtual Console release made Nintendo, just in the United States? Kirby's Adventure's U.S. Virtual Console release has made Nintendo just over $900,000, according to the approximate number of U.S. Wii owners with data reported and the game's $5 price point.

Caffeinated Thoughts
Have I played Kirby's Adventure? Yes! When Nintendo released it last week for the Wii U's Virtual Console for 30 cents, I downloaded it. Not only have I played it, but Bean 1 has been playing it and really enjoying it as well.

Is Bean 1 any good at the game though? Well, you can judge for yourself and watch the video below of recorded game-play footage of him playing the game. Remember, he's not even half a decade old!

As for our hours with the game, we have already blown past the average reported for the Wii version, and are already over 10 hours in just the last week. I really enjoy the enemy copy feature, and think the enemies (especially the bosses) are really well done from what I have played so far.

For comparison, the Wii Virtual Console release of Kirby's Adventure has a higher average reported "Per person" than the Wii retail released game Deadly Creatures, and a higher average "Per person" than the Wii Virtual Console release of Wave Race 64. So, you should probably easily expect at least 6 hours of game-play from Kirby's Adventure if you have never played it before, and I think it's well worth its asking price of only $5 on the Wii, or currently 30 cents on the Wii U.

If you have young children that enjoy playing games, based on how much Bean 1 has played it, I would say it's a safe choice for younger children as well. As a side note, we have both played the majority of our time with the game on just the Wii U GamePad (Bean 2 is usually strolling around with a cartoon playing on Netflix).

If you own a Wii U and hop on the eShop to grab Kirby's Adventure for only 30 cents, make sure to check out some of the other Wii U eShop games as well! Personally, I would suggest grabbing Trine 2: Director's Cut while it's currently on sale for just $9.99, and if you're up for another game with tough puzzles, Toki Tori 2 might also be a smart choice.

Questions
If you own a Wii U have you purchased and played Kirby's Adventure in the last week, and if so, what do you think about the game if you had never played a Kirby game before?

If you're a fan of Kirby games in general, do you have a favorite game from the series?

You can buy a few Kirby related items below (Bean 1 is getting that plush!):

Wii U update(s). Five things to be fixed, or improved, but not yet mentioned by Nintendo.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:33:36 PDT

Coffee Beans
Nintendo is set to release the first big Wii U system update next week, with a second big system update planned for the summer.

What will this first Wii U system update fix? Well, Nintendo released a video in March showing the update should improve loading times when exiting from Wii U games to the system's main menu.

Other than improving Wii U loading times though, Mr. Iwata just addressed some other features that the Wii U's "Spring System Update" will address when it releases next week. In a Nintendo Direct this morning (April 17th), these are some of the features said to be addressed with the update:
1) Adds ability to copy/move data between two USB HDDs.
2) Download and install software in the background, while playing games.
3) Download and install updates, even when the system is off.
4) Software updates can automatically start downloading, without having to start the game.
5) Holding the B button when turning the system on, will jump you straight to the Wii U's Wii Mode channel.

Also, Mr. Iwata said the Wii U's Virtual Console service will become available next week, the day after the system update. (I'm guessing next Thursday, April 18th for the Virtual Console, April 17th for the system update?)

While these five updates are nice, what are some things that I think should be patched to make the Wii U a better system overall? What are (at least) five things that Nintendo hasn't mentioned the Wii U patch(es) will address, that I think could/should be? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

My Trine 2 Wii U data, so far...

The Brew
1) Sharing "Daily Log" Data - I could tell you that my Trine 2 "Play Time" is 49:20, and that I have "played" it 64 times. Or, I could show you my Trine 2 Wii U data like the image above. Nintendo doesn't like the Nintendo Channel (and, several other Wii Channels they're getting rid of), but does that mean I shouldn't be able to post my recorded Wii U game-play data to Miiverse? Apparently, yes. While the Wii U tracks how many hours and times you play a game (or, use a particular application) in the Daily Log channel, you can't post that information to Miiverse using the sytem's photo capture option like some games offer. While I doubt Nintendo will introduce a Wii U Nintendo Channel like the Wii has (or, soon to be had), I think it would be nice if Wii U owners could post Daily Log images to Miiverse. It would allow Wii U owners to share their most played/used games and apps during a month, and if a game doesn't provide the number of hours played on the save file, it could be a good way to get an idea of the average hours played for a game.

