Outdoor paintball is something that everyone should try. It's intense, it's a great workout, and it's great fun! But how can you get good? It's not as easy as it seems...
This was the first time that I've tried paintball outdoors (indoors sucks in comparison btw) and it's definitely the way paintball should be played. The terrain adds so much to the game. You hide in the grass, run up muddy hills, and jump through ravines in order to find your opponents.
There were 12 different fields to choose from, all with different sizes, obstacles, terrain, and possible objectives. Objectives included normal last team standing, defend the base, bombing run, escort the president, capture the flag, attack the base, and others.
So much variety! It was never boring, and even more fun with friends (to team up with, or to shoot at). Boy was it also tiring. I was totally sweating buckets after every game, partially cause you want to be fully covered so it won't hurt as much when you're hit.
It's a lot of fun, but how can you get good? Well that's the only problem. Why? You need to be ballin' (have lots of money) to play this game regularly.
$45 per bag of 500 paintballs. (which can go by super quick, and no you can't bring your own paintballs) $20 per visit including rentals. ($10 without) Want your own equipment? $300+ for a decent gun. $100+ for camoflauge gear $50 for gloves $100 for a helmet
If I was ballin' I would totally play paintball all the time. Unfortunately I'm not. =P I can live with playing once or twice is year...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Paintball Games: Attack the Base and Escort the President
"Get out the salami and cheese mama this ballgame is ova!"
The first thing I wanna say is that Bryan Colangelo is a freakin' genius! The moves that he's made since coming aboard have turned a team going downhill into a contender.
Jermaine O'Neal is a great player. He's an all-star who can still be a threat on both sides of the floor, and just needs a decent team around him in order to show his true skills.
The Raptors are a perfect fit for him. We have great 3 point scorers that will help spread the floor for him to operate. We have Bosh (also an All-Star) who will be able to move to his more natural 4 spot. We're gonna be a force under the basket!
Now I know they aren't the Twin Towers, but it'll be entertaining to see some of the weaker teams in the East handle us when both of them are on the floor.
And in exchange we lost TJ Ford. I'll admit he's a great scorer, but since two years ago I've thought that Calderon was the better player. Now we don't have to worry about splitting up playing time as Calderon will be the go-to starter. Calderon is a true-point guard who is deceptively quick, has an amazing assist to turnover ratio, and has an excellent shot.
In terms of health, TJ and Jermaine are both players notorious with injuries. So to me it's a wash...
I've always believed that the team that wins the trade is the team that gets the best player. I would take a healthy Jermaine O'Neal any day of the week over a healthy TJ Ford. So in terms of that, "Raptors win, raptors win, raptors win!"
We probably need 1 or 2 more pieces to win a championship, but I have faith that Colangelo will pull another magic act if we're in serious contention.
Now we just gotta figure out how to beat Boston...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Ball Players: Jermaine O'Neal, and NOT Kobe Bryant
I've always thought of poker freerolls as crapshoots. Normally 5000 entrants or more, and only 50 some odd people will make the next round. And then you have to make the cut twice more...
Obviously there's "some" skill involved... Cause Chris Moneymaker was able to win the World Series. (Moneymaker is another topic completely) But all the stars in the sky have to align just right in order to win it all.
So another day, another freeroll entry. This time it's to win a $17000 package to Vegas to meet Daniel Negreanu and get a learning session from him, and $2000 in spending cash. This one's for Canadians only. Check it here.
I couldn't resist cause only 1586 people entered the tournament and 1000 people get a ticket to the semi-final round. Knowing the online poker player syndrome (loose, loose and more loose), I just had to bide my time, and play big hands only.
The tourney started at 8:15pm... Ended at 8:49pm... I played 10 hands out of only 37 hands total lol. I won 4 of those hands I played.
I wish all freerolls were this easy. =P
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Online Poker, Wii Fit
This year's dragon boat races were intense as usual.
I've been involved in this sport since 1996, and I can't believe I've been doing it for this long. But there's something about the competition that keeps me coming back for more. It's one of the fastest growing sports, and I've seen it grow exponentially over the years.
