July Brewed - Coffees Consumed, Games Played!

Coffee Beans
     Good Monday evening! July was a busy month for us as a family with a few birthdays, our anniversary, traveling over 900+ miles one way to visit family, and our usual work weeks before our trip. While it may have been busy, it was still filled with lots of coffee drinking and game playing.
     While I didn't get as many posts up in July as I did in June, I did get up a decent number of posts considering I was working off of Mrs. Coffee's laptop for about a third of the month. If you perhaps just skim posts here occasionally, here are some posts you might have missed that I posted up in July:
     THIS is what the 3DS XL should have looked like.
     Super Mario Bros. 3 Hours Report & World 5-1 Beaten by Bean 1!
     Drinking Coffee from a Mario castle? Not exactly.
     Instant "Coffee" Video Game Award
     SOCK! POW! ZOK! LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Debut Hours Report
     Pachter: "Sometimes, I add two and two and get seven..."

     With August now well underway, what games did I play and coffees did I consume in July? Brew yourself a cup of coffee, and take a look!

Coffees Consumed
     July started off with us brewing the Maxwell House French Roast coffee blend that I grabbed during the coffee run in June. After we finished the French Roast blend, we started brewing Maxwell House's Dark Roast coffee blend which has lasted us into August, since we were visiting family for a good bit of July. Speaking of visiting family, our first stop was on Mrs. Coffee's side. Her mom buys Community Coffee, and we enjoyed daily pots of the Community Coffee Medium Roast blend.

     What would the first word to describe our household be if I had kept the Keurig coffee machine Mrs. Coffee gave me as a gift 2 years ago for Christmas? BANKRUPT! I'm not sure if I ever told the story here on CoffeeWithGames, but as a Christmas gift one year Mrs. Coffee surprised me with a Keurig coffee machine. After debating and staring at it for about a week still in the box though, I made the decision that I simply drink too much coffee daily, and that if we kept the Keurig machine we would spend a fortune each month on the coffee pods.
     Well, my mom received a Keurig coffee machine sometime after Christmas and she has really enjoyed using it. When we arrived at her house, she was stocked up with a wide assortment of the Green Mountain Coffee K-Cups. My mom enjoys her coffee with a flavor, so we had a choice of the Green Mountain Coffee Spicy Eggnog, Green Mountain Coffee Gingerbread, Green Mountain Coffee Golden French Toast, or the Green Mountain Coffee Breakfast Blend K-Cups. The Green Mountain Coffee Breakfast Blend was apparently a favorite, as it was the first one we ran out of. After that one flavor ran out though, the other flavors never did, even with us (see me) using the machine quite often.

     For me though, I think sticking with the regular coffee machine is the way to go right now, even after using the Keurig machine for over a week. I definitely see the benefit and how easy it is to simply throw a K-Cup in the machine and not think twice, but with how much coffee we consume in the "Coffee House" monthly, I would probably have to change the name of the site to "CoffeeWithCoffee" because we couldn't afford games anymore.

Games Played
     Being that some of you might be reading this on Monday morning Tuesday morning instead of doing your scheduled work, here is the short list for the games I played in July: Rage of the Gladiator, Super Mario Bros. 3, Punch-Out!!, Bit.Trip Runner, New Super Mario Bros. DS, Super Mario World, Blacklight: Retribution, Cogs, Far Cry 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64, VVVVVV, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. I believe it was 15 games in all, with a few others being "played" very briefly, but not long enough that I consider it really "playing" them.

