Wii

The Party Shouldn't Stop

HIGH Rolling through a completed level with the music blaring and a colorful party going on all around.

LOW The bosses feel totally out of place.

WTF Why have a timer?

Are you a Legend of Zelda fan? Of course you are. And as a Zelda fan, the one thing you've always wanted outside of a Zora Tunic or the Master Sword is a large chest just like the ones Link finds all the best goodies in.

Remember how dramatic it felt opening one of these chests and finding a dungeon compass?

Instructables user Zachariah Cruse has put together a guide on how to build your own treasure chest so that you too can be serenaded everytime you open it to access your collection of masks, boots and ocarinas.

I came out pretty strong on Twitter recently, decrying the loss of instruction manuals as publishers such as Ubisoft and EA Sports have made moves to abolish print manuals in exchange for digital manuals that can be found as extra content on the game disc. While publishers are reasoning that eliminating such manuals is better for the environment, it seems evident to me that there are more significant factors at work here.

The GameStation is back with a sequel to its clever Mario Brothers/Grand Theft Auto mash up. This time, there is a new Don, a Don-Key Kong, stepping on Bowser's turf. Who does he call for help? The Brothers Mario of course.

At first I couldn't see Donkey Kong and Mario as enemies going up against Bowser. That was until I realized that, historically speaking, Donkey Kong and Mario have been enemies from Nintendo's beginning. I guess years of watching them pal around in Super Mario Kart, Mario Tennis and Super Smash Bros. skewed my view.

Some kids get parties where they get to dress up as their favorite super hero or game character and their Mom and Dad throws around some related paraphernalia (mostly store-bought shlock).

This four-year-old's parents went above the call to create something so authentic and detailed that its a shame the four-year-old won't remember it when he or she is older.

A user named ddi7i4d on the instructables website has created a full-size model of No More Heroes' Travis Touchdown out of paper. Why would he do such a thing? Who knows? Maybe because someone told him he couldn't. Whatever the reason, the world now has a 1.86 meter (whatever that is in feet and inches) papercraft figure that watches over ddi7i4d's apartment.

It seems anyone with a camera and fellow film students with free time has made a Super Mario Bros. movie. This latest one goes at the Mario story from perhaps a more realistic angle. The story of Mario seems the result of a series of hallucinogenic experiences by the lead character. Are those really power-up blocks he sees? Is Bowser really a lizard? Maybe Mario just has a substance abuse problem.

I attended PAX East, checking out upcoming games and meeting great people. That last one was a bit more difficult thanks to the enormous size of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC), but that size made panels much easier to get into and allowed for an expanded and much nicer exposition floor. In case you weren't there, here are some impressions.

Not for Kindling

HIGH Look at those realistic flames! And all the different kinds of wood to burn!

LOW You can't stack the fire to insane proportions—no raging bonfires allowed.

WTF This is the Wii's second fireplace simulator. Is this actually a thing?

Weightless

HIGH The beginning of the housing area, when playing as a shadow is well-realized.

LOW Tedious, repetitive levels—and far, far too many of them.

WTF Did the devs really think this much switch-flipping was good gameplay?