February Brewed - Coffees Consumed & Games Played

Coffee Beans
February was a busy month, but I found my time dominated by one game in particular. I mentioned in last month's "January Brewed" post, that I like the idea, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.", and with March starting up, CoffeeWithGames should get back to a regular posting schedule of a couple of posts each week.

While I didn't post much in February, I did put an unhealthy amount of time into playing a game. If you read the few posts I did in February you probably know that game was Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U. I even created probably the oddest Black Ops II video yet, at least not just game related, and shared that in my "Drones! What are they good for? Fox News' Charles Krauthammer & Black Ops II?" piece. If you missed the piece and the video, you can see the video embedded below:

March is upon us, and with it new games (and maybe coffees) are waiting in the wings, but what coffees did I consume and games did I play in February? Brew yourself a nice pot of coffee, and let's take a look!


Coffees Consumed
Maxwell House returned in February as our default coffees of choice, but there were a few more that were brewed up during the month.

The default Maxwell House coffees we brewed up were the Maxwell House French Roast and the Maxwell House Dark Roast. We still have some of the Maxwell House Dark Roast, and it has gotten March started off well for us, but the French Roast was finished earlier in February. Both the French Roast and Dark Roast are very similar in flavor, neither has a strong bitter flavor, but each provides a nice bold flavor.

Between brewing the Maxwell House coffees, we enjoyed several other coffee blends in February. One of those blends was the Kona Blend Coffee, which was/is sealed up in the cabinet and used occasionally. It's a a whole bean coffee, that I actually received it last year for my birthday, and I'll grind up some of the beans when we're running low on the Maxwell House, or if we run out. It's more of a mild roast coffee, but is a good backup coffee to have hidden away.

How much caffeine is too much caffeine?

Another coffee blend brewed up in February was a new one that we had never tried before. It was the Puroast Low Acid Coffee, Dark French Roast blend. The idea behind this coffee is that it provides a great tasting coffee, but has a 50% lower acidity than other coffees. The verdict? To me, and Mrs. Coffee, this coffee seems to be missing the "bite" that makes coffee, well, coffee. While our blend was the "Dark French Roast", which is supposed to be one of the strongest coffee roasts, it had a very light flavor. It actually reminded me of the Starbucks Blonde Veranda Blend we have brewed in the past, which I called "an extremely light blend".

If you like lighter tasting coffees, then I would recommend giving the Puroast Dark French Roast blend a try, but you should know that it probably won't taste like your typical French Roast coffee you have had before.

The last, new, coffee blend we brewed in February was Medaglia D'Oro Caffé Espresso roast. It's definitely a stronger blend, as you would probably expect with "Espresso" in its name. I enjoy it, and Mrs. Coffee makes sure to sweeten her's up, but it is definitely has the "bite" that I expect from darker roast coffees.

Games Played
The quick, "Instant Coffee", list of games I played in February is: World of Goo, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mutant Mudds, Balloon Fight, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Trine 2.

Bean 1's stats from a World of Goo level.

World of Goo - I made it through the first four worlds and when I get to the last level I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing in it. Bean 1, in typical fashion, deletes the save files quit often, so I have played through several of the levels many times. Bean 1 beats levels on his own, quit often, and even just completed a level from the World of Goo WiiWare demo we have.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - We are continuing to make slow progress in the game, if the save file can last more than a few days before getting erased! Bean 1 still plays this, and runs around pretty well in the game and even knows how to switch between inventory items now, and I'm always amazed when he beats random enemies running around. Perhaps once Bean 1 is out of his erasing save files mood, we can beat the game. Until then, we'll probably just keep playing randomly and having fun.

Mutant Mudds - Has Mutant Mudds Deluxe released for the Wii U yet? I didn't think so! Bean 1 still opens this up randomly on the PC, and will play through different levels. I, of course, will end up playing through (or attempting to) a few of the levels, with him watching what to do.

My first effort in Balloon Fight.

Balloon Fight - My first eShop purchase, and it cost me a whopping 30 cents. This game is part of Nintendo's Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign, where they are offering certain NES games for just 30 cents, for 30 days (one game, every 30 days). Balloon Fight is definitely simple enough and plays well, but I find the sound effects are a bit on the tinny side. I haven't made it very far in the game, but I did post my first "high score" to the Miiverse community. Was it worth the 30 cents though? Absolutely.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Unhealthy. Unhealthy. Unhealthy. What was the cause of lack of sleep for me during February? Was it two little Beans running around, blogging late into the nights, or creating my next multi-million dollar invention (not sure where I misplaced the first)? No, the lack of sleep in February was because of Black Ops II on the Wii U. After getting the Beans in bed, I would fire up the Wii U and play Black Ops II on the GamePad late into the night, usually with some random Netflix series playing in the background. If any of you own a Wii U and are playing Black Ops II often, please add my Nintendo Network ID, Coffees, to your Wii U Friend List. I'll add you back and perhaps we can play some matches of Black Ops II together. 99% of my matches are in Team Deathmatch, though this last weekend I was playing a lot of Headquarters because of the Double XP being offered in it.

Trine 2 - I'm still playing back through Trine 2's levels, trying to collect all of the items and hidden objects in each level, so that I can access the last level. Trine 2 was on sale (still is in Europe) during February, down to just $14.99, and now there is a demo for the game on the Wii U's eShop as well. If you have been wondering how Trine 2 plays (and looks), definitely download the demo to give it a try. If you own Trine 2 on the Wii U, have you beaten it and unlocked the last level?

Caffeinated Thoughts & Questions
With a new month upon us, I'm actually looking forward to a few games releasing later this month, though I will probably only pick up one initially. While I'm interested in LEGO City: Undercover, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, I'll probably only be grabbing Pandora's Tower when it releases.

Had Nintendo of America actually done their job during Wii's main life-time, and brought already developed games to the U.S., I probably wouldn't be diverting potential Wii U funds, to purchase a Wii game. U.S. Wii owners (and Wii U owners) can purchase Pandora's Tower later this month for just $39.99, thanks to XSEED Games.

Were there any coffees you consumed in February that were new blends, or just stick with your regular blend(s)? Did you play any games in February that you found particularly addicting, like I did Black Ops II, and are there any games you are looking forward to that are releasing in March?