Ain't no party like a Wii U party 'cuz a Wii U party's got Mario. And free food.

This past Sunday my friend Jenny hosted a Nintendo Wii U party. She had been approached by Nintendo to host this party - in exchange they gave her a brand new Nintendo Wii U and catered the event. For free!

Clearly she is a very influential blogger. And if I can't be an influential blogger then at least I can know one and eat their food.

The event was mostly for the kids to play Nintendo and for parents to learn what the new Wii U is all about (and then run out and buy one). But the adults did get plenty of play time in as well.

Although I admit most of my playtime was seen through the amber haze of a beer bottle. That could be said about a lot of what I do, come to think about it.

Emceed by Nintendo's own Chris and Brian, the event introduced us all to the Wii U game system and it's features, playability and new GamePad component.

Our friends' son Elliot broke out his finest suit for the occasion. Which was balanced by the kid in the background who didn't wear a shirt at all.

We played family friendly games like Super Mario Bros. U and Sing Party. Elliot was clearly not impressed by our friend Chris' rendition of Katy Perry's 'Firework.' This dapper young lad's taste in fashion is clearly matched by his taste in music.

I was really hoping Nintendo would bring Arkham City along with them, but they were going for more family friendly and multi-player titles I suppose. Although if they knew MY family, they'd have brought some Batman!

Here everyone is playing Nintendoland. One of the 12 games included in this title is a tag type game wherein the GamePad player runs off and after a few seconds' head start the other four players chase them down and try to tackle them. This game was a lot of fun; when I played it I had the tagee in my sights, until the GamePad player grabbed a star and became invincible! No one told me they could do that!

At the end of their time with us, Chris and Brian gave away a few fun prizes. I won a gift certificate and my step-son won a Wii U cup. Other prizes won included Wii U games and a stuffed Wario.

All in all the event was great fun, and Nintendo's Chris and Brian handled the cacophony of what seemed like a thousand kids in one little room like champions. I'd have liked some time to play with the GamePad myself, but I have to say as a family/party system the Wii U is a blast! We have the standard Wii at home, and play head-to-head games like Mario Kart all the time, but don't generally game as a family or with large groups. Personally I enjoy games that I can play alone and decompress from the world around me long into the night. But if you're not as curmudgeonly as I am and are looking for a game system that brings people together, while still allowing you to play those single player titles (enhanced by the WiiU GamePad of course!) then you can't go wrong with the Wii U.

Special thanks to my newest Toyriffic intern Mary, who took the pics for this post (except for the pic of Elliot the music critic, which was taken by Jenny.)

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Wii U Armored Catwoman first look

I don't know anything about the 'Wii U' but I believe it's the next iteration of Nintendo's Wii (I'm at least THAT smart.)

Anyways, Wii U's version of Arkham City will include all the DLC from previous versions as well as exclusive armored-up versions of Batman and Catwoman. Keen.

"Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition contains all of the content from Batman: Arkham City, including all available downloadable content, and introduces Battle Armored Tech (B.A.T.) Mode and the new Armored Suits for both Batman and Catwoman. Fans can become the Dark Knight like never before with the upgraded battle suit that gives players an additional power-up by allowing them to build kinetic energy during combat.  When activated, players enter B.A.T. mode and dole out more damage than previously possible.

The Wii U GamePad provides instant access to the wrist-mounted Batcomputer throughout the game, allowing players to use the touch screen to seamlessly select objectives, choose their gadget, track forensic evidence, upgrade their gear, detonate explosive gel, and more, all while remaining immersed in the action. Additionally, all gadgets have been reimagined to utilize the power of the GamePad, offering an unprecedented level of accuracy when using the Batarang and scanning for clues. 
The game is scheduled for release holiday 2012"

Hmm, that Wii U Gamepad sounds pretty awesome!

via SuperheroHype.com

Sha-Na-Naur Princess is in Another Castle

OK let's get one thing straight right off the bat:

This is Bowzer:

This is King Koopa:

Now that that is settled...

I'm now one of the lucky toy bloggers to have found the elusive King Koopa K'Nex bagged mini-figure!

King Koopa is shortpacked and very hard to find; he's not blind bagged (his pic is on the pack) so as soon as the one or two per shipment hit the shelf he's gone.

I was lucky to find one today - I would have bought more but one was all I saw - so if there were more and some other collector was nicer than me and left this guy behind, I say 'thank you!'

With the derth of Marios and Luigis and Yoshis in this release, you either get a King Koopa right away or wade through the same three goody two-shoes time and time again because really, do they NEED to order more? No, the shelves are spillin' over with Marios!

Looks like it isn't just me who made a long sought-after find today:

'Daddy?'

TMNT Redux

Although TMNT week has already been left in the past like so much discarded ooze, I realized I have one more favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle "toy" that I completely forgot to mention:


This is the cover for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nintendo game by Ultra. Dig the standardized red mask/belt look! That all changed when the cartoon came out in order to give the turtles more distinct looks.


This game came out in 1989, which is pretty early in the TMNT merchandising juggernaut that we know today. Notice the blurb about the Playmates action figures.


The instructions are ironically (or maybe intentionally) black and white - reminiscent of the original turtle comics which were also published in black and white.


The pictures for the bios of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello look more like their action figure counterparts, with their initials on their belts and their different belts/straps.


"Enemies Galore" - you can tell which characters were from the TMNT comics/toons etc by their "TM" trademark indicators next to their names. I like "Fire Freak - an ex-pyromaniac from Brooklyn."


Mecaturtle's blurb is hilarious - "Appearing like your average turtle," oh yeah...I almost walked right past him he's so non-descript - what with those massive blade hands and all - just like an average turtle!

This Nintendo game really is fun but also extremely complex and difficult. It's not your average beat-em-up game either - with complex maze-like levels, difficult bosses and the ability to switch turtles mid stream for maximum weapon efficiency.

You can play the game directly on your computer at Virtual NES

And here's a video of the game's intro that I pulled off Youtube. Yay laziness!