How many Wii owners have played Super Metroid? Data report

Quick Brew Info:
Super Metroid, the sequel to Metroid II: Return of Samus, was originally released on the SNES in North America on April 18, 1994.  It was also released in Japan and Europe the same year.

Super Metroid was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on August 20, 2007, and is available for download off the Wii's Shop Channel for 800 Wii Points.

The data pictured below was collected about 1,107 days, after Super Metroid was re-released.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Super Metroid has 102,756 players reporting play-time data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Sales Info:
Nintendo has made approximately $822,048 from Super Metroid being on the Virtual Console, just in North America.  As the image above shows, Super Metroid was at the #12 spot, on the Virtual Console's "Top 20 - Most Popular" games, when I checked tonight.

Thoughts:
Like Metroid, it has been years since I have played Super Metroid.  While the "informational" video for Metroid showed a little action, the "informational" video for Super Metroid on the Nintendo Channel is pretty bare of any action, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me:


Looking at the sales data for Super Metroid and Metroid, on the Virtual Console, makes me wonder how much the games have made world-wide.

Just in North America alone, Nintendo has made about $1,172,273 off of Metroid and Super Metroid on the Virtual Console.  I wonder if the total world-wide Virtual Console sales of the Metroid games were enough to fund the entire development of Metroid: Other M?

Questions:
I know WesFX, Brad, and The Dread Pirate Guy commented on my "Are Wii Owners Playing the Original Metroid?" post.  Has anybody gone back and played Super Metroid recently, because of Metroid: Other M's release today?

If you are interested in downloading Super Metroid off the Virtual Console, you can use a credit card directly on the Shop Channel, or purchase a Nintendo Wii/DSi Points Card:















Also, credit for the Metroid in the chart goes to GamesWeLike.com, from a Google Images search.

One Year Ago Today...

     It was August 29, 2009, when I posted my first blog article.  The article was titled, "Analyzing the Wii Manufacturing Costs in 2009".  I really had no idea if I would keep posting on my blog when I started, or if I would move onto something else quickly and act like my blog never existed.

     First, I just want to thank everybody that has read and/or subscribed to my site in the last year.  I really enjoy the feedback and comments we have on the different stories, and if any of you ever have any questions for me, or perhaps suggestions for the site, you can email me directly at Scott@CoffeewithGames.com.

     In the last year, I have posted 252 posts, not including this one, with the majority of those being play-time data posts.  I started doing other data stories in April of this year, when I started tracking the sale ranks of games on Amazon.com, to see how they performed over a certain period of time.
     I posted my first "official" review for the site in May, though reviews have not been a steady feature.

     I am working on implementing different ideas on the site, like the "CoffeewithGames Monthly Reader Points", which I'm trying to work on; but hopefully it will encourage more activity and game-play as a community when I'm finished with it.

     If you haven't noticed, I am slow when implementing new ideas/features on the site.  So, if you suggest something and I don't use it right away; I probably am just trying to think of a good way to use it.

     I really do appreciate all the reader participation on the site, and I would appreciate any feedback you all have.  Is there anything you would like to see more of on the site in the future?

Are Wii owners playing the original Metroid?

Quick Brew Info:

Metroid was originally released on the NES in North America on August 15, 1987.  It was released in Japan and in Europe as well.

Metroid was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on August 13, 2007.  It is available for download off the Wii's Shop Channel for 500 Wii Points.

The data pictured below was collected 1,105 days(3 years, 9 days), since Metroid was re-released.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:

Metroid has 70,045 Wii players reporting their play-time data, on the Nintendo Channel.

Sales Info:

Nintendo has made approximately $350,225 on Metroid, based off the Nintendo Channel data.  I checked at about 4:30PM, on 8-29-10, and Metroid was not listed in the Virtual Console's "Most Popular" games; which displays the Top 20 most popular Virtual Console games.

Thoughts:

So, are Wii owners playing the original Metroid off the Virtual Console?  I would say the data shows most are playing it to completion, though maybe not much more.     

It has been an extremely long time since I played Metroid.  If you haven't played it in many years like myself, perhaps the brief "informational" video from the Nintendo Channel will help you remember what it was like:

Questions:

Have you played Metroid in the last year? If not, how many years has it been? For me, it has been probably 15+ years since I have played it.

If you are interested in downloading Metroid off the Virtual Console, you can purchase a Nintendo Wii/DSi Points card, or use a credit card on the Shop Channel directly; here's the Nintendo Wii/DSi Points card:

Avalanche of Hours? Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage Play-Time Data

Quick Brew Info:
     Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage was released on the Nintendo Wii on November 8, 2009.  It was the sequel to Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip, that released on November 16, 2008.
     Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage released with a MSRP of $49.99, but can now be found for around $20 new.

