¿Desear intentar tu mano que lucha Ganado?

Translation: Want to try your hand fighting Ganado?

I did just that a couple days ago.

I rented Resident Evil 4 - Wii Edition.

Was it worth it? Well, I'll tell you now.

This won't be a full review of RE4 - rather, I'll focus on the changes and additions for the Wii edition.

First off, I'll start with the controls. They're /very/ smooth, but do take some getting used to - I was performing smooth headshots with ease less than 5 minutes into the game.

Of course, the fact that you aim by pointing the Wiimote at the screen makes things /much/ easier than the GCN or PS2 versions. So much so that I found I could defeat most reasonably tough enemies (like the chainsaw Ganado) faster and easier than with a standard controller.

Graphics are about the same as the GCN version - if there were any differences I didn't notice.

As I mentioned above, gameplay is smooth. Although I /do/ have a few nitpickings about the menu systems, like I again said above, you get used to it all after a few minutes.

One nice addition is the fact that the red targeting dot has been replaced with a round reticle. When not aiming, it is simply gray. When aiming, it's green unless you're aiming at a possible target.

Although the red laser sight was cool, it was kind of hard to aim, and you never knew what you could shoot at until you did, often resulting with wasted ammo.

That said, let's move on to the new bonus features.

I didn't try Mercenary mode much, since by that time my rental time was up, but it was interesting enough, suppose, if you like onslaughts of enemies coming at you all at once. It can get stale after a while, though.

Seperate Ways, exclusive to Wii, was probably my favorite unlockable, as it covers Ada Wong's actions in the background of the game. It explains why certain things happen when in the normal game mode, and is very entertaining (plus, who /doesn't/ want to play as Ada?).

For example, when Leon (the game's main protagonist) solves a puzzle in the church graveyard to obtain a 'green cats eye', the thing that struck me was that the location of said puzzle and reward was rather odd; why not put a key here instead? So when Ada happens across this same spot (before Leon), and removes the key to the church, she gets locked in the area. The only way to open the gate is to place the gem in the slot.

Unfortunately, I also didn't get to try Assignment Ada, or the new character costumes for your second play through. Hopefully next time, though!

My final score: 9/10 - the game pulls everything together tightly, but is missing some nice but not necessary features.

For those who have never played RE4, or any Resident Evil title in general, I highly recommend this edition of the game.

Until next time; Ciao! ;)

Spelunking, anyone?

I'm back from a little 'mini-vacation'.

I went with my family to tour a cave nearby - about 2-3 hours away, possibly more.

The cave itself was interesting, but one thing I thought was neat was this bat:

Apparently it's the only bat in the cave at the moment. More move in during the colder seasons.

The guide told a lot of interesting stories, but I'm pressed for time so won't relate them now. :P

...and... there's one thing which I don't remember seeing:

I swear I didn't run this through Photoshop. It looks like some kind of ghostly light.

...

Creepy. O.o

I have /no/ idea what that is. Honestly.

Well, I'll contemplate it later.

'till next time - ciao! ;)

New blog layout

As you've no doubt noticed, I've changed the layout slightly.

I've made a new logo, and added the new 'wimzi' widget, which is supposed to allow you to chat with me. It doesn't appear to be working, however. O.o

I also added a poll, which I'll change occasionally. ;)

Comments welcome. ^_^

Wizards and Kittens, and contests, oh my!

So today I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

When I arrived in the theater, to my amazement, it was empty. Yes, empty. There was literally no one in the room.
Of course, I was naturally surprised - I mean, c'mon, this was /Harry Potter/..!

So I left the theater and asked the guy at the ticket booth which theater was playing HP. He had a quick argument with the girl working there with him, then settled on #4 - which was equally as empty, except for one other family...

That changed once it got closer to actual film presentation time.

Anyway, about the movie:

I think it was good, but wasn't as good as previous films. Also, a few things were left out (that I can recall, it's been a while since I've read the book), such as the portrait of Sirius's mother - although I understand this is not critical to the plot (Eragon left out so much critical stuff it's not even funny), but it would've been a humorous addition, humor being something the film seemed to lack (although this could be because of the darker tone of the book and books to follow).

I also noticed various little nuances that just didn't seem to make much sense.

For example, when going to the Ministry for Magic, after Harry sees the vision of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort, they fly on the thestrals (I had forgotten the name - thanks to Kirsty for reminding me!). How did the others besides Harry and Luna see them? Picture this:

Ron: Err... Harry... how do we ride something we can't see?

See what I mean? And why don't they just use brooms? I know this is how J.K wrote it, but...

Besides these things, I loved the movie. Imelda Staunton did an excellent job as Umbridge, as well, I think. She made me hate the movie character as much as the book character. :P

All in all, I rate it 9/10. ;)

--------------------

Kittens! Or rather, /kitten/.

I was talking to my mom about cats today, and asked if she had ever seen a completely white kitten. She said yes, and said that there was one that was almost completely white (save for a bit of black on its head) at a local farm. She had to go there anyway, so she asked if I'd like to come take a look.

I agreed, but thought she was just joking.

So I got the kitten - for free. I know the owner personally, and she didn't mind giving the kitten away at all. One might say she was even eager. :P

Anyway, I keep it in my room. It seems fairly happy there. I managed to get it to eat some catnip and drink some milk from a dish, too.
Quite a good accomplishment, considering its age - which I'm not certain of...

In other news, there's this writing contest, which a friend mentioned.

The prize? $6,000.

Yeah, my jaw dropped when I read that. Of course, I'm entering, but I need inspiration... ideas... I think I have something in mind, though.

You can read more about it here (Canadian residents only): http://www.radio-canada.ca/prixlitteraires/english/index.shtml

So..! This is all for tonight, and so I say: ciao! ;)

~Vert