Nintendo 3DS

I decided to buy this 3DS this morning.  Yesterday I was looking at the weekly flyers and noticed that it was going to be on sale.  I slept on it last night, and when I woke up, I figured there was no reason to wait any longer.  I’m sure most people have been debating on which hand held to get; either the 3DS or the PSVITA.  So what are the factors that made me choose Nintendo over Sony?  Well, let me start off with what I didn’t like about the PSVITA.  The price of course is a major contributing factor.  Not that I’m not willing to spend a lot for a handheld, but for what it came with, I wasn’t sure it was worth it.  The next factor was that it was too big, and since I will be using it on the subway, I don’t think I want to be carrying around something I can’t stuff into my pocket quickly.  I also don’t like how it really didn’t offer a feature I could say, ‘wow I really need to try that.’  For me, it’s just an updated version of the PSP.

So this leads me into reasons why I picked the 3DS.  The price was great, it’s small so I can carry it without problems, and it features 3D which is my wow factor.  I was initially disappointed with the 3D feature when I first tried the 3DS in a store.  I felt that my eyes hurt after a minute, and that the screen resolution wasn’t very clear.  This conclusion was based on playing a flight simulator, a game that I hate.  Months later, I went back to the store and decided to give the 3DS another chance.  This time, Mario Kart was the game, and since no one was around to bother me, I could play for a while.  Wow, Mario Kart gave my opinion a 180 degree turn.  This time, I let my eyes get used to the 3D slowly by adjusting the level of 3D from low to high.  Once I got used to it, my eyes felt great at maximum 3D.  I could really start to see how it was useful in a game like Mario Kart, and brought the experience to a whole new level.  It reminded me of the first time I saw the DS, and thought having two screens was awkward.  Yet after playing with it for a few days, I realized how revolutionary it was for gaming.

My only complaints about the 3DS are that the battery life doesn’t last very long in 3D mode, and that you must stay in a certain position to be able to see in 3D.  Of course, I don’t find it much of a bother because I do realize that this is very leading edge technology and improvements only happen over time.  I am however grateful that Nintendo didn’t wait any longer to release this handheld.  I also hope that this type of 3D is adapted by other companies one day, because 3D was meant to be seen without glasses.  Who knows maybe one day 3D will be as amazing as the virtual shark scene from Back to the Future Part II.

Nintendo:

www.nintendo.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mprPa0Swhjw

Playstation 2

A few months ago I bought a used PS2. The price was right (cheap), and it came with a lot of games included. The games I hope to play are the GTA series, god of war, and action adventure games. So far I have to say I am really impressed with this game system, and can see why it was such a huge success for Sony.

Sonic the Hedgehog

My first video game system was the Atari, followed by the Nintendo NES.  I was happy with the NES because I never assumed anything could be better.  Then one day after a little league soccer game, I went over to a friend’s house and he had a Sega Genesis.  That system blew me away with the graphics, the music, the controller, and most of all the fun I was having playing all the games.  I immediately went home and begged my mother to get me a system.  To my surprise, she said yes but I had to wait until the store opened up the next day.  The store she was referring to was called, “Consumers”.  Believe it or not, it was a Canadian store that had a catalogue and you had to go to the store and write down the number of the item you wanted, and they would bring it out for you.  It was a terrible business because most of the time, the items wouldn’t be in stock.

I still remember that store because I used to look at their catalogue and dream of owning all the toys and video games featured.  It was also the only place I could go to and see all the latest video games that were out.  But getting back to my story, I spent the whole night looking at the catalogue and the Sega Genesis I would get.  The next day I got the Genesis and it was the version that came with Sonic the Hedgehog 2.  That game was so much fun to play, I think I played it the whole weekend nonstop.  Thank goodness it was in the summer time, otherwise I’m sure I would have failed a grade.

Sonic was also such a cool character, with his blue fur, spiky hair, red sneakers, and super speed.  I also loved it when, if you didn’t move him for a while, he would look at you and look at his watch.  The game play to Sonic was very unique because you could choose the way you wanted to go through a level.  Either, very fast, or very slow to collect all the rings, or the most complex which was fast and collecting a majority of rings; but this finally process required memorizing a formula to remember all the short cuts and secrets in order to get a high score.

This past weekend Toys R Us had a sale on most video game related toys, so I decided to pick up a Sonic the Hedgehog toy.  This toy was released in August 2011, and it was made by Jazwares.  It is the 1991 version of ‘Sonic through Time’, and stands at 5 inches tall.  The paint job is not that great on these because I had to go through a few before I decided on the one I picked.  The problem is that most have run-off paint, or not enough; but I am happy with the one I bought.  Besides that, this is such a cool toy.  The sculpt is very accurate to the cartoon, and the joints move without much problem; and they aren’t as fragile as they seem.  My only wish, would have been articulation in the head so that his head could be facing up.  Other than that, this is a toy that I am proud to say has done an excellent job in celebrating the Sonic history.

Jazwares Toys:

www.jazwares.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nMQZjHlvnk

Heart-Shaped Tragedy

According to Tim Hortons there’s no better way to say I love you, than with their new heart-shaped donut.  Well there’s no one else I love more than myself, so I decided to give myself this donut.  The donut is filled with raspberry filling, is dipped in chocolate, and is topped with strawberry sprinkles.  After just one bite, I wanted to puke and I threw this Frankenstein donut out.  This thing tastes nasty, the chocolate and raspberry doesn’t mix very well.  It reminded me of those expired chocolates you find in a convenience store that are fruit filled, and taste tangy.  Sorry Tim Hortons but you broke my heart this Valentines.

Timmies did however do a great job on releasing these new limited edition gift cards.  I of course was able to score a Leafs Tim card.  With the successful season (compared to other years) the team is having this year, these might end up being a collector’s piece.

Tim Hortons:

www.timhortons.com

Random Photography

I was cleaning up and deleting some files one day when I found these pictures.  I was going to delete them but then figured I might as well post them because I like them.  I took them last Fall around the city.

Air Jordan VIII Retro Aquas

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Aqua VIII’s is the Kanye West video for “The Good Life.”  I think it’s because of a mix of many things; the music video has the same colors featured in the sneaker, the Graduation CD released around that same time so I was really digging that song, and also because Kanye wore the Aqua’s to many places.  It’s such a beautiful sneaker and one of Tinker Hatfield’s greatest masterpieces.

The Aqua VIII’s were first retroed back in 2007, and sold for $140 US.  They fit true to size, and came in a black and grey sneaker box with a retro card included.  The shoes were very close to the original except for the color placement of the bottom sole.  The only complaint I’ve heard about these sneakers are that the paint on the midsole can chip easily.  Other than that these sneakers are a great release from Jordan Brand, and have sky-rocketed in re-sale value.

I bought my pair through a friend, after waiting years for Jordan Brand to retro these.  I remember how popular these were, when I was a child; though the Playoffs were much more common.  I just always loved these sneakers because of the carpet like Jumpman logo on the tongue, and the straps that were placed on the sides that would come across the laces (probably a useless feature).  These were the type of sneakers that would make you think you could play better because of them.  Unfortunately I wanted to wait a little longer until I did a blog post on these sneakers, but a friend of mine really wanted to buy them.  I ended up trading them, so I was unable to take better pictures of them.  The good news is that rumour has it Jordan Brand does plan to release these again.

Air Jordan:

www.jumpman23.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-oQ9_s_Bdk