Which console to buy?! Wii U, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One? 2013 Holiday Console Buying Guide

Coffee Beans
It's not a secret that I enjoy games on Nintendo systems, and the Wii was my most played system of the last generation consoles (PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii). The Wii U has been my most played system over the last year though, and I have really enjoyed my time with the games on the system.

Every "next generation" home console system is now out in the U.S., though the newest two (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) might be kind of hard to find right now. While the Wii U released last year and I bought it day one, I have not purchased either the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One. Why?

Well, in short, because I'm pretty cheap. I have never purchased more than one console each generation, when they first release. I have always started with buying the lowest priced console in any new or "next" generation, and then usually pick up additional systems as their prices drop.

If you own a Wii, PlayStation 3, or Xbox 360 and are debating on buying a Wii U, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One this holiday season, which one would I recommend? Brew yourself some coffee, and take a look below at CoffeeWithGames' 2013 Holiday Console Buying Guide!

Where to buy the PS4 now? Amazon.com

Coffee Beans
If you are looking at grabbing a PlayStation 4, but didn't pre-order one, you can grab one right now (at the time of this posting anyway!). If you hop over to its Amazon.com page, HERE, you can currently grab the PlayStation 4: Launch Edition for its MSRP of only $399.99.

I'm not sure how long it will be available on Amazon.com and if it will sell out, but you can purchase it now and not have to worry with hunting one down later if you're planning on getting one before/for Christmas.

While I have a friend currently waiting to get a PS4 in line right now (Central Time Zone), I'm not planning on getting a PS4 this holiday season. The picture below is of the PS4 games my friend's wife got him as a surprise to go along with his PlayStation 4 he is about to pickup!

I'll probably wait a few months and see what the reception is before making a decision to grab one (and maybe hope for a price drop!). But I do think it's awesome to see an online retailer like Amazon.com with some PlayStation 4s in stock for launch day.

Questions
Are any of you picking up a PlayStation 4 today, or this holiday season? If so, what games are you getting with it?

Here are some more links directly to the PlayStation 4 bundles being sold on Amazon.com:

To quit, or not to quit? Black Ops II online match - played via Wii U GamePad Off-TV Play

Coffee Beans
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is currently my most played Wii U game, and has been for much of the past year. It will probably be my most played Wii U game for much of the entire time the console is out.

The majority of my time in Black Ops II has been playing online multiplayer, mainly Team Deathmatch battles. I never quit matches in Black Ops II (or other online games that I play) just because I'm losing. While I may occasionally have to ditch a game I'm in the middle of because I lose track of the time, it's never because I'm losing (or my team may be losing).

So, in a recent online match when my Kill/Death ratio was 1/11 at one point. Did I choose to quit, or not to quit? The video below is of that recent Black Ops II match I played on the Wii U, and despite getting off to a HORRIBLE start for my team (as you will see), I stuck with it and turned things around a bit:

If you're wondering about the title of the video, and this post, I played the match using the Wii U's GamePad Off-TV Play. And it's how I have spent the majority of my time playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Questions
If you play online multiplayer games, like Black Ops II, do you find yourself sticking matches out (like Nick said he does as well earlier this year)? Or do you quit matches if it seems there is no hope?

Also as a side question, if you have picked up Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U and were playing Black Ops II first, what do you think of Ghosts? Good? Bad? Better?

I get emails and questions about what I use to record and upload my videos, and you can see both the capture device and software I used for this video below:

October Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played

A boar, from Full Bore! From partial sketch to sprite.

Coffee Beans
Saying October was a busy month for us, would be an understatement and I could probably be put on trial and convicted of perjury if I was to testify under oath that October was only "busy". While I aged another year in October and the beginning of the month was busy as usual, the second half of the month is when we were out of the house and the busiest. We were out of the house for more than half of October, visiting our families in another state.

I do 99% of my web related work from my desktop PC. So, while I thought I might get a few posts done using Mrs. Coffee's laptop while we were out of town, that just didn't happen. I did bring our Wii U with us though, and it was played a good amount on the first part of our trip.

What coffees did I consume and games did I play in October? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Coffees Consumed
Traveling out of town for much of October resulted in many more coffees being brewed up and consumed by me, than in a normal month. In October, I consumed Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast, Beaumont Pumpkin Spice Coffee, K-Cup Breakfast Blend, K-Cup Italian Roast, K-Cup Black Silk, and Community Coffee Medium Roast. I also had one or two cups of McDonald's Premium Roast Coffee, as well as some random gas stations' coffees in October during our long road trip.

We don't have a Keurig Coffee machine, but my mom does. She has a wide assortment of the K-Cups, and I probably consumed more than the K-Cup blends I have listed above, but those are the ones I remember for sure. The K-Cup Breakfast Blend is nice medium blend coffee, while both the K-Cup Black Silk and the K-Cup Italian Roast coffees are more like a dark roast. The Italian Roast was the strongest, I would say it is close to tasting like a regular Starbucks house blend from stores, but not quite that strong (or, burnt I would say). Mrs. Coffee and I both consumed A LOT of the K-Cups while we were visiting my family on the first part of our trip, and it reconfirmed my thoughts of why I can't have a Keurig Coffee machine in our house. We would be bankrupt!