     Rage of the Gladiator - After a Rage of the Gladiator request by a YouTube comment asking for a video against Lord Vensor the 3rd from the game, I played a few matches against him until I had enough decent matches recorded. I was able to use one of the recorded battles for a video to show how to defeat him in Challenge Mode, and I also wrote a post with a few details and even an image that might be helpful if you ever reach Lord Vensor the 3rd in Challenge Mode, and get stuck. You can read the post, and watch the full battle I recorded HERE.
     Super Mario Bros. 3 - Our oldest son beat his first Mario level in Super Mario Bros. 3, and that resulted in me doing an "Hours Report" and video remake of his play-through of the level. It was World 5-1 in the game, and though we made it to World 5-1, and even halfway through World 5, we never tried it again once we left to visit family. We had a blast playing through the levels we did in July though, and we have already started the game again this month. If you missed the post about Bean 1 beating his first Mario world, you can read the post and watch a "remake" video of sorts of his play-through of World 5-1, HERE.
     Punch-Out!! - This was a Father's Day gift to me, and I have really enjoyed my time with the game. I haven't finished Title Defense mode yet, but I did make my way through some of it earlier in July. I believe King Hippo was the last opponent I defeated in Title Defense, but each and every boxer in Title Defense has been a challenge. I wasn't the only one to play Punch-Out!! in July though, as Mrs. Coffee decided to give the game a try one day and she ended up going all the way through to King Hippo, and defeating him. It was hilarious watching and listening to her play the game. She would be insulting the boxers back in the middle of the matches saying things like "Vive la France your face!" to Glass Joe, or just things like laughing hysterically at Disco Kid in the middle of the matches. It was very entertaining.
     BIT.TRIP RUNNER - I completed the WiiWare demo of Bit.Trip Runner a good number of times in July, and really enjoyed my time with the demo. Bean 1 attempted to play the demo as well, but he hasn't quite got the hang of it just yet. After the feedback provided on my "Jump! Run! Kick! Slide! BIT.TRIP RUNNER Hours Report", I added Bit.Trip Complete to my "Wish List" of games.
     New Super Mario Bros. DS - I didn't really think about New Super Mario Bros. DS until July because of our planned "vacation" to visit our family out of town. I figured if anything, Bean 1 could MAYBE fiddle around on the screen and just see Mario and be happy with it. Little did I know he would learn the menu system quickly, finding the matching games with "Luigi", and then go to World 1-1 and get the Mega Mushroom which results in "Big Mario!" according to him. Yes, Bean 1 has completed World 1-1 all on his own with no outside help from me, just using the items in the level. If you have played the game, you probably know why, but the fact he can get the jumping down with the walking still impresses me. Perhaps we will be having some all-night Mario Marathons before the year is over...
     Super Mario World - "We beat it!" is what Bean 1 exclaims now when we finish the game. Sure, it was because we accidentally found the Rainbow Road paths, but he was the one that actually showed it to me by accident one day without me realizing I had unlocked it. Bean 1 can also identify Bowser's Castle appropriately, since it is labeled that in the game and he even knows which doors he can get through easiest in the castle. Now, he hasn't beat the castle all on his own yet, but the fact he made it all the way to the second set of doors to pick, impressed me enough.
     Blacklight: Retribution - What happens when you open a Steam account? NOTHING GOOD! (Okay, that's sarcasm). Money starts leaving your bank account and your wife says, "I was wondering what 'Valve' was in the statement", or something along those lines. Fortunately for me though Blacklight: Retribution did not cost me a dime, and if you have a Steam account you can play the game for free as well. I was actually surprised and impressed with the matches that I played in the game, and enjoyed the match setups of the teams having to capture and hold different points around the maps. I did get confused with how the "purchase" system worked, so I haven't upgraded my character very much; but I'm hoping to put some more time into the game this month and see if I can figure out the upgrade system a bit more. You may not remember, but back in 2010 I did a "Double Interview" feature with the developer of the original BlackLight: Tango Down. While the original game released and you had to pay for it, the developer decided to try the "Free to Play" route with the sequel and I hope it works well for them. If you missed my Double Interview feature from 2010 with Zombie Studios, you can read it HERE.
     Cogs - Why did I get a Steam account? Because a certain video game blog, Chalgyr's Game Room, had a Steam giveaway/contest last year and Cogs was the prize. To win the prize though, I needed a Steam account. I didn't know if I would like it, but I like winning free stuff and ended up winning the game. I finally gave it a try in July, and have really, really enjoyed my time with the game. Mrs. Coffee even watched me play it a bit, and thought the game looked interesting from what she saw. It is definitely a challenging puzzle game from what I have played so far, and I don't think I'm half-way through it yet. If you like puzzle type games, I suggest you look up Cogs on Steam and give the free demo a try.
