New Limited Edition Febreze Air Effects, Winds & Springtime Review

When I came across the New Limited Edition Febreze Air Effects, Winds & Springtime I was pretty excited, because I love collecting all of Febreze's newest limited edition sprays.

With Spring in the air, I knew Febreze would surprise us with a slew of floral scents. However I was only able to find one new limited edition scent, which was odd. Usually they surprise us with 3 or 4 new scents for the season. I'm hoping more and more will release as summer closes in.

Anyhow, I picked up the Winds & Springtime scent at Target for $2.50. The bottle was attractive featuring an overall purple coloring to it. The bottle itself is the same as all Air Effects. Winds & Springtime however features a photo on the bottle of beautiful tulips.

The spray nozzle is my favorite thing about all Air Effects bottles though. Instead of releasing messy dripping spray droplets, it smoothly sprays out the formula in a clean neat pattern as to where it won't soak floors or fabrics. Air Effects lightly dusts them with the spray instead.

Now when I got home to use New Limited Edition Febreze Air Effects, Winds & Springtime I was surprised at how much it smelled like the original Febreze scent, with a dash of flowers added to the mix.

Although the scent was nice, it was also way too similar to other floral Air Effects that Febreze has released in the past spring and summer months.

I still like it, don't get me wrong, but it does not smell all that new. It does however last long, smells nice, and freshens the home. It just seems like it has been done before.

Viva Pinata Live For Windows

I had been waiting to get my hands on Viva Pinata for the PC for quite some time now. I just refused to spend $40.00 on a game that looked like it was designed for 3 year olds.

Getting the game though, and playing it was a whole different story. Viva Pinata is indeed not for children. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it to kids who are easily squeamish, seeing how there is some pinata animal bashing that will occur in the game.

What Is It?

Viva Pinata is basically a gorgeous graphical work of PC gaming art. In the game you are given a small plot of land. This is your garden. You notice at first that the garden looks a little trashy, with some garbage, dried up grass, and rocky terrain.

It becomes your job to fix it up, make it livable... make it beautiful. The more beautiful your garden becomes, the more likely a new species of Pinata will want to move in.

Once you have a variety of pinatas, it is your job to breed them, make them happy... and sometimes (gulp) feed them to other Pinatas in the garden.

That aspect is a bit disturbing, especially when a rival pinata enters the garden at night to try and eat one of my beloved pinatas. Picking up a shovel and whacking the thing while it cries actually makes me feel like a piece of crap.

The game though is really like an ecosystem. A cycle of life.

Upgrades:

As you get better, and your garden improves you will be given updates. A stronger shovel, a larger garden, or a local shop will open up.

In these shops you can use coins to buy homes for the pinatas, accessory's for them, seeds for planting, food, and garden decorations such as fences, rocks, or torches.

Everything you add to your garden will attract different species of pinatas. Such as the garden torch...certain moths are highly attracted to them, and will make your garden it's permanent home if you have one of these, and other objects.

Breeding:

Breeding is the key element in Viva Pinata. In order to keep the cycle of life continuing you must get two pinatas to breed. In order to breed though each pinata will require something. Such as birds. In order for them to breed, they must eat 2 worms, and have a home. Once you have completed these tasks, the birds will show a heart icon above their heads.

You can now direct the two to make a baby.

Making a baby takes you to a mini game screen. Here you will play a mini maze type game. Your bird starts at the bottom, while the mate is at the top of the screen. You have to direct your bird to the other bird without hitting any enemies that make up the walls to your maze.

It's pretty easy, you just need a steady hand. If you hit a wall (bad guy) you loose one life. Worry not though, you have 3 tries to make it to your mate.

If you're successful, your birds will breed, and make an egg, which will be delivered, and hatched a few moments later.

Breeding is relatively easy, but takes some time. Especially if you have a Pinata that wants to eat another Pinata that has yet to come to your garden.

All in all Viva Pinata is an open ended game, which means it does not end. You can play till.... till you want to stop, and still there will be no ending.

Windows Live:

I was not impressed with this feature. It comes included for a month free when you buy this version of the game. It's pretty easy to set up, and is necessary to set up if you want to save the game. I find that a bit suck-o-licious about the game.

In Windows Live, your Garden will open up a post office. Here you can fill a crate with some pinatas or items, and send them to other players.

I find this feature a bit stupid... but it is there if you want it.

You must have an internet connection for this feature to work.

Graphics:

Viva Pinata packs so gorgeous graphics. It looks as if you are playing a high tech cartoon, more than it does a game. The colors are vibrant, and the environment is beautiful.

Sounds:

Happy tunes play in the background.

Most sounds you will hear though come from the pinatas. They all have their own distinct noise. Frogs will croak, birds chirp... and so on. One sound you will hate hearing in the game though is when a Pinata falls ill. You will here its desperate little cries, and if you do not call the doctor, and pay the fee in time, the pinata will be killed by some wicked little voodoo dude who comes to collect the souls of pinatas who have fallen ill.

Glitches:

If your computer is not up to par don't bother trying to play this game. Many have reported that the game is filled with glitches.

While I myself have experienced a few small glitches myself, it hasn't yet crashed on me.

For others with lower end machines and graphic cards, you may experience slow gaming, glitched sound, and the crashes.

Check your system, and the games requirements to make sure you can run this game properly. Also make sure your drivers are updated.

Overall:

Viva Pinata has been an extremely addicting game since I purchased it. I recommend it to just about everyone....(except small kids who may get upset if one of their pinatas dies...or has to be killed).

Get This Instead:

Review: EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W Is a Must Have!!!

I was actually sent the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W for free to product test it, in return all I had to do was provide feedback to the company and let other people know how well I liked, or disliked the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W.

(I'm sure there are some of you whom would like me to fill them in on where to sign up for these product testing opportunities. Leave me a comment, with your email, and I will be happy to inform you on where to sign up for product testing jobs)

Anyhow, back on track...

The EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W is very easy to use, set up, and maneuver around flooring. What was so odd about the Steam Mop was how it dispersed steam onto floors. As you push it around, it actually pumps steam out of the mops head.

The mop I tested came with 4 microfiber pads. 3 of the pads were thick plain white pads to use on floors, hardwood, tile, and so on. It's universal, and even will work on carpets. The other pad was a fluffy purple microfiber shag like cover. We had no use for this pad though because the white pads worked like a charm!

Now what I loved about the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W was how the manual stated it would not get stains out of carpeting! Someone needs to update the manual, because the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W was able to get rid of stains on our carpet that we could not get out in the past; no matter what we used!

I simply ran the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W over the stain a few times, and let it sit on the area for around 5 minutes or so. It takes a little longer to remove stains, but it does in fact remove stains! Our carpet in our living room looked close to brand spanking new when we were finished. The door area where people come in and track dirt seemed like a stain that would never be able to come out. We assumed it was permanently stained! Ah, but the Steam Mop handled the stain with ease!

The mop also requires no chemicals whatsoever; you fill up the mops water chamber with water to the fill line, and that's it! When the water is gone, you simply re-fill it.

Another very awesome feature on the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W is the fact that it is reversible. If you dirty up one side of the microfiber padding, you simple flip the mop around and use the other side! But this is not the all time best thing about the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W. The fact that the microfiber pads can be tossed into the wash for use over and over again is what really makes this mop so dang convenient.

Imagine that! No more having to go to the store to buy expensive re-fill pads for the mop! It'll save you a heap of money, time, and aggravation!

Applying the micropads are also very simple. You just cover up the mops head piece, and go! The pads stay put, don't fall off, budge or create any tensions while mopping the floors.

The EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W also came with a carpet glider. This is awesome to have for those who have thicker carpets as it allows the mop to glide around much easier. We have very thin carpeting though so we did not even have to use the glider. For those with more plush carpets though it's very convenient that they added it with the mop.

As far as hardwood floors go, we have them in our hallway. The EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W cleaned and polished them up in seconds. You can see how good the mop cleans by looking at how dirty the micropad is! So you know it's working!

Tiling in the bathroom also came out polished and shiny after running the mop over the floors surface as well.

All in all the EuroPro Shark Steam Mop S3101W is a must have. You can toss out all your mops if you have one of these steam mops; truly it's an investment. It's lightweight, works wonderfully on carpet stains, and is easy to use.

Oh So Good!!!! Coffee People K-Cups; Buy Them In Bulks On Amazon

I love me a good cup of Joe, but frankly nothing really is as good as Coffee People K-Cup Extra Bold Wake Up Call Bold. It has a nice strong flavor that is impeccable, yet not bitter.

Although I don't usually review coffee, this one is worthy of mention, so check it out. They are single serve in different blends, and worth every cent.



