Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Blind Draw Battle Mode Tournamentfeaturing The Original 32

Playlist Link: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWU7DXRZFRMu7sbfU3Try7spQyZNNB-Sg

One of the most popular requests I continually get on my Channel is to do any sort of Skylanders Battle Mode.  As most of you know, I tend to record late at night and solo...It is just a product of when I have free time...I work during the day, run errands after work, make supper, take care of what has to be done, and then when I do have free time, I enjoy playing games.

Not too many folks are around at 2-3 AM during the week to join me in Battle Mode.  To make up for it, I started the Skylanders Poll Battle Series.  While it isn't quite as action oriented, it is fun, and adds a unique element to the blog and the channel.

That said, sometimes I do get an opportunity to have someone over and record with...That is usually my Nephew (aka thewalkthruking) and that was the case this past weekend.

He stayed the night Friday (school here started up today, August 26th, 2013) and we put in some time playing Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.  This was all his idea, but he decided that he wanted to do a "Blind Draw" (Pokemon Style, drawn from a cup) SSA Matchup.  He initially wanted to do ALL the Skylanders, but we need some workable number for a tournament...so we went with 32 and since he wanted the Castaways involved, we elected to go "old school" and utilize the Original 32 from SSA.

We recorded the 1st Round of 16 matches that night, and Saturday we finished up the bracket.  We both had a lot of fun.  That said, I'm use to box-stock Skylanders and many of these guys had been sitting dormant for a long time..Plus, we never really get to play Battle Mode much...needless to say there was a re-learning curve...The best path for Story Mode isn't always the best path for Battle Mode...that said, all the Skylanders were fully maxed out and we enjoyed going head-to-head.

We set the battles up as follows: No Items, No Arena Hazards, No Powerups....We wanted a true Player vs Player experience not skewed by add-ons.  Similarly, to keep it fair, each battle was randomly assigned a course by way of my Nephew closing his eyes and tilting the Nunchuck's Analog Stick left and right.

The only real disadvantage for me is that I let him select his character first...every time.  In the future we might set up teams, rotate, or let me pick the characters first, bahahahaha!

Anyway, to try and keep dropped frames a non-issue we recorded each match individually...Ironically only one match had any drops even worth noting.  Go figure.  That said, my issue is that they take a LONG time to edit...I combined Round 1 of Brackets 1 & 2 and the rendering took several hours...as such, I kind of modified the plan and broke it down into groups of 4 Battles...which is interestingly, what we had planned to do early on...then we changed course.  Again, go figure.

Without further ado, here is our Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Original 32 Blind Draw Tournament!
*Please note, due to editing and other issues, the "Parts" I speak of may not match up to what you see below...When in doubt, go with the blog.  That said, the video titles and upload order (as well as the playlist) will set you in the right direction.

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 1: Round 1, Brackets 1-2

Bracket 1-Round 1

Chop Chop (Wiisdom) vs Drobot (WTK)
Zook (Wiisdom) vs Slam Bam (WTK)
Double Trouble (Wiisdom) vs Cynder (WTK)
Gill Grunt (Wiisdom) vs Eruptor

Bracket 2-Round 1

Voodood (Wiisdom) vs Hex (WTK)
Camo (Wiisdom) vs Ghost Roaster (WTK)
Trigger Happy ( vs Stump Smash ()
Zap (WTK) vs Wrecking Ball (Wiisdom)

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 2: Round 1, Bracket 3

Bracket 3-Round 1

Stealth Elf (WTK) vs Prism Break (Wiisdom)
Bash (WTK) vs Drill Sergeant (Wiisdom)
Sunburn (Wiisdom) vs Sonic Boom (WTK)
Warnado (WTK) vs Flameslinger (Wiisdom)

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 3: Round 1, Bracket 4

Bracket 4-Round 1

Ignitor (WTK) vs Dino-Rang (Wiisdom)
Spyro (WTK) vs Whirlwind (Wiisdom)
Wham-Shell (Wiisdom) vs Lightning Rod (WTK)
Terrafin (WTK) vs Boomer (Wiisdom)