The Community Coffee Medium Roast was the coffee with consumed morning, noon, and night on the second leg of our trip. We have brewed up some Community coffees in the past, and it is a much milder medium roast coffee.

Games Played
The "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in October is: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Super Metroid, Pushover, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Pure Chess, F-Zero, LEGO City: Undercover, and Full Bore.

Super Metroid - Bean 1 enjoys watching me play this one, and earlier in the month he requested I play, "Super Metro!" He now says the name properly, but I did laugh to myself at him calling it Super Metro the first few times he did it. I am completely stuck in this one though! I am not sure if I have hit a glitch, but I can't figure out how to progress in the game anymore. As mentioned above, we took our Wii U with us when we went out of town and a friend of mine started playing my file. Even he couldn't figure out how to progress in the level anymore! Perhaps once I look up how to continue my game, I will play it some more.

Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition - I borrowed this game from my neighbor in early October, and played it some before we left. I have enjoyed my time with the game, though I did get stuck on one part that took me a while to figure out what I was doing. While I haven't beat the game or gotten super far into it yet, I do think the use of the Wii U GamePad is very well done. The game makes great use of the GamePad in regular play (playing with the TV as the main screen), such as using the GamePad's screen as the city's map while traveling about, and using the GamePad's touch-screen for scanning segments, where you move your finger on/around the screen looking for radio signals. And the can be played completely on just the Wii U GamePad, via the Off-TV Play feature.

Full Bore - I found out about this game, after following one its developers on Twitter and being offered a copy of it. I let them know before I received it from them, that I don't do reviews or game coverage in typical fashions around here. But I said I would give the game a try and provide some feedback. I haven't played it very much due to getting it right before leaving town, but what do I think of it so far? If Samus was ever bored and looking for something to play, I think this would be a game she would play. You play as a boar, and the gameplay mechanics keep with that aspect pretty well. It is a 2D puzzle adventure game, and you can dig, push, and climb/hop your way through the world as you explore. There are items spread around different parts of the map that you can collect if you seek them out (not quite sure what they do just yet), and many require some puzzle solving to reach. From my very short time with the game though, it seems like there is a lot to do and many areas to explore. The game's 2D pixel art reminds me a lot of Mutant Mudds' retro style, and I like what I have seen so far. I'm hoping to get through the rest of the game this month, and do a more detailed piece on it. If you want to know more about the game, check out the trailer below and visit its webpage HERE:

LEGO City: Undercover - I mentioned in last month's "September Brewed" post that I had "encountered a serious issue with the game". I had to send the game off for repair, and I did get it back before we left town. And I'm glad I did! As I mentioned above, I brought our Wii U with us and LEGO City: Undercover was the biggest hit with the younger kids. They enjoyed just roaming around the city, driving vehicles, and riding on the trains. New Super Mario Bros. U (NSMBU) was played a little bit by them because they could still play it while the TV was being used for something else, but not nearly as much as they played LEGO City: Undercover.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II - The first weekend we arrived at our first destination of the trip, my best friend growing up came to town to visit. Late one night while our wives and my mom were talking, we fired up Black Ops II on the Wii U. It was his first time really seeing the Wii U's GamePad features in action, other than briefly playing NSMBU and Super Metroid earlier, and we played multiple online matches. He played on the TV using one of the Wii U Pro Controllers I had just picked up, and I played using the GamePad with Off-TV Play. It was the first time I had really put Black Ops II's splitscreen mutliplayer option to the test. And I was super impressed with how well it worked, throughout all of our matches. Dear Nintendo of America, Please start advertising these type of features and games on the Wii U...

Caffeinated Thoughts
I did purchase one new Wii U game in October, Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Amazon put the game on sale for just $9.99, and being an Amazon Prime member, I got free shipping on it!

I still haven't opened it up yet, but have a solution for my lack of gaming woes that I'll be implementing here shortly.

Questions
If you purchased or got any new games in October, like I got Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Full Bore, what games did you get and what do you think about them (if you have played them). If you didn't get any new games in October, what did you find yourself playing during the month?

Being that October was the first month with some cooler weather (for many of us in the U.S. anyway), did any of you perhaps try some new coffee blends or drink more coffee because of the cooler weather?

CONNECT WITH COFFEE

September Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played

Coffee Beans
I believe September was my first full month of regular posting, with no data reports! What has the world come to, when there are no data reports? Well, it could possibly be one of the reasons the U.S. government has shutdown, but I'm not positive.

If you only skimmed posts here occasionally in September, here are some posts you might have missed:
Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS (Part 1)
Dear Mr. Iwata, Please fix this Nintendo of America problem...
Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer - Updated Wii U GamePad Version
Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS (Part 2)
Coffee Shop! Permanent Wii U price drops on games!

Now, what coffees did I consume and games did I play in September, even beating one of them? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Coffees Consumed
In our "Coffee House" we roasted up the Beaumont Classic Roast coffee blend daily, which has been a staple coffee blend for us for quite some time now. We went through almost two "270" cup containers of it in September, and I'm still enjoying the blend. It's not too strong, and not too weak.

Another coffee blend I had during September was a Caribou Coffee "Coffee of the Day" blend on a business venture. I don't buy coffee from coffee shops much these days, but if I were to have to choose between a Caribou Coffee "Coffee of the Day" or a Starbucks "Coffee of the Day" blend, I would probably go with the Caribou Coffee more often. While I can enjoy my coffee drinks strong and dark roasted, and I drink them black 99% of the time, Starbucks' coffee from the stores often seems a bit over roasted to me. The Caribou Coffee blend I had was a good medium roast blend, and I didn't feel like I was drinking coffee that had an almost burnt flavor to it.