And lastly, check out the Obama K-Cups!!!

Sigh! A Letter From Amazon Associates! No More Referral Payments!!!

Dear Amazon Associate:

We’re writing to let you know about a change to the Amazon Associates Program. After careful review of how we are investing our advertising resources, we have made the decision to no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, or www.endless.com through keyword bidding and other paid search on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines, and their extended search networks. If you're not sure if this change affects you, please visit this page for FAQs.

As of May 1, 2009, Associates will not be paid referral fees for paid search traffic. Also, in connection with this change, as of May 1, 2009, Amazon will no longer make data feeds available to Associates for the purpose of sending users to the Amazon websites in the US or Canada via paid search.

This change applies only to the Associates programs in North America. If you are conducting paid search activities in connection with one of Amazon’s Associates Programs outside of the US and Canada, please refer to the applicable country’s Associates Program Operating Agreement for relevant terms and conditions.

We appreciate your continued support and participation in this advertising Program. If you have questions or concerns, please write to us by using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central.


Sincerely,

The Amazon Associates Program

How To Download and Upload Themes to Your Sidekick LX

Although I usually only do reviews on my Blog, I wanted to share with you an old tutorial I wrote on Associated Content.

The reason I wanted to share it is because many people have found the tutorial to be the best tutorial they could find on the Internet when it comes to getting themes into their Sidekick LX.

Please visit this site by clicking here.

This tutorial is a step by step easier guide to getting your themes on to your phone. Enjoy.

Book Review: Kiss The Girls, by, James Patterson

Here it is, Casanova, the worlds greatest lover, at least that is what this one psycho killer thinks of himself.

You see Casanova is what he calls himself, but he is not like any other slasher serial killer that kills whomever is in his path alone at night. Casanova is picky with his victims, and he stalks them first. He doesn't just choose to take any particular girl, he chooses not only the most beautiful women he can find, but these women also must be smart, intelligent, and sexy.

He messed with the wrong guy though when he chose Alex Crosses niece, Noemi.

Whenever Casanova captures his victims, he locks them up in this underground home he has hidden in the depths of the woods which is strategically covered in leaves.

He has more than just one victim though, he locks up quite a few of them and keeps them drugged so they cannot escape. If they are caught talking they are beat, and sexually abused.

This book is just full of unpredictable frightening events. You won't be able to put it down.

What I loved about this book is that it was fast, easy reading, and addicting from chapter 1 to the very end. It starts with him (Casanova) hidden in a wall of the woman he is stalking at the moment.

He is as quite as a mouse, NO quieter than a mouse, he is invisible.

The chapters are all very short, so that way if you just want to read a quick chapter while on break, or just out, you can do it fast, and leave off on the next chapter.

Warning:

There are some very descriptive sexual scenes in this book and it was very surprising, and very gruesome all the same.

The way Casanova kills one of his victims in the woods for instance... I was just sickened, I could seriously see everything in this book as if I were watching a movie, and not reading a book. An excellent author indeed.

I know that there is a movie made of this book KISS THE GIRLS. I have not seen it yet. But I am sure it can't be nearly as good as this book.

I usually only read horror novels, and I was actually surprised to of even picked up a murder mystery, but believe me you, this is more like a horror murder mystery fest!

5 stars out of 5 from me!

PC Software Review: Cosmopolitan Virtual Makeover 2

The only reason that I bought this PC CD ROM VIRTUAL MAKEOVER DELUXE was because it was only 10$, and it came with a very cute travel sized hair dryer from con air.

It is a very fun CD ROM for you to play with, or that little girl in your life.

This CD ROM lets you change your hair styles, your eye color, with the neatest contacts from Acuvue, Freshlook, and other contact companies. You can add make up from CoverGirl. Add lipstick with hundreds of colors, and brands. Add some blush, and eye shadow.
It is so fun.

You simply take a picture you have of yourself on your computer, or from a scanner, and change your look in seconds. Or you can chose from the models, but that's not so fun.

THE HAIR STYLES

There are over 300 different hair styles to chose from. With 20 different colors to change. See how you would look before you dye it or cut it. Chose from Long hair, short hair, medium hair, curly, straight, Afro, paint in highlights, crimp it, or choose glamorous styles. Or choose from different wedding veils. See how it is going to look before you buy it. That's what I like best about this program.

Plus men can even add he option of beards and mustaches!

ACCESSORIES

Hats, dreadlocks, bald head, funny hats. Wedding veils, glasses, and earrings.

EYEBROWS

You can even pluck and shape your eyebrows! Or add shades of eyeshadow. From blues, pinks, purples, freaky colors, browns, red, greens, yellows. Is awesome!

LIPS

Choose from a bunch of unique colors, you can even buy them too. Most are from covergirl, and other name brands you can also buy in stores. Reds, pinks, blues, black! greens,, and hundreds of other colors.

BLUSHES

You can add blush too, this does not work to well, and it looks kind of clown like, so it's not that great.

EYES!

This is my favorite section, where can see what different colored contacts would look in my eyes. Once again, best thing being... you can really buy them!
Choose from great colors you've always wanted to experiment with.

Purples, baby blue, ocean blue, green, gray, brown, honey, Cinnamon's, gray green mix, sky blue, forest green, light greens, dark brown, near black, light browns.

And it's not just one shade of blues, greens, etc. It is a lot of different shades. From acuve, freshlook color blends.

You can visit the website and buy this, and other virtual makeover packs from www.virtualmakeover.com. But I think you might spend more money there on the web site, than at an odd job, or walmart.

THE VIRTUAL MAKEOVER FEATURES:

150 hair styles

cover girl make up colors

original make up colors

50 style pack hair styles

style pack make up colors

50 luxotica eye wear designs

hat collection

50 style pack 2 hair styles

style pack 2 make up colors

designer bridal veils

50 new hair styles

50 rem eye wear designs

freshlook contacts; acuvue

This is a bundle pack of fun. Not only that mine came with a mini Conair hair dryer which works great for when I straighten my hair.

Others may include either a brush, curling iron, or hair dryer!

The one thing about this I don't like is that I would never be able to style my hair the way that the program shows it on the screen; unless perhaps I were to be able to afford a visit to a stylist every week.

Gamecube Game Review: Pikmin

Pikmin is now available to rent or own for the new Nintendo gamecube console.
The game is based on this little cute guy in a moon suit.

His name is Captain Olimar. On his way home to Hoctate, (some planet) using his faithful ship which he calls Dolphin. Suddenly he felt a massive jolt in his ship. His ship lands on on a strange planet. He is not able to go back home. Due to the huge shake in his ship, 30 pieces of it were scattered throughout this strange planet.

His mission is to find all 30 pieces in 30 days.

In day one, he manages to meet these little strange creatures known as pikimin. The first ones he meets are red pikmin. These little guys have the ability to walk through fire.

As the day goes on, he learns that the pikmin enjoy helping him, and he wonders why. He begins to enjoy them. As he notices that he actually needs them for help in his mission back home.

But watch out, there are many enemies on this planet that enjoy killing and eating your pikmin army.

As time goes by, in this game you will come across yellow pikmin. These little ones can fly higher when they are flown.

Soon you will discover blue pikmin, wich can swim. Each and every pikmin is needed to preform tasks that Captain Olimar could not do alone.

Picking and planting pikmin is very fun. I have even had an army of about 200 of them. By the time night fall comes though, make sure you whistle and search around for your pikmin, otherwise they are left behind and eaten. It is very heart breaking to see them get chomped down on by that big red and white beetle creature.

Your pikmin will also grow with time. They will start off with a leaf dangling from the top of their heads, then they will get a bud, and eventually a flower will bloom. The flowered pikimin are much faster and stronger than the baby ones.

This game is by far a gamecube favorite so far. The graphics are awesome, and you will end up playing this for hours. Similar to the banjo kazooie games, where a person could seriously waste a week of their life playing it till the end.

I have not yet beaten this game, but I am sure I soon will.

I am just having fun exploring the strange planet.

The thing I hate is that I am on a 30 day time limit, and days are not that long. Some days I don't even recover a ships piece, which means 30 days, 30 pieces; it is going to be real hard to squeeze in 2 pieces in one day. I may fail. :(

Another thing I hate, is the monsters. Some of them are really really beyond hard to beat. I have had a whole army of 50 pikmin eaten in just one battle. Then I had to waste another entire day just making new pikmin.

Kids will have fun with this game, as well as adults. If they like video games.

The Sims Makin Magic Expansion Pack for Sims 1

GO MAXIS! GO MAXIS! GO. Unfortunately though The Sims Makin Magic will be the last and final expansion pack for The Sims. But with The Sims 2 in the making the sky's the limit!