If you don't know what it's about, here's a video from last year. This particular race is held yearly at Centre Island in Toronto Canada. We're in lane 6 and I'm the coxswain (steersperson):
It's been the second year since joining Smokin' Tuna, and they've been very welcoming. A friend of mine had a few extra spots last year, and I expressed interest in steering the boat. (previously I've solely paddled) So I was lucky enough to join their team as a rookie steersman.
They were very patient with me, and despite the few times that I forced the boat to stop cause I was about to lead them into a wall, or the beach, I've done a pretty good job.
It's a tough job, cause you won't hear much in terms of recognition if you're doing well. But if you steer poorly, you'll have 20 people in the boat angry at you. =P Honestly though, it was a lot of fun! I totally lost my voice from all the yelling. "GO! GO! GO! FINISH! EVERYTHING!" is what I was yelling when we were finishing the race. I could barely speak the next day at work...
We were favored to win our division in the final race. And despite a great start, unfortunately we finished 3rd. You can't win them all. But we still got a medal.
It was a great ride this year. Perhaps I'll go back to paddling next year... =)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Games played at Dragon Boating: Hacky Sack, Poker, Frisbee Golf
A few months ago I received a letter and CD in the mail from mansionpoker.com offering me: "$15 FREE CASH - NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED"
It goes on to say that there's no catch and it's an exclusive opportunity blah blah blah... I totally didn't believe it, but I left it on a chair to collect dust.
So recently I found it on the chair again, and decided to give it a go. Now it took me a good 30 minutes after installation to find the area to put in the bonus code, but I actually got $15 for free!
I was reading up on it and saw that it's very stringent before you're allowed to pull your money from Mansion Poker. Apparently they ask for a copy of your passport or driver's license. It's talked about on numerous sites and confirmed on mansion pokers' website here
If I'm able to turn my $15 into $500 then perhaps I'll consider it. =P
Despite my brother's suggestion to make one attempt in the biggest tourney I can afford with the $15, I decided to take the "slow and steady" approach, and take on the limit tables at 5cent/10cent.
After 3 sessions I'm happy to report that I'm up to $18.92! Lol retirement here I come!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Mansionpoker, Wii Fit
I hope you've all tried Acrophobia. It was definitely the most addictive word game I've ever played. Way better than Word Racer ever was...
I remember being introduced to the game and being instantly hooked. My cousins and I have had 5 computers going in the same house playing Acrophobia against each other and the rest of the room.
I beg anyone who can, please please bring the game back.
There have been plenty of imitators, but nothing duplicated the sounds and feel of this version of the game. Describing it doesn't do it justice, so check out this memorial site here: http://www.kabwebs.com/acrophobiashrine/
And apparently after doing some research, someone IS trying to bring it back! http://www.originalacro.com/ It doesn't look like it's working as of yet, but here's hoping...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Wii Fit, Halo 3
I was quite surprised when I heard the good news. My Wii is in from repair!
And it came back a week sooner than I expected!
One thing to note is that all of my game downloads and channels were gone, but upon inspection of the shopping channel, all my games are freely downloadable. I was hoping that they'd give me my points back so that I could purchase different games, but that deal would be too good.
The second thing I noticed was that all my Mii's are no longer editable. It definitely sucks but at least I didn't lose them all. (Yay Jordi Laforge and David Susuki Mii's) All in all a good day... Except that I have to start over on unlocking everything in Wii Fit. (I was using my friends' Wii) At least I have a Wii age of 24 now woot!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Wii Fit, Online Poker
When I look back on Wii Sports, I think about the continuous hours of fun that my friends and I could have with only a handful of games. Could Wii Fit balance games bring the same fun factor? It will be a tall task.
Soccer Heading is fun minigame. However, like a lot of the games on Wii Play, they're more for show. They don't have the lasting factor that will keep you coming for more. On top of that, in terms of exercise, it's not really beneficial in that way either.
Ski Slalom is a great game! I completely understand why Wii Ski came out. Even though it was such a quick minigame, it was engaging, it was frustrating, it was responsive, and it felt like skiing.
Ski Jump is also very enjoyable. I found myself going back for more, trying to beat my score. My gf's calves were hurting the next day from all the ski jumping she did.