     It took 289 days for Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage's play-time data to debut on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage has 7,771 players reporting play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel.

"Total" Game-Play & Average Hours Played Reported:
     Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage has 50,909 Total Hours for its debut, and 6 Hours 33 Minutes play-time per person/console reporting data.

     The average play-time per session for Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage is just about 1 Hour 16 minutes.

Sale Rank & Sale Price:
     Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage's sale rank is #3,437 and is selling for $19.49 directly from Amazon.com.

Review Score Averages:
     Shaun White Snowboarind: World Stage's review score average is 73.27%, based on 22 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     On Amazon.com, Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage has a 4.5 out of 5 Star customer rating, based on just four customer reviews.  Two were 5 Star, two were 4 Star.

Thoughts:
     I have not played Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage, but I do own the original Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip on my Wii.

     I also found it really surprising in getting the Amazon.com sale rank for Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage, that Road Trip was ranked higher than World Stage.  Both games have a MSRP of $19.99, so I find it surprising that the sequel, released in 2009, wasn't ranked significantly higher than the original, that was released in 2008.

     Also, I am surprised the sequel has taken so long to debut, because Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage was released in November 2009 as a Wii exclusive, unlike the original which was a multi-console release.

     While Wii owners have not caused an avalanche of play-time hours with the game, at least from what has been reported; if Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage is anything like the original, Road Trip, I would think the use of the Wii Balance board in the game is some of the best use of the Balance Board on the Wii.

Questions:
     Have you played Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage?  If so, what do you think about it?  Is it a game you would recommend to other Wii owners, especially considering both the original Shaun White Snowboarind Road Trip, and World Stage, are selling for around $20?

If you are interested in it, you can see new and used prices on Amazon.com below:

Rage of the Gladiator - The Sea Witch Battle Rank S

Quick Brew Info:
     This is a video of a battle against The Sea Witch in Rage of the Gladiator, on Challenge Mode.  I was using the Wii Remote control, and I was able to achieve a Rank S without using any offensive, defensive, or magic special attacks.
     Spoiler Warning - Again, the following video is an entire battle against The Sea Witch in Rage of the Gladiator's Challenge Mode.


Thoughts:
     If there are any other full length boss battles from Rage of the Gladiator you would like to see, let me know either in the comments; or by sending me an email to, Scott@CoffeewithGames.com.
     If you aren't sure what all the bosses are like in Rage of the Gladiator, you can watch them briefly at the video on my post, Rage of the Gladiator - All Bosses Briefly Shown.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Review

The Blend
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released in North America on August 27, 2007, with a retail sale price of $49.99.  Metroid Prime 3 was developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo.  It was the third console entry in the Metroid Prime series, and the first Metroid Prime game to be on the Wii.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was re-released on the Wii in 2009, as part of the Metroid Prime Trilogy pack, which also included Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

I first reported back in January, after looking at Amazon.com data and statements from Nintendo, it appears that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii are no long being published.

The Brew
     Controls - The controls in Metroid Prime 3 are really good, for the most part.  You move forward and backward using the joystick on the Nunchuk and you turn left/right and look up/down by pointing the Wii Remote's IR reticule in those directions.

You can increase or decrease how fast you turn under the options menu, and from my experience, I suggest setting the look sensitivity to "Advanced", as it allows you to turn and look around the fastest.  You jump by pressing the B button, and shoot with the A button.

The Nunchuk's C button changes you into the morph ball, and the Z button is used for targeting and grappling enemies; or for using the grapple to swing in certain locations.

The -(minus) button is used to bring up Samus' visors screen, while the +(plus) button is used to go into Hypermode.  If you press the 1 button, it will open your map screen and allow you to change control settings, as well as see your inventory and current objectives.

One little control issue I had with Metroid Prime 3 was jumping when as the morph ball.  The game has it set up where you do a quick flick of the Wii Remote UP, causing you to jump when in the morph ball phase.  This works most of the time, but occasionally I would flick the Wii Remote and it wouldn't register in the game.  It's not a huge issue, but you may find it a little aggravating if you miss a jump.

Another slight control issue I had, was when trying to grapple onto either enemies or items, occasionally it wouldn't register my motions in time; sometimes allowing a boss to get back up, which was aggravating.

Overall, I really think the controls helped to immerse me more into the game.  Though I had slight issues with the grappling and jumping in Morph Ball form, the use of motion controls in the game I feel helped make it a more engaging experience.

     Graphics/Animations - I have played many Wii games, and I think Metroid Prime 3's graphics are really great, and the art style/direction for the game was a great choice.

