Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router, WRT54G2

So far I'm fairly impressed by how much difference changing a router can make. For the past eight months I'd been living with an inconsistent wireless home network, mostly evident with my Nintendo Wii.

My Nintendo would connect via wireless one day, and then with the identical settings throw up an error message the following day. I'd change my router to channel 11, and the Nintendo connected... and then it wouldn't next time I tried. Channel 1? Eureka -- but, no. I finally gave up and decided to try a new router.

Why did it take me so long to make the decision? I'd always thought that different routers differed in strength, speed, and area of coverage, and that's about it. Based on this erroneous assumption I wasn't optimistic a new router would change anything. After all, my Nintendo connected fine... sometimes. PS3, no problems.

Anywhoo, I started reading up on routers and my error quickly became evident. Most routers work at a 2.4 GHz which apparently is a frequency prone to interference from microwaves, cordless phones and the like. Living in an apartment building I can easily imagine my locale being full of potentially interfering devices.

So... I considered purchasing a "N" (or pre-"N") router with simultaneous dual band ability (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). Dual band, because much fewer devices use 5 GHz so there's less chance of interference. Simultaneous, because the mere thought of having to manually switch between 2.4 and 5 GHz depending on what device I'm currently using annoys me to no end.

After all this, as you may have guessed from the post title, I decided to buy a Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router (WRT54G2), broadcasting at a frequency of 2.4 GHz.

Eh?

Unfortunately, all the simultaneous dual band N routers reviewed in my price range were lacking in some manner -- mostly poor efficiency/speed data transfer while in simultaneous mode. Still, this wouldn't have held me back from buying one, but I began to wonder whether any of my electronics were even compatible with this latest and greatest 5 GHz wireless "N" router technology, let alone being capable of taking advantage of it.

Anywhoo, my primary uses of a wireless router is to connect my Nintendo Wii and PS3, which I learned, after further reading, both operate at 2.4 GHz using "G" protocols/technology. Interesting.

The WRT54G2 is an older router, but the reviews I read were mostly positive; I decided to go with a proven performer rather than a router with all the latest bells and whistles. So far I haven't regretted my decision. Not only has my Nintendo Wii been connecting without fail, but another issue, one I had thought was unrelated to the router, has also been fixed. Thunderbird software on my desktop frequently failed to check/download POP3 e-mail, giving out "unable to connect" error messages for some or all of my e-mail accounts. No more.

The only negative of the WRT54G2 I've experienced is with its MAC filtering. My previous router allowed me to label each MAC address I added eg. "PS3" or "Nintendo" . With the Linksys... no. There's no way I'm going to be able to remember which MAC address is associated with each device. Still, all in all a minor quibble.

Luke Skywalker is a wimp

Luke Skywalker is a wimp. Relatively speaking.

Let's see, in Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker was defeated by Emperor Palpatine. Only via Anakin Skywalker's intervention was Luke saved and the Emperor killed.

Now we have Star Wars: Force Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii -- MAJOR SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW -- with the main character Starkiller.

Starkiller, if you complete the game, ends up defeating both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine in turn. See that? That's how it's done, Luke.

Oh yeah, speaking of the game, what's with the extreme don't kill the Emperor, Palpatine is already defeated moronicity. Starkiller won't kill Palpatine because even though he's just killed hundreds of stormtroopers on his way there, executing Palpatine would be wrong. What's up with that?

What were they planning on doing?! We'll let the defeated Palpatine live as we escape the Death Star, so that we can officially form the Rebel Alliance who's prime directive is to oppose the Galactic Empire led by... Palpatine.... Eh?

Star Wars: Force Unleashed

I was really looking forward to Star Wars: Force Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii. What could be better than the Wii's motion sensor controls combined with swinging a lightsaber? Perhaps my expectations were too high but nevertheless Force Unleashed failed to meet them. Don't misunderstand. I'm glad I purchased this game. It's just that Force Unleashed could have been so much more.

Force Unleashed takes place in the period between Episodes III and IV. You play as Darth Vader's apprentice ordered to hunt down Jedi. Faces from the movies show up in parts, which is kind of neat.

When I think of Star Wars I think of epics and inherent in that is time, as in the passing of. My major gripe with Force Unleashed is that it's disappointingly short. Wonderful, engaging story. But too beeping short. I finished it in less than eight hours. Maybe I've been spoiled with the classics, Twilight Princess (72 hours) and Okami (60 hours). Stars and stones, even Lego Star Wars was 25 hours.

Another problem with Force Unleashed is the graphics. I didn't buy a Wii expecting PS3 graphics, but I do expect the absence of jagged straight lines.

