Romperz

The Sims 3 on iPod Touch

The Sims 3 was released last week and anxious to play it but not having the cash to buy the PC version(and not sure if it will run on our current PC), I bought The Sims 3 for my iPod Touch. After paying the $9.99 through the iTunes store and waiting for the around 60 megabyte game to download, I was finally able to play at least some incarnation of The Sims 3.

I began by creating my Sim - a female manic who is easily impressed and named her Molly. The game starts you in a modest house with modest adornments. You do have a TV, couch, bed, refrigerator, etc. You also begin with a few simeoleans so you can buy more stuff or either upgrade some items right off the bat.

Molly’s first job was on the culinary track at the Corsican Bistro and was “killed” on her first day. So lesson learned. This is The Sims. If your Sim isn’t happy then don’t send her to work. She then got a job at the laboratory and worked there for a while until she gave the Bistro another try. Unfortunately she took a chance by telling on a co-worker who was cheating the company and was then implemented by said co-worker. She lost her job. Now she is unemployed but makes money from her garden and fishing at the local lake. In fact you can make a lot more than the starting pay by just fishing all day. Take your fish to the super market and sell them.

Your Sim will have personal goals - like Molly has a personal goal of using everyone’s bathroom at least once. There are also random goals that are assigned as you play the game. You can lock in those goals since they do expire. One goal is to kick over a Sim’s garbage can but be warned. This will not go over too well.

As you play the game, you unlock more items you can buy and upgrades to your home. Also if you complete all of the goals, then you unlock something, too.

When you meet a Sim, they start off as a stranger. Be sure to talk about different topics like gardening and fishing so that more of their personality traits are revealed. Also sometimes Sims will give you tasks that if completed will earn you some extra simeoleans. Why just the other day Molly earned 50 simeoleans for kicking over Marcell’s garbage can.

I was disappointed when Molly got married and didn’t gain any of Luke’s income or items to her household. But I realize that the mobile version of The Sims 3 is not like the full version for the PC/Mac.

I’m having a lot of fun playing The Sims 3 on my iPod. It just makes me want to play the full version of The Sims 3 even more if that is even possible.

Pikmin

One GameCube title I always wanted to play was Pikmin. It seemed every gamer I knew who had played it thought it was a fun game, so I’m not sure why I never played it before now. With the re-release of Pikim with New Play Control for the Nintendo Wii, I figured it was time to give this game a try.

In Pikmin, these small creatures help you put together your space ship that has landed on their planet. You can command the Pikmin to do your bidding like moving your ship engine to the rest of the ship. You can toss Pikmin to areas that they can’t reach to retrieve buttons that are colored and have a number on them. The number is how many Pikmin it takes to move it. The color is the color of Pikmin. The Pikmin will take it back to their ship where more Pikmin will sprout up out of the ground. Then you will pick them and have even more Pikmin at your command.

Pikmin is fun but I’m not sure the Wii version is worth the extra money. It’s only $30 but Pikmin for the GameCube is under $20. I don’t think any of the game is actually different. But I now know that Pikmin would be a title worth buying because it is fun.

With the New Play Control, you use the Wiimote and Nunchuk to play the game.

Zoo Vet Endangered Animals DS

Last week, our cat caught a baby bunny. Of course, my little girl became attached immediately to it. Sadly the bunny didn’t survive. It did make me want to learn more about taking care of hurt animals. The best thing that I could have done was probably take an animal to the vet. But an animal first aid class would be good to know. Two of my nieces want to be veterinarians so in a few years we will have a couple of vet options that we can use at a family discount rate.

One game for the Nintendo DS helps you learn about animals and the work that is done by veterinarians. It’s called Zoo Vet Endangered Animals and it’s from Legacy Interactive. You will help to diagnose an animal by first going through the symptoms and giving the animal a check up. As the zoo vet, you roam around observing the animals. When one is sick then you must diagnose what is wrong and nurse them back to health.

Zoo Vet also has several mini-games that you can play like feeding penguins or playing trivia. It’s educational and fun.

If you enjoy simulation games, then Zoo Vet is definitely something to check out.

