Free Vortex Demo for your iPod

This is in no way new news, but being quite the Apple fan, I have to mention it. Apple has released a free demo of their Vortex iPod game. So, if you have a Fifth generation iPod with video, download it and give it a try. If you don’t have a 5th generation iPod, gift the game to someone who does.

If the links I provided don’t work for you, go to the iTunes Store, click “iPod Games” in the left sidebar, then click the Vortex image.

Paper Mario for the Wii Coming Soon

It’s official: there will be a Paper Mario game for the Wii. Nintendo announced this with a very unique press release:

DID YOU KNOW? NINTENDO'S SUPER PAPER MARIO IS HEADED FOR WII

Nintendo of America Requests the Pleasure of Your Company at the Marriage of

Peach
to
Bowser

on the 9th Day of April 2007

The nuptials will take place at the beginning of Super Paper Mario™, which will be available for Nintendo's hot new Wii™ home video game system. Those who wish to attend – or thwart – the ceremony will need to switch between 2-D and 3-D.

April 9th – mark your calendars!

New Virtual Console Games 2/12/07

As many of you who have checked the Wii Shop Channel today already know, there are three great NES classics available. Here is the press release from Nintendo:

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL

Feb. 12, 2007

Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii™ video game system’s Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Kirby’s Adventure™ (NES®, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): Not everything is well in Dream Land. For some mysterious reason, the Dream Spring, a magical well that is the reservoir for all the dreams of the citizens of Dream Land, is no longer working. Everyone is being subjected to their worst nightmares every time they go to sleep. Upon reaching the Dream Spring, Kirby finds out that evil King Dedede has stolen the Star Rod, thus depriving Dream Land of the magical energy that feeds its spring. Using 20 unique tricks and the ability to steal enemies’ powers by swallowing them, players have to make their way through a horrific land filled with all kinds of nightmares. Recover the broken pieces of the Star Rod and everyone in Dream Land will sleep peacefully once again. Fail and the citizens of Dream Land will be subjected to a lifetime of terrible nightmares.

Ice Climber™ (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): As Popo, players use a trusty mallet to work their way up the mountain. They chip away at the blocks overhead, then jump up through the resulting hole to the mountain’s next level. Once Popo reaches the top level, he enters a fast-moving bonus stage in which he can pick up veggies and, hopefully, reach the summit for a big point payoff. Of course, not everyone’s supportive of Popo’s pastime. Toppies fill Popo’s holes, so players must jump through the gaps quickly. It’s easy to slip off some of the icy levels, as Polar Bears, Toppies and other ferocious fauna don’t want players up there. There are 32 challenging peaks to scale – players can face them alone or with a friend.

Kid Icarus™ (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): In a time when men and gods lived in harmony, the kingdom of Angel Land was ruled by two goddesses: Palutena, the Goddess of Light, and Medusa, the Goddess of Darkness. Unlike Palutena, Medusa despised all humans and enjoyed destroying their crops and turning them into stone. One day, Palutena decided to punish the evil Medusa and banished her after turning her into a hideous monster. But Medusa would not go without a fight. She created an army of monsters and evil spirits and captured Palutena. Players play as Pit, a young angel trapped in the Underworld, and Palutena’s only hope. They use a magical bow to retrieve the Sacred Treasures, defeat Medusa and restore peace to Angel Land.

Wii News Channel Silliness

I have noticed that the News Channel doesn’t always get cities right. The most glaring example of this is that it thinks Santa Ana, California is in Central America. If you keep up with the News Channel globe, you may see some other cities in the wrong place, too. If any of you have noticed that, please post a reply to this article. If you have any screenshots of this phenomenon, I will post them. E-mail those screenshots here.

Update: I do realize that there are many cities that have the same name all over the globe, but what I am trying to say is that instead of just placing locations on the globe view by city only (which is what the News channel seems to do), it should also be programmed to look at the state. Almost every AP story has city and state, so it just seems rather stupid that the News channel is just programmed to look at the city only (or just not knowing enough abbreviations, i.e. Calif.).

Comments from three unique posters in one day! I think that is a new record! I should phrase things stupidly more often. To the first three posters: your comments are great. They made me laugh.