Gameplay is fine. There's nothing quite like swinging a lightsaber around or throwing stormtroopers around using the Force. Still, some of the different Force techniques are difficult to execute. I'd wave the remote/nunchuk around and press buttons as instructed but success felt haphazard and random. I ended up using only two Force powers regularly (Force Push and Lightning) because they were the most efficient powers I could use confidently. Perhaps I just need practice with the others techniques.

The Star Wars franchise lends a mystique to any game it places its name on. Star Wars gets bonus points just for being Star Wars. Still, if Force Unleashed instead of occurring in the Star Wars universe was a sword and sorcery deal I'm not so sure I'd have bought the game. Despite the multiple Force powers minion and boss battles are very simplistic. It's pretty much hack'n slash with Force powers thrown in. Bosses have no weaknesses to look for. Rush up to the boss, swing your lightsaber and wait for the finishing sequence (where you wave the remote/nunchuk when prompted to deal significant damage).

Finishing sequences bring up another quibble. In order to get the timing right, it was difficult for me to concentrate on what was happening on the screen. I'd concentrate on looking at the remote/nunchuk prompts and miss out on the actual action on screen.

Another thing that makes battles, especially long ones, a little boring is the way the game designers worked out death. Actually, I'm of two minds of how they implemented it. If Starkiller (your character) dies you simply respawn with no significant consequences, except for a boss regaining only a slight portion of health. Minions you've killed stay dead, areas you've cleared are still completed. Starkiller can die as many times as you want.

Why am I of two minds? First, I'm glad the designers handled death the way they did because as I said fights are hack'n slash. Bosses have no vulnerabilities to look for, so I sometimes needed multiple respawns to get by a boss. If I had had to defeat some bosses with one life, starting completely over if I respawned, then it would have become irritatingly frustrating. Second, I lost my fear of Starkiller dieing. Dead? Who cares? Getting shot from behind? I don't care. Health bar almost empty? Heh, instead of looking for healing I'll just go ahead and charge that platoon of stormtroopers.

Although I've talked about a lot of negatives in Force Unleashed, as I said before I'm glad I bought this game. It's Star Wars. I get to swing a lightsaber. It has a great (albeit short) story. If you're a Star Wars fan, definitely buy it. If not, you might consider giving this one a pass.

Okami

After 55-60 hours of playing time, I recently finished Okami for the Nintendo Wii. Okami is a great game, definitely a keeper along with Twilight Princess.

The first thing that struck me when playing Okami was the art: watching grass and flowers bloom as you restore a cursed, blackened land is a treat.

The incorporation of the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii remote into the game is very well done. One of the key actions in the game is using brush techniques -- you use the Wii remote like a paint brush eg. paint a line across an enemy to damage it, paint a circle around a tree to make it bloom or in the sky to make the sun appear, paint in a broken bridge to make it whole.

I guess I'd describe Okami as an adventure game in an ancient Japan-like setting. The story is based heavily on Japanese mythology. You play a god-wolf trying to literally restore the land from evil. The artwork is such so that it's like you're reading through an ancient scroll with the story and pictures drawn out in front of you. As the wolf runs you see flowers bloom at her feet; when she jumps maple leaves scatter.

Battles are interesting but ultimately not too tough. I never died during the game (through the use of many healing aids) but I came close. Okami is fun because of how the brushwork is smoothly incorporated into fights and for the need to figure out an opponent's weakness.

So... Okami has great game play, wonderful art, and an intriguing story. What more could you possibly want?

The final battle and conclusion to the game were emotionally satisfying. This is the first time a game has made me (almost!) tear up. The game developers also left avenues for an obvious sequel. Unfortunately, I've read that the Okami developers are no longer in business. I guess it will be up to good sales to determine whether another company takes up the Okami mantle. I'm crossing my fingers.

Aside: I might not finish Resident Evil 4; RE4 has been relegated to "if I have nothing else to play" status. I don't have enough ammunition to finish a particular boss fight and going back to repeat chapters in order to conserve ammunition lacks a certain appeal.

Resident Evil 4: Wii edition

This is just a mid-game comment on Resident Evil 4: Wii edition. I purchased this game in the first glow of my Nintendo Wii, along with a bunch of other games with good ratings (Twilight Princess, Lego Star Wars, Metroid Prime 3). Well, as Resident Evil 4's turn came up, the glow had long since worn off and I began to grow wary.

Generally I don't do well with suspense and horror, and Resident Evil 4 has that in spades. Another worry was whether the game was a 1st person shooter; I get dizzy and headaches playing those. Fortunately, RE4 is played mostly in the 3rd person, like Twilight Princess, so I only get a low-grade but bearable headache when playing. I decided to give RE4 a try before deciding whether or not to keep it.