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 4: Round 2, Brackets 1-2

Round 2 Matches, Brackets 1-2

Chop Chop (Wiisdom) vs Slam Bam (WTK)
Double Trouble (WTK) vs Gill Grunt (Wiisdom)
Voodood (Wiisdom) vs Ghost Roaster (WTK)
Stum Smash (Wiisdom) vs Zap (WTK)

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 5: Round 2, Brackets 3-4

Round 2 Matches, Brackets 3-4

Stealth Elf (WTK) vs Bash (Wiisdom)

Sunburn (Wiisdom) vs Flameslinger (WTK)

Dino-Rang (Wiisdom) vs Spyro (WTK)

Wham-Shell (Wiisdom) vs Boomer (WTK)

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 6: Quarterfinals

Quarterfinals

Slam Bam (WTK) vs Double Trouble (Wiisdom)

Voodood (WTK) vs Stump Smash (Wiisdom)

Stealth Elf (WTK) vs Sunburn (Wiisdom)

Spyro (WTK) vs Boomer (Wiisdom)

Skylanders Arena Rumble Battle Tournament, Blind Draw Part 7: 

Semifinals and Championship

Semifinal Matchups

Slam Bam (WTK) vs Stump Smash (Wiisdom)
Sunburn (Wiisdom) vs Spyro (WTK)

Championship Matchup

Stump Smash (Wiisdom) vs Spyro (WTK)

Bonus Matches

Dark Spyro (Wiisdom) vs Spyro (WTK)
Dark Spyro (WTK) vs Spyro (Wiisdom)

That wraps it up!  We hope that you enjoyed our SSA Throwback Tournament!  If time allows, we will continue to record Skylanders Battle Tournaments!

Weekend Update: December 2012 Edition

So, here it is...early morning Monday, December 10th, 2012...I'm finally going to crank this thing out for good!

It has obviously been awhile since I got to do a regular update, so this one may be over due...

Thanksgiving

Ok...so this was a few weeks ago now, but hopefully everyone had a great time.  I made the Channel Update video and specifically stressed I was uploading Hot Head and Flashwing's Introductions "out-of-order" for a holiday treat...

That one somehow got overlooked as I was flooded with, "Hey, where is Part xx" or "I canz know c oder parts" and all sorts of stuff I have to step back from and decode...Luckily, a few folks did watch the video and started posting...

I really hate not hitting YouTube comments, but the simple issue is time.  It takes an hour or two (yes, each night) to respond to the well intended comments and questions.  The biggest time consumer is finding those comments.  For every, "Oh, hey...how did you do that" or "Which upgrade path is better" there are 4-5 totally random comments, or people trolling, or insulting other people's comments.  If I were to try and take care of the comments like I used to I would never get to record, lol...it is an easy decision.

I make it a point to have the blog link at the top of the video description.  If it is important, you can ask here and get a response WAY QUICKER than on YouTube.

In a perfect world I would spend the time to find the comments and questions that are genuine, but between work and trying to sleep 4-6 hours a night the time just hasn't been there.  Sometimes I will hit them...especially if I plan to record and the audio has issues.

That said, the blog will always be the best bet to communicate with me or get insight, ask questions, or share your tips!

I'm hopeful at some point I can hit a few each night again...right now it has just been too hectic.

Wii U

Testament to the "busy" schedule here lately is my state with the Wii U.  I honestly don't think I've spent more than 4 hours total playing with it...

I basically got a feel for the three games I picked up and explored Miiverse.

That is it...

I will say, especially for those of you here on the blog...You can follow me or add me, just look for "1ofWiisdom."

I had a nice profile comment, but apparently it didn't fly with an administrator...About 2 weeks later I got time to log in and change it, lol.

At least you know from that scenario that I'm truly strapped for time and not just avoiding YouTube comments.