Wii Fit

It’s been 177 days since the first day I played Wii Fit. Of those days, I’ve played maybe 20-30 days. Lately I have been playing more. I do enjoy the game but can it really help you get in shape?

I do have to admit that after playing I do feel like I’ve done some sort of exercise. So it is working at least to help me get used to doing something.

There are four areas of the game - balance, aerobics, strength training, and yoga. The more you play, the more games, poses, and exercises are unlocked. Each day you can do the body test that will tell you your BMI and weight. You can also do the balance part of the test where you can visually see just how you distribute your weight on your feet.

The best part of Wii Fit is that it doesn’t feel like exercising. I find myself forgetting that I’m ‘working out’ but rather trying to get the high score in a mini-game.

Who knows if it will actually help me lose weight but it Wii Fit does get me moving. And best of all is I don’t have to leave my living room.

I’m definitely using Wii Fit in my weightloss journey. So far I’m down 2 pounds, so that is good. I haven’t played that much of Wii Fit that I could say that is the reason for the weightloss. Still Wii Fit does seem to be helping with making me feel more fit.

Designer Sleeves

My laptop is something I use everyday. Since I got it two years ago, I use my PC a lot less - mainly I use it now to play casual games. I do like to carry my laptop with me and have a carrying case for it. The problem with it is that it’s bulky and takes up a lot of space - especially when we go to game night. There’s already a lot of people with their backpacks and laptops. If there was only an alternative to the laptop bag for protecting the laptop.

When I asked if I would like to review Designer Sleeves, I was very interested as this was a product that I had been looking for. Designer Sleeves are sleek carrying cases for electronics that offer protection for your gadgets. They are made from wetsuit-grade neoprene material and feature rich and vibrant designs. They have a patent pending process for adding color to this material that won’t fade or flake over time. Pricing is very reasonable and starts at $34.95 for the basic sleeve. There are upgraded models that feature straps and an inside pocket that are a few dollars more than the basic one.

I was sent a sample of the basic one and find it to be everything I was looking for. My laptop fits well in the sleeve. It’s very colorful and well made. The sleeve also features an outside zippered pocket. We recently took a road trip, so I packed my laptop in the designer sleeve and then marveled at the small space my laptop took up in our compact car. Those laptop bags can get very bulky. The designer sleeve kept my laptop snug and was very comfortable to carry around. It made it so much easier to use it at McDonald’s since I didn’t have to lug around a huge bag.

The Designer Sleeve is well made and very stylish. They are shock and scratch resistant, too. Plus they are very affordable. The best part of the Designer Sleeve is having a stylish way of carrying and protecting my laptop without it weighing me down.

Samba de Amigo

My new favorite Wii game is the classic game Samba de Amigo. I really hate the Sega Dreamcast wasn’t more supported than it was because there were some great games put out for the system. Samba de Amigo is a great example of one of those games.

I rented it through GameFly and then had to buy it since it was so much fun. The controls could use a little tweaking as at first I thought it was just me that was missing some easy points. But when my husband encountered the same problem.

Other than that, the game is great. I know controller issues usually make a game more frustrating than fun. But it’s hard to not enjoy this game with its upbeat music and colorful display.

GameFly Review

Joining GameFly has been something I’ve wanted to do for years but was just never sure if it was worth it. Would I rent enough games in a month to cover the cost? How long does it take to receive games? Well my questions have been answered. One of the My Coke Rewards that I could purchase was a 30 day free trial of GameFly. This gives me a perfect way to try out the service and see for myself it it would be beneficial to us.

So I joined on a Saturday and put 10 games in my queue. By Wednesday of the next week, I had received the first two available games on my list. My top choice hadn’t even been released, so naturally they did not have it in stock. I received an email alert when they had mailed the games and was pleasantly surprised to receive them two days later. We played the games and then sent one back in the provided envelope. I then got notification when they had received the game. They then shipped out the next available one the same day.

The three games I have received have all played fine in the Nintendo Wii. Being a casual gamer, I love to play games for about a week and then maybe pick them up again in six months. This way I can play those games and spend less since now I don’t have to buy them. I can keep them for as long as I want. I’ve been averaging about keeping the games a week, so at this rate it looks like we will average 6-8 games a month. That’s not bad especially considering that there isn’t much choice when it comes to renting games locally.

So I will be keeping my GameFly membership since I do think it will be worth the money and the turn around time on games is fast. It’s not as fast as Netflix but it sounds like GameFly is interested in improving their service, so in the future it could be faster.

Paradoxion

Paradoxion is a causal game that puts a different twist on the match three model. If you like solving puzzles and challenging games, then Paradoxion is one to give a try.

Each level in the game has a board with gems and/or orbs. You have a reserve of gems and orbs that you can freely place onto the board. The object is to make chains to set them off and clear the playing board of all objects. Where the last gem is placed in a sequence of three is very important because it sets off a blast. It will move orbs next to it but only goes in a certain direction. Luckily if you place it incorrectly there is an undo button.

Also you can turn on hints that will show at the beginning of each puzzle that will give you some insight on how to solve the puzzle like ‘place red orb last.’ It is definitely helpful, especially in the early levels if you aren’t sure of which way to approach a puzzle. Another great feature is that if a puzzle completely stumps you, you can look at the solution online. I know there have been countless games that I have gotten to a point where I just couldn’t go any further. So it’s nice with Paradoxion that not only can you find the solution but see how it can be solved and learn from it. Maybe that next puzzle won’t be so hard or intimidating.

You can also create your own levels with gems and orbs to share with your friends. Overall, Paradoxion is a fun, challenging casual game. It’s a good exercise in logic and puzzle solving.

The Sims Carnival SnapCity Quick Review

A new feature here at Romperz will be the Game of the Week. Just look for it on the sidebar. Each Monday there will be a new game featured, followed by a review of the game sometime that week. This week’s game is The Sims Carnival SnapCity.

For those who have read my blog before know that I am a huge fan of The Sims, so naturally I couldn’t wait to try this game. I was a little disheartened by the tutorial since playing this game is a multi-step process. It’s not just one element to do like brick busting or matching three in a row.

Puzzle meets Sim City. First place those Tetris-inspired pieces onto the landscape, carefully matching colors. Then build connecting roads to watch your city flourish. With progress comes a price as fires, burglars, and other disasters can wreak havoc on your districts, losing the city money as well as the people’s confidence.

You match colored pieces together, then connect those pieces with roads to watch your city grow. When you’ve earned enough points, you are rewarded with a special block that will become something to benefit the neighborhood like a police station, fire station, or park. It’s your choice. Place it where you would like on the board. Then fill it with dropping pieces. Once it is full it becomes the object you chose.

As Mayor, you have ultimate control over your city, so if you need to bulldoze an area, then do it. Just keep your residents happy and attend to problems quickly.

The Sims Carnival SnapCity is entertaining and of course, I enjoy most Sim titles. It is good to see the creators of The Sims branching out into the casual game market. Maybe this innovative puzzle/sim is only the beginning of what is to come.

Sponsored Post: A Review of ReviewMe

Since I love to do game and product reviews, I was naturally drawn to ReviewMe, a service that hooks up reviewers with people wanted their products or services reviewed. ReviewMe presents a great opportunity for both bloggers and companies. Those looking for reviews of their product/service can find exactly the blog they want to have their product reviewed. ReviewMe creates a database of bloggers willing to review products/services. Cold emailing someone to ask if they do reviews can not only be time consuming but can be met with a negative response.

ReviewMe has a simple, clean layout that is easy to navigate. Once your blog is approved, offers will be listed in your user area. You can accept or reject offers so you do not have to review something if you do not want to do it. You can have up to six blogs. A price for reviews to your site is listed in your user area, and you get paid half that amount. Pricing is determined by a number of factors including Alexa ranking and are recalculated monthly.

I usually try to read some reviews before buying a product. I discount the all negative ones and sometimes ignore the too positive ones. Then I’m left with the majority of reviews that are a mixed bag, pointing their like/dislikes of a product. It’s always good to read about other people’s experience with a product/service before investing in it. ReviewMe is a great concept and will help bloggers be compensated for their work plus give advertisers a chance to get information about their product/service on the Internet.