The first time I tried it (and presently I'm still in the middle of Chapter 1) I was mobbed by not-zombies and quickly ran out of ammunition. This happened multiple times. When Leon's (the character you play) head was chopped off by a chainsaw-wielding not-zombie seemingly immune to bullets, I freaked out. Hey, I already said I can't handle horror! Anywhoo, I decided that this game was not for me and resolved not to play it again.

Time mutes fear, however. There were aspects of the game I really enjoyed. I looked online for hints as to how to avoid Leon's impersonation of a headless chicken. I tried playing RE4 again, and now I'm going to play until I complete it.

Why? I've become a little used to the not-zombies (familiarity breeds contempt?). I realized that it's okay to run away. I'm not fleeing in panic (really!), I'm defeating not-zombies in detail. The game play is smooth (I guess I'm still expecting pauses and lock-ups as with PC games), and it's unexpectedly satisfying to use modern-day weapons and not primitive weapons like in Twilight Princess, or futuristic ones like in Lego Star Wars. The vast majority of games I've played are RPGs like AD&D, swords and sorcery. In RE4 you use pistols and shotguns and grenades. Guns just feel more weighty. More oomph. More real. Visceral.

Hearing the crack of guns firing, spinning around to check your back, jumping through windows, over fences, and kicking down doors, the spooky atmosphere, involving story and more all combine to create a wonderful game play experience. And don't forget the running. Lots and lots of running (see 2nd paragraph, 1st sentence). Lots.

Thank the stars not-zombies are slow.

42LG30

Well, I finally succumbed. I'd been telling myself to hold off on buying a flatscreen television because there's a significant possibility I'll be moving at the end of the year. I don't watch that much t.v. and my 24-26" CRT was working fine. I managed to hold out for more than year when I saw what I think is a pretty good deal at Circuit City, which was selling a 42LG30 for $100 cheaper than Best Buy, and $200 lower than the regular price.

The 42LG30 is a 42" LCD 720p flat screen television, with 3 HDMI inputs, 2 component inputs, 2 RCA inputs, and has received positive reviews from both professional reviewers and customers. The reviews along with the price are what contributed to my decision -- without either I wouldn't have purchased it. Despite my post regarding the U.S. economic stimulus package, honestly the stimulus never crossed my mind until a day or two after I'd placed the 42LG30 special order.

It's been a little over a week since the t.v. was delivered and so far and I'm glad I made the purchase. Standard signals are definitely substandard when compared to my old television. Though I've already gotten used to it so I don't notice it so much anymore. My old t.v. of course is smaller, so there's less detail but smoother pictures. The 42LG30 is larger, so pictures are bigger and hence show more detail, which, as I said, on a standard signal initially looked sub-par -- especially faces. But again, it's no longer so distracting once I got a little used to it.

I might say more about HD picture quality later, after I finally have some HD channels setup. The over the air HD signals in my area are limited to the major networks and PBS. Unfortunately, I don't watch those channels, except perhaps for the news, so I'm waiting for Comcast (ugh) to hook me up with digital and HD service.

I haven't tested how my DVDs look, yet. I really should do that.

Games on my Nintendo Wii look better -- I can see different coloured grass layed out in grids on Wii Sports, whereas previously the grass was just an uniform mass. Mii close-ups don't look as smooth, but that may be because I'm sitting slightly too close to the television -- 42" is a little big for my living room layout, which I knew when I bought it, but I figure after I end up moving it might turn out to be too small. :o)

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

When I was debating whether or not to buy a game console, the chance to play Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga was a significant plus. After finishing Twilight Princess I immediately plunged into Lego Star Wars, and after 20-25 hours of playing time I completed the story portion of the game. If I was motivated, trying to complete the game in free play mode would extend playing time considerably.

It's fun. Easier than I expected due to limitless lives, but over all pretty good. Seeing Chewbacca rip the arms off a stormtrooper for the first time was hilarious. Wha-- did Chewie do what I think he did?! Stomping on 'troopers with an AT-ST is pretty fun, too. :o) The puzzles are for the most part modest, though there were a few that were a pain because I had no idea what to do in order to move on (Hint: on Hoth, straight south and use a mine).

When I try to come up with a comparison all I can think of is Mario in space, and as I've never touched a Mario game take it for what it's worth.

My Mario ignorance may soon be over. After I start and finish Resident Evil 4 (assuming game play doesn't make me dizzy) it's either Mario Kart (assuming I can find a copy) or Okami (which has also received rave reviews). Heck, I'll most likely end up buying both; it's just a question of in which order.

HDMI cables

I was looking at flatscreen televisions at Circuit City last week, and a salesman tried to get me to buy some Monster HDMI cables... for $69.99!? I'd need the HDMI cables to connect a digital cable box to the television, but... $69.99!?