Games Played
The "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in September is: Pure Chess, Kung Fu Rabbit, LEGO City: Undercover, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Toki Tori 2+, Rabbids Land, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and Pushover.

Pure Chess is now available on iOS and Android devices, and I downloaded the free mobile version of Pure Chess last month on Mrs. Coffee's NOOK HD+ Tablet. I have really enjoyed my time with the game, and if you missed my write up on the mobile version, you can read it HERE. I haven't made any purchase in the mobile version yet, simply because the tablet device I play it on isn't mine. I am planning on getting the Wii U version of Pure Chess when it releases though (hopefully later this month!), and I'm looking forward to getting more than one online match going at time!

Kung Fu Rabbit was my first Wii U eShop purchase. The game released at a low price of only $4.99, and being that it's a platformer game, I figured I would give it a try. I haven't beaten all the levels in yet, but have enjoyed my time with the game and have found it challenging. Kung Fu Rabbit is currently on sale on the Wii U eShop for only $2.49, and the sale ends tomorrow (Oct. 3rd).

LEGO City: Undercover is my September "Game of the Month", well, if I did "Game of the Month" awards! While I started playing LEGO City in August, it wasn't until September that I really put some time into the game. I ended up beating LEGO City: Undercover's story in September, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. If you are even a little bit interested in LEGO City: Undercover for the Wii U, I would highly recommend you give the game a try. Unfortunately though, I encountered a serious issue with the game, that I'll be posting about separately. In short, if you get the game, make sure to plan on playing it and attempting to beat it within 90 days of purchasing it!

Toki Tori 2 received a big update in September, and after the update is now named Toki Tori 2+ on the Wii U eShop. After I updated the game, I played through a few more of the levels, and I am still really enjoying the game because it makes me think. Despite having only two basic moves to start (not sure if more are unlocked or found as you play), the levels and puzzles that I have encountered so far really show me the development team spent time being creative with putting the game together. Toki Tori 2+ will be a game I continue to play through, just slower than other games though due to its pacing and gameplay style. If you enjoy slower paced games, with puzzles that require you to think to progress through levels, you probably will want to check out Toki Tori 2+.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the game played for the first ever official "CoffeeWithGames Game Night". If you missed the posts about the CoffeeWithGames Game Night, you can read them HERE and HERE. While Black Ops II's online Wii U community may be small in numbers, there are many excellent players online and many have achieved the "Master Prestige" level. Amazon is still holding a sale on Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U, with its price down to $19.99 for those of you that might be interested in it.

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed was randomly picked out of a stack of games by Bean 1 and requested for me to play, the very last day of September! I raced several races, on different tracks. I still enjoyed my time with this game, and should probably spend a bit more time beating the main mode and unlocking everything. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: I think the vehicle transformations with the track designs are brilliant! The way some of the tracks can change from lap to lap is something I would like to see in Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, but I doubt that will go as far as this one.

Art Academy: Sketchpad found its way on our Wii U console in September. I wouldn't really classify this as a game, as much as a learning tool. I purchased this for Bean 1, because he has been drawing so much here recently, and I thought he might enjoy it and hopefully learn some things once they get lessons added. We haven't used it a lot yet, but the drawing/painting tools included are pretty impressive (speaking from a non-artist's perspective). If you're not familiar with this title, its description on the Wii U eShop reads: "Art Academy: Sketchpad is a robust art application that anyone can enjoy - from beginners to experts of all ages. Unleash your creativity using realistic stylus and touch screen-based controls. The tools at your disposal allow for an amazing level of detail. The huge variety of pencils, colored pencils, and pastels behave just like the real thing - with additional tools to further enhance your experience."

Rabbids Land was played during September on Talk Like a Pirate Day. If ye missed me post on it, ye can read 'bout me adventures with the game, HERE. Below is a video of my favorite mini-game from Rabbids Land:

Pushover - This is a game I'm helping Phil, of SuperPhillipCentral, test out. He has put the game together for one of his classes, and I was able to first try it out late Monday night. Bean 1 was watching me as I played it, and if you're wondering if it left an impression on him, the very first thing he requested when he awoke from his deep non-coffee slumber on Tuesday was for me to fire up the game! I'm not sure if Phil has any plans to release what he has put together, but if you want to know more about it you may want to keep an eye on his site, HERE.

Questions
Did any of you purchase a new game (or, application) in September like I did with Art Academy: Sketchpad? If so, what did you get? Also, did any of you perhaps beat a game in September, like I beat LEGO City: Undercover, and is it one that you would recommend to others?

On the coffee side, did any of you take advantage of National Coffee Day and get some free coffee, or brew up anything new coffee wise in the month?

Coffee Shop! Rayman Legends on sale for $40

Coffee Shop
Rayman Legends just released last month, on September 3rd, with a MSRP of $59.99 on every major home console (360, PS3, Wii U). It's been less than a month since it released, and the game is now seeing its first major sale already.

The game was developed and published by Ubisoft, and received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE 10+" with "Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

GameStop.com currently has Rayman Legends for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on sale for just $39.99. You can see all the versions (including PC and PS Vita) of Rayman Legends listed HERE.

Here are direct links to each versions' individual page if you're interested in grabbing it right now:
Rayman Legends for the PlayStation 3 on sale for $39.99, HERE.
Rayman Legends for the Wii U on sale for $39.99, HERE.
Rayman Legend for the Xbox 360 on sale for $39.99, HERE.
Rayman Legends for the PS Vita on sale for $29.99, HERE.

*Update: Amazon.com earlier this afternoon price-matched GameStop's price on the Wii U and PS Vita versions of Rayman Legends, HERE and HERE. I'm including all the current versions on Amaazon.com below, in case they price-match the other versions as well:



Questions
If you have played Rayman Legends (I haven't), would you recommend the game at this price or even at its regular MSRP of $59.99?

Also, if you have played the Wii U version, does the full game make good use of the Wii U's GamePad?

PCA: National Coffee Day! Free coffee notification.

Coffee Beans
This is a quick post, to remind my fellow coffee drinkers that TODAY, September 29, 2013 is National Coffee Day!

If you are out and about on this fine day, there are a few coffee chains celebrating National Coffee Day (that's every day in our house, so not sure why it's only celebrated one day a year at these other places...for SHAME!), and you can get some free or discounted coffee drinks at some of them.

Here are a few coffee chains that are giving away free coffee today:
Caribou Coffee - Get a free small cup of Amy's Blend coffee. You need to print the coupon or show it on your mobile phone to get it.
Dunkin' Donuts - Get a free small coffee using the Dunkin' Donuts mobile app coupon.
Krispy Kreme - Get a free small, 12 oz., coffee.
McDonald's - I believe there are certain McDonald's locations participating as well like last year, giving away free small cups of coffee, but it depends on the location.

I'm already on my second pot of Beaumont Classic Roast coffee for the day, with at least one more planned later this night. So, I won't be making any special trip out to get any at the local coffee shops that are participating in our area.

This Public Coffee Announcement was not paid for or endorsed by any coffee shop, coffee provider, or coffee distributor!

Questions
Have any of you already participated in 2013's National Coffee Day today? Did you find a local coffee shop that was doing a coffee promotion, and if so, which coffee shop was it?

Perhaps you're like me though and enjoy coffee every day, and instead have just brewed yourself some coffee at home on this fine Sunday?

FPS Friday! CoffeeWithGames Game Night - Black Ops II Wii U match footage

Coffee Beans
Well, it has been an interesting week. Sunday started off with the first official CoffeeWithGames Game Night playing some matches in Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U. Then Monday night I started working on putting together a video of one of the matches from the Game Night.

Before I digress into the video rendering issues I have experienced though, the video above is from the very first match of the CoffeeWithGames Game Night on Sunday. I believe it's also the very first video I have uploaded in 1080p, though I'm not very good at telling the difference between 1080p and 720p myself.

I have been using the Elgato Game Capture HD device since January of this year, and while I initially had some issues with rendering files out back in January in my video editing software, I quickly solved that problem. Then Monday happened. I tried rendering out one of the Black Ops II matches from the previous night, as I had done many times before with videos and trailer, but upon rendering the video out from the match, it became EXTREMELY blurry.

So, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and yesterday (Thursday), I randomly spent time trying to fix the rendering issues. Again, I now capture my gameplay videos using the Elgato Game Capture HD, but I edit them together using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0 edition, which is the video editing software I have used for pretty much the last 3 years.

No matter what I tried, how many times I re-recorded the match, re-rendered the video, it was always turning out extremely blurry after rendering the video. So, while my solution for what I HOPE is a permanent fix using Elgato video files with Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD, I think that's for another post altogether.

If you watched the video above, you can see the match went pretty well for the team I was on. I was able to play for just over an hour, and got in several more matches in the game, all playing just regular Team Deathmatch battles. The first match was actually my best match in terms of my kill/death ratio for the night, but I enjoyed all of the matches.

So, while the first CoffeeWithGames Game Night was a success in terms of getting some matches in, being that a new Call of Duty will be releasing in just over a month now for the Wii U, I'm not sure how many more Black Ops II Game Nights there will be!

If you own a Wii U and are interested in Black Ops II, it is STILL currently on sale for just $19.99 on Amazon.com. You can click the image above to be taken directly to the game's Amazon.com page if you would like. If you own a Wii U and Black Ops II, my NNID is Coffees and feel free to send me an invite.

Questions
Have any of you been playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U and enjoying it, but perhaps are now looking forward to when Call of Duty: Ghosts releases in November for the Wii U?

You can see new and used prices for Black Ops II on Amazon.com below, as well as the pre-order page for Call of Duty: Ghosts Wii U:


*Disclaimer: My copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Wii U was provided by Activision for coverage purposes.

CONNECT WITH COFFEE

Coffee Shop! Permanent Wii U price drops on games!

Coffee Beans
Yesterday, September 20, 2013, was the first day for the first official manufacturer's suggested retail price drop on the Wii U Deluxe Sets to take place. The Wii U system has been out less than a year now, releasing just last November in the U.S., and the Wii U Deluxe Set originally released with a MSRP of $349.99.

