PixlBit

I was expecting all of these to be crap games you were going to lampoon, but actually they all sound like fun. 

I used to love killing the Lemmings when I played the original game after school on the computers in the computer lab. I don't think I ever actually attempted to solve any puzzles, just create death scenarios I found entertaining. It is interesting how similar in concept Pikmin essentially is to Lemmings, and people talked about what a novel concept it was when Pikmin first came out. Just another example of nothing being new under the Sun. Someone should really look under the moon some time. 

I definitely wasn't expecting the variety game you mentioned to sound as much fun as it does. Usually, Wii games like it are pretty crappy from what I tend to hear, or at least overpriced (which it still could have been), but with inspirations like Paper Boy, Game & Watch, Cooking Mama, it sounds like a winner. Granted, I never actually played G&W or CM, but they sound like fun concepts.  I don't actually like the original Paper Boy either, cause I find it frustrating, but I do like the Snowboard Kids 2 mode that draws inspiration from it, so I know it can be fun, and the presents dropping gimmick is a perfect fit for this kind of minigame. 

Daze Before Christmas sounds the most interesting to me, since side-scrolling platformers are a favorite genre of mine. I need to get more sleep, though, I initially misread that Santa beat kids with his sack in Anti-Clause mode and did a double-take.

Elf Bowling just sounds hilarious. I like bowling video games ok, but usually I find the place I should hit the pins and the right strength to let the ball fly at, and feel like I'm done. In real life, there's a legitimate challenge to making strikes happen on a regular basis, but I feel like in games it's completely down to timing or the game preventing you from consistent success artificially by having the pins respond differently to the exact same strength and aim of the ball that should cause you to make a strike. I think I'd be a lot less bothered by that if I had the satisfaction of getting revenge on a spiteful elf, and watching them do entertaining stuff like smoke in the background.

As for Nights, I'm still not sure I understand the appeal of the core game, despite it being a big deal for a lot of people. I'll just have to play it for myself some time to see what all the fuss is about. The internal clock thing and the Sonic stage sound cool, though.

Merry Christmas! 

Yeah, in general I'm just not a sports guy the way most around me are. I definitely get into it all, but only for specific teams, and usually I only pay much attention when my favorites get into the playoffs. Speaking of which, hell of a win for the Cowboys yesterday, huh? We caught the end while out to lunch for my dad's birthday at Grimaldi's.

By the way, if you live near El Segundo, CA you should really go there (Grimaldi's) some time. Best pizza ever. That I've tasted, anyway.

And I'm curious, since you've always seemed to be a very music savvy guy, do you have a favorite artist, song, or LP, or some examples of what might make those lists for you? 

Looking up Youtube footage, I can see why I had a hard time as a kid. I was pretty impatient and liked to know pretty much immediately where I should go (aka I preferred side-scrolling platformers that pretty much just had you go right), so I probably just tried to speed my way to the right and wound up dying. Or maybe I just wanted to quit playing and do something else at the time; this is all based on like one memory of playing it at someone's house. I can definitely see the later levels being hard for non-moronic children, though. Looks like there wasn't too much of a hit meter. 

By the way, if you ever don't want to break out the Genesis, ssega.com seems to have most of these games. That's the real reason I came back to comment, just in case you didn't know about that website. Tis' the season and all. 

Interesting you should mention a snowboarding game first, since the only wintry games I really own are 1080 Snowboarding and Snowboard Kids 2. I could pop those in, or just stay in Phendrana Drifts in Metroid Prime and listen to the soothing music as the snow comes down in the game. Cause it ain't coming down outside, even though it was a couple weeks ago. Stupid Texas weather, always getting its holidays and seasons mixed up. 

I used to have a friend on 1up who seemed to talk about nothing but Lost Planet. Must be a great game, cause people really seem to respond to it. Sorry about the boss troubles. I recall sighing heavily and/or foaming at the mouth, ready to bomb a local fireworks, candy, kittens, puppies, and cute orphaned children factory when it came to some of the more impossible bosses in my youth.

The Thing sounds interesting as well; too bad about the flamethrower mechanic. 