Possessive. Not descriptive.

2) Freezing - Winter is over, but my Wii U console is still freezing. Sure, it's only occasionally, but even as I typed this, it was sitting frozen. I hopped on Assassin's Creed III Monday morning to get my save file stats, and posted them to Miiverse. Upon attempting to exit Miiverse, my Wii U system froze, again. The Wii U system freezing up would not be such a big issue to me, IF the system functioned as it's supposed to function when it freezes. It doesn't though. Still having to unplug my Wii U console when it freezes is annoying (and slightly concerning), when I should be able to simply hold the "Power" button for a few seconds to fix the freezing problem instead. Mr. Iwata did not mention the Wii U freezing issue in the Nintendo Direct a few months back when he mentioned Nintendo was working on improving the loading speeds and he didn't mention it in today's Nintendo Direct, so I'm a little concerned that this issue might not be able to be patched. I really hope I'm wrong, for a number of reasons, but I just find it odd that Nintendo would wait until this patch (or the summer one) to make the Wii U function as it should have when it released.

Room for keyboard shortcuts?

3) Copy/paste/keyboard options - The 100 character limit posts in Miiverse might be tough to use sometimes when trying to answer a question, or post up some thoughts on a game. One thing that would make this limit not so bad though, would be a simple copy/paste option for text. Let's say you type out your full Miiverse message, and the text gets grayed out that is over the 100 character limit, but you have an option to "copy" some of it. You would simply copy the text over the limit, and post a new comment pasting the additional text to it. I'm surprised the copy/paste option wasn't in the Wii U's original Miiverse OS, because it is an option in the Wii U's Internet Browser. Speaking of the Wii U's Internet Browser, a GamePad keyboard update that would be an improvement I think, would be adding a ".com" button to the Internet Browser keyboard. Sure, it's only a few extra taps on the GamePad, but I think little things like a ".com" button, and perhaps some other keyboard shortcuts, would be appreciated.

Nintendo needs to copy/paste the Copy/Paste Browser buttons to Miiverse.

4) The "Energizer" disc drive - I mentioned back in November, in my "Caffeinated Thoughts on the Wii U" post, the freezing issue and the disc drive issue. The disc drive issue, like the freezing issue, still has not been addressed. If you don't know, the Wii U's disc drive is constantly is reading/spinning the game disc when one is in the system. It doesn't matter if you are just using the Wii U for Netflix, Amazon Video, or any other non-game application, if there is a game in the Wii U's disc drive, it is spinning. It's like the Wii U's disc drive is an Energizer Bunny of sorts, in that it just keeps going and going, or spinning and spinning in this situation. I know some Wii owners had disc drive issues, and I received my PlayStation 3 from a friend because the disc drive had stopped working. I really hope that Nintendo updates the Wii U so the disc drive is not constantly reading/spinning the disc, when non-game Wii U applications are being used such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, or even the Internet Browser. The Wii's disc drive does not constantly spin if a disc is in the system and Netflix or another non-gaming Wii Channel is being used, so I would imagine Nintendo can patch the Wii U for fix the issue.

Give yourself these Wii U eShop games, as "gifts"!

5) Gifting Wii U eShop games - Did you know you could give Virtual Console and WiiWare games to other Wii owners as "gifts"? Did you know that you cannot give Wii U eShop games to other Wii U owners as gifts? I think it's odd that Nintendo didn't include the gifting option right from the beginning. I hope they make "gifting" Wii U eShop titles a new feature, as I do like to give things away from time-to-time on the site, and I can think of a few eShop titles that would be at the top of that list right now: Toki Tori 2 and Trine 2.

Gift options shown for WiiWare games. One already owned, one not.