For those of you, unlike myself, that didn't buy a Wii U system when it released or before yesterday, you can now find at least two Wii U Deluxe Sets to buy at its new lower MSRP of only $299.99. There is the standard Wii U Deluxe Set bundled with Nintendo Land, and the newer Limited-edition Wii U Deluxe Set that comes with a digital eShop version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, the special customized Wind Waker HD Wii U GamePad, as well as a digital download copy of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. If you're looking for the White Wii U Basic Set though, apparently that one is going the way of an honest politician, and will probably become more difficult to find as a new product.

So, while the Wii U has now seen its first official MSRP drop, what about Wii U games that have been released? Well, some Wii U games have now apparently seen official price drops, some pretty significant price drops.

Brew yourself some coffee, and see if any of the following new Wii U games prices and deals stand out to you, and if you would recommend any of them to your fellow Wii U gamers!

CoffeeWithGames Game Night! Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U

Coffee Beans
Announcing the first official, official CoffeeWithGames Game Night! While I have randomly played online games with some of you in the past, it wasn't always scheduled. Hopefully, with this new feature (mentioned last month), it will become more of a regular event and allow us to have fun gaming together!

Tomorrow night, Sunday, September 22nd at 11:30 PM EST, I will be hopping into Call of Duty: Black Ops II's online multiplayer on the Wii U, to play some Team Deathmatch battles!

My NNID is Coffees, and if you own a Wii U feel free to add my NNID to your Wii U friend list. I have written a few times before, about how I enjoy Black Ops II and I will be recording my matches tomorrow night as I have in the past as well.

If you want to try and make this CoffeeWithGames Game Night, I'm planning on playing for at least an hour (until 12:30 AM EST), and feel free to leave a comment below with your NNID and I'll look for you tomorrow night and send you an invite! I probably won't be using voice-chat in the game, as my current headsets have been dismantled recently by the Beans (our sons), but that should be remedied in the next month or so, for voice-chat in future CoffeeWithGames Game Nights.

If you just purchased a Wii U this weekend, maybe because of the new system price drop and The Wind Waker HD bundle, right now is an excellent time to grab Black Ops II for the Wii U because it's currently on sale for under $20!

I believe the Black Ops II sale is currently in Best Buy stores and BestBuy.com online, as well as on Amazon.com. So, if you are one of the people that maybe grabbed a Wii U this weekend, planning on hiding it away until Christmas morning from your family, you could always grab Black Ops II at Best Buy today, and hide in a closet tomorrow night playing the game on just the Wii U's GamePad for the first CoffeeWithGames Game Night!



CONNECT WITH COFFEE


*Disclaimer: My copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II for the Wii U was provided by Activision for coverage purposes.

Did ye talk like a pirate, or did ye play as a pirate? Rabbids Land & The Pirate's Precious Jewels - Caffeinated Thoughts

Rapid Rabbid cannon fire. How every Talk Like a Pirate Day should start!?

Coffee Beans
Yo-ho-ho! Ahoy, again, me hearties! If ye didn't talk like a pirate yesterday, maybe ye played as one without even realizing what yesterday was!

Yesterday was Talk Like a Pirate Day, and me felt the need to play a game with a pirate.

Me received Rabbids Land for the Wii U from the sutlers at Ubisoft last year, and me fired it up again yesterday aft a while since playin' it, so that me could be chased by a pirate! If yar interested in Rabbids Land, smartly brew yerself up some of the finest fire-roasted black java beans around, and point yer deadlights below to see one of me favorite Rabbids Land mini-games!

Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 2DS/3DS release plans, cross-platform play, & more! (Part 2)

Coffee Beans
Last week, I published the first part of an interview I had with Ripstone's Phil Gaskell regarding Pure Chess that will soon be heading to the Wii U and 3DS systems. In the first part of the interview, we covered whether Pure Chess has real-time online multiplayer, how many "Play By Mail" games the Wii U and 3DS versions will have compared to the PlayStation 3 version, and if either the Wii U or 3DS version would feature Trophies like what are in the PlayStation 3 version.

I also had the chance to ask what chess fans in general might enjoy about the game, and what features should appeal the most to them. You can read the first part of the it, "Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS - Trophies, Multiplayer, & More", HERE.

Now, are there any plans on releasing Pure Chess outside of European and North American eShops, perhaps in Japan and Australia? Is there any plan to update the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions of Pure Chess to allow cross-platform play?

Brew yourself some coffee, and find out the answers to those questions and a few more, below!

Coffee Shop! Humble Bundle & Wii U Game Deals - 20% off, or more...

Coffee Shop
Next Friday, September 20th, the Wii U is scheduled to receive a $50 price drop at retailers. This will be the Wii U's first official price drop on the Wii U Deluxe Set, bringing its new suggested MSRP to $299.99.

Along with taking a look at some Wii U retail and eShop game deals in this post, I'll also highlight the current Humble Indie Bundle 9 deal that is taking place. So, if you're planning on buying the Wii U Deluxe Set at its new MSRP of $299.99 next week (or, perhaps already have it reserved and paid-in-full), or enjoy indie type PC games this might be a Coffee Shop post for you.

Brew yourself some coffee and see if any of the following game deals stand out to you, and if you would recommend any of them to your fellow gamers!

Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer - Updated Wii U GamePad Version

Coffee Beans
Earlier this week, Activision released an "Official Call of Duty: Ghosts Single Player Campaign Trailer".

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U, as you can see here, here, and here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the changes, like sliding, in Ghosts might change up gameplay and strategy in online multiplayer.

While Call of Duty: Ghosts will be releasing for the PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 5th, I am most interested in the Wii U version of the game. Why?

Well, there are multiple reasons, but the biggest reasons are Call of Duty: Ghosts' Wii U GamePad Off-TV Play feature, free online multiplayer, and the optional Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls for when my GamePad battery gets low.

I have updated the "Official Call of Duty: Ghosts Single Player Campaign Trailer", to show how I will most likely spend the majority of my time playing the game, showing the trailer on just the Wii U GamePad.

Brew yourself some coffee, and watch my updated Wii U version below!

Pure Chess - Caffeinated Thoughts (NOOK HD+ Tablet version)

Coffee Beans
Pure Chess recently released for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices. The game has been developed by VooFoo and published by Ripstone. Last week, I posted an interview with Ripstone's Phil Gaskell about Pure Chess coming to the Wii U and 3DS, and you can read the first part of the interview, HERE.

What's the best part about the mobile release of Pure Chess though? It can be downloaded and enjoyed for an awesome low price of FREE.

You read that right, Pure Chess for iOS and Android devices can be downloaded for free. Is it worth downloading and using up the megabytes of required space though? In short, absolutely!

What will the free version of Pure Chess get you, as for choices of how to play a game of chess, and what does the Pure Chess "Complete Game Pack" offer content wise? Brew yourself some coffee, and hit the jump to see details of what you can expect from Pure Chess now on iOS and Android devices!

Coffee Shop! 3DS game deals - save 20%, or more!

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The Nintendo 2DS is releasing next month at a suggested retail price of $129.99, $40 less than the suggested retail price of the regular Nintendo 3DS. It is probably what we will end up getting Bean 1 this holiday season for Christmas, unless there is some other shiny new toy that turns up between now and then.

There are already a few games on my list to get Bean 1 eventually, if not day one, and between now and Christmas I'll be paying closer attention to 2DS/3DS deals. If you currently own a Nintendo 3DS, or perhaps are planning to grab a Nintendo 2DS this holiday season, below are some current Nintendo 3DS games that are at least 20% off their MSRPs or List Prices.

Brew yourself some coffee and see if there are any games that jump out at you, or perhaps that you would recommend to others!

The CoffeeWithGames birthday gift goes to...

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Last week, I posted up the "What's a birthday without a gift? CoffeeWithGames turns 4!" post where I talked about what I had done on the site over the last 4 years, and what I plan to do moving forward with it. I was also giving away a CoffeeWithGames birthday gift of sorts, if you left some feedback on the post.

Well, the winner of the gift was..........................Robert!!!!!

(His name is there, you just click and drag your mouse around it.)

What did he win, you might be wondering? The Humble Bundle Weekly Sale: Paradox Games bundle, which included Europa Universalis III: Complete, War of the Roses: Kingmaker, Warlock: Master of the Arcane, Leviathan: Warships, Dungeonland, and The Showdown Effect.

Hopefully the games can help him remain incomplete to an even greater extent, and thanks to everybody that provided feedback on the post!

Dear Mr. Iwata, Please fix this Nintendo of America problem...

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There are some people in the video game industry that like to place all the blame for Nintendo's current financial and Wii U situation on Mr. Iwata, the current CEO of Nintendo Company and now CEO of Nintendo of America as well. Some of those people deny that employees and management in other regions for Nintendo, like at Nintendo of America for example, might actually be part of Nintendo's overall problem as well though.

There is currently one Nintendo problem though, directly related to Nintendo of America's region, that I don't think Mr. Iwata made and might not even be aware that the problem exists. At least, I don't think he would have made this decision, based on one of his own more recent comments. It is a problem that Mr. Iwata now as CEO of Nintendo of America can hopefully address and get fixed though, for consumers and Nintendo investors.

What problem do I think Mr. Iwata as CEO of Nintendo of America should fix? Brew yourself some coffee, and keep reading to see!

Interview: Ripstone on Pure Chess Wii U & 3DS - Trophies, Multiplayer, & More (Part 1)

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Last week, Ripstone's Phil Gaskell told us how they were thrilled at Ripstone to hear about the upcoming Wii U price drop and new 2DS system. Ripstone is planning on releasing Pure Chess for the Wii U and 2DS/3DS eShops in the next few months, and Knytt Underground is looking like it will be an early 2014 Wii U eShop release from Ripstone as well.

With Pure Chess being the first Wii U and 2DS/3DS game from Ripstone, and being a big chess fan myself, I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Gaskell some questions about the upcoming release of Pure Chess on the Wii U and 2DS/3DS. I had not played Pure Chess before sending over the questions, though that has changed in the last week with the mobile version releasing on Android and iOS devices.

What Pure Chess features should appeal the most to chess fans? Will Pure Chess on the Wii U and 3DS offer the same number of "Play By Mail" chess games as the PlayStation 3 version, or has the number been increased or decreased?

Brew yourself some coffee, and find out the answers to some of these questions and a few more, below!

