200 days of Wii Fit

So a few days ago, I hit 200 days of using the Wii Fit. I try to keep to a pretty regular schedule that is to say that I at least do the wii fit test every morning. Actual exercise is a bit different since, I am unable to do it on a very regular basis due to time constraints or just plain physical pain with my ankle but I try to get at least 3 to 4 days during the week of the aerobics and muscle mixed in with a bit of yoga (for the stretching).

Overall, I find the Wii Fit as a good motivator and a useful tool to be able to get some regular exercise. My only complaint might be that the presentation of exercise although good don't necessarily allow you to keep a good and proper posture to execute them yourself. This is especially true on the yoga parts...

Despite that, I am quite content and I have an average loss of about 5kgs since starting! Not bad hee!

Don't U H8!

The first in a series of video-blogs (me thinks)! And I am opening it up with my favorite subject - a rant!
Yesterday I discovered that the company was pushing out a new security policy on mobile devices that are connecting to the corporate exchange environment! I don't have a problem with this security policy and am all for it! The problem was that a proper change management process was not carried out and thus those who would have preferred to opt-out couldn't!
So I spent the better half of today removing the security policies (by hand) on my devices. I even bricked my HTC in the process and was forced to reload from scratch... [PS: You can add to the discussion in this Seesmic thread]

Another Day, Another Year

So the new year has come and gone, I've been queried a few times to see what kind of resolutions I was taking or if I wanted to join some challenges (like my friend Nigel is attempting).

Truthfully, for me the new year is potentially just SSDD (same s$#% different day). Resolutions are ok but tend to imply that you need to change something in your life for whatever reasons you might have. This is where it doesn't work for me for in general my life is what it is and I've accepted it as is. Granted things could much better and don't match where I saw myself at my age but I've spent too much of the past years trying to change things with no success - I seem to be plagued with bad vibes - and I'm not inclined to invest anymore energy in fighting it. Some might call it being comfortable with things as they are but at least I know what my crappy personal & work life entails...

Sure I know what needs changing and how to change them but that may mean spawning even more difficulties and issues. So this year, taking things as they go!

Aside from that shoddy rant, I expect that I'll try to do more of the same:

• 1 new video game a month;
• achieve some form of regularity in my blogging (I foresee a move to video blogging);
• and generally accepting my pains physical & moral alike.

And of course continuously complaining about it... Although I probably should try to stop sounding like a broken record!

Ian Curtis, in Joy Division's Heart & Soul, once wrote:

The past is now part of my Future
The present is well out of hand!

a motto I seem to be fully embedded in :-(

Games @ X-Mas

So this X-Mas we had a good set of games as presents (of course most of them being for my son): 2 xbox360 and 1 Wii games.

The Wii game was a no brainer for this year - I carried on the Raving Rabbids series and got the latest one :- Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party. The nice part of this game is that it exploits the Wii Balance Board as a component for controlling your character. The game is still a riot and you can have some serious fun (in the stupidity sense) but with the Wii Balance Board it adds another dimension that makes the antics more physical ranging from space surf boarding to rhythm dancing. The kids (my cousin's & my son) played together and it was giggles all evening. Honestly these kinds of games, the Wii and the social interaction they bring is the platforms advantage. I keenly have to give this game a thumbs up just for the stupid fun.

For the xbox360, it was Star Wars Force Unleashed [SWFU] and Guitar Hero World Tour [GHWT] Band Pack. SWFU I find to be your typical FPS type of game where instead of being armed with a gun, you end up going around killing with a lightsaber & powers of the force... The twist here is that your on the dark side , w00t! Overall the game plays quite well and is fast paced. The ability to manipulate & throw things with the force is fun but I am bit disappointed in the lightsaber attack moves. The graphics are impressive and you get a wide range of open spaces to explore but it is still very directional based so the environment still seems stunted. Overall this turns out to be a neutral rating for me and to be honest my son has played this more than I have for the moment but I will get back to it someday...

Very much having enjoyed Guitar Hero 3 and having learnt a little about drumming when I was young, I'd been quite excited and impatient for the release of GHWT. Truth be told, I preferred to look at GHWT than Rock Band as, at least in France, the release dates were similar and I'd already had experience with Guitar Hero franchise and wanted to continue to support it. It was a good choice, GHWT turns out to be all around a good continuation of the franchise and, at least for me, continued to be a good multi-player experience on both a local and online level. If you're already familiar with the play still then you can quickly jump into the game. As previously said the experience and interface has a lot of similarity, however, I did find that game play was much faster as well as being some what easier in the sense more forgiving of mistakes. I find the new instruments well balanced but find the vocal part some what difficult (definitely not a singer) as hitting the right tone is hard. The new guitar feels much better than the default guitar in GH3 but the slide bar touch buttons I find difficult to move to (it' s locating the right colour that takes time and mess you up). Overall though, GHWT is a definite winnner and a great play solo or with others - definite thumbs up!

So that was a quick dirty review of my first days impression! If you want more details visit your usual game review online sources...

Links in this post:

• Raving Rabbids Site
  
• Raving Rabiids TV Party
  
• Wii Fit Balance Board
  
• Star Wars Force Unleashed
  
• Guitar Hero World Tour