As for the animations in the game, I think Retro did a good job with the transition of going into the Morph Ball, and coming out of it, helping to make it really believable.  I also thought the death animations of the different bosses were done really well.

     Game-Play & Level Design - I classify Metroid Prime 3: Corruption as a first-person adventure/shooter.

If you aren't familiar with the Metroid Prime games, when you are in the first-person perspective, the view appears as though you are looking through the front of a helmet with a visor down.  I think an interesting part of the game-play, is the ability to use a few different visors for different elements of game-play.  An example of one visor in the game, is the Scan Visor.  When you switch to the Scan Visor, you can use it to scan objects and creatures in the environments, and it will store the information in a logbook for future reference, if you need it.

The enemies in Corruption are varied.  Some enemies walk/jump around, other enemies are clinging to walls/ceilings; and other enemies fly around.  The variety of enemies in Metroid Prime 3 really allows the player to experience the capabilities of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls in a first-person shooter setting.

Each planet has at least one "main boss" to defeat.  The boss battles are one area I think the game could have been improved upon.  The strategies to defeat the bosses are almost identical for every boss, with the strategy being mainly: move and shoot, move and shoot, move and shoot.  While I would have liked to have seen different ways to defeat the bosses, the boss battles do a great job in keeping you on the offense and defense the entire time.  I found the the boss battles made me concentrate on what I was doing, and where I was aiming.

There are several planets in Metroid Prime 3, where the game-play happens.  You travel to the different planets to stop the spread of the enemy, and sometimes you will find out you can't accomplish certain goals without a proper suit/weapon upgrade; and that upgrade may be on a planet you visited earlier in the game, which will require you to visit it again.

Revisiting planets to search for suit/weapon upgrades is where I think Metroid Prime 3 is more of an adventure/exploration type game, than a first-person shooter.  The game encourages you to explore different sections of each planet, where you may find suit/weapon upgrades, or tokens to unlock items.

I think the game is well paced between the adventure and shooting aspects though, as many times you will work your way through an area on the map, find a suit/weapon upgrade, and then almost immediately find yourself in a situation to use the new upgrade in a battle of some sort.

I thought the levels in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption were designed well, especially Elysia and Bryyo.  Elysia is a sky town, kind of like Cloud City from Star Wars, but more open.

Bryyo had several puzzles that I enjoyed, and one of the puzzles was extremely difficult to figure out when I was trying to get 100% of the items in the game.  I enjoyed the puzzles though, because they made me think in the levels; and I appreciate how much effort Retro put into making the game with quality play-time.

A minor complaint I have with the level designs, are the boss battles.  Nearly all of the boss battles are set up and designed the same way:

• Enter into a large open circular/square shaped room
• Boss enters and stays towards the middle
• Boss attacks outward, away from the middle; then repositions back in the middle again  

As I said earlier, I found the boss battles to be a lot of, "move and shoot, move and shoot, move and shoot".  Because of the room designs of the boss battles, I often found myself running and jumping around the outside edges of the boss arenas, while concentrating weapon fire at the boss in the middle.

Here's a picture to hopefully explain what I'm talking about with the boss arenas.

While I found the boss arenas, and strategies for defeating them, were a little repetitive, I thought the boss designs themselves were nicely varied.

     Sound - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has a nice assortment of music and sound effects.  I really enjoyed how the game's music changed according to what parts of the planets I would be on.  I thought the music really helped to set a great atmosphere in the game.

The voice acting in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was good, but limited.  You shouldn't find yourself stuck on cut-scenes wishing you could skip them, or the dialogue.

I think the sound effects of your ship, weapons, and enemies were all done properly; not being annoying or distracting in any way, and helped add to the overall game-play experience.

     Replay Value - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was my first Metroid Prime game to play.  My first time I played Metroid Prime 3 on the "Normal" difficulty setting, I logged right over 25 hours of game-play, on the game clock.

Before I purchased and played Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, I thought I would play through the game once, and then put it away like I had done with many games before it; this was not the case with Metroid Prime 3 though.

The game-play really did draw me in, and I had so much fun playing the game, that as soon as I beat it on Normal, I started another game on the Veteran difficulty setting.  I logged right over 16 hours of game-play on the Veteran difficulty setting.

When I completed it on Veteran, I decided just to try the game on the Hyper Mode difficulty, because I had heard how hard it was and wanted to see if what I heard was true (sounds a lot like my Call of Duty: World at War Wii experience). After seeing how much harder the enemies were on just the first level Hyper Mode, I wanted to try and beat the entire game on the Hyper Mode difficulty setting. Just over 14 hours of game-play later, I completed Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on Hyper Mode.