Questions
Are there any other Wii U system improvements you would like to see Nintendo address with the first big system update next week, or perhaps in the update planned for the summer?

If you're into programming, is there any reason Nintendo can't address the Wii U's hard reset option (holding the Power button for a few seconds to turn the system off), with a system patch? Like I mentioned above, I just find it odd that has not already been patched.

FPS Friday! How much has Red Steel 2 been played? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report.

noreply@blogger.com (coffeewithgames) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:19:59 PDT

Coffee Beans
Last May, we looked at how many hours had been reported playing Red Steel 2 by U.S. Wii owners, with more than 2 years' worth of data reported.

Red Steel 2 was released as a Wii exclusive on March 23, 2010 in the U.S., and can still be found to buy, new or used, on many different sites. If you own a Wii, or even Wii U, and are interested in Red Steel 2, you should know the game requires a Wii MotionPlus accessory to play though. As for content to be aware of, Red Steel 2 received an ESRB rating of "TEEN" for "Animated Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence".

A description for the game on the Nintendo Channel says, "Embody a lonesome fighter, a man of few words with a shaded past full of mystery. Face various, and increasingly strong, enemies and defeat challenging bosses in epic and intense fights. Visit a remote mixed metropolis in the middle of the American desert, where Eastern and Western culture have been smashed together: Caldera."

About how many U.S. Wii owners have game-play data reported for Red Steel 2 through the Nintendo Channel, and how many hours have they reported playing the game since it released over 3 years ago? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

How many hours did you play?

The Brew
Red Steel 2 now has approximately 75,407 U.S. Wii owners with game-play data reported through the Nintendo Channel, which is just over 8,800 more players with data reported than last year, now with 1,112 days possibly reported.

The game currently has 759,283 Total Hours of reported game-play, which is an increase of 97,308 Total Hours since the report last year. Its average reported "Per person" has increased slightly by 7 minutes, and is now sitting at 10 Hours 4 Minutes "Per person". The average time spent playing the game each time/session reported, is about 1 Hour 45 Minutes.

The game's "professional" critic review score average is now slightly lower than it was last May, currently sitting at 80.50% based on 48 reviews from GameRankings.com. While the critic review score average is slightly lower since last year, the customer review score average has increased slightly. The game's customer review score average is now 88.08%, now based on 89 customer reviews between both SKUs of the game.

Caffeinated Thoughts
When I wrote the piece last May, I said, "Have I played Red Steel 2 yet? No, but I may be making a trip to my local Game Stop store today, where I originally reserved Red Steel 2."

I did end up buying Red Steel 2 the day of the post last May, and I completed the game last June. My game-play data record for Red Steel 2 on the Nintendo Channel shows my play-time as 13 Hours 46 Minutes, over 6 times. From my rough math, this means I spent about 2 Hours 17 Minutes each time I played the game, until I beat it. While I enjoyed my time with Red Steel 2, I'm actually still a bigger fan of the original Red Steel, as I enjoyed the levels and game-play mechanics (even though not perfect) more in the original.

If you have not seen any footage of game-play from Red Steel 2, the video below is of a partial mission in the game from the Nintendo Channel:

I'm glad Nintendo made the jump to HD with the Wii U, and enjoy having an awesome feature like Off-TV play with the Wii U GamePad now, but I think it's a shame the video game market won't likely see another game like Red Steel or Red Steel 2, because of traditional controllers being more standard now.

If Ubisoft was to update the original Red Steel for the Wii U though, perhaps with HD graphics, online multiplayer, and optional GamePad and Wii Remote controls (like what Black Ops II offers), it would probably be a day one buy for me.

Questions
Have any of you played and perhaps beaten Red Steel 2 in the last year? If so, what did you think about the game?

If you played the original Red Steel and Red Steel 2, are you perhaps like me, being that you enjoyed the original more? Also, would any of you be interested in a Red Steel HD remake, or maybe just a new Red Steel 3 for the Wii U if Ubisoft were to do it?

You can see links for Red Steel and Red Steel 2 on Amazon.com below: