For my birthday, we got New Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. You just can’t go wrong with Mario and we’ve been having a lot of fun playing this new version of the old classic. The multi-player aspect of the game makes a wonderful addition to classic Mario fun.

Our four-year-old is such a hardcore gamer. She loves Mario and has really improved her skills. She can play for hours like her Daddy and is determined to win. When she starts to get frustrated, that is the signal that play time is over.

While it’s fun to play multi-player, it really shows how hard it can be to cooperatively play games. A lot of times we kill each other unintentionally. Even though it’s a ton of fun to play together, I can’t wait to play alone since it’s just easier to explore the worlds that way.

It is fun to play as a family. We all love Mario and it’s so great to bond over saving the Princess again.

If you finish each level before nightfall, you expand your castle. Some levels it’s harder to achieve this than others. In the game, you begin with one worker who must clear a path through the terrain for the Princess’s carriage. You have three resources - wood, food, and gold. Each task requires either one or two resources. Some levels have buildings that generate resources like sawmills, farms, and mines. Some levels also have warehouses that allow you to keep more resources at one time and adds to the total of resources that you collect. You can also upgrade your homestead to add more workers.

Before beginning each level, you can survey the board to see just what you will need. If you will need a lot of wood in the beginning, then it’s best to build and upgrade your sawmill as soon as possible.

Now that I’ve finished my castle, I may play through the game again just to try to beat my best times on each level. My Kingdom for the Princess reminds me of Settlers of Catan. It is probably because of the resource management aspect of the game. My Kingdom for the Princess was very entertaining and one of those rare games I actually finished. It also has replay value if nothing else to beat your own personal time or that of your friends.

My Kingdom for the Princess was a nice break from my Facebook games and also a game that everyone in the house really enjoyed, too.

I’m not sure how well country songs are suite for rock band although some country has more rock roots than it does country.

I will have to take a pass on this one. I do love country but these titles just aren’t my cup of tea.

My first thought is eBay. eBay is a wonderful market for video games but not sure about game systems - especially used ones. I bought my Dreamcast on eBay for $15 so not really expecting much coin for any system. It would just be nice to have the space back.

I do think I will sell the PlayStation 2 last. The reason I bought a PS2 in the first place was to play Kingdom Hearts - which I bought with the PS2. I have yet to play Kingdom Hearts. So before I sell it, I want to play it. With the rate I put items on eBay, I say that I have at least a year before I get around to actually listing the consoles. By then they will be antiques.

But it’s still in beta and has a lot of quirks. FarmTown is in beta as well but seems more stable. Anyway, it seems every time I visit my farm, something is out of place. I had mad a small pen for my animals and this is how it looked this morning.

Anyway, it’s only slightly annoying but I still enjoy it over FarmTown. I can just pretend that my rowdy neighbors came over and got a little wild while helping tend to the farm.

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.

My first impression is that this is Mario Brothers meets Mario Party. Up to four players can play at one time. You can toss other players to put them either out or in harm’s way. Players can join at any time during the level. At the end of the level, players are ranked based on their score, enemies defeated, and coins collected.

Mario, Luigi, and two Toads are playable characters while others from the Mushroom Kingdom make appearances throughout the game.

There are also new items like the propeller suit that with a shake of the Wiimote will send your character high into the sky. Mario also has the new ability to turn into Penguin Mario.

New Super Mario Brothers for the Wii will be available Holiday 2009. Rating is still pending as well as the price.

The Beatles: Rock Band

I’m not sure why The Beatles: Rock Band interests me other than it’s a Rock Band title. Sure, I like The Beatles but not a major fan. There will be 45 Beatle songs and an exclusive “All You Need is Love” track for the Xbox 360 version. On stage during the presser was Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison. Fans will get to experience The Beatles career first hand as they play through various points in their existence as a band including the early touring days of 1963.

Joy Ride

Take your avatar for a spin in this cartoon racing game. You can customize your car and put your avatar in the driver’s seat.

Final Fantasy XIII

Ok, I admit that I’ve never actually played any of the Final Fantasy game but when I saw this character, I may have to give it a try.

The little chick is just too darn cute! Maybe I should just buy Animal Crossing instead.

Alan Wake

Alan Wake is another type of game that I normally don’t play but the premise hooked me. From the E3 fact sheet:

In this dynamic new title exclusively for Xbox 360, players assume the role of Alan Wake, a best-selling suspense author suffering from writer’s block, who escapes to a small town only to experience the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée.In this dynamic new title exclusively for Xbox 360, players assume the role of Alan Wake, a best-selling suspense author suffering from writer’s block, who escapes to a small town only to experience the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée.

I was reminded of The Fugitive while watching the press conference. Definitely something to keep an eye out for in Spring 2010.

Project Natal

Project Natal is not a game but a whole new way to play games. Instead of a new type of controller, you are the controller. No longer will you have to use a controller to play games. Just use your movements to control the game. The games looked pretty neat. Project Natal will also have voice recognition, too. You will also be able to scan your own items to use as objects in the game. The video showed a kid scanning in skateboard for his character to use in a game. Really interesting but totally seems like it will appeal to casual gamers. Microsoft looks to be going after Wii gamers with Natal.

So far it looks like 2010 is going to be a good gaming year. Just hope someone has something new to tell us about 2009.

• 3 Doors Down
• A Perfect Circle
• AFI
• Attack! Attack!
• Band Of Horses
• Beastie Boys
• Beck
• Billy Idol
• Billy Squier
• Blink-182
• Blur
• Bob Dylan
• Bon Jovi
• Brand New
• Bush
• Children of Bodom
• Coldplay
• Darker My Love
• Darkest Hour
• David Bowie
• Deep Purple
• Dire Straits
• Duran Duran
• Eagles Of Death Metal
• Elliott Smith
• Elton John
• Face to Face
• Garbage
• Gorillaz
• Gov’t Mule
• Grand Funk Railroad
• Iggy Pop
• Iron Maiden
• Jeff Beck
• Jimmy Eat World
• John Mellencamp
• Johnny Cash
• Kaiser Chiefs
• King Crimson
• Kings Of Leon
• Kiss
• Love and Rockets
• Megadeth
• Mötley Crüe
• Muse
• My Morning Jacket
• Nirvana
• No Doubt
• Peter Frampton
• Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde
• Queen & David Bowie
• Queens Of The Stone Age
• Rammstein
• Rose Hill Drive
• Rush
• Santana
• Scars On Broadway
• Screaming Trees
• Smashing Pumpkins
• Sonic Youth
• Spacehog
• Stevie Wonder
• Sublime
• Sunny Day Real Estate
• T. Rex
• The Bronx
• The Derek Trucks Band
• The Duke Spirit
• The Killers
• The Police
• The Raconteurs
• The Rolling Stones
• The Sword
• The White Stripes
• Thin Lizzy
• Thrice
• Tom Petty
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
• TV On The Radio
• Vampire Weekend
• Weezer
• Wild Cherry
• Wolfmother