New Wii Game Purchases

So I had the itch to pick up some new Nintendo Wii games this week. I picked up the following titles and gave each a try last.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a port from the xbox and reminds me of one of my favorite games of all times Asteroids! The game itself is pretty simple, survive wave after wave of enemies and obtain the highest score possible! There are a few other subtleties to the game. One is that you have a little "pod" that you can "program" to perform various, six i think, behaviors e.g., defending behavior, attacking behavior, and a gathering behavior, These behaviors are purchased by picking up the currency in the game called "nodes" dropped from destroyed baddies. Its a fun game and has many many levels. You can play with a friend too locally.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution is another game in the line of "tilt" games, where you hold the remote on its side and "tilt" the world around while your blob/marble/droplet/Monkey Ball slides around, such as Super Monkey Ball, Kororinpa: Marble Mania, and Dewy's Adventure. The difference here is, and I think this is the best of the four, is that there are 150+ levels of puzzles but more importantly has aspects of game play from the other three. Mercury Meltdown moves much like the water droplet does in Dewey's Adventure and there are even triggers like in Dewey's Adventure to heat(faster movement), cool(slower movement), and turn the blob into a solid ball(rail riding). Like Marble Madness the puzzles are complicated and challenging and have triggers/effects you must overcome to finish in a timely manner. The one unique aspect of this game is that you can "split" your blob into two sections and then use "paint stations" to turn your blob into various colors. Paint two colors onto two separated blobs and then combined them back into one blob will provide a third color, or secondary color! This color mixing is what some triggers and finish portals require to finish the level. Which is a nice added feature for a bit of complexity! The game is mostly single player, there are a few "party games" and you can go via wi-fi and compare and rank your scores and try and beat other people scores. The best thing is the game is a mere $19.99 at most places! So its a must buy!

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Is a very good game as well, however there are some irritating facts about the game. One it is full price, $49.99. Second some of the "missions" you have to perform within the guidelines of the event. On event in particular which peeved me was the freestyle swimming. I ran the race twice coming in first each time with a time of 47.7 seconds but still failing. WTF! So after quickly reading the requirements again , I noticed to pass the event you had to finish between 48 and 50 seconds exactly! It didn't matter that I kicked Ninteno/Sega characters booties all over the place and got 1st place, which being the Olympics you would think doing the "best" would allow you to continue on regardless. Lastly not all the events are unlocked so you have to play through a bit before unlocking any new events in circuit mode, much like the Mariokart franchise. Which I was a bit upset as I was hoping for a little archery action right off. I think there are something like 20+ events total and about half are available at the start. The game is fun, don't get me wrong, but for most of the events it is just another "wave the nunchuck and wii remote up and down as fast as you can" game with a few added complexities. The game does give a good workout though.

With that said here are some info/codes for the Olympics Game I gleaned off the web and placed here for a one stop shop!:

Unlockable: Music Tracks

Below is a list of music you can unlock in the game.

* Green Hill - Complete each round of one minigame
* Overworld - Complete each round of one minigame
* Sonic 2 Special Stage - Complete each round of three minigames
* Sonic 2 Underwater - Complete each round of three minigames
* Star Light - Complete each round of two minigames
* Underground - Complete each round of two minigames

Unlockable: Emblems

Below is a list of unlockable emblems, and how you can unlock them.

* Knight Emblem - Go 15-0 in an individual event
* Network Emblem - Connect to Wi-Fi Nintendo Rankings
* Olympic Record Emblem - Break a record on any event
* Rocket Emblem - Win the 100m event
* World Record Emblem - Break a world record on any event

Unlockable: Events

Below is a list of events that can be unlocked in the game, and how to unlock each.

* 400m Hurdles - Win Sunlight Circuit
* 400m Race - Win Planet Circuit
* 4x100m Relay - Unlock the Moonlight Circuit
* Advanced Class - Come in First on the Moonlight Circuit
* Archery - Unlock the Stardust Circuit
* Big Bang Circuit - Place on podium on Universal Circuit
* Cosmos Circuit - Win Supernova Circuit
* Dream Fencing - Win Comet Circuit
* Dream Platform - Unlock Galaxy Circuit
* Dream Race Event - Unlock the Moonlight Circuit
* Dream Table Tennis - Win Satellite Circuit
* End Credits Sequence - Place in 1st on Big Bang Circuit
* Galaxy Circuit - Win Cosmos Circuit
* High Jump - Play as all characters at least once
* Meteorite Circuit - Come First in Stardust Circuit, Planet Circuit, Comet Circuit, Satellite Circuit and Sunlight Circuit
* Moonlight Circuit - Come in First on: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn Circuits
* Pole Vault - Unlock Supernova Circuit
* Single Sculls Event - Unlock the Moonlight Circuit
* Stardust Circuit - Come in First on the Moonlight Circuit
* Sunlight Circuit - Win Stardust, Planet, Comet, and Satellite Circuit
* Supernova Circuit - Win Meteorite Circuit
* Universal Circuit - Place on podium on Galaxy Circuit
* Vault - Unlock Cosmos Circuit

If you find any more codes for any of the games please let me know and I'll post it up!

-PTSuk