June, July, & August Brewed! Coffees Consumed & Games Played

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As I mentioned last week, I took July off from posting and worked a bit behind-the-scenes on a few things, as well as had some fun finishing up the Beans' Star Wars May the 4th video from this year. If this is the first post you are seeing in a while, here are two posts from June and one from the end of August I want to highlight:
1) It's Official - Wii's U.S. Nintendo Channel, Forecast Channel, News Channel & more taken offline.
2) Dear Nintendo of America...
3) Ripstone "thrilled" about the Wii U price drop, and 2DS

While I didn't post anything in July and just a little at the end of August, I did find some time to play games during those months and of course, I was consuming lots of coffee, as usual. Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at what games I have been playing and coffees I have been drinking during June, July, and August!

Coffees Consumed
In June and July, there was basically only one coffee we brewed up, and it was the Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast. I had mentioned in the "May Brewed!" post that this is the lowest priced coffee blend we have purchased, and we still find it enjoyable.

I did also consume a good number of the Keurig K-Cups in July, when I visited family and friends on a quick trip out of town. My mom has a Keurig Coffee maker, and lots of Keurig K-Cups that she keeps stored in a Keurig K-Cup Storage Drawer. I probably went through a 10-20 K-Cups on my trip, as well as having some regular coffee brewed as well.

In August, we brewed up two different coffee blends. The first blend was Maxwell House Gourmet Roast, followed by the Beaumont Coffee Classic Roast.

Games Played
Here's the "Instant Coffee" list of games I played in June, July, and August: Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Mutant Mudds (PC), Trine 2: Director's Cut, Kirby Mass Attack, Kung Fu Rabbit, Super Metroid, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, F-Zero, Kirby's Adventure, Toki Tori 2, Donkey Kong, LEGO City Undercover, Super Mario World, and Pure Chess.

Instead of breaking down each individual game that was played over the last several months, I'll highlight and talk about a few of the ones I spent the most time with.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is my most played game on our Wii U, and will probably have the "most played" title for a long, long, long time to come. Why is it my most played Wii U game? Because of Black Ops II's online multiplayer, coupled with the fact it has Off-TV Play. Being able to have a show playing on Netflix, while playing matches in online multiplayer on the Wii U GamePad is how I have played the majority of my matches in the game.

Mutant Mudds Deluxe released for the Wii U eShop on June 13th and I was planning on buying it the day it released, but was fortunate enough to win a copy of the game! If you're wondering how I won a copy of the game, you can read about it and some of my thoughts on the game, HERE. If you have never seen any gameplay footage from Mutant Mudds Deluxe, the following video is of Bean 1 beating the first level using the GamePad's Off-TV Play feature.

Kung Fu Rabbit was our first Wii U eShop game to actually purchase, and not one we either won in a contest or received directly from the developer. A few things were pretty ironic in the month after it released in early May. One of our family members actually had just gotten two rabbits as pets, and we didn't know about it until late May. Then one day in late May/early June, my phone buzzed and it was one of our neighbors letting us know that there was a rabbit outside our house, and had been pretty much all day. I had known about Kung Fu Rabbit releasing, but didn't really look at it until the two rabbit incidents. When I saw it was only $5, I decided to purchase it and give it a try, thinking that Bean 1 might enjoy it as well. While we haven't beaten it yet, we have completed a good number of levels (I think two complete worlds), and Bean 1 is able to finish some of the levels on his own. If you haven't seen any footage or gameplay of how Kung Fu Rabbit plays (it's a platforming game), here's the eShop trailer for the game:

LEGO City Undercover was one of the gifts to me from Mrs. Coffee and the Beans this year for Father's Day. The opening cinematic I think is very well done, in typical LEGO game humor, and I have enjoyed riding and running around the city so far. While LEGO City Undercover doesn't have any local (or, online) multiplayer that Bean 1 and I can try, Bean 1 does enjoy driving (and crashing) vehicles around the city, and he is learning to follow the pathway points to the next mission objectives in the game. From my early impressions of the game, I think this is a great choice for parents with younger children that might be looking for a more kid friendly/family friendly open world game. It also has at least one coffee reference in i

Pure Chess is scheduled to be releasing later this year for the Wii U and 3DS, but you can currently get it on the PlayStaton 3 and PlayStation Vita, and as of last week you can now download the game for "FREE" on iPhone, iPad, and Android type devices. Mrs. Coffee has an eReader tablet device and I downloaded Pure Chess to it last week, and have really been enjoying it. If you enjoy chess, or have ever been interested in it, I would highly suggest downloading Pure Chess.

So, from June until now, I have had four new games added to our Wii U library: Kung Fu Rabbit, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, LEGO City Undercover, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate which isn't even opened yet. Mutant Mudds Deluxe was the most played over the last few months out of all of those, though I have enjoyed my time with the other two new Wii U games. As always, if you own a Wii U feel free to add me to your Wii U's friend list. My NNID is Coffees.

Questions
Have any of you purchased or had new games added to your video game library over the last several months, and if so, are you playing any of them on a regular basis?

Also, did any of you find yourself brewing up new coffee blends during the last few months, like I did with the Keurig K-Cups on my trip out of town?

Ripstone "thrilled" about the Wii U price drop, and 2DS

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Earlier this month, indie games publisher Ripstone announced their plans to support both the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS systems. Currently, they are planning to release Pure Chess on the Wii U and 3DS eShops later this year, and Knytt Underground should be releasing for the Wii U's eShop early next year.

