Category Archives: Gaming Corner

The Wii, Return of The Jodi, and some Homebrew…

I’ve read for over a year about how a Wii owner could install a Homebrew Channel and install custom, non-Nintendo software on the Wii and also run games from a USB stick or hard drive.  As of today, I finally took the plunge.  The kids have a copy of Lego Star Wars for the Wii, and that was my key to unlocking the Wii and a whole new gain on functionality.  Through a modified game save file, referred to as Return Of The Jodi, you gain access to an installer which kicks in and opens the door to the installation and customization through various system patches and modifications.  With any “unauthorized” modification, you always risk “bricking” the Wii, but the modifications I used were relatively safe, and work well.

In the coming weeks, I will outline some of the new goodies I’ve found for the Wii.  From emulators to media player apps and all sorts of file and system utilities for the Wii, there is a lot more out there that will help you take the Wii to a whole new level.  It has been fun, and there have been a couple of disappointments.  But overall, the Wii has been put to a lot more usage in the past few weeks, and eliminates the need to keep multiple consoles hooked up to the TV set.

Mario Kart for Nintendo DS

Mario Kart is a long-running game series from Nintendo, taking our familiar plumber character, Mario, and his cohorts (Luigi, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Toad, and many others) around the laps in go-karts.  While you can play in single player mode against the CPU, the game really shines when you play against others.  The Nintendo DS version ups the ante for the portable version of this game.

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Nintendo DS Thoughts

I’ve owned a Nintendo DS handheld gaming system for a year and a half now.  I recently came across an old Game Boy cartridge, which worked in the original black and white Game Boy.  I couldn’t help but think about how far gaming has come in the past couple of decades, and how much playability there is in the Nintendo DS, which is poised to become a successor to the Game Boy Advance as the top selling handheld gaming system.  There’s a lot to like about the DS, and it does a few things uniquely that other handhelds do not offer.

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Mini Review: Lego Star Wars for GameCube

I’m not a hardcore gamer, but I still enjoy a good hour or two with an entertaining video game.  The Lego Star Wars game was released a couple of years ago, but it recently dropped to the sub-$20 price level, meaning it was an easy purchase for me.  I had never really paid attention to it, but for the money, it was worth a try.  I was not sure if it would just be a rip-off of the Star Wars story that would grow old after a couple of plays, or provide something unique.

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