This is supposed to be a review though about this last and final expansion pack, wich in my opinion is by far the best yet.
Unlike the original Sims this expansion has somewhat of a twist. It doesn't get boring like some expansions in the past did. It just gets better and better.

With this addition you get all new quirky neighbors, all new freaky townies, giving this expansion a Harry Potter like twist. Snake charmers, Vampires, Fairies, Ghosts, and those little adorable gnomes! Oh My!!!!!!!

The purpose of this game is to make magical spells, yet its not as easy as one may assume. Gathering herbs and powder's and mixtures is hard. This game takes some thinking. Eventually though you and your Sim's will be discovering secret recipes to make things magical happen. Hypnotize your family and friends, turn a neighbor into a toad, turn everyday objects into helpful minions. Although spells may backfire, its just so fun to see it happen.

How To Obtain Ingredients:

You can make some at home.
Buy everyday ingredients from the gypsy clerks in the new town.
Buy magical ingredients from vendors using magi coins which you will collect throughout the game.
Purchase them from vendors
Or from stores in racks.


This new expansion pack comes loaded up with all new objects for the home. (Which we all know home decoration is probably sometimes funner than actually playing with our Sims)

You now get the option to go to town alone, instead of dragging the whole family along with you. Which was so annoying in the past that your cat or dog could follow you to town. And the twist here is that you wont be riding in a car or boat. Try a balloon sky ride. So cute!

You will get a family spell book in the package that will arrive to your front door when you first start your game. Its very cute, it comes from what looks like a bizarre ups man.

From there the fun begins.

There are also new and cute social interactions for your Sims. They now have magic trick abilities to amaze friends and family. Pulling the coin out of the ear trick. Hot foot ability, hand buzzers, levitating, spell casting, teleport here, teleport there, extinguishing ability. Stop them fires with the palm of your hand. (or wand)

Eventually when your Sims get good at their magic, they can enter into competition duels. I haven't quite mastered this, so I really don't know how it works yet.

Magic town has many new things for your Sim or Sims to do. Like in the past magical spooky theme parks are available where you can collect magi coins. Meet new and creepy people. It has such an adorable and weird ghoulie like setting to it, and best of all its customizable like every expansion town in the past.
This game like all of the rest that maxis has made in the past is probably by far the most addicting. It can seriously take time away from your real life. They should make that as a warning on a special label.

Rumor has it that if your Sims become very magical that they too can move into magic town. A whole new twist to a game that has never before been offered. Save up those magi coins!

This game rocks, the only thing is though that it does take more time for the game to load, but well worth the waiting time. Drink plenty of coffee before starting your adventure into this game, a game so much like reality that you could get swept away into Sim land.

I also forgot to mention the entire addition to your Sims wardrobe. That's right new clothes everybody. It doesn't get any better, and I don't think it could.

No wonder it was voted the years best PC game of all time.
Bravo. Two thumbs up and a high five.

You may want to update your PC before trying to install all of the expansions. This game requires you have all of them. But with any Sim fan, I'm sure that isn't even an issue.

The Sims 2, for PC

My love for The Sims 1 was what brought me to buy the newest addition, The Sims 2. I already had my copy pre bought before it even hit the shelves. I knew if I didn't get my copy early I'd most likely be waiting a month after it came out, to get it at all.
Low and behold though, I had my copy. Day 1.

Installation was a bit timely for the new game; about 7 to 10 minutes, but it wasn't that terrible, seeing how Maxis added a little memory matching game for you to play while waiting for the installation process. Depending on your PC system, times vary.

I noticed immediately the hours that I would be putting into this new game, and the lifelike graphics, and facial expressions the Sims now have were extremely neat compared to the original game.

I created my family, which was incredible, because your options are not limited. I mean if you wanted to get all technical and spend about a half an hour making a character look like yourself, you could - which I did.
My characters look just as human as I allow them to, or as distorted as I wish.

Next was moving my new family into a home. Only uh oh! No money, no money. I want a mansion. Not some shack.

Naturally I use the Simolean cheats to start building my mansion; which now I can make 4 story's high, as were in The Sims 1, you were only allowed to have a 2 story home. How about a pool inside as well. Yeah!

Something is new about my family though that I wasn't used to at all. They get fat. My Sim wouldn't stop stuffing her face, and I had to fill the fridge a lot. Shes quite disgusting too. Burps, farts, waves it around and then laughs to herself.

Whats this!? She ages too. I'm a little sad by this though, I know eventually the girl I created will soon die. In about 15 days to be precise.

So I literately have 15 days to get this girl a career, so I can buy things in the career rewards section. Another new feature of the Sims 2.

I really want the candy making machine, so I choose to put her in a cooking career path.

She is very lazy though, she barely leaves the couch, and no matter how many times I direct her to take a shower or clean up, the more she fusses. That's what I get for giving her zero points in active.

She was also assigned the romance aspiration. So this could be why shes not focused on her career, and wants to do woohoo with jut about anyone who comes onto the lot. This task however is not easy.

She already wants to have woohoo with 5 different Sims. So my Sim is a fat lazy.. ehh hemmm... you know what I mean.

She doest play her cards right though. My Sim has woohoo with Rob Sim. Rob Sim has fallen in love with her. After they make woohoo he decides to stay on my lot for almost 3 days. Gez! However the male maid has also fallen in love with her, they have woohoo when Rob is still on the lot. VERY BAD! Rob goes crazy. The two men end up fighting and eventually Rob leaves.
Only not for long, because for almost everyday after he is in her front yard knocking her garbage can over, which creates roaches if it's not cleaned up in a timely manner.(Cleaning up roaches can also make your Sim sick) It can be quite annoying having to clean up every day, risking disease. My Sim has become quite the player, by day 10. Shes already woohoo'ed it up with about 10 guys. Shes up to one per day. But her mood meter is sky high. She loves her seducing ways. The perfume that you can buy from the gypsy woman also helps greatly, when it comes to wooing another Sim.
My Sim however has one day left for the age transition. Shes about to become old. Sigh*, soon after I know it will be time to say goodbye. I wonder if she feels bad about not ever having any children. She doesn't seem upset by it. But I am a little bit. I feel bad for an object that isn't even really alive. Ive went and got all attached to my Sim as if she were real. I wanted her to accomplish more before she got old. But now theres nothing I can do but wait for her death. Which came 12 days later. Sigh*

Other features in the game which I haven't experienced myself are as follows.
Men can now get pregnant. Hehe. Yes men. If you have a male Sim look into the telescope there is a random chance that he is abducted by aliens and has himself an alien baby 3 days later. It will be born as an alien. It will look human but have green skin.

New career paths, and career rewards. Ex. Golf putter, boot camp training maze, candy machine, chemistry lab, and more.

Twins!!!! That's pretty self explanatory; Ive yet to have a set of twins, but I'm waiting for one of my Sim moms to finally bless me with twins.

Teens. Your child will age to a teen, and there are a lot of fun things to do with them. Like sneaking out, first kiss. Cute things that teens go through. Zits too. hehe.

There are also several new ways of death early. Like cloud watching, theres a random chance that a satellite hits your Sim and kills him. If your home is too dirty there is a chance of a huge swarm of flies that will kill your Sim, and there's a random chance that your Sim is attacked by them, resulting in death.

There is also the community lot which any Sims fan is familiar with. These are lots throughout your land where your Sim can shop, and or meet new Sims.

Also there is a new delivery system. Sims can still get pizza, but now Chinese food as well. Also you have to order groceries. Your fridge runs out of food now. Ahh! No problem though, your delivery man will be there in almost a minutes time. So you don't need to worry about starving to death.

Oh and also your Sim can be scared to death by another Sim that may of died on the lot. The color of the ghost on the lot will show how that Sim died. Red, means the Sim died in a fire, blue drowned in water. Green sickness.. etc. A very angry ghost is usually the ones that have died of starvation. If the ghost sees your fridge is empty he may throw things, scream a lot, and even scare a living Sim to death. SO WATCH OUT! Hehe!

You will have so much fun with this game, any age you may be.
There are also expansion packs available for The Sims 2 in which will add even more hours of entertainment. There is so much to do.

I recommend this to any Sims fan and non Sim fan. Seriously once you start playing you honestly cannot stop. Addicting!

Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All To Me, Paris Hilton

This diary, I was aware of before it came out. I thought it was going to be cheap and cool, seeing how I myself adore the heiress. I know, I know. Why some of you may ask? Really my answer is brief. I think she is gorgeous.

Anyways I went to Barnes and Noble's to seek the diary out. I thought it was a follow up of her first book. 'Confessions of an heiress'.
I thought it was going to be more of her rantings and ravings, about her life in general.