That said, I have really enjoyed it when I've gotten to play around with it...

Nintendo 3DS

Need more proof of my lack of time?  I've got Paper Mario Sticker Star sitting on the pool table...in the wrapper :(  I've actually acquired a few other gems I might highlight soon...and yes, none have been played, lol.

Street Passin'

Talk about epic...

Those of you that follow along on the blog know that I have a heck of a time getting street pass tags that are not from my nephew.  Well, over Thanksgiving I hit a gold mine...Granted, it isn't anything like those of you in a large metropolitan area probably get just running errands, but the few days I was out-of-town netted me roughly 7 Street Pass Tags!  Here a few are:

A big thanks to all of you!  I thought it was pretty cool Liz was playing Professor Layton and the Last Specter as it is a game I really enjoyed and got me hooked on the Professor Layton series.

Anyway, I was so stoked to finally land some serious Street Pass Action I wanted the pics here, lol.

Skylanders Giants Playthrough

Upload Schedule

Alright, so where is Part 31?  Believe it or not, it really is edited and ready to upload...I think I have up through Part 45 ready to go...I just have run into time constraints or a very, very weak signal (ie a 20 min upload turns into 6 hrs 41 minutes).  I should get a few of them up very soon...likely tonight!

Current Recordings

As for the playthrough itself, this weekend (Friday night to be exact) I recorded up through roughly Part 61, which will be a compilation of "what we missed" in Chapters 9-12.

What is Next?

My next recordings will be some character introductions...I don't want to spill the beans on who it is...bu you should see their unboxings up pretty soon.

Once I introduce the latest additions I will continue on to Chapters 13-15.

Skylanders Giants: Hunting and Collecting

Well, I am even backlogged here.  I am hoping to upload vids from the playthrough tomorrow night while I am recording a few unboxings.  There are 2 Skylanders I will not be unboxing...You probably know who they are, but if not, you will find out.

Variants

I have been very diligent in hunting for variants and have come up empty.  I honestly think the big issue there is that two of my sources actually have employees who pull them.  I'm sure one may snake by when they are off, but that makes the slim pickings down right scarce.  I'm always optimistic and keep looking...even at the old SSA stuff, lol.

I have a lot I could add here, but I think I'll leave it at that...

Scorpion Striker Battle Pack

I pre-ordered mine last week and short of an ice storm I hope to pick it up on New Year's Day.  If you need info on this, just check out my blog post: http://www.1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/12/scorpion-striker-battle-pack-with-zap.html


Blog Polls

What's that?  Yep...I finally found the time to archive the results from the most recent round of polls!

Archived

Blog Poll #34 Results: Your Wii U Purchase Plans
http://1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-poll-34-results.html

Blog Poll #35 Results: Cats or Dogs?
http://1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-poll-35-results.html

Blog Poll #36 Results: Do You Like Skystones?
http://1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-poll-36-results-skystones.html

New Polls

Somehow, I even made a new poll.  This one should be interesting as I had the idea of spicing things up by taking on Kaos with box-stock Skylanders.  I figured it would make things a lot more challenging and possibly get more Skylanders involved in the final showdown.

Please note that I will have them upgraded for the Nightmare Mode save file...I just thought this was a nice way to differentiate things.

Blog Poll #37 Stock or Upgraded?
http://www.1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-poll-37-stock-or-upgraded.html

Skylanders Battle Tournament (Poll Based)

I've really wanted to make this happen, but have lacked the time.  My other issue is that most of what I want to do needs Hot Dog or the other Giants out and well known before they can really be conducted fairly.  That said, I may work around it...we will see what happens.

If all goes well I might even have a new round of Battle Polls up this week!