Initially, my total game-play time for all three play-throughs on each difficulty setting was 55 hours; since then, my total game-play hours for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has been multiplied by almost four, and it's my fourth third most-played Wii game to date.

Adding to the replay value of Metroid Prime 3 is the fact that Retro included two bonus endings.  If you beat the game with less than 75% of the pickups, you will see just the normal ending.  If you beat the game with more than 75% of the pickups, you will see the normal ending, plus one bonus ending.  If you beat the game with 100% of the pickups, you see the normal ending, plus two bonus endings.

The game also includes different unlockable items you obtain by spending "tokens" you collect while playing.  You can get tokens a variety of ways: scanning items with your visor, beating bosses, getting different numbers of enemy kills, killing enemies in certain ways, etc.

Also, Retro included something called "Friend Vouchers" in the game.  The difference between Friend Vouchers and tokens, is that you can't spend the Friend Vouchers.  The only way to unlock everything is to have another person that has played Metroid Prime 3: Corruption send you their very own Friend Vouchers.  When you receive their Friend Vouchers, they are then converted to Friend Tokens, and can be spent on some unlockable items.

Aftertaste

     Issues/Problems - I have already listed a few small complaints, here is a more complete list of issues/problems I had with the game, that you may find annoying yourself:

1. Almost identical boss arenas and strategies to defeat bosses
2. Jumping while in Samus' Morph Ball form did not always seem to register
3. When trying to use the Grapple Beam on enemies, sometimes it would not register my motions in time.  On boss battles I found this aggravating if it failed to grapple correctly, because it would sometimes allow the boss to recover and get back into the battle.
4. Load times. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption disguises load times in different ways, as you won't see the word, "Loading" appear on the screen.  You may walk up to a door though, shoot it to open it; then have to wait 10-20 seconds for the door to actually open.  During my first time playing the game, it wasn't a big issue.  After I knew where items were and what I was supposed to be doing in the levels, I would grow impatient sometimes waiting on a door to open.

Also, when traveling between planets the game uses in-game cut scenes to disguise load times between the planets. This isn't something I see as a HUGE issue, but it is something some people may find aggravating.

     Enjoyment & Money's Worth - Is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption worth your money?  Well, I had 50+ hours on just my first three play-throughs of the game.  You may be skeptical to play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, because you have never played a Metroid Prime game; DON'T BE!

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was my first Metroid Prime game to play in the series, and I HIGHLY recommend Wii owners that enjoy FPS games and even think they may enjoy the Metroid Prime 3, to give the game a try.

From the game's graphics and art style, to the music and level designs, then topping it off with what were the best FPS controls on the Wii at the time, the game really surprised me and I enjoyed it far more than I expected I would.

I have played and beaten The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, but my experience with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption far surpassed both of those games for me.

     Overall - When I first published this review, on another site, 2+ years ago, I gave each section a different score, based out of 10.  I then averaged those sections giving the game an overall average score. I will keep the same score I gave it then, for this review, and show the original breakdown of it as well:
Controsl: 9 out of 10
Game-Play: 10 out of 10
Graphics: 10 out of 10
Level Design: 9 out of 10
Sound: 10 out of 10
Replay Value: 10 out of 10
Money's Worth: 10 out of 10
Score Average 9.7 out of 10

Questions
If you have played Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, what did you think about it? Do you agree with my overall thoughts on each section?  If not, let me and the other readers know what you don't agree with.  If you have any questions about the game, or a certain portion of my review, please leave a comment or send me an email at Scott@CoffeewithGames.com.

If you are interested in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, you can find a link for it to Amazon.com below:

Rage of the Gladiator - The Sea Witch in Challenge Mode

Quick Brew Info:
     After I posted the last video showing all of the bosses in Rage of the Gladiator, a user from another site's message board, Vaynard, said, "I wouldn't mind having a video of her in Challenge Mode."
     The "her" reference was for the Sea Witch in Rage of the Gladiator.
     Here's a video of an entire battle against the Sea Witch (Medusa?), from Rage of the Gladiator's Challenge Mode.


Thoughts:
     Vaynard mentioned using the Wii Remote control style, so that is what I used in this video.  I also used the Charge Attack, which is the most basic offensive attack in Rage of the Gladiator.

     If anybody has any other battles they would like to see from Rage of the Gladiator, or questions about the game; just leave a comment letting me know, or contact me at Scott@CoffeewithGames.com.

     If you are interested in Rage of the Gladiator, you can purchase it directly off the Wii's Shop Channel, or by purchasing and using points off of Nintendo Wii/DSi Points Card...

