Games Cheats and Reviews

This week we are going to explore a life-sized Mario experience, Pac-Man cufflinks and a plate that asks that age old question…..WTF?

Good morning and welcome to another Lexi’s List! This week, some gamer inspired greeting cards and postcards! There is something for everyone on your list!

First up…a pack of Neon Geek Heart Cards!

Check out this creation from CandySpotting on Etsy.com! This pack of 6 cards are sure to impress the recipients. These laser cut cards are created from heavy card stock in a variety of colors to suit any occasion! Shiny envelopes are included. Click the photo for more information.

Need to express your true feelings? Look no further than this card!

Your significant other may appreciate your willingness to give up your super fast internet (until they read that *for the weekend disclaimer). These hand-drawn designs are printed on 300gsm linen cards. Check out the variety of cards offered by AbleAndGame on Etsy, you won’t be disappointed!

The third card on our list will take your relationship to the next level!

This card, laser cut on  red card stock, layered on top of textured white paper, will demonstrate to your sweetheart that you love them more than gaming! Or at least, gaming on the XBox. This is a 100% original design, created by StoreyShop on Etsy. Click the picture for more!

Last but certainly not least….Pretty Fly For A Shy Guy Postcard!

Let’s face it, this is way cooler than some beach scene printed on a Hawaiian postcard. Send this to your friends and loved ones while on your own epic Mario-esque adventure. Featuring rounded corners and printed on 140 lb post consumer recycled card stock, Nerdnook includes 4 postcards for your sending pleasure!

That’s the List for this week! See you next Monday!

<3 Lexi

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

Japanese retailer Neowing provided a little bit of information as to how the newly announced power-up Cloud Mario will work.

A new Nintendo DSi bundle will be gracing store shelves on April 25, 2010.  Yes, we know the DSi XL is out now.  Keep in mind that Nintendo promoted the DS Lite in a new color and game package when the DSi was first introduced.

The new DSi bundle will come with a white DSi along with Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story.  This new DSi bundle will retail for $169.99.  That is the cost of a normal DSi for those out of the pricing loop.  If you are considering getting a DSi, you might want to wait until this bundle hits the shelves.  A free game is a free game!  It is even a decent free game to boot.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

Gamervision’s Coop theorizes… "But she’s the original!" you’re going to say, "she is Mario’s love!" Listen, I’m not going to say either of those are wrong, that’s not what I’m here to do. Princess Peach is all right, I suppose, if you’re into that sort of thing. However, there’s another Princess in the world, and she’s currently in the shadow of the aforementioned Peach. It’s Daisy, and she should be the star of every "Mario" game ever. Don’t understand why? Here are ten reasons, whittled down from a list we’ve come up with that numbers in the hundreds of thousands, why Daisy is better than Peach.

7. There’s isn’t a Mediocre Game Based on Her

Super Princess Peach isn’t a bad game, per say, just not a good game. For her image, though, it was a big blow. It portrayed her as an emotional monster, and can’t have left her feeling good about herself. All in all, Peach is zero for one when it comes to being the star. Daisy, on the other hand, has a flawless record. Completely and utterly flawless.

DualShockers writes: "I was looking through some of the stuff I caught on my camera and discovered a pretty awesome piece of footage. It’s the Video Game Orchestra playing a Mario medley. Unfortunately, I missed the first few seconds and the final few seconds of the piece, but it is still something I wanted to share with you all.

They also played a medley for Yoshi, Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, the Final Fantasy VII Battle theme, a very metal version of Castlevania music, and Snake Eater. I think that’s all of them. I wrote down all the pieces they played on my phone, but my phone crashed on me, because of how awesome the list was."

GB writes: "Up for grabs at Ebay, this Mario Pendant is covered in gold and diamonds. Well the cost will make your pockets burn. This pendant is priced at a mammoth $2600."

The source and their community voted for the most sexy and awesome 120 gaming-tattoos ever. Some of the gamers got fantastic tattoos like "Mario" or "Sonic". Some of the gamers have "Bioshock" or "Halo" on their skin. Even girl-gamers have some sexy tattoos like oldschool "NES"-Controller. The pictures are published in a very comfortable gallery. The gallery has been updated with more than 30 new pictures since the last update a few month ago.

Mario's weekend job

There is a longstanding stereotype that gamer’s are lazy. For years, many of us have been fighting this unfair label and have largely proven that gamers work just as hard as anyone else. We don’t go around calling avid readers or knitters lazy, so why should we stand by when we are labeled as such. Nevertheless, there is one area in which many of us are lazy, and we have to change it. For some reason, many gamers tend to rely on marketing and media to tell us if an upcoming game will be good, rather than expend the time and effort to do some research on our own.

Really quite boring

According to data from the GfK Chart-Track, reported by Games Industry, Aliens vs. Predators is now the fastest selling game of 2010. Really? Obviously, with Halo Reach and WoW: Cataclysm releasing this year the data will change, but we’ve had Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect both release this year, and AVP has beat them both out. The real reason this shocks me is because AVP is the most boring game I have ever played. The controls were fine, and the graphics were decent, but it bored the hell out of me and most people to whom I have spoken on the subject agree.

Not as cool as it looks

You see, the problem is that we get so enamored by brand recognition and pre-rendered cut scenes, that we do not take the time to look into a game. Last year one of the darlings of the industry, Bethesda, released a horribly done game (author’s opinion) entitled Rogue Warrior. As it was only published by Bethesda, I have often wondered if anyone there actually played the game when it came up from the publisher. Game Informer gave it a 1.5 out of 10. However, when I saw the beautifully rendered cut scene that was used for the commercial, I thought the game was going to be amazing. Nevertheless, I chose to do some research as the game neared release and began to realize that it was going to be bad. To prove it to myself, I rented the game, and it was very bad.

The developers are not going to stop trying to get us to buy their crappy games, so it is on us to pay attention to the industry, do some research, and stop buying in to the hype. Some games are destined to be good. We all knew that Mass Effect 2 would not fail. No game is destined to be good. If we want things to change, we must be willing to kill our darlings. For example, I have been waiting for Heavy Rain for four years. I have anticipated it more than any other game ever. I am very lucky that it has turned out to be good. However, I did my research over the years, followed the insider previews, gameplay trailers, and played the demo. Had those things started looking bad, I would have killed my darling. The more we condone the actions of publishers release bad games with good marketing, the more they are going to do it. The principle is simple, and it is one that can apply to all aspects of our lives: we must think for ourselves so that we are not taken advantage of.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

When Mario and Donkey Kong aren’t being controlled by millions of you, they are just like any other couple of pals. Laying back and having a Brewski.