Yeah I know this is a video game site but I was thinking the other day about some of the great gatherings I have had with family and friends. Most of the memorable ones included some sort of board game or card game everyone could play.

Some of the games have included Cranium, Canasta (spelling), various card games, marbles (like sorry) and recently even a game of Pirate Dice !

After thinking about this for a bit I thought it might be interesting to see what some of my fellow gamers have played and liked. Are there games that you have not played that you would like to try ?

I have played other games than just the ones that are mentioned above but those are the ones that came to mind first.

Yes I have been looking forward to getting my 360 back and playing with my friends again but when I recieved it back from the repair center there was a note attached telling me that they did not fix it and that they would not fix it even if I payed to have it fixed myself ! The reason for this is because it is a referb from Gamestop so according to Microsoft it has been tampered with.

I had no idea I would get this response

The next question that I am faced with is what to do next ? If it was working I could trade it in and put some money with it and get a new one. I could also try and fix it myself and see how that goes too. What do my fellow gamers think would be the best way to go ?

Its a paper wieght as of now and not an attractive one at that

Well it has happened to me as I thought it might. Yes I am refering to the RROD on my 360.

I turned it on tonight to play some Halo 3 with my friends at it made a funny noise and then it gave me a ligh show. Lol

I am not sure what the failure rate is for sure but between all of my friends that have them I would have to say its about 90%

I only have one friend that has not had it happen to him. Most have had it happen more than once and that to me is the scary part. No I did not buy mine it was a gift from some big hearted friends of mine.

The 360 may have some good games but the hardware is junk !

If you are like me I love to watch and read what is going on in the video game industry and since the launch of the Wii with its pack in game Wii Sports many including myself could see this idea being expanded. How it would be expanded was the question and with Wii Fit we see one of the expansions with more to come I'm sure.

As most of you know the idea behind Wii Fit is to help make you more Fit wheather its your balance or your cardio or your strength its purpose is to help you improve yourself. Oh yeah I almost forgot something very important about Wii Fit and that is Nintendo wants to make getting more fit fun ! Lets face it to some including myself getting fit can be work and somewhat boring.

Will Nintendo achive its goal in making fitness fun ? I think after reading some hands on with Wii Fit Nintendo may have done what it set out to do. Not only does it sound fun but according to Matt Casamassina over at IGN " Whether you want to refer to it as a game or an exercise program, you will eventually have to concede, as I have, that it's the real deal. It'll give you a work out. You will sweat. Your heart will move. And you might just wake up sore the next day."

I know there alot of people that love Guitar Hero 3 for Wii and Mom's and Dad's don't mind the non violent music game as long as it does'nt get too loud. I think Wii Fit has a chance to be even more popular because not only will it appeal to all those that like Wii sports but it has the potintial to appeal to those who are more serious about getting fit too. I also think that most parents want to see thier childer get up off the couch and Wii Fit will do that. It could be one of those items that you buy for the Kids but in the back of your mind you are the one who really wants to try it out. Considering all the possible reasons to buy Wii Fit I think it may out sell Guitar Hero 3 for Wii ! What do you think ?

No question about it Nintendo is really behind the times as far as on-line goes. No voice chat even with friends ? I mean you could make a case for no voice chat with people you don't know but with people on your friends list thats just short sighted to say the least. I think even the DS has some voice communication before and after a match in Metroid Hunters !

I honestly thought that since they were so far behind with the on-line stuff for the cube that they would really step it up for the Wii but they don't even have what PS2 had last gen !

I'm not making excuses any more for Nintendo's lack of on-line options it just sucks for those of us that have now been introduced to more well rounded on-line experiances cough***Live***cough.

Nothing is perfect but Nintendo does'nt even seem to be trying.

What do you think ?

by Andrew Yoon Feb 21st 2008 4:44PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, GDC
At a GDC press conference, Insomniac Games (responsible for Ratchet & Clank and Resistance: Fall of Man on PS3) has announced a ground breaking initiative to open up their technologies for the development community at large. Through the "Nocturnal Initiative," Insomniac Games is attempting to break the common development practice of keeping technological advances a close-guarded secret. As they noted, "developers spend resources solving problems that have already been solved."

A public site (nocturnal.insomniacgames.com) will give developers access to various parts of Insomniac source code. Libraries have already been made available, with more on the way. Through a Wiki-****interface, Insomniac hopes that they will allow everyone to "make better games."

The tools available will obviously work on PS3, but because it is a PC-based environment, should work on Xbox 360 as well. Joystiq will be chatting with Insomniac shortly. Stay tuned.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-insomniac-opens-up-to-dev-community-with-nocturnal/

This is a very cool offer on Insomniacs part. Not only do they make some of the best games out there but they are willing to help others elevate thier games aswell.