Fortunately, I seemed to recall my brother having bought HDMI cables for much less, so I held off on a purchase until I could talk to him. I'm very glad I did. MonoPrice.com is an online retailer of cables and accessories with a good reputation. I purchased two 6-ft HDMI cables and a component cable for the Nintendo Wii, all for less than $20 including shipping. The cables arrived nicely packaged, with the ends wrapped in protective foam.

What I find astonishing is that Circuit City only carries Monster brand HDMI cables. Nothing else. They must know they're ripping off ignorant customers. If they don't know, why don't they know?

I've always rooted a little for Circuit City as a competitor to keep Best Buy honest. But after this experience I've perhaps gained a little insight into why Circuit City is doing so poorly. First CompUSA... can Circuit City be far behind?

UPDATE: Hmmm, it's just occured to me that I have no idea whether or not Best Buy sells Monster HDMI cables, or sells more than one brand, and for how much. I'll have to remember to check the next time I'm there.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Wow, I just completed The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Wii. This is a great, if at times frustrating, game, and one that I recommend highly.

Twilight Princess has excellent gameplay, nice graphics, interesting story, and sometimes devious (hence the frustrating part) puzzles; the puzzles, however, always turned out to be logical. No trick questions, here.

It took me 72 hours, 16 minutes, plus an hour or so playing time to complete the game. The variability results from the fact that you can't save games during the final scenes/battles. Well, you can save your game, but when you load it always sends you back to before you meet the final boss. Wangos. When I discovered this tiny relevant fact my frustration level reached an all time high.

Spoilers may follow.

I say "may" follow because I mention things in the game without providing background. So unless you're familiar with Twilight Princess you might have difficulty understanding the context.

Completing Twilight Princess was supremely satisfying. Why? Because I had a heck of the time defeating the final boss in his last iteration. The difficulty stemmed from the fact that despite learning it from the Golden Wolf, I had never mastered the backslice. My success with that technique always seemed random. I jumped and swung my sword, and sometimes it worked but more often not. For myself, getting out of the backslice training session was one of the most difficult parts of the game.

Anywhoo, once I did learn how to perform the backslice on demand, the final boss went down without trouble. It's just a matter of being patient and persevering, since the boss will block you after you get a couple strikes in.

I never collected all the Poes -- there's 60 of them?! I only collected 29.

I think the second Star Game with the double-clawshot is much easier than the first.

The non-speaking lines was novel at first, but after a while I kind of wish they included speaking lines.

I wonder what the maximum number of hearts, is. Is there 10 on the top row? I think I ended up with 14 - 17, then.

There are a lot of mini-games and other stuff I didn't complete. I wish that after you complete the game they'd let you wander around and finish everything.

I'm not sure if I want to replay this game, but I'm mighty tempted; I've been playing on an old dinky 24-26" CRT television. How amazing would it look on a 42" LCD flatscreen?

On to the next game.... :o)

Wii Sports

Much of my leisure time used to be spent playing computer games. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dales, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Civilization -- I played these games over and over. Repeatedly. Again and again.

I'd play it through once, pick a different character, and play it through again until I'd gone through all the character classes. And then I'd find a character trainer and start the entire process once more. Then I'd forget the trainer and try to complete the game without dieing. You get the point -- PC games were supreme and game consoles were for people with money to spare.

This continued until one day it finally sunk in that I had a couple unopened games sitting on my shelf, new games that had been sitting neglected for months. This pretty much finalized the end of my PC game playing days. I spent my leisure hours with other activities.

I'd heard of the Nintendo Wii when it was first released, but at the time I wasn't interested in console games, and my only thought was, Wii is such a stupid name.

Anywhoo, to cut this overly long preamble, after trying my brother's Wii during Christmas holidays I decided to get one myself. The graphics for Wii aren't as nice as other consoles like Playstation or XBox, but I think it's more fun. The Wii remote has motion sensors so its movements are included in the game. For example, to swing a sword or tennis racket you swing the remote. In baseball you swing the remote as if you were holding a bat. In boxing you punch the air while holding the remotes. It's pretty fun.

After much searching I finally found one (I can't believe Wii's are still backordered; how long is it since its launch!?). One of the best things about the Wii is that it comes with Wii Sports (Hurah! I've finally reached the reason for my post title!) -- it has tennis, baseball, golf, bowling, and boxing. My favourites are tennis, baseball, and golf.

There is one thing about tennis that annoys me. I find it very frustrating that I can win a match and still lose "skill points" (when your Mii, the player's avatar, reaches 1000 points the Mii earns "pro" status). Anywhoo, given this puzzling point system, I've been wavering back and forth, above and below the 1000 mark, despite winning all of my matches. Sometimes I swing my racket when I'm no where near the ball, just because. Does this action make me lose skill points? Annoying.