I might not be a big Halo fan, aside from the fact it's the most tolerable FPS series for me, but I definitely appreciate the introduction of those dual analog control schemes. I'd argue those were around before Halo, though. Well, not argue really, just state based on perceived memory, there must have been some games doing that previously. I'm sure you might be able to prove me wrong though, as far as popular examples using the camera-stick/control stick method. Of course, you could argue, while not perfect, the c buttons on the N64 controller or Playstation's Dualshocks were the first to implement the basic idea of that control scheme. 

I think if I buy next gen/now gen/whatever post-Gamecube/PS2/Xbox/DS gen hardware, it might have to be a 3DS. So many games I want, including Mario and Luigi. It's less Golden Sun and more Paper Mario, right? If it is a JRPG. It would be awesome for me if it wasn't, to be honest. lol 

Shoot Many Robots sounds like fun. But man, you just can't catch a break from frustrating games, can you? 

I finally made my wishlist (literally consisting of exactly one item) over the weekend. Let's hope Santa can find the right Target, Wal Mart, or Gamestop!

I will try your suggestions, thank you. I had a Photobucket account back in the age of Myspace relevance, but I'm not sure I could log in now. I forget what e-mail account I even connected it to. Also problematic is the fact I know that my Myspace still exists, yet can not delete it due to the same not knowing my log-in info problem. 

And I liked Catching Fire, but I don't know that it will be my favorite of the year. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though! I really need to see Gravity. I am still upset I missed it in theaters. 

And Psychonauts is on Steam?! Hot damn, I forgot about that one! Thank you! Or screw you, becuase my recently acquired Steam addiction is not being helped by your comment right now. I think that $50 gift card my parents gave me last year may see some use. lol 

I forgot about Limbo. Definitely has the Fez/Braid indie puzzle/platformer feel to it. Not sure how I feel about the graphics and art style, though. I'll consider it and Braid, but those are on the backlist for now. 

I'll likely wind up using Facebook. That's typically the only way I can get my new avatars uploaded, even if they are the right dimensions, is by saving the images from Facebook. I think Pixlbit may just have decided it doesn't like stuff directly copy/pasted from Google Images for some reason. 

I'm pretty sure I will buy Super Meat Boy, but it's also good to have a second opinion, so thanks for the link! I have until Jan 2nd to decide and still get the discount, so I'm not in a huge rush.

I've done that before too, or copy/pasted into OpenOffice (I refuse to buy Word for my laptop until I absolutely have to) to have a back-up to post later. I think it's my image source, though. I've had good luck with Facebook, as Aaron has, so I'm thinking the fact I solely rely on Google Images may be the critical factor here. 

Could definitely be my fault for relying on copy/pasting from Google Images, given no one here whose blogs work suggested that option. 

I'm down for a good platformer challenge. It'll be a nice offset to the slower-paced Fez. Do you have any thoughts on Braid, by the way? Of the three games showcased in Indie Game: The Movie, that one least interests me from a distance, but I could be swayed by an informed opinion. 

And yes, thank you! My computer is actually pretty great, and was a steal on Chegg when I bought it at the end of this summer. It's the stupid crap I do like not uninstalling demos and using the same photo resource expecting different results that causes problems, I think. Luckily, contrary to Ron White's opinion, stupid can in fact be fixed.  Speaking of which, my brother said White had to defend some public school administrator that used that clip in a meeting to emphasize that stupid CAN be fixed, and it was the staff's job to do so. Random fact of the day, I guess. 

Oh, and since you're from Fort Worth and I've seen you discuss beer on here before, do you have any opinion on Rahr's Brewery Co. or their Ugly Pug black lager? Odd question, I know, but my parents got some at a White Elephant gift exchange recently, and I'm curious about beer enthusiasts' thoughts. 

I just responded to your response to my response. We'll see what happens, comrade. 

I don't expect you to be a reporter, but my initial incorrect reading of your blog made me think you were misrepresenting certain things to better support a particular agenda. Glad that wasn't the case, and I was wrong. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Ramadanalonadingdong or whatever you wish to you, good sire!