Monster Hunter 3's Play-Time Data

Quick Brew Info:
     It has been 3 weeks since we last looked at Monster Hunter Tri's play-time data.  Are the monster hunts still going strong, or does it appear to be the "off season" for North American Monster Hunter 3 Wii owners?

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data & Increased:
     Monster Hunter 3 now has 35,849 players reporting play-time data, an increase of 3,908 players reporting data since 3-weeks ago.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased:
     Monster Hunter Tri's average hours reported per person are 71 Hours 28 Minutes, over 19.37 sessions.  This means, the current average Monster Hunter 3 game-play session, per Wii owner reporting data, is about 3 Hours 41 Minutes long!
     Monster Hunter 3's average hours, "per person", has increased by 5 Hours 19 Minutes, since the data reported 3 weeks ago.
     Monster Hunter Tri has 2,562,150 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 449,046 game-play hours since the July 26 Nintendo Channel data.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Monster Hunter 3's Amazon.com sale rank is #390, and the current selling price is $47.91.

Review Score Average:
     According to GameRankings.com, Monster Hunter Tri's review score average is still 85.00%, based on 46 reviews.

Thoughts:
     It has been several weeks since I have played Monster Hunter 3, though I think I am going to attempt to finish the single-play in the next month.
     I think the average play-time session of nearly 3 Hours 41 Minutes is absolutely crazy.  IF Monster Hunter Tri continues increasing its average play-time hours per person, it may end up passing Super Smash Bros. Brawl's average hours per person in September.

     Even though it's been several weeks since I have played Monter Hunter 3, here's a video from one of the monster hunts I recorded with The Butcher and Den, from WhoBurnedMyToast.Blogspot.com.  We take on a Gobul, but was the outcome be better than the first Gobul monster hunt I recorded?


Questions:
     How many of you have finished Monster Hunter Tri's single-player story mode?  If you have finished it, about how many hours did it take you(if you remember)?  If you haven't finished it, do you plan on trying to finish it; or, do you plan on just sticking with the online multi-player?

If you are interested in Monster Hunter 3, you can see new and used prices for it on Amazon.com below:

All Call of Duty Games Play-Time Data for Wii

Quick Brew Info:
     The Call of Duty series, on the Wii, started with the Wii launch and Call of Duty 3.  All of the Call of Duty games on the Wii have been developed by Treyarch, even Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex; which was a port of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare from the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

     Do Wii owners enjoy the Call of Duty games?  Let's take a look!

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Call of Duty 3 has 271,237 players reporting play-time data, since it released in November 2006.
     Call of Duty: World at War has 211,013 players reporting play-time data, since the game released in November 2008.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has 81,438 players reporting play-time data, since it released in November 2009.

"Total" Game-Play & Average Hours Played Reported:
     Call of Duty 3 has 3,598,861 Total Hours reported, with 13 Hours 16 Minutes averaged per person reporting data.  The average play-time per person, per play session, is about 1 Hour 29 minutes.
     Call of Duty: World at War has 10,764,662 Total Hours reported, with 51 hours 1 Minute averaged per person/console reporting data.  The average play-time per person, per gaming session, is about 2 Hours 9 minutes.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has 4,409,356 Total Hours reported, with 54 Hours 8 Minutes averaged per player reporting data.  Its average play-time per gaming session is about 2 Hours 22 minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Call of Duty 3's Amazon.com sale rank is #1,473, and the current advertised listed price is $69.00.
     Call of Duty: World at War's Amazon.com sale rank is #730, and its selling for $29.26.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's Amazon.com sale rank is #483, and is selling for $40.54.

Review Score Averages:
     The image above in the article shows the GameRankings.com review score averages for each game, and the number of "professional" reviews associated with each game.

Here is what each game looks like from Amazon.com customer reviews:

Click picture to enlarge for Amazon.com review scores breakdown

     Call of Duty 3 has a 3.5 out of 5 Star rating, based on 71 customer reviews.

     Call of Duty World at War has a 4 out of 5 Star rating, based on 90 customer reviews.

     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating, based on 63 customer reviews.

Thoughts:

     I think it's interesting that Call of Duty 3 has 60,224 more players reporting play-time data, than Call of Duty: World at War.  I really thought Call of Duty: World at War would have more players reporting data, because of its online multi-player.  I guess the two year head-start of Call of Duty 3 is the main reason it's still leading.

     On Friday, I posted the article, "What Is the Most Played FPS Game on the Wii?" I reported that Call of Duty: World at War is currently the most played FPS Wii game, according to "total game-play hours reported, not just the average hours per person/console."

     A reader, WesFX, asked in the comments section of the article, "So does the trophy for most hours played per individual go to a different game?"