I was far from right though.

I found the books on a shelf taking up half of an entire wall. You could see the glitter, and the pink bling cover a mile away. I knew it was Paris' book before I even got close enough to read it.

At a first glance some may think it's the exact same book as the first one she wrote. Its very very similar, I even believe the picture is exact on the cover. Only this book is way more sparkly. Eye catchy. It has to be. The cover is the only thing that sells anyways for Miss Hilton.

Once I opened the book and realized it was nothing but a bunch of blank pages and pictures of her that were in the first book.

So now I get it, the jokes on me. Its not her diary, it's one for me. To confess to her. Blah!

I'm one who likes to write in my diary, but when I turned the flimsy thing around to see a 24$ price tag, the book went straight back on the shelf.

So Ladies and Gents, my advice is that unless you want the exact same pictures from the first book, and about 40 blank pages to write thoughts on, avoid this over priced rip-off.

Some pages have hearts for lines to write on-whoopidydoo!!! Others are just lists.
Like, Who's hot?
Whats your favorite clothing?

Its very, very, 7 year old oriented. It's not for all Paris fans at all.

I would of bought it, if it were priced fairly; say 5$; the most. But $24, you've got to be kidding me. 'That's not hot.'

Movie Review: The Midnight Hour

The Midnight Hour was released for a made for TV in 1985. I was 5 years old however when I first saw it. Let me tell you, it scared the ebbie jeebies out of me.

Now the review before me says that it's okay to show this flick to the little ones. I would say go ahead and let them watch it, that's if you want them up all night, imagining some huge werewolf ripping at them under the covers, and end up sleeping in your room. In my opinion this movie is a bit too scary for some younger children.

Lets get to the movie itself though.
This movie is my all time favorite horror. There doesn't go a year that my family doesn't gather to watch this on Halloween.

Bill is the main character, he is your average nerdy type teenager, with a small group of friends. He has a group of 4 friends total; all whom need a costume for Melissa's Halloween party.

They decide that its a good idea to go and borrow some clothes/costumes, from a local wax museum for authentic costumes.
2 of the teens have ancestors in the museum, as wax figures. So naturally they decide to wear there ancestors original clothes.

They stumble upon a trunk hidden in the corner of the basement. They open the trunk, and realize there are some cool props inside for them to use for the Halloween party. Bill urges them not to take anything, but he's a one man army up against the rest of the group.

For some odd reason one of the teens thinks it would be a cool night to go to the local graveyard and hang out with everyone.

They end up opening the trunk here completely. Inside is a scroll, sealed shut with wax stamp.
Melissa grabs the scroll, opens it up and begins reading it, as she sways back and forth, in a trance like state.

She faints, only to get up saying, "It was only a joke".
They leave quickly afterwards, seeing how no one saw the humor and head for home.

There is then a small cut in the scene, and you now get to see the graveyard beginning to, what looks like; breathe. Dirt goes flying up, you get to see some ripping at the wood inside their coffins, to get out. Some zombies rise up in anger, others just seem to roam aimlessly.

This is the best visual I think I've ever seen in any rising dead horror movie. The make-up and costumes are perfect, the mood of the movie is always up to par, and the music will take you right back to the big 80's.

Oddly however, a werewolf is somehow mixed in, as well as Melissa's ancestor; the witch, who comes back as a vampire. Which is strange. Theres even a little midget thrown in. I think he was the coolest little zombie, and his costume and make-up were spectacular. Some ghouls, and a lot of semi slow moving zombies. It's an awesome scene. One must see the movie to fully appreciate it.

Also in the zombie mix arises a 1950's cheerleader still in uniform. Shes the only one that seems like she doesn't belong in the group of half rotten zombies.

The teens are completely unaware of it at first. Till Melissa's Halloween party. This is where the ghouls were able to blend in perfectly in the crowd. As each teen at the party is bitten, they turn into a zombie themselves. Not cute zombies either. I mean full fledged scary running zombies.

Bill meets up with Sandy on the street, he left the party early. So he was one of the lucky ones who got spared. She asks him for directions to the malt shop. It seems she is not aware shes dead, and she is talking about shops, and places that once existed when she was alive in the 50's.

A small romance is shared between the two, up until they realize they have to save the town from the ghoulies.

This is where the movie turns from semi-scary, to full blown horror fest.
They have to get the ring off of a dead ancestors finger in the graveyard to seal the scroll before midnight.

This tasks proves not so easy, seeing how they have an entire mob of undead chasing them. All of whom were once Bills friends. The chase is probably the scariest part in the movie.

The ending is full of suspense, and will have you actually anticipating the result. I'm telling you the ending is frightening, but I will not ruin it.

I would recommend this movie to families with children no younger than 6. A definite watch for Halloween or All Halo's Eve.

Its just a great 80's horror film that's owed a lot of due credit. I wish they'd play it on TV every year, however they do not. You can buy it on DVD for $80, that's if you can find it. The DVD is no longer being made. Another reason I'm glad my mom taped it, when it was shown in the 80's.

Game Review: Sims 2 Holiday Stuff Pack

My love for the Sims has only grown and grown over the years. Lately however with the release of maxis' expansion packs I've been disappointed, than happy, than disappointed again.

This version is just like the original Sims 2 version, only it has some new holiday features.

You can also buy just the holiday stuff expansion pack, if you already own the Sims 2 original version. You can buy it for $19.99

So whats new?

I've been asking myself the same thing.
How shall I break this down to Sims fans easily... hmmm.
RIPOFF!

This version costs $39.99 almost everywhere you find it for sale. I'm sure you can find it on sale for less. But not this time of year when the holiday stuff would be in demand for any Sims lover.

The Sims holiday edition has a few new perks.
Some new items for your Sims include a few holiday outfits. All of which look ugly on your Sim. Elf suits for the kiddies. I'm going to say about 5 or 6 outfits in all. None of which are spectacular looking.

This pack includes a bunch of new items as well. Not just Christmas items, but a small fraction of Halloween, and German Christmas items, oh and one fall item. Not so great.
Not only that hardly any of the items are actually usable. What I mean by that is, they serve no other action purpose than just sitting there.

What really made me mad was when the Sims go to view these new items, they come up in their mind bubbles as flamingos, or old paintings already in the game. Which means they are exactly they same old item, just modified to look different. Your Sims still register them as old items, and aren't too impressed.

Cool! Yeah right.

Another disappointing factor was how on the box cover and in some advertisements you see the Sim children opening gifts under the tree.

That's just false! This won't happen. The tree does nothing but light up. But wait... if you forget to turn that tree off within 3 or 4 hours, you'll get a tree set on fire every time. Yay Christmas!!!!

Also included is a lawn ornament for the lawn. A snowman! Hes got one action feature. It goes on for like 5 seconds, and dances. Then turns off. Yay! -Lame. The Sims don't even respond to it.

There's also a lighted lawn reindeer. Your Sims can pet him. For one, I find this new feature boring, and secondly the reindeer is tacky and far too large looking. It doesn't match the rest of the sized furniture and doo dads in the game. So it looks fake and stupid on the lawn.. with no snow! Hah!

There are also some new objects in build mode. The windows with frost, and doors with frost. It's limited to only 3 or 4 different window and door types though.
You can also hang stockings on your fireplace. Another useless item. The Sims cannot do anything with them, like the tree.

Maxis also threw in some trees with lights on them. Not impressed though.

They also threw in some stringed lights to decorate the outside and inside of your Sim home. Also useless seeing how nobody I know can actually play the game with the wall up. Once you put the walls down the lights disappear. Useless decorations.

There's some new holiday flowers for you to put around the house. About 4 of them.
The mistletoe, at first I thought was cool. Sims can stand under it and wait for a kiss. (mind you this is probably the best new Sims action in the game) However if your Sim doesn't have a crush, or a lover at the time of standing under the mistletoe, nobodies coming along to kiss them. They'll stand there till you prompt them to do something else.

As far as Santa visiting... haven't seen him yet. Unless Maxis has some super secret night for him to show up, he wont be showing up, and I highly doubt Maxis planned for him to visit on x-mas eve (real time).

Just look at the cover of this game. You're getting nothing of the sort. The box cover is nothing more than mind manipulation and lies to grab in the consumer.

I used to be very happy with Maxis' expansion packs and add ons. But so far this is pretty much what every Sims expansion pack has been like. Disappointments.

What I like about this new edition: I guess the mistletoe? Nothing else seems to do anything but sit there trying to look pretty. The tree sets itself on fire every other hour game time. The lights you can't see, Santa... I had a feeling he didn't exist! Dang! My poor sim children. The tacky reindeer that all your neighbors will be so envious of. HAH!