Currently Playing

Wii
-Skylanders Giants
-Wii Fit Plus

3DS
-Skylanders Spyro's Adventure
-New Super Mario Bros. 2 (tried out the free Coin Rush Pack, lol)

Currently Listening

-Auto Audio (In the Car): Audioslave (hard to believe that was 10 years ago)
-Home Audio (At Home): Audioslave, Hootie & The Blowfish, and Gary Allan

Christmas

Can you believe it is only 15 days until Christmas?  Very hard to believe!  Hope everyone is excited and has their plans to see family, friends, avoid school, and get some game time mixed in with everything else!

Conclusion

Well, it is now pretty late and I'm beat.  I hope to upload a few vids tomorrow night while recording a few unboxings...Oh, and there are more surprises!  Why is it that all the cool stuff seems to happen at the same time?  Oh well...I'd rather have cool stuff piled up and backlogged than no excitement at all.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and is ready for Christmas!

{The junk below was me vaguely updating this post as time allowed...I figured instead of deleting it I just as well leave it up.}

Coming Soon...as in later today/tonight.

I was, as you know, out-of-town for Thanksgiving.  I got back last weekend, but have been very busy.  The good news is I have some cool updates AND I have recorded quite a bit more Skylanders action thru the week.

I uploaded a few vids tonight and should pick back up tomorrow after a Christmas Party.

I also believe I got caught up on all the blog comments...If I somehow missed yours just post it again or let me know.  As always, I put a priority on the blog over YouTube and Facebook etc.

I also have a few blog posts in progress, most notably the "poll result" posts....I should crank those out soon.

I have also FINALLY added videos to the Skylanders Giants Blind Playthough Post and will get all the video descriptions added very soon.

Stay tuned!

12/7/2012 UPDATE

Well, I guess this is a compilation weekend update now.

Anyway, I will wrap this one up tomorrow (hopefully) as well as hitting all the other posts.

I do want to mention the following:

Toys'R'Us

Buy One Get One 50% Off All Skylanders (SSA and Giants) at TRU
Buy One Get One 50% Off All Video Games (Great for Wii U Titles)
Both of these sales are good thru 12/8/2012, or in laymen's terms...Saturday.
I actually took advantage of the Skylanders sale and will have some new content to work on...

GameStop

I pre-ordered the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack and confirmed 1/1/13 as the street date.  I also confirmed they have no insight as to when Wave 3 will drop.

I really think I'll get quite a bit done this weekend...keep your fingers crossed.  You should see new videos as early as tomorrow.

You should see:
-Playlist adds
-Unboxing of Three Skylanders
-Showcase vids on Two Skylanders
-Playlist Blog Post Fully Updated
-Bonus Skylanders Merchandise Video

Check back later this weekend!  I'm hitting the hay!

1ofWiisdom

Weekly Update 11/18/2012 4:30 AM

Well, North America...today is the day.

Wii U Launch!!

Nintendo' Wii U launches today!  Many of you already have it thanks to midnight releases...and some of you like @Britt5091 have 3 (I guess because you're just awesome, lol).

I got confirmation Thursday afternoon that my Wii U was going to be ready to pick up at Toys'R'Us.

I pre-ordered it on Day 2.  I actually went in on Day 1 (Thurs.) and the store didn't have the cards or info to take any pre-orders.  Jut for the record of me being diehard Nintendo/Skylanders and/or annoying to my local TRU I was the first person to use the "Hot Toy Reservation List" to secure the Legendary Triple Pack, bahahaha.

The plot actually got thick there for awhile because I was leaving to go out-of-town on Friday...I knew they would sell out fast (and they did!), so I asked if I could call in...The lady I dealt with was great and told me she'd be in around 11 AM.  I called, she took my info and credit card info ($20 deposit), and thus secured my Wii U Deluxe.  I ran in next week and got my reservation card from her.

This past week I pulled it out and had a semi-panic as there was no receipt with it.  I've been picking up Christmas gifts for my nephew for several months and I save all the receipts...it was no where.  I still had the Hot Toy List print out, that series of receipts (overall I think there were like 8), and the GameStop paperwork for my Golden Dragonfire Cannon Battle Pack.