     While Call of Duty: World at War is the Wii's most played FPS according to "Total" game-play hours reported; the trophy for most hours played per individual goes to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex.  As the data picture shows and I stated above, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has an average of 54 Hours 8 Minutes per player reporting data, about 3 hours higher than Call of Duty: World at War's average.

     I think the play-time data for the Call of Duty Wii games clearly shows Wii owners enjoy the online aspect of the games; especially when considering Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex passed Call of Duty 3's "total hours" reported, only a few months after it released this past November.

Questions:

     Have you played any of the Call of Duty Wii games?  If so, are your average hours per game close to what is being reported?

If you are interested in any of the Call of Duty Wii games, you can see them listed below on Amazon.com:

   

Save 20-50% - PS3, Xbox 360, Wii...Games & Accessories (8-15-10)

Quick Brew Info:

Each video game or video game accessory listed below was at least 20% off, or more; as of August 15, 2010.

The prices listed below are for Amazon.com's prices and games that are "Filled by Amazon", not just 3rd Party Vendor prices.  If you click through, and do not see the same price listed:

1) It may have changed, and if you leave a comment I should get it updated

2) Or, you should see Amazon.com's price listed on the right side, as the image below shows...

Each game should be properly linked directly to its own page.  The games are separated by each console/handheld: Nintendo DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360.  The games are also listed alphabetically in those categories for easier viewing.

See the list after the break...

Rage of the Gladiator - All Bosses Briefly Shown

Quick Brew Info:
     In this video, I briefly show ALL the bosses from Rage of the Gladiator.  If you do not want to see/know what all the bosses are like in Rage of the Gladiator, DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO.  If you are curious about the game, the video will show you the cast of characters, but not spoil many attacks/moves in the game:


Thoughts:
     If anybody is stuck on a boss battle, in Normal or Challenge Mode; or you would just like another video of an entire battle, let me know and I'll see if I can put one together for you.

What Is the Most Played FPS Game on the Wii?

The Roast
When the Wii released, Red Steel was the most popular FPS for its release.  While Red Steel was not perfect and didn't live up to the expectations of many, I enjoyed the game and thought it was a good foundation for FPS games on the Wii to improve upon.

Now, nearly 4 years into the Wii's life-cycle, how many FPS games have been released for the Wii?  Well, here's the list of Wii FPS games, with release dates, I have compiled:

• Call of Duty 3 released November 19, 2006
• Red Steel released November 19, 2006
• Far Cry: Vengeance released December 12, 2006
• Medal of Honor: Vanguard released March 26, 2007
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption released August 27, 2007
• Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 released on November 13, 2007
• History Channel: Battle for the Pacific released December 4, 2007
• Brothers in Arms: Double Time released September 23, 2008
• Bond 007: Quantum of Solace released November 4, 2008
• Call of Duty: World at War released November 11, 2008
• NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 released November 18, 2008
• Onslaught released February 23, 2009
• The Conduit released June 23, 2009
• Water Warfare released June 29, 2009
• Real Heroes: Firefighter released August 4, 2009
• Metroid Prime: Trilogy released August 24, 2009
• Jurassic: The Hunted released November 3, 2009
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex released November 10, 2009
• Marines Modern Urbane Combat released December 1, 2009
• Red Steel 2 released March 23, 2010

     

The Grind

I'm not positive this is a complete list of all Wii FPS games, but these are the Wii games I found in my search.  If I left any off you can think of, leave a comment and I will add it to the list.  I believe all the games listed above allow you to control your character in a first-person view with the nunchuk's joystick, and turn/rotate the camera with the Wii remote.

I didn't classify the games listed above if you were only shooting NPC enemies, because some of the games have you shooting other "enemies" and weapons; such as Real Heroes: Firefighter where you battle/shoot fire. Some FPS games on the list above don't have game-play data provided on the Nintendo Channel, so we don't have a way to know how much they have been played.

Out of the 20 Wii FPS games listed, you may have already started guessing which one has been played the most so far.  Let's take a look at the Wii's most played FPS game, and see if perhaps you guessed right!

The Brew

Call of Duty: World at War (CoD:WaW) is currently the Wii's most played FPS game.  When I say, "most played", I mean the total game-play hours reported, not just the average hours played per person/console.

Call of Duty: World at War was released nearly 2-years after the Wii released itself; 724 days to be exact.  As the FPS list above says, Call of Duty: World at War released on November 11, 2008; with a MSRP of $49.99.

The play-time data in the picture below has been accumulated over 637 days since Call of Duty: World at War released.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data

Call of Duty: World at War has 211,013 players reporting their play-time data on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.  It has increased by 2,063 players reporting play-time data, since last week.