There's really nothing in particular I like about this new edition. I feel like I was ripped off, it's ashame you cannot return CD-roms, otherwise this one would be going back.

Trust me, don't waste your money on this one.
Best thing about the Sims holiday edition: I'm going to have to say, the best thing about this edition was the flyer that came in the box advertising the newest expansion pack. Outdoor fun, or stuff.

Another rip off on its way Im sure. Im such a sucker though for my sims. But because of this edition, I just may let my sims suffer without the newest add ons.

User Review: Gorilla Glue- Is It Strong? Really Strong!?

I've seen really neat commercials on gorilla glue. One that sticks out was the dinosaur bones that claimed "put together by Gorilla Glue" -Worlds strongest glue. Even though the small print claimed otherwise, I found this advertising to be extremely catchy, and cute as well.

I avoided it however, seeing how I never really had any major uses for a strong bond glue; until I broke the heel of my favorite Maryjane shoe!
My heart was broken. I was in such love with these shoes. It's as if they were designed for my foot, comfort, shape, the whole nine. (I'd do a review on my shoe, but unfortunately I never jotted down the make/style.) Anyways; this is why I needed the glue.

I did a few circles around Acmoore, until I found it sitting right on the shelf near the check out line.
A small fee of $5?
I was at least expecting to pay $10 for the worlds strongest glue; and for some reason I'm one of these simple minded folk that think, 'if it's expensive, it must be better than the rest'. Based on that, I assumed right away that this worlds strongest glue was going to be another useless rip-off. I bought it anyway though. I was willing to at least try and fix my shoe myself, before spending a large fee for a shoe repair. (I was that desperate) -true!

I read the instructions on the box when I got home.
4 small easy to remember steps.

1. Make sure your working on a clean surface first. (Cinchy!)

2. Wet surface before applying glue. (Easy enough)

3. Use only a small amount of glue, as for the glue will expand. (Oh this must be good, that's different)

4. Wipe any excess glue off of edges.

-Let dry for up to 4 hours, and wallah! Fixed!

So this is exactly what I did. Only I waited for an entire day before actually using my shoes.

I seriously thought that it was not going to work, that as soon as I tried walking in my shoes, they were again going to come apart.

I'm now a proud owner of my 5 year old shoes again!
I've been walking around in them for a good solid 4 days now, without any signs of the glue giving up its strength. For only five bucks, I was not expecting the shoe to last me more than a few hours; if that.

Gorilla Fixer Upper Project Number Two-

My clumsy stupid self went and sat her toosh right on her $75 designer sunglasses. I must admit I shed a minor tear, and of course I cursed my butt out!
How could I be so stupid, how could.... wait- I've got that glue, the one that fixed my shoe. (Sorry I had to)

That's what I did, and with perfect results. There was originally a crack right in the top part plastic that holds the lens in. I had to try and fit the lens back into place, then I simply wet the crack, applied a mini dot of the Gorilla Glue, and let it sit for a few hours.
The glue bubbled up a bit (because I guess I used more glue than needed-no big deal), but it was not even recognizable, unless you were right up in my grill.

The glasses are fixed, but who knows when I may sit on them again? I cannot hold the makers of Gorilla Glue responsible if I decide to plant my rear on the glasses again.

Now if I were to trip and fall, and break my teeth, I bet this glue could fix it too. Save me a big ol' trip to the dentist. Mm hmm...(Don't try that at home though, I can't be held responsible for crafty ideas that flow from my mind-nope!)

Gorilla glue has done me justice in less than one week, and saved me quite a lot of money. If I were to get the shoe fixed professionally it would of cost me God knows how much. If I were to buy new glasses, well there goes another $75.

I'm extremely happy with my $5 purchase, and would buy this product again. I'm sure I will have to; and soon. I'm such a klutz, I manage to somehow break almost half of the things I own- or sit on them. The gorilla can fix that though, so I'm not worried about it anymore.

Game Review: The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff

The word 'stuff' in simland terms basically means, 'junk'.
For around $20, you too can have some junk; err I mean, stuff. Family fun stuff.

Now don't be fooled by the pretty promising box, this is not an expansion pack to the Sims 2. It is in fact just as the box says. Stuff.
I was not, and have not, been impressed with any of the Sims stuff add ons, since the Sims 2 came out. Just thought I'd mention that.

The installation was very fast, so that was a plus. In my opinion though, a fast installation means that your not getting a whole lot. My intuition was right.

I compiled a list of the few things you will be getting if you happen to purchase this add on. But first, lets get into the main aspect of what to expect out of Family Fun Stuff.

1. Expect new decoration themes for children. One being an under the sea theme set, in blue colors, used mostly for boys rooms, and a pink princess theme for girls rooms.

-The 2 new themes include 2 new toy boxes, all that have the same toys in them as the original default toy box.

- A few tacky wallpapers for the children's room. Sea wallpaper, and princess wallpaper.

- A princess and a sea themes wardrobe cabinet

- A sea themed and princess chair.

- 2 new lamps. One a bizarre crystal ball type of light, and the other a jellyfish light.

- A princess themed bed, and a sea themed bed.
Grand total: about 10 new furniture objects.

-This is probably the best set your getting for your money. 2 new themes, both; in my opinion are very tacky, and don't look good in the game.

But wait, you'll be getting some new clothing too. Let us clap our hands together for 4 new outfits. This was a major disappointment. All 4 of the outfits are very ugly, and in my opinion useless.

Who would want their Sims walking around with a rubber tube attached to their stomachs for the whole game, and a snorkel on their face? Not me. (only available for children)

2 pairs of pajamas, again only for children. They are too big looking on the kids, they make them look fat and stupid. Not only that, but the slippers are bear feet, with claws. They also look just as ridiculous as the baggy over sized pajamas.
The last outfit is a Tinkerbell fairy type of costume for little girls. It is pathetic looking. Why anyone would choose for their Sim child to walk around in this outfit is beyond me. Maxis also had to go the extra mile, and make the costume even more ridiculous looking by adding wings, and a wand.

You will also get about 5 or 6 new paintings and wall decorations, a few new tacky colored rugs, and a sculpture or two. None that stand out in my mind, even worthy enough to write of.

With The Sims 2 Family Fun stuff you don't really get much else. There are no new Sim actions like one would expect. There are no new outdoor decorations, no new plants, no new objects in build mode. Zilch, zero, nada! Maxis should have named this one, The Sims 2 Princess And The Sea Stuff. That's all you're really getting anyways. 99% of the new objects are only for children.

When I first bought the CD I was expecting to see some new varieties of food, a closet filled with new clothing, maybe some cute plants, and outdoor items. A kite would of been nice for the kids.

I know Maxis hears Sims fans wants, but they seem to only be releasing repeats of the Sims 1, and cruddy over priced add ons. I'm still waiting for my rated-r add on request to come to life. Sigh.

This was the first release of the Sims 2 Stuff. There are 2 more Sims 2 Stuff Cd's. The Sims 2 Holiday Stuff, and Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff. All of them can be bought at the official Sims site. www.maxis.com or www.thesims2.com from $15 to $20. I know you can even download Family Fun Stuff add ons right from the site for a fee. This makes things a lot easier than trying to track down the newest add ons at local game stores, or walmart.

TO SUM IT UP

Overall, in my opinion, it's Maxis' way of making a few million more dollars, by selling Sims fans a few useless tacky objects.

Bics Wite-Out Shake'n Squeeze Correction Pens

Working in an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, one is likely to run into about 10to 15 mistakes in that time frame. This is almost certainly, why my boss has a box load of Bics Wite-Out Shake'n Squeeze Correction Pens. However I'm assuming he's never actually used them himself; otherwise this would no longer be the brand of choice here in the office.

Before I tell you about my experiences with this wite-out pen, I figured I may as well go ahead and let you know how to use this nifty device.

This was copied directly from the wite-out pen itself:

1) Shake well before use
2) Remove Cap
3) Push Down Firmly on tip and squeeze on barrel
4) Use just like a pen
5) Recap after each use

Also squeezed on the side of the in bold print are some warnings about the product. All in my opinion make this pen a little scary to want to use.

CAUTION: FLAMMABLE (This is in Bold Small Print)
- KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE OF FLAME
- KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN
- DO NOT SWALLOW OR INHALE
- WARNING: Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating or inhaling contents can be harmful or fatal

They forgot a few warnings actually, but I will get into that at the very end of this review.

So lets get into how well Bic wite-out shake and squeeze worked for me.

For one, every now and then after shaking, and squeezing, with all your might, the pens tip sometimes doesn't allow any wite-out to flow.

This led me at one point, or another into thinking that the wite-out was empty. However, when I shook the pen, it was clear it was a fully loaded pen.