Table Tilt is my favorite game of all the balance games. Unfortunately it ended too fast... Conclusions: There's some Wii Play-esque type stuff here. There's some fun stuff but will I be playing them in a year? Unless I'm showing it to friends who haven't seen it, probably not.
I believe that it wouldn't be fair to base my review on only the first few hours, but probably at least a month of play. If I am able to lose weight or get stronger, it would definitely affect my perception of the game.
So far, my feeling is that the game is not for everyone. But if you were willing to buy a Wii in the first place, then you're willing to buy into innovative ideas. You might like it after all...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Wii Fit, DDR, Halo 3
Ahh... The infamous Aerobics exercises that I've heard about. (Particularly the Hula Hoop)
Two words for Hula Hoop. Fun and hilarious! Not only is it fun to play, but just watching people play is fun! On top of all that, it's amazing how well girls do at this game. =)) Here's the 4 million view video:
Being a fan of DDR, I didn't have much expectations for Basic Step... And boy was I right. It's boring and feels unresponsive. The song is quite repetitive, and it was waaay too easy for me. Hopefully the Advanced version of step has more to offer.
The Basic Run was a pleasant surprise. Sometimes the run wasn't responsive, but the scenery brought me into it, and seeing my Mii friends running around was a nice touch. I found myself running as close as possible to the screen in order to immerse myself. Real runners will cringe at this activity though. Also make sure you hold on to the Wii in your pocket, cause it fell out of pocket onto the ground a few times.
2P Basic run is the same thing, but with two people. Depending on who you play with, you'll end up racing, and rolling numerous times. =)
Conclusions: 2 fun games out of 3 ain't bad. I wonder how the boxing game is...
I was very excited about the strength training. I've never been motivated to do strength training in the past. Perhaps Nintendo could motivate me.
5 activities were initially available. (probably because I unlocked it during yoga)
1. Single-leg extensions They were easy enough. I didn't feel that much resistance though.
2. Push-ups and side plank I was impressed with this exercise. It recognized when I did the movements, which is important. Also, I could see myself being motivated to do this again. And I was actually getting into a sweat.
3. Torso Twist Another simple exercise that doesn't have as much to do with strength as it does with balance.
4. Jackknife This is a variation on a sit-up. When I watched the demo, I realized that you can totally cheat on this exercise and it would think you're doing it. You basically lie beside the balance board and place your feet on it. To the time of the whistle, you lift your feet and do the sit-up variation. I did them for real, and obviously I could feel my abs working. However, if you can't get over the fact that the board has very limited use in this exercise, you'll cheat, or at the very least you won't be motivated to do it again.
5. Lunge Great exercise. I felt the burn with this activity. I could see myself being motivated to do this again.
Conclusions: You can definitely get a good workout with some of these exercises (pushups, jackknife, and lunges), as long as you can motivate yourself to do it, and NOT cheat.
I'm normally pretty open to trying new things, but I was sure that Yoga wouldn't be my favorite part of the game. However, I've tried yoga with the gf at home once, and I'll admit that it was very relaxing, almost too relaxing... To the point of falling asleep.
When the screen loads, there's only 4 poses to start. The first exercise, Deep Breathing, is relaxing... But in the back of my head I was thinking that this better not count as one of the 40 activities.
The real highlight of the first 4 activities for me is the tree pose. The first time I did it, I nearly fell off the board. Needless to say, the Tree Pose is tough for a yoga noob.
Obviously you can guess that the gf beat me on every yoga activity.
Something to note. Switching out between profiles seems like a chore. Conclusions: For guys: You probably won't enjoy the Yoga. For girls: It's relaxing, and you'll probably kick guys asses at it.
Being Smarter Than the Average Bear, I realized that some of our friends haven't touched their Nintendo Wii's in a long time. So a phone call l8r and I have a Wii until I get it mine back from repair! Woot!
When the Wii arrives, I'm totally ready... This should only take a minute to start right? Hell no...
I totally didn't realize how long it takes to set up. First I gotta hook it up. Then I turn the Wii on. Then I realize I need to sync the remotes. I sync the remotes, and the Wii Board. Then I turn on the Wii, and it tells me I need to do a Wii System Update. *a few grueling minutes l8r*
Ok it's go time! I load up Wii Fit. Omg the Wii System Time is wrong...
