Who ya gonna call?

Yeah, I know I recently declared "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings" as my must-have video game. But I forgot about "Ghostbusters: The Video Game."

In an interview in today's New York Times, Dan Ackroyd reflects on his career and his fascination with ghosts. He and Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman also talk about what made "Ghostbusters" work so well in 1984.

There is a lot of discussion of the new video game coming out on June 16. It's hyped as being written by Ackroyd and Ramis, the writers of the original movie, but they both admit that's "marketing bunk." They say they only looked over the script written by the video game folks and offered to punch up a few lines here and there.

That said, the article says the game is pretty funny and captures the Ghostbusters spirit (pardon the pun).

As great as the Indiana Jones game looks, "Ghostbusters" might have a slight leg up because it features the actual voices of Ackroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and William Atherton (EPA jerk Walter Peck). Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis are not involved, but still, it's an impressive voice cast.

Indiana Jones and the Kick-Ass Game

I have never wanted a video game more in my life!

Building adventure

Without any new "Doctor Who" episodes to watch, Nolan's entertainment focus has shifted to two things -- Legos and Indiana Jones. He loves to bust out our great, big box of Lego parts (some of which are mine from back in the day) and build his own creations. And he recently watched all four Indy movies and declared them "better than Star Wars" (I couldn't be more proud).

So imagine his joy at combining the two.

He recently got "Lego Indiana Jones" for the Wii. He only gets 30 minutes a day to play during the week and an hour on weekends. The remainder of the time he spends talking about it. He's constantly filling me in on which level he just completed, which treasure he's found, which new character he's unlocked.

Today he spent some of his saved-up allowance on an actual Lego Indiana Jones kit -- recreating the motorcycle chase from "Last Crusade." He promptly put it all together on his own and was quite proud of it.

Not to be outdone, Thomas spent some of his money on a couple of packs of "Indiana Jones" trading cards. He has not seen the movies, but he's played the videogame and he gets excited about Indy becase he knows Nolan and I like him.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Recession proof?

Is the video game industry a recession proof business?

I was surprised to see a report that said the video game industry as a whole saw a 19 percent increase in revenue in 2008. Hardware sales were up 11 percent. Software sales were up 26 percent. In total, Americans spent $21.33 billion on video games last year.

Of all the consoles sold last year, more than half were Wiis. Nearly 10.2 million of them found their way into people's homes (including our own). The hand held Nintendo DS was also a top seller -- 9.95 million sold.

More good news for Nintendo -- they have they also have the top four games (Wii Play, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl).

So now I ask you...what company do you wish you worked for?

'I sense much dork in you'

Kris' folks were pretty proud of Nolan when they heard he saved enough to get a Wii. So they decided to reward him by sending him the new "Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels" game.

It's pretty cool.  As you might imagine, it lets you wield your Wii remote like a lightsaber as you try to defeat the forces of the Dark Side.

I freely admit I wasted about two hours playing it myself tonight.  Hopefully, I don't come across like these guys...



Thanks grandma & grandpa!

Wii waste

After a year of saving, Nolan finally had enough money this week to go out and buy a Wii.

Since we're ending our YMCA membership, we were giving serious consideration to getting the Wii Fit package. It looked kind of cool after watching Nintendo's promotional video.

Then we saw this video, which made us realize what waste of money it truly is...

Bridging the generation gap

We visited Kris' mom and dad this past weekend. It was a very nice visit.

While we were there, Thomas tried to teach his grandpa the finer points of video games.

Mortal Kampaign!!!

If you're sick of all the debates, primaries and election coverage, then maybe you'd prefer to settle the race for the White House this way?

Check the game out. It's worth it just for the theme song at the beginning. Here's a sample...

Raiders of the Lost Legos

The kids don't really have much an interest in Indiana Jones (yet). But after having so much fun with Nolan's "LEGO Star Wars" video games, I might just have to get this for myself.

"LEGO Indiana Jones: The Video Game" is set to come out in Summer 2008. Check out the way cool trailer for the game.

Here's a bit from the LucasArts press release:

"In addition to providing the quality bonding time inspired by any good family game, LEGO Indiana Jones delivers something a little different for everyone. Parents will enjoy the humorous take on some of their favorite movies, and their kids get some rousing action/adventure gameplay that may also introduce them to Indy's original adventures for the first time."

The game will feature levels based on the first three Indy movies. If the game and the new movie are successful, then I'm sure we can expect "LEGO Indiana Jones 2" down the road.

I Really Wanna Wii, Please

Damn you, George Lucas!

I knew it! I knew this would happen.

When they announced the Star Wars movies would be coming out on DVD in 2004 the deal was that we would get the 1997 Special Edition versions (further altered for the DVDs), not the originals.

That angered a lot of fans who didn’t care for the changes made to the movies. Personally, I can appreciate both versions. I couldn’t see why Lucasfilm couldn’t release both versions all in one set. After all, there is a special edition DVD of “Terminator 2” out there that actually has three different cuts of the movie included in the set.

I resisted the urge to get the Stars Wars DVDs for a year, but finally caved in December. Now, just five months later, comes this news: in September they will issue a set that includes both versions of the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Here’s a tidbit from the news release on starwars.com…

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

Arrrggh! If only I had waited one more year!

In other news, the same day the new DVDs hit the street, the “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy” videogame will also be released. That will be a must have in the Rooney house.