I made a total impulse purchase last night. Impulse purchases for me are usually relegated to $5 DVDs at Target or maybe the occasional lip gloss or mid-priced bottle of wine. But I was just having that feeling yesterday, so I went to Fry’s.
For those who aren’t familiar with Fry’s, its like a Costco for geeks. It’s just bits n’ parts n’ drives n’ cables, laptops, fans, ports, electronics, movies, music and… games. Now, I’ve never been a big “gamer”. I like few video games and I have specific criteria: it must be cute, it must engage and challenge, but not be so hard I curse the game within 5 minutes. And, preferably, it’ll be nil on the fighting and Battle Royale aspect that many games have taken on lately. I think I talked about this before… I prefer adventure games and puzzle games, for the most part.
After chatting with my friend macgeezel, who is much more of a gamer than I, I picked up an XBox 360, along with Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata Party Animals, Ratatouille (because I love, love, love the movie and the game got good reviews) and my favorite… Beautiful Katamari.
Like, I said, I don’t really get into the whole role-playing aspect or the war-angles of games. I just want to unwind sometimes and let my brain kind of hang loose, so to speak. I want to see peaceful, pretty things that makes me happy, not a bunch of angry soldiers gunning down a village or whatever. I have a Playstation 2 which I don’t play that much except for sporadic bouts of Dance Dance Revolution when I’m not inclined to go to the gym, so I’m not entirely sure what possessed me to get this, but… well, I just did. 
Though, to save a little cash, I gathered up all the PS2 games I don’t play and traded them in for a couple of the new XBox games. Waste not, want not! Someone else can attempt to enjoy that crap version of Jeopardy
But, now I can play Beautiful Katamari with my friends online! Hooray! I don’t have my screenname yet, nor have I set up my profile with the 360 online gaming thingie, but if you’ve got a 360 and a screenname, maybe we can roll up some stuff together sometime…
u r $0 733t.
Two words for you: Mario. Party.
Have to delurk now as I’m a gamer to pass on my endorsement: I *loved* Viva Pinata, and played it to death! Ah, but beware the time-sucking vortex it can become–I work from home and had to spend several late, late nights making up work time that I lost in Viva Pinata binges. (And if you like it–there’s a sequel on the way this fall…)
@Emma: I’m having a hard time getting into Viva Pinata! It either seems like I’m being bombarded and everything is happening at once or *nothing* is happening. Do I just need ‘patience, grasshopper’?
@Cath: is that on XBox? I assumed all Mario games were for Wii only. If it’s on XBox, I’ll check it out!
Oh, sweet sweet Katamari.
I also LOVE Guitar Hero and better yet, Rock Band. Obsessive, I tell you!
Sorry ‘bout that. I never owned one but always played with friends at their houses. They definitely didn’t have a Wii so it must have been a Play Station or something. Sorry to get your hopes up!
Ah, yes, I forgot about that: the game is overwhelming for the few hours–they throw way too much at you (especially for a “kids” game). Then you kinda have to make stuff happen, but if you’re planting trees, flowers, etc., and doing the romancin’ thing, random pinatas will start wandering in more often. Hope it starts to pick up for you soon!