     Far Cry 2 - I received Far Cry 2 from a good friend when were down visiting family/friends over the Christmas holiday this last year. I haven't made it very far into the game, but I can see why the developers chose the setting they did for the "open" aspect from the first game, but this allowed them to change it up a bit, at least from what I can tell so far. I haven't encountered any of the dreaded "escort" missions I have heard about yet, but I am expecting one to any moment now.
     Batman: Arkham Asylum - What happens when our neighbors and us both own Wii and PS3 systems? Well, we end up trading/loaning games every now and then. I actually traded him Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and he traded me Batman: Arkham Asylum early in July. I haven't made it super far in the game, but far enough that I have done one "boss" battle. I have enjoyed my short time with the game, and I'm looking forward to getting more in it now that we are back from our trip. As for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, he finished the game the very weekend we traded! If you want to see my brief thoughts on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, you can read them HERE.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - I hadn't played Modern Warfare 3 in quite a while, so I fired up the online multiplayer to see if I could get in some quick matches in July. I didn't have any trouble getting in the standard team matches, and enjoyed my time in them. It was kind of interesting though, as I had seen a few matches from the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex on YouTube showing hacked matches, and I experienced my very first hacked match in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the Wii in July. I was actually recording the matches that night, and I think I have footage of the entire match as I just ran around hopping way up into the sky and flying around oddly. I'm not sure if the footage would help Treyarch patch it up, or if they are even worried with patching the Wii version of Modern Warfare 3 now, considering they are probably busy getting Black Ops 2 running on the Wii and Wii U. I also did an "Hours Report" on Modern Warfare 3 in July, and you can read that HERE.
     Super Mario Bros. - Bean 1 and I both played Super Mario Bros. a good bit in July. He is making very good progress on jumping and walking at the same time, and the next step I'm going to try and teach him is running at the same time. I don't know if it tweeted it or not, but Bean 1 has completed World 1-1 in Super Mario Bros. now, and I have video evidence floating around my computer. The evidence will surface in the next few days probably, so you might want to keep a lookout for it.
     Super Mario 64 - Another Mario game in July? Why not! Bean 1 enjoys running around in the game, and though he doesn't know exactly what is going on that doesn't stop him from having fun. He gets Mario to swim outside in the moat, and he even knows how to access levels by jumping into the pictures. What does he request I do in the game occasionally? "Daddy, find the key!" What key is that? Well, it's the key to Bowser's door of course; at least we both think it is. He asks me to find it when he tries to open the door, and gets the laugh in return. I'm enjoying playing the game a lot, because while I owned/own a Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 wasn't a game in my collection and I never completed it when a friend rented it and I played it. So, I'm looking forward to trying and beating the game now.
     VVVVVV - How did I become interested in trying out the demo for VVVVVV? It was an interview on NintendoNation.net that I read that got me interested in the game. Make sure to check out the interview HERE, and if you are interested in VVVVVV but don't own it, definitely give the demo a try. I enjoyed my time with the demo, and it makes me wonder if perhaps the PC or 3DS version is better. Perhaps some of you that own both versions of VVVVVV can provide feedback on the game below and tell me why I need to buy a Nintendo 3DS later this month, when the XL model releases.
     New Super Mario Bros. Wii - What happens when we visit family, and my best friend from childhood pays us a visit? Well, that ends up with my best friend from marriage (see Mrs. Coffee) and I breaking out NSMBW late that night with him. How did we all do? Bowser had no idea the yelling and screaming that would be paying his castle a visit that night, but I should have a post on that later this month, with video. Did Bean 1 play it with us though? No, Bean 1 did not play NSMBW in July. You read that right, Bean 1 did not play New Super Mario Bros. Wii in July. As a matter of fact, it's the only Mario game in our collection I believe that he hasn't played yet.

Questions/Thoughts
     What video games did you play in July? Did any game really stand out to you from the others that you played, and did you perhaps purchase any new releases or just new-to-you games in July? Also, if you have any questions about the games I played in July played feel free to leave a comment/question below.
     As for the coffees, did any of you try anything new in July as I did with the Green Mountain Coffees or did you play it safe with your usual coffee, tea, soda, water, or other drinks of choice?