Secondly, one squeeze either fixes it, or ruins it for good.
If you haven't used this product before, don't just assume you can shake this pen, and then just easily squeeze the wite-out onto your mistake, and it will be all fixed.

The first squeeze you take will ALWAYS squirt out some clear liquid, almost bird poo looking type substance onto your paper. It's a mess that can't be fixed. You may as well start all over again.

So my warning is, ALWAYS squeeze the first squeeze out onto an old piece of paper you don't need, to get the gooshy bird poo liquid phlegm out first.

-Mind you, even if you used the pen 2 hours prior, always do the bird poo test on another piece of paper. The clear runny liquid comes out every time. Even if you may think you got it all out in the first squeeze, odds are, you didn't.

Probability: 8 out of every 10 squeezes.

Third on my list of warnings is the bubbles. This is why you should never just squeeze this wite-out onto your document. Bubbles sometimes spray out in gag loads. Again ruining your paper worse than it was before. Probability 6 out of every 10 shots.

Lets move onto the wite-outs visibility. Now if you got a good squeeze in, with no bubbles, or runny bird dookie type substances. It does not happen often, but on a rare occasion it does. The wite-out itself will cover the entire mistake with a nice perfect white color, and you have a nice well finished coat that you can now write on once it is dry.

Probability: 1 out of every 30 squeezes.

-If you let the wite-out dry with bubbles, the document looks ruined, and the mistake will still be visible.

-If you let the white out dry with the clear gooey phlegm on it, the mistake will be very visible, and the wite-out color will dry a cloudy grayish type color.

With all of this said, even if you do happen to get a nice smooth coat on top of your mistake, good luck writing on it later.
Dry time for me has always ranged from 4 to 7 minutes, depending on how large a squeeze squirted out.

Once your wite-out is dry, you can now write in pen over the error, and fix it. Or so one would think.

This is the big warning the pen forgot to include. ONCE YOU USE THIS PRODUCT, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT WRITING ON TOP OF IT!

That’s right people, if you don't believe me, test it for yourself, if you're willing to loose a few bucks, that is.

Once you try writing on top of the dried out wite-out it will crack, and scratch off almost 99% of the time. Making your finished piece look like garbage.
So if anyone ever hands you a bic wite-out shake'n squeeze pen, throw it away, once you use it, that’s where your document is going anyway, right to the trash.
If you made a mistake, and this is all you have available, you may as well just start all over again.

Another grudge I have on this wite-out pen is how the tip where the wite-out flows from sometimes drys out.
There are a few methods you could use to get it working again, I'm sure. (Just don't take a lighter to the tip, like some people do with pens- this stuff is flammable) But when you're sitting at your desk, do you really want to get up, go find soap, and a dish rag, to wipe it clean? Of course not. You're going to wipe it off with your fingers. Be careful though not to squeeze while your doing this. Now if you manage to get the tip to work again, congratulations! That does not happen often, give yourself a pat on the back. Most of the time the tip is so clogged up, and dried out, you will have to throw the whole thing away. Regardless of how full it is.
-Keep in mind, this STILL happens even if your a super neat freak, and never leave the cap off of it, except for when you're using it.

Overall I would have to say that I do not use this anymore, even though the boss continues to buy it in box loads. I just wish he'd see for himself that this stuff is junk, and perhaps switch brands. Until then, I'll let the pens grow dust on them in my bottom draw.

Console Review: The Nintendo Wii System

Okay where to start. Me, like every other 12 year old in the world wanted a Nintendo Wii console for Christmas. Me, like 500,000 other people were sadly disappointed on Christmas morning. However, since my sad reality of never receiving one, I decided to just lay low, and chill out on the whole “I NEED IT” attitude.
I dropped by gamestop every now and then, and constantly got told, “Sorry, sold out.” “Maybe next week/month”

4 days ago however my luck changed, and I got my greedy needy hands on the last one in the store. This is why I’m here; I want to brag about my Wii. I love my Wii!!!!

Before getting my hands on the system, I thought it was too good to be true. I doubted the Nintendo Wiis promise. Besides, how could a game literately put me inside of it? I don’t buy it, especially for such a small price tag.
Well my thoughts were wrong, and doubts erased. You will feel just that. You are in the game. You are what makes it go, what makes it tick.

Before I get into all of the technical things, let me tell you the system is awesome. I wouldn’t, and couldn’t ask for more from this system. Not only am I having fun, but my big butt is also getting in a daily dose of exercise. In which I barely did before. –Recent study showed that if a person played the Nintendo Wii for one hour everyday, they could lose up to 5 pounds a month. I read that on some Internet article. Unfortunately I don’t have the link. But if and when I find it, I will add it in this review.

SET UP

The Wii was boxed nicely. No foam pieces to get thrown around. Everything was packed nicely in sturdy cardboard inside of the initial box. Of course there were instructions. I, like many others, don’t necessarily like reading the instructions to anything. I’m the type of person who wants to just plug things in, and get things going immediately. WARNING: You will need to refer to the instruction manual. So don’t think about throwing it away the second you open the box. For one, you’re going to need to read the section about how to set up the Wii sensor bar to the top or bottom of your TV. Easy enough, you may think. Yes I thought so too. But you got to be careful where you place the bar. It is a very slim flimsy piece of plastic. The bar itself has double sided sticky tape. So wherever, you place it, try and make sure your not going to have to move it around too often. It can, and will break easily if not handled properly.

- You’re also going to want to refer to the instruction manual on how to get the Wii to register you Wii sensor controller, or controllers. It’s a pretty easy basic step, and asks for some button pushing. But without reading the manual, you could be lost, and think your remote controller is broken. It’s not; it just has to be registered. Once that step is done you won’t have to repeat the process, which is a great time saver.

These 2 things are pretty much the only need you will have for the manual. The rest of the plugs just go into the proper sized slot. There’s no rocket science to figuring out which plug goes into which hole in the back of the console.

THE NINTENDO WII REMOTE CONTROLS

At first I thought this was going to be impossible. I have never in my entire 18-year gaming history, seen, or held a game controller quite like this one. It’s shaped just like a standard TV remote control, only smaller. At first glance one may think it’s going to be hopeless gaming. However, once you have the system on, and controllers registered, you will immediately get the feel of the remote. You will also see that it’s way easier than you thought at first. This remote is the remote that you will use for most of your Wii gaming.

NUNCHUCK-

this is the attachment remote. It gets snapped right into the bottom of the other remote. WARNING: Do not rip it out from the other remote when you are done using it. There are two small buttons at the bottom that need to be held to release the nun chuck from the other controller. My nephew was the genius who decided to do this and it cost me another 20$ for a new one. So definitely stress this to smaller impatient children who may be playing with YOUR toy.

This remote is a small banana shaped remote you hold in your other hand. The remote itself doesn’t have much use to the Wii Sports that will come with the Nintendo Wii, if you happen to get this bundle. It has an analog stick similar to older game cube remotes in the middle of it. It also has a button on the bottom, which can be pressed for different results; depending on what games you may be playing. The only time this controller was used in Wii Sports was the boxing game. As you flail this remote out in any direction, the character on the TV will do the same.

WARNING:

Always, I repeat, ALWAYS, wear the remote controllers safety strap. It slides over your hand. This is to make sure no one flings the remote at the television or at someone else. –There have been plenty of accidents I have read about this system because of this. It’s a simple direction. WEAR THE STRAP! Don’t risk losing an eye, or TV set. Or heck, don’t risk breaking the remote. They are just as rare to get your hands on as the Nintendo Wii itself. If you don’t believe me, go check out the overpriced remotes they’ve got up for grabs at www.ebay.com

THE NINTENDO WII

When you first turn your system on your going to be asked to put in a few basic details. Here you can give your system a nickname. Add the time, and the date, and you’re ready to go.

After this quick initial set up you are then going to be taken to a screen with 4 different mini blocks. Some will be blank. These blank boxes will be filled up with games you happen to buy, or purchase at the Wii store.

What’s the Wii Store/Wii Shoppe?

Hehehe. This is the best feature in my opinion. In order for the Wii store to be activated you have to set up the system to the Internet. After this you may purchase old games from older systems to download onto your Nintendo Wii. Games from consoles such as, Sega, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and more are available on the Wii Shop Channel. Neat old school classical games us 80’s children may of grown up with. You can only buy Wii stuff with Wii points. An annoying process I thought at first.
I thought I was going to have to go out to best buy or Wal-Mart and purchase a Wii Card. Nope. You can easily purchase points with a credit card. 2000 points will buy you about 2 good games and one ok game. Grand total $20. Nintendo 64 games will run you 800 points. So you could grab 2 great N64 games for 1600 points, and an old Nintendo game.

WII MAIL

That’s right, regardless of whether or not you have the system set up to the Internet, you can still and will still get wii mail. You won’t be able to send mail to other Internet users, but you can send mail to other Mii’s on your system. Say, your brother, boyfriend, or girlfriend uses the same Nintendo wii. You can post them messages. I found this to be a cute feature for parents who want to leave their kids a quick note that they KNOW they will get.

The Nintendo Wii will also send you a daily TODAY message. If you click on it, it will show how long you played for the day, or if you beat any records for the day. You will be surprised at how fast 3 hours goes by when you play the Wii.
Good exercise! I don’t know anyone who would exercise for 3 hours straight. You won’t even realize your getting a workout, but you are. Your body will feel it in the morning.

PICTURE STATION- (picture channel)

This is one sweet feature. You can place any SD Digital camera card into a small slot located in the front of your Nintendo Wii, and you can view your photos on you TV. Not only that but any picture you choose you can play with it. Either choose to draw on a photo, or play with the photo, by converting it into a puzzle, then try to put it back together again. You can also view all of the photos in a slide show if you want. I like this feature a lot. It’s neat if you want to show your family vacation photos without having to rush down and get them all printed up immediately.

NINTENDO MII’S

This is another feature on your start up page. You click on the Mii logo box, (also known as, the Mii Channel) and you are taken to a new window where you can create a character to look like you to play in the game. This is a fun spot to start. It gives you not only a chance to get used to the Wii’s remotes, but you can create pretty much anyone, of course with limitations. Clothing colors are limited to only about 16, which sort of stunk. Hair color red seems to be missing. You can choose a box that looks red, but your result is not red. It’s more of a darkish brown color. You can make your character short or tall, thin or fat. You’re Nintendo Wii, will store up to 100 Mii’s in the system. What’s neat about the Mii Channel is that you can store a favorite Mii into your remote controller and take your Mii to go. (A friend’s house)

I’ve heard of people being able to make a Mii look just like them, however I have not mastered this yet. My character looks nothing like me. The limitations are probably why. You’re limited to only a small amount of different eyes, noses, hairstyles and mouths. However with the color schemes your possibilities are pretty much endless.

After you have created your Mii, you can now start playing the Nintendo Wiis Sports game that may or may not of come with your system. –I know the this game is the game that came with the system. However there is a new release either out now, or coming soon, where the Wii console will be coming with Zelda.

The sports game has 5 different sports to play. Tennis, baseball, golf, bowling, and boxing.

All of them are just as fun as the next. My personal favorite is golf. So I’m going to cover that one first:

GOLF: You have 3 choices of play on the main game. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced. To play you just hold the Wii remote like a golf club, hold button A, and let her swing. There are also 3 more mini golf games to play in the training section. On a scale from 1 to10. I give golf a 10.

BOXING: This is very fun. You will need both remotes for this game. You can verse the computer or a friend. It’s very tiresome, and this game provides the best workout for you as well. Your arms will be very tired from this game.

TENNIS: I don’t like this one particular game. The controls act funny when you take a swing at the ball. It’s probably my least favorite. But I was never good at it in real life either. My rating on this one is a 6.

BOWLING- you hold the control and flip forward, the ball rolls, and wham. You either get a strike, or you don’t. This game gets a 10. I enjoy it very much, and you will have a lot of fun playing against your friends and family.

BASEBALL- this is also an extremely fun game. You hold the remote just like you would a bat. When the ball is heading for you, you swing away! It’s awesome. I give this one a 10 as well.

- All of these games have 3 mini games to play in the training section. So really your getting a total of 5 sports games, plus 24 mini games. Totaling 29 games in all. If this game didn’t come with the Wii, I highly recommend spending the money on it.

--Nintendo Wii may not have the greatest graphics out there, but for the small price tag compared to its Sony competition they’re sweet. The graphics may not be as great at PS3’s, but it’s my opinion to like the Wiis graphics more. I’ve always liked Nintendo’s cartoon like game worlds. Some may disagree, but it’s just my take on the whole graphics/realism topic. I don’t have the playstation 3, but from reviews I’ve already read, the price tag is absurd, and it’s not even that great.

Nintendo Wiis $249.99 price tag is well worth it, and beyond. I feel like the price tag on the system is an absolute steal.

There is also already a large collection of games readily available to buy. Some titles I know of are Zelda, Elebits, Warioware smooth moves, Rayman, Cars, Shrek, Spongebob, Red Steel, Wii Play, and many more.

I would, and I have already recommended this system to friends. I would buy another just to have it for the downstairs TV, that’s if I could get my hands on another one. It’s great fun for seriously anyone, of any age. I dub thee, Nintendo Wii, the greatest console ever made. A awesome, unique, fun, and energetic approach at the video gaming world. I predict Nintendo only getting greater and greater with time.

Game Review: Trauma Center: Second Opinion For Nintendo Wii

Trauma Center: Second Opinion for the Nintendo Wii, luckily for me was only rented.
I read the other reviews on here first, which promised me some fun game play, and this is why I picked it up.
I will agree the game was fun for, oh a mere 20 minutes. After that everything else was just a repeat of the last surgery, or mission. However you would put it.

You start off as an extremely immature, lazy sleepy eyed, doctor; Doctor Styles.
No one really likes him/you; everyone tells him he’s not a real doctor. Even as you play with him, you yourself will begin to feel like he’s a moron. What kind of doctor would perform surgery without blood test results first? Really it’s not your fault though. You have no control over the story line, and the immature behavior of your doctor. You only control him in the surgery room, after that he’s whatever the game developer wants him to be. Idiot, smart, idiot…

Every surgery is like the last with some minor changes. First you go through about 5 minutes worth of extremely boring semi pointless dialogue, before each surgery. No voices either. I’m talking reading, reading, and more reading. The character faces never change. They sit at the right side of the screen and the only thing that changes is the dialogue box.

The music never changes either. There are two, yes, only two different melodies; a good upbeat rhythm, or, a sad melancholy tune. When you hear the sad music, you know something sad is going to happen in the dialogue, or- story. If it’s good music, it’s good news. Extremely predictable. Get it? Got it? Good.

Performing surgery can be quite difficult at first. You have your operation tools on the bottom left side of the screen. This is the hardest part to figure out on the controller. For some reason all of the tools are lined up in a circle, instead of just a straight line on the bottom of the screen. You have to use the nun-chucks analog to choose which tool you will be using. However this is tricky, the analog is hard to control and choosing the right tool you want is hard. Like, very hard!

The remote you hold in your other hand becomes the doctor’s hand. At first it’s a tad bit tricky to do all of the things perfect. You will find yourself sewing up stitches, and sometimes messing up really bad. You have to move your hand in a zig zag motion to sew up a patient.

You really only get 3 patients to work on in the beginning as your tutorial, after that your nurse (assistant) leaves the hospital- more boring blah blah this and that dialogue. After she leaves you get a new nurse who doesn’t help you anymore. She will sit there at the bottom of the screen though, and scream ‘DOCTOR’ every time you mess something up. Other than that she’s useless to you. You will be hearing a lot of that in the entire game. DOCTOR, DOCTOR, DOCTOR… It’s very annoying, and probably the only real voice you will hear in the game.

Some of the surgeries you will be performing are, removal of tumors, removal of glass in the body. You will be putting bones back together, which is probably the hardest thing for you to do. It consists of making hands jerks, and weird twists and turns of the wrist, to get bones back to their correct positions. Every surgery will feel like the last, (besides bones surgeries) only longer and more tedious, as you have a time limit ranging from 3 minutes to 5 minutes. If you do not complete the surgery/operation within the allowed time, the patient will flat line and die. Yes, I lost one because of a fractured arm. Whoopsie daisy! My bad!

Pretty soon your immature doctor becomes an adult, and realizes his past mistakes, but wait there is a twist. Now that he takes his job seriously, he’s also magical! Hooray! Yawn. Figures…
That’s right, your character Dr. Styles has a rare healing touch. Mm hmm, this is the stupidest thing in the story they could of thrown in. You now can draw a star on the patient and it could save them from death. Pretty much it means none of your patients will die, if you draw a star on them time slows down, and you can save him. Lame.
You also have a magical potion, a shot. You give your patient a shot of this green medicine, and their heart rate goes up. The green magic goop never runs out either. So poke away.

You will be working with a few different tools. A scalpel, magic green medicine, disinfectant, ultrasonic/magnifying glass, tweezers, and during some missions other tools will become available. But only for that mission, you don’t get to keep them.