"Total" Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased

Call of Duty: World at War has 10,764,662 Total Hours reported, an increase of 109,698 hours since just last week. The average play-time per person is 51 hours 1 minute, averaging about 2 hours per play session.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price

Call of Duty: World at War's Amazon.com sale rank is #496 and is selling for $29.26.  As I mentioned in "The Brew" section, CoD:WaW released with a MSRP of $49.99, and now has a list price of $29.99.

Review Score Averages

Call of Duty: World at War's review score average is 83.56%, based on 17 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

On Amazon.com, Call of Duty: World at War has a 4 out of 5 Star rating, based on 90 customer reviews.

Thoughts

I purchased Call of Duty: World at War on the Wii, around December 28, 2008.  I have stated before in comments and perhaps a few posts, that CoD:WaW is my most played Wii game.  How many hours do I have reported for play-time on Call of Duty: World at War according to the Nintendo Channel?  Take a look at this picture...

I enjoyed the single-player campaign a lot in Call of Duty: World at War.  The single-player campaign has four difficulty settings: Recruit, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran.  I had heard how insanely hard the "Veteran" setting was, and the game's description of it reads, "You will not survive".

After many months of owning the game, and having completed the single-player campaign on Regular difficulty, I decided to give Veteran difficulty a try.

After playing on Veteran for a few weeks, and dying probably a thousand times, I finally completed the single-player campaign.  The amount of grenades thrown by enemies in Veteran difficulty is ridiculous.  Completing CoD:WaW on the Veteran setting definitely requires patience(and lots of coffee).

Pictures showing the first and last missions, Semper Fi and Downfall, completed on Veteran

As much as I enjoyed the single-player campaign, I would say the meat of the replay value in CoD:WaW is the game's multi-player element.  Treyarch did a very good job of making the multi-player in CoD:WaW run smoothly, even though it wasn't as fully featured as the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Just today, I put the game in to gather pictures from it, and I decided to see if I could find a multi-player match.  Within about 2 minutes of logging online, I was already connected with other players, and soon the match started without any problems.

Here is a picture of my mutli-player statistics from Call of Duty: World at War:

Based off the play-time data currently reported for CoD:WaW, I think it will be the Wii's most reported played FPS game, until the next Nintendo console is released.


Questions
Have you played Call of Duty: World at War on the Wii?  If not, have you played any of the other Wii FPS games listed, and about how many hours have you played them?

Tornadoes in Alaska (8-12-10)

Here is Episode 5 of Tornadoes in Alaska!

Should There Be Game Review Standards?

The Roast:
     If you are like myself, you have probably played and enjoyed a video game, then perhaps found a review that you didn't agree with on the game.

     When the original Mercenaries released in 2005, I purchased it day one for my Xbox.  I really enjoyed the game, and thought it was well worth the $50 I payed for it.  I had more than 40 hours of game-play on just the first play-through of the game.
     I remember getting my copy of GameInformer that had the review for Mercenaries in it.  I could not believe the game received a review score of 7.5 out 10!  I emailed the reviewer, asking why certain things were left out of the review about the game.  My biggest complaint about the "review" was the fact he did not mention how long he played the game, or if he even completed it.

     The second post I ever posted on the site, was titled, "An Open Letter to Adam Biessener of GameInformer".  I emailed Adam Biessener about his review for The Conduit, and how it lacked information.  As with my first email to Game Informer back in 2005, I still have not received a reply from Adam(or anybody at GameInformer).

     Those are just a few reviewers I have disagreed with, there are more.

The Grind:
     My biggest issue with reviewers on major sites is that I rarely know how long they played the game before "reviewing" it.  I think a good example of this was with The Conduit.  The Conduit's multi-player was plagued with glitches, and  I don't believe there was a single reviewer from any of the larger sites that addressed them in their reviews.

     Addressing the question, "Should there be game review standards?"  I believe that every review, especially from the major sites, should include one thing for the readers to know; and I believe every reviewer should do at least one thing before playing  a game and then writing a review.

The Brew:
     1.  The amount of time the game was played - If the game has single-player and multi-player, how many hours/minutes were spent with each should be included in the review.  If a game has a single-player campaign, it would be nice to know if the campaign was finished.
          IGN.com recently changed their review scale, but not really their review policy.  I found it interesting they bothered with changing the scale of reviews, but not the policy as to what information is provided to the readers of the reviews.

          In IGN.com's "Reviews Policy", they have a Q&A section for it, and one question is, "Do you 'complete' games before reviewing them?"  Well, the answer was, "Not always.  Keep in mind, that not every game can be 'beaten'...", as if this needs explaining, they mention puzzlers, sports games, and MMOs as games with "no real end".