After Nintendo made the announcement about the planned Wii U price drop and the new 2DS system earlier this week, I had the opportunity to ask Ripstone's Co-Founder and Creative Director, Phil Gaskell, about it.

He said, "We were thrilled to hear the news today from Nintendo about the price drop for the Wii U bundle and the new 2DS console. It's a fantastic move by Nintendo and again it shows they shouldn't be underestimated. Pure Chess and Knytt Undergound will be available for new Wii U and 2DS/3DS owners this holiday season and early next year."

I agree with Phil and I think this is an excellent move by Nintendo. I hope the Wii U price drop and introduction of the lower priced 2DS system this holiday season will help get both systems in more consumers' hands in a significant fashion, and hopefully in turn create an excellent environment for developers and publishers to continue to sell their games.

I have made comments on other sites, but not here, that Mrs. Coffee and I are now debating on grabbing Bean 1 (our oldest) a 2DS for Christmas, because of its lower price point.

As I mentioned in the anniversary post that interviews will be a more common feature now, early next week I will be posting an interview with Ripstone's Phil Gaskell about the upcoming Wii U and 2DS/3DS eShop release of Pure Chess.

Questions
Are any of you that haven't purchased a Wii U or 3DS yet, now more likely to get one of them (or, both) this holiday season because of the Wii U price drop and new 2DS system?

Do you agree with Mr. Gaskell's opinion that the Wii U price drop and new 2DS system are a, "fantastic move by Nintendo"?

Coffee Shop! Online Wii U deals - save 20%, or more!

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I told a friend back in June who was interested in the Wii U then, that I thought a price drop would happen for the system pretty soon and I would wait a little while to see what Nintendo would do. So, earlier this week when Nintendo announced the Wii U Deluxe Set is getting a new MSRP of $299.99 starting on September 20th, I was glad to see it happen and immediately told my friend about it.

The Wii was hard to find in many locations for nearly 2 years after it released, and because it was selling like hot coffee on a cold winter's day, the prices of many first party Wii games rarely dropped below their MSRPs. Even now, some Wii games have their original MSRPs of $49.99.

The Wii U has been struggling with its monthly sales compared to the other consoles, since January of this year. The biggest beneficiaries of this unfortunate situation for Nintendo though, are the consumers. The Wii U hasn't even been out a year yet, and already many Nintendo published Wii U titles are seeing some significant discounts off their MSRPs.

If you currently own a Wii U, or plan on getting one soon (like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Wii U Deluxe Bundle), hit the jump to see some current Wii U deals on games and gear that are at least 20% off their MRSPs/List Prices!

What's a birthday without a gift? CoffeeWithGames turns 4!

CoffeeWithCupcakes...coming soon? Maybe in my stomach.

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What's a birthday without a gift? If you have been wondering if my coffee supply ran out and I went into a deep sleep because of it and that's why I haven't been posting, I can say that has not been the case! I have been doing some CoffeeWithGames related things behind-the-scenes, even though I haven't been posting.

At the end of June, I decided to get all of the Nintendo Channel data I had recorded during the final week (EVERY. SINGLE. WII. GAME!), before Nintendo took the Nintendo Channel offline, into a nice spreadsheet form. I spent my spare moments doing that for about 3 weeks, from late June and into July.

I have enough game-play data recorded from Wii games, that I could continue doing the Nintendo Channel data stories for another 10 years, at my usual pace. While I can tell you the Wii's most played game in the United States, as well as the Wii's least played game in the United States, I have decided to refocus and change the type of consistent content I deliver.

Instead of focusing just on past Wii games, CoffeeWithGames will now focus on more current games and systems. Here are a few things CoffeeWithGames will be doing on a more regular basis now:
1) Reviews! Reviews will now be happening on a more regular basis, and game reviews will have a slight twist from the normal method most sites use when reviewing games today.
2) Interviews! I have done interviews randomly in the past, but not on a regular basis. There will now be at least one interview a month (that's my goal), either from developers, publishers, or people within the industry.
3) Videos! I enjoy creating and editing videos. I'm a bit detail oriented (see: OCD) when it comes to things though, and can spend way too much time editing and creating content (not just game related). So, I will now do more standard gameplay videos now of games I'm currently playing, and/or that the Beans are playing like what I did with Mutant Mudds Deluxe.
4) Opinion pieces! I don't do these often, but I am looking to change that. An example of what these may be like, would be what I wrote about and wished for the first Wii U update to fix, before the first system update was released.
5) Coffee Shop! I browse Amazon.com pretty much every single day, for a number of reasons. One, is checking for any incredible deal I might not be able to pass by, another is more data related. So, I will be doing more Coffee Shop posts to share games deals, at least once a week.
6) CoffeeWithGames Game Nights! I enjoy playing games online. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is my most played Wii U game because of the online multiplayer. Instead of just playing by myself though, I will now try and schedule at least on CoffeeWithGames Game Night a month, and announce what game I'll be playing and when about a week in advance. Hopefully, this will make it easier for some of us game together, and of course, recording the footage and doing a video of it might be possible as well.

While these things should provide a decent amount of content each month, there will also still be the random pieces from time-to-time like the "Critics vs. Customers!" pieces, Sales Ranks Analysis pieces, and maybe even the random Grounds for Celebration! piece(s) will make an occasional return.

Now, what about that birthday gift? Hit the jump and keep reading to find out!