Now lets move on and cover the graphics. I myself have a weak stomach, and can’t bear to look at blood or inside of organs, and guts.
Thankfully this game did a nice job of making it not too graphical, or gut wrenching disgusting. To me they are not wonderful graphics, but well enough for such a game. I honestly wouldn’t want to see better graphics though.
However the way the blood pours in the game is too fake for me. It comes out in clouds, and kind of fuzzes over the effected area. It’s weird looking. A little gushing would have been okay to add, without crossing the line into disgust.

Every mission ends the same 99% of the time. You sew them up, disinfect them, and then give them a bandage. All done.
Each mission is repetitive, so you won’t find yourself playing this game longer than an hour or 2 when you first buy it. After that, it’s just another disc to throw into the closet. There is more dialogue in this game then there is actual game play. The dialogue is boring, and gets worse as the game continues.

I wouldn’t recommend buying this game, but I would recommend giving it a try by renting it. It’s not worth the $50 price tag most stores are asking for it. You could probably beat the game in a day or two, if you didn’t die of boredom first. For a game to last only 2 days, it’s not even worth a buy.

Video Game Review: Elebits for Nintendo Wii

They’re like little dust balls, lice, or even mice (except they squeal like kittens) just running around loose all over the house, all over town- its anarchy. They’re actually called Elebits though. They are little creatures that generate electricity, and they have all escaped during a lightning storm; now there is no power for lights or any electronics to work. It’s your job to capture them, and re-power the city, or world I should say, by zapping, or ‘sucking’ them in.

The story opens up, and Kai, a boy (you) is left in charge to collect the elebits with your dad’s zap gun. You never actually play as Kai though. The game is in first person shooter at all times. He’s just the one who will be telling the story.

Each level requires a certain amount of wattage (each elebit has a different amount of wattage depending on its color, and how you capture it, depending if the elebit is confused, scared, or happy, when you catch it, the wattage will differ) to pass on to the next level.

The game itself is a first person shooting game. Only it’s not hard like some other difficult first shooter games on the market right now. The controls are quite easy to use. The zap gun is easily used by pressing the A button, or the button underneath the remote. Then the nun chuck is used to move around the environment.

Elebits is like a search and find, where’s Waldo type of hunt, only much more advanced, and exciting. You move around using the nun chuck and basically search the room up and down. You capture an elebit simply by placing your zap gun target onto it, then press the A button. It’s really simple seeing how most elebits are slow moving.

As you capture elebits your gun will gain more power. This is when things get messy, and a little difficult. For one when you start throwing beds and desks around, sometimes you end up blocking yourself into a corner, and the only way out is to throw more things around. Also as you collect more elebits, certain things become unlocked. Such as lamps, televisions, and other appliances. One the appliance is unlocked, you can zap out a bucket load of elebits by pressing the A button. However some items require an action, and not all of them tell you what the action is.

Trying to figure it out wastes precious time. Each level gives you either 5 minutes or 15 minutes, so you have to use your time wisely, or you could end up failing the level mission. Opening doors sometimes can be difficult, but honestly I’d prefer to use the word annoying. The door requires you to hit the A button and hold it, and then you are to twist your wrist just as you would motion to open a real door. This is not the difficult part, but what is, is when the door quickly shuts on you. So basically you have about 1 second to react. If you don’t move fast enough, you have to do it all over again. Times a wasting, and the clock is ticking.

The game also comes with a generous assortment of tunes. Not vocal music, just chimes, and beats. Each time you pass a level, you also get a new song added to inventory. I think it’s neat, because God forbid they used only one song or two. You’d get annoyed quickly seeing how each mission ranges from 5 to 15 minutes. Hearing the same repetitive song could be annoying and bothersome.

As you pass each level, the game gets a little more difficult. Not extremely ‘I quit’ and throw the remote to the floor difficult though.

The game adds in some bad guys (they’re not really bad, but they can cause level failure). If you happen to make too much of a mess, a spiny elebit will come out. If this elebit throws itself at you, or you shoot it, you take damage. You will only be allowed to take 5 hits. So you have to watch your step, and not be too messy. As you become more accustom to the game though, these elebits will not even be an issue.
You also want to make a note to capture purple elebits as soon as you spot them. They throw balls of fire at you, and you take a hit. These elebits can kill you off pretty quickly if they aren’t taken care of.

Some levels also require you to stay quiet. The sound decibel will vary depending on the level. If you make too much noise, you fail the mission. This can be tricky, because as you advance some elebits will add to the noise. By either knocking dishes on the floor, or knocking things over as they try to escape you.

Also as the game increases in difficulty, you get more options to your gun. Through out levels there will be circular orbs and boxes for you to crack open. You get a new action to your gun. They range from the vacuum. This is the most fun; your gun becomes a big suction, and basically will suck up the elebits in huge amounts. If you find the vacuum in the level, you will clear the level quickly.

There are also shield orbs. This protects you from taking any hits. There are electrical orbs, in which I believe add power to your gun. –As the gun increases in power, it is able to lift heavier objects. Messy time! There is also the laser, this will target in on any surrounding elebits, making it easier to catch them in a quick manner.

Other levels require you to not break anything. You get a varying limit where you’re only allowed to break up to 10 items. This can be tough to do, especially when things get knocked over, and tossed around easily. You have to make sure you don’t toss anything into a vase, or glass. This limits the fun in my opinion. I love being able to freely roam, and make a huge mess without having to worry about breaking things. But you will get plenty of these levels to just run around and cause chaos, so I guess the added difficulty was needed.

About every 5 or 6 levels you pass, there will come a boss level. This battle for me was easier than catching elebits. The boss levels prove no real difficulty. So long as you know how to use the controllers, you wont have a problem at all. I like this, because Nintendo in the past has had a fair share of impossible bosses to beat. Being able to beat a boss gives a newer gamer the sense of accomplishment. However for a hardcore gamer, it’s also extremely disappointing to be able kick off a boss in less than 2 minutes.

Some levels also have cannons that will shoot at you. These are more annoying though, than they are a challenge. You can easily toss them aside by pointing your gun at it, and flipping the wrist. However, spotting them is not always so easy. So you will get shot a

few times if you don’t find the cannons fast. They are small and usually are hidden in high places, or sidewalls.

Besides story mode, you can also play Elebits in multiplayer mode. Up to 4 people can play. It’s basically whoever can catch the largest wattage/most elebits wins.

You also have an elebits album in the main menu. Here you can view all of the different species of elebits that you have caught, and learn a thing or two about them. This is a great advantage to you. You will learn sometimes where they hide, and or their weaknesses.

Okay so now that you got the basic point of the game, let me get into what I like, and dislike about Elebits.

DISLIKES

-Sometimes during game play the remote will go nutty, and the screen will point up at the ceiling.

-Being able to open doors and have them shut on you is terribly annoying.

- The lack of directions on certain actions is annoying

- Certain actions are too difficult to accomplish in a timely manner. For instance, putting a piece of bread into a toaster, or a pile of clothes into a washer.

- Some levels are repeats of the last. I’m not saying it gets boring or repetitive though. Just adding it as a note. Only one level I know of repeats 3 times. However when the repeats happen, new doors are opened. So you do get to explore a new room or two.

- I hate when I corner myself into a pile of mess. It’s hard to get out, and wastes time.

- I don’t know if it’s just me, but if you play this game for too long, you suddenly find yourself having a headache. I don’t know if it’s the 360-degrees of constant twirling and swirling on the TV, or if it’s just me. But my head hurts after about an hour of game play. It’s the same feeling you get when you stare at a computer monitor for too long.

LIKES

- I enjoy being able to throw things around with ease when my gun is powerful enough.

- I like how dresser draws open, refrigerators, closets, and everything in the home or level is intractable. No object goes unusable.

- I like how you feel you’re a human metal detector.

- The story pictures are beautiful.

- Music changes with each level. Nothing is repeated.

- I like the elebits that fight back (the spiked ones, and purple ones). It gives the game a neat challenge.

- Appeals to a wide assortment of age groups. Children or adults.

Now moving on to the graphics.

Like I’ve said in past reviews regarding Nintendo games, I’ve always been a fan of Nintendo’s carton looking games. This game is yet another Nintendo masterpiece. The levels are colorful, and bubbly. It’s sort of equivalent to Nintendo 64s Super Mario world 64. (Inside the castle)

The graphics however, are not up to par with the technology that exists today in gaming… but this is why I like it.

This game has already provided me with hours of fun, lack of sleep, and eye twitches.

It is definitely a great buy. You can purchase it at either Wal-Mart or Target for the best price. Or visit their sites. www.walmart.com or, www.target.com. The game will come to about $50 after taxes. However, if you wanted to get it for the lowest price, I’d just google it. www.google.com
You will not be disappointed.