*another few minutes l8r*
Aw crap my Mii's aren't on this Wii. I load it up from the saves from my remote (luckily).
*another few minutes l8r*
After several screens, verifying my birthday, and setting a password (which I realize is pretty pointless), its finally time for the Body Test.
*measuring... measuring... measuring... All done!*
My Wii Age is 37! Boo! At least I'm in the normal BMI range (though not by much).
I'm sure there are many people out there that feel really dumb not to pre-order Wii Fit. Guess what? It's been sold out everywhere and unless you want to bay $50 more on Ebay you weren't going to get one for a while.
I've been checking the stores constantly...
I went to Best Buy a few times (always sold out) and they said that last Friday morning, they had 150 units come in. Unfortunately they had 300 people line up that morning. So 150 people went home unhappy... Best Buy says check on Fridays.
I went to Future Shop a few times (always sold out) and they said to come in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They were all very helpful though, which is nice.
I went to The Source a few times (always sold out) and they have no idea when they get their shipments. Apparently they only received 2 copies of the game in their last shipment. (very sad) Also, the sales reps that I spoke too seemed very annoyed (obviously by the amount of times he's been asked the question). Hopefully for the store's sake it was just that sales rep.
Despite the unlikeliness, I went to HMV, hoping it was there. Of course it wasn't, and he said that every shipment that has come in never made it to the shelves cause ppl were there waiting for the copies to come out the door.
I thought about going into the Sony Store and asking if they had Wii Fit... I chuckled and moved on.
I've been to EB Games three times. The first two times with no success.
But the third time was the charm... A friend and I walked in, and he asked the obvious question. No was the reps reply... Grrr...
When are you expecting more asks my friend? "Well lucky for you a Purolator shipment is scheduled to come in in 90 minutes."
No f 'in way!
I looked at my friend, knowing he had to leave soon, and I said "l8r man I'm sticking around!" And I was immediately on the phone, calling a friend to head over since he wanted a copy. Luckily for me I was the only one in the store looking for the game. (I think the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 had something to do with it)
So I stood there... And chatted it up with the rep. What he didn't know was that I wanted a 2nd copy to give as a gift. At the same time, my friend might not make it in time. I had to hedge my bets and try to pick up 3 copies... He turned out to be a really nice guy.
He told me that he's become desensitized by the amount of times he's heard the same question, every time there's a big release. I suggested putting up Sold Out signs. Apparently they've tried that... People will miss the sign completely, or will literally look at the sign, read it, and ask, "So it really IS sold out?" That probably would piss me off even more. =P So eventually he allowed me to take two copies.
40 minutes l8r the shipment arrives. They were expecting 15 copies, but the shipment only had 10. After being on the phone a final time (in front of the rep), I knew my friend wasn't going to make it in time. I guess he was feeling awfully generous, but he allowed me to pick up a third copy (using another credit card). Is it worth all the hype? I dunno yet... I haven't got my Wii back from repair! But what I do know is that the gf is excited, and I'm all for any games that she wants to play as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: DDR, Halo 3, Soon to be Wii Fit
I wish video problems didn't bother me, but this one was too obvious to miss.
I've been playing Mario Kart (as usual), and I noticed some pixelation issues. I was getting vertical pixels, on every screen, for any game. =/
*ring ring* (me) Hi I'm getting vertical pixelation issues on every screen. (me) I suspect that there's something wrong with the video card (nintendo rep) Alright can I get your Wii serial number pls?
*gives number* (nintendo rep) Well you no longer have the system on warranty. (nintendo rep) You can send it in for repair, but it will cost you $75. (nintendo rep) And it could take 11-15 business days to solve the problem
Doh $75!? 11-15 days? I decided that the $75 was a better price then buying a new one. But now that the Wii's gone, I'm finding myself wondering what I'm going to do.
Should I start playing poker again? Should I start practicing the guitar again? Should I play more DDR again? Perhaps I should start looking for Wii Fit again?
Probably a little bit of all of that.
I did some googling and found that 2% of Wii's have this problem, and would eventually degrade over time.
Here's a Youtube link of the problem:
I also suspect that leaving the Wii on standby is a BAD idea. My gf and I recall that the Wii can get very hot when left in standby. The fan doesn't seem to turn on when its on standby... And that's probably why the video card has problems.
WORDS OF WISDOM: Turn your Wii completely off (power light changes to Red) every time you stop playing. It may prevent video card degradation...
We'll see how much I can accomplish in the next few weeks... It'll probably be as productive as when I stopped playing Everquest and World of Warcraft.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Temporarily NOT Mario Kart Wii
DDR is old news to most of us... But there are still people out there that haven't even heard of it. I'm not surprised, since there's still plenty of people in the world that can't get on the internet if the E (Internet Explorer) icon isn't on the desktop. But I don't judge... I only want to impart my enjoyment of games to others. =)
So if you have friends over and you want to introduce them to the game. What should you do? Well its more complicated than it seems. If you demonstrate the game in the wrong way, then they'll get turned off, frustrated, or think youre having a flailing seizure. Or worse:
So here's my patented way of weening people into the game.
Pre-Game Make sure you're wearing outer and undergarments that will keep all your "goods" in place. You wouldn't want your flabbage to be the cause of turning them off from the game.
Rule #1: Dont show them the most difficult level you can do... Yes you've just passed Maxx Unlimited on heavy after a million tries. But have you ever watched yourself look like a tard while doing it? It should be obvious that when you're pushing yourself you usually have less body control.
I've made this mistake to a friend, who has said to this day that it was the most unattractive sight he's ever seen of me... The first (and only) song I've shown him was Rhythm and Police (9 Foot Heavy). I was ready... I stretched a little... I focused in... The song starts, and I was going through the motions, kicking ass. Finished with an A rank I believe. Then I turn to him and he has a furrowed brow, and he's obviously thinking that I'm a freak. That's when I realized that I single-handedly turned him off from the game in one fell swoop...
Rule #2: Pick a song that they're somewhat familiar with I.E. don't pick RevenG Bag as the first song to show them... Your goal is for their brain receptors to connect DDR with enjoyment. So do yourself a favor and pick one of the popular songs that you have actually heard on the radio. Some good suggestions are Sandstorm, Busy Child, I Like to Move it or Days Go By.
Rule #3: Try your best to make it look like youre dancing The game IS called Dance Dance Revolution, so you may as well attempt to dance. It's much easier if you pick the light or standard version of the song you've chosen. Then embellish a little, bop your head, move your hands a little, don't be stiff. If there isn't a step for a four count, you can move your foot back to the middle, cause it looks smoother
Rule #4: Have Fun This time around, don't try to get a good cardio workout Just enjoy the songs, and that should come across with the person you're demonstrating it to.
Good luck! And in the words of Body Break with Hal Johnson and Joanne McCloud: Keep Fit and Have Fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Mario Kart Wii, DDR, Halo 3
I've been playing Mario Kart Wii constantly for the past few weeks. It has totally cut into my other gaming time.
I stopped playing Super Smash Brothers immediately after getting the game. I haven't played guitar since I got the game. I haven't been playing online poker. I haven't been playing DDR (and am feeling much fatter)
Am I addicted to Mario Kart? Definitely.
How do I know? Other than actual playing time, I've won every cup in the game... TWICE! Going through the game the first time makes sense... I wanted to unlock everything. So I did... Including unlocking Rosalina without having a Mario Galaxy save on my system. (it's possible)
Then some people come over while I'm away, play using my save (cause it has everything), lose some points in my online score (sucks), and try using a remote and nunchuck to play. (suckier)
I've always taken pride in the fact that my wheel percentage was at 100%... I love rocking people online even though they're using a controller. (a happy 7263 rating) Why would I wanna "cheat" by using a controller when most of the appeal of the wii installment comes from the fact that you can "drive" your vehicles now? At least that's my philosophy...
So when I checked my stats and saw wheel percentage down to 94%, I felt like my save was tainted. =P
So being the addicted gamer I am, I decided to leave that saved game for guests, and start over with my own save...
Hopefully I'll see you online (and beat you while youre using a controller)... >)
6849 VR rating and rising
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart Wii, and Halo 3 on weekends
Outdoor paintball is something that everyone should try. It's intense, it's a great workout, and it's great fun! But how can you get good? It's not as easy as it seems...
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