         What I found really interesting about this Q&A, was when they said, "As a general rule, IGN's philosophy is that editors should play an assigned game as much as they need to in order to give a fair, in-depth review that can accurately represent the overall experience."

          So, currently at IGN(and many other sites it seems), if a reviewer plays a game for 1 hour or less, they can write a review and call it a day, and the readers have no idea how much the game was played.  Does that make any sense?
          There are very few reviewers that do provide the hours played, that I know of.
          Nintendo-Okie.com's Tony Miller provides how he obtained the game, as well as "Total Play Time".  He recently reviewed Madden NFL 11 for the Wii, and his "Total Play Time" for the review was 27 hours!

I wonder if Matt Casamassina finished this game
before he "reviewed" it, or was he busy applying for his Apple job instead?

     2.  Read the game's instruction manual & control options - This is what I believe every reviewer should do before playing a game.
          Since the Wii(and some PS3 games) introduced motion/gesture controls this generation, I think reviewers really need to read the instruction manuals and control options in games.  When The Conduit released on the Wii it wasn't perfect.  What it did get right though, and set the "standard" for Wii FPS games, was the customizable control options.
          I still have trouble understanding how reviewers complained about the controls in the game.  One "reviewer" for The Conduit said of the controls, "...after wrestling with the terrible controls...", then wrote an entire paragraph about what was wrong with the "motion controls".  Yet, he failed to mention the game had fully customizable controls and he could have switched the motion controls for button presses in some cases.
         I can only imagine what will happen with reviews when Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect release, and reviewers just hop into the game without knowing if calibration is an option.

Thoughts/Questions:
     While review scores are subjective, I do not think the lack of information, or misinformation in a review is subjective.
     These are just two things that I think would improve the "review" method for games, and give readers a better way to understand how much weight they should put into a review.
     Are there any "standards" you think would be beneficial to help make the game review process better?  Do you agree with my two points, and are there any sites that you know of that I didn't mention that put the "Total Play Time" in every review?

Tornadoes in Alaska (8-10-10)

Keith and I are back with Episode 4 of Tornadoes in Alaska! Thanks to all the subscribers and listeners so far, and if anybody has any comments/feedback, please leave a comment or send me an email to Scott@CoffeewithGames.com. We hope you enjoy the show!

Here's the link for the Top 10 1st Party/3rd Party Wii games as of sales:
http://nintendo-okie.com/2010/08/10/top-10-firstthird-party-wii-software/

SJPH2EJUTEC5

Something Is Burning - Real Heroes: Firefighter Play-Time Data

Something is burning, and it's not my coffee!

Quick Brew Info:
     Real Heroes: Firefighter was released on the Nintendo Wii on August 4, 2009(August 11 according to a few sources).  Real Heroes: Firefighter released with a MSRP of $29.99.

     It took 371 days for Real Heroes: Firefighter's play-time data to debut on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

(Click image to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Real Heroes: Firefighter has 6,040 players reporting their play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel.

"Total" Game-Play & Average Hours Played Reported:
     Real Heroes: Firefighter has 50,506 Total Hours for its debut, and 8 Hours 22 Minutes play-time per person/console.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Real Heroes: Firefighter's Amazon.com sale rank is #1,548 and is selling for $17.96.
As I stated in the "Quick Brew Info" section, the game released with a MSRP of just $29.99, but now has a "List Price" of only $19.99.

Review Score Averages:
     Real Heroes: Firefighter's review score average is 70.29%, based on 17 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     On Amazon.com, Real Heroes: Firefighter has a 4.5 out of 5 Star customer rating.  The 4.5 out of 5 Star customer rating would put the game at a 90% review score average; nearly 20% points higher than the "professional" review score average.
     Out of 26 customer reviews for the game, twenty-five reviews were rated either 4 or 5 stars.  There was only one customer rating of "1 star", but when I read it, it was clear the low score was not for the game itself, but with an issue of receiving a version that would not play on their Wii (PAL vs. NTSC).

Thoughts:

     I have not played Real Heroes: Firefighter, but I am interested in the game.  I like the idea behind it, and think that there is potential for a franchise with it.

     I am surprised the game has taken a year for any play-time data to show up on the Nintendo Channel, as I thought the lower MSRP of $29.99 initially, would have helped with sales.  Perhaps the game didn't ship a large number of units initially, and it's just been a really "slow burn" title on the Wii?

Questions:

     Has anybody played Real Heroes: Firefighter?  If so, what are you thoughts on the game?  Is it something you would recommend to other Wii owners that enjoy the FPS genre, and are perhaps looking for something a little different?

If anybody is interested in Real Heroes: Firefighters, you can see new and used prices on Amazon.com linked below: