

TALKING POINT: Last week Nintendo announced Wii Fit, a balance board and game combo designed to get you in shape. Is this the next Power Pad, or the next flip side of the Power Pad that you never use?
Jeff: I knew calling Nintendo every week and demanding a new Power Pad would pay off.

Jeff: Wii Fit is a great idea. I'm almost done with Math Blasters From Planet Remainder, and I'm really looking for a new game to trick me into bettering myself.
Brian: I'm still not sure I see the difference between a Wii Balance Board and the floor.
Jeff: It measures your center of gravity. So, for example, one ski-jump game has you squatting down as low as you can and standing up quickly. There's a bunch of those mini-games
Brian: Do they have a game where you stand still with your arms at your side for as long as possible? I feel like I would be really good at that.
Jeff: I don't think it was in the preview. Gullible, lonely people will spend several hundred dollars on an electric belt that works out your abs for you. You can't even ski jump with that.
Brian: Playing drums in Rock Band is a work out, right?
Jeff: Only time will tell. That actually brings us to our next point...
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Talking Point: At E3 Nintendo showed up off new footage of Mario Galaxy (watch it here). Everyone remain calm, but Mario now has a bee suit.
Jeff: This, along with the discovery of agriculture and the initial reveal of the Wii, is one of the great milestones in human history.
Jeff: The game requires you to control Mario with the nunchuck while you point at things with the remote. It's hard to imagine how it's going to work, but I'm excited to look stupid trying.
Andrew: Plus you're upside down half the time and have to contend with gravity that changes and stars shooting at you from all directions. If Paper Mario is for people on acid, what is this?
Jeff: In his presentation, Nintedo president Reggie Fils-Aime commented that , "In many ways, this is the true follow up to Super Mario 64." If you were defending Mario Sunshine, you are now officially alone.
Andrew: They're definitely trying to make up for that one, and I want to play this more than I ever did Mario 64. Also, Mario can turn into a Boo that looks like Slimer from Ghostbusters.
Jeff: Really?
Andrew: Yeah
Jeff: AHHHHHHHHH! In a year with a new Half-Life, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Metroid, Tekken, Metal Gear, Guitar Hero, a full-band Guitar Hero spin-off, Smash Brothers, Contra, and who know what else, Mario Galaxy is still the game I'm most excited about. Though Harmonix announced Rock Band will offer full albums including The Who's Who's Next, so it's close.
Andrew: All we see these days are theatrical trailers for games. Mario Galaxy really stands out as something you know will be good just by looking at it. And as a sequel it is a huge departure from traditional game play.
Jeff: I just want to take a bath in that trailer. Is that strange?
Andrew: Can I join you in a bee suit?
Jeff: Now that's strange.
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FernGully Tennis Tour - 1992 - NES

Jeff's likes - captioning CollegeHumor pictures, Parker Brother's Sorry! (preferably played with teams), pajama pants, Entenmann's Chocolate Chip Original Recipe Cookies, Arrested Development, when it suddenly starts to rain heavily on a Spring day.