The Wii U receipt was no where :(

The ticket clearly read "Bring this reservation ticket and your receipt to pick up your Wii U."

Crimey!  Here I am thinking I'll not only miss out on the Wii U, but loose $20 in the process.

I was going to run in Thursday night and try to see if they had the receipt, or if I could bring in the reservation ticket and my charge card bill showing the $20 was charged....

As fate would have it around 3 PM break time I had a new e-mail from TRU and it said I could bring the reservation ticket and receipt OR "this e-mail" to pick up the Wii U...

Saved!!

That was a big weight off my shoulders...just for good measure I asked Thursday night and the associate said she thought she still had the receipt on her desk but not to worry because she knew I pre-ordered and they would hold it for me...Awesome!

Wii U Games

So I will be honest...I was actually debating NOT getting any games.  I know, sounds crazy right?!  But hear me out...I am in the middle of what will be an extensive Skylanders Giants Playthrough.  I then want to finish Mario Kart and Mario Party 9.  In the mean time I want to play and finish SSA 3DS, start and finish Giants 3DS, finish Professor Layton and the Curious Village DS, and I've got Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (got it locally late in the summer) AND Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (got it to get free shipping from Amazon and at a great price) that I kind of want to get started and wrapped up so I can feel good about progressing into the new 3DS Layton game.

Granted the 3DS stuff is kind of limited use, late night before bed, and travel situations, BUT it is pretty extensive.  Oh, and I got Super Paper Mario Sticker Star for the 3DS on the BOGO 40% off sale Thursday night...Yep, it is in the mix...Gotta have something to break up the puzzle/mystery that is Professor Layton!

So what I wanted to do was focus my main attention on the Giants playthrough...leisurely work on the 3DS list, and then get into Wii U games as I wrap up Mario Kart Wii and Mario Party 9.

That said, there are several I am very interested in, most notably New Super Mario Bros. Wii U, Assassin's Creed III, and Black Ops II.  There are a few other titles I'd like to try as I haven't had access to them with my Wii/PS2 set-up.

However, an e-mail from TRU changed my mind.  Tomorrow, yes launch day, TRU is having a Buy One, Get One 40% off sale on Wii U Games!  I did not expect that on launch day.  The sad fact of the matter is that NSMB will likely be perched at $60 for a LONG TIME.  If ACII or BOII come down in price it will likely only be $10 or so in the immediate future.  This changes my plans as that is a pretty solid deal AND I'd really like to play NSMB Wii U for a change of pace from Giants (or just when it is too late to record or the computer isn't wanting to cooperate etc).

I will probably head in tomorrow and see how it goes.  I really planned to just be content with Nintendo Land and fully explore it and enjoy it while I wrap up other things and hope to see prices come down etc...I still plan to stick to that, just maybe with 2 games thrown in the mix.

Speaking of Giants...

Skylanders Giants Playthrough

So, where are the videos?  Well, they are coming my friends...I should upload several of them tonight (Sunday).  I actually recorded last night (Friday) and did intros for all the recently unboxed characers (LC Drobot, LC Eruptor, Whirlwind, Trigger Happy, Slam Bam, Terrafin, and yes...Hot Head!).

Tonight I did something different and went ahead and edited all of last night's recordings.  That means I am fully caught up in that regard.  Yep...Part 41 is ready to go as is everything below it.

That should give me quite a bit of time to focus on the game play (beginning with Chapter 6) and make solid progress as I do not anticipate getting any new Skylanders, although I could be wrong.

I'm not sure if I will upload 2 each day, or just pile a ton of them on...I will be very busy around Thanksgiving and probably won't be doing anything in terms of uploads or recordings.

In all honesty I would really like to upload Chill, Sprocket, Flashwing, and Hot Head, but people would probably freak they were "out of order."  Who knows, I may do that as a Thanksgiving deal and then resume  uploading the rest...

Skylanders Giants Blog Posts

The other big accomplishment from Friday night was the fact that I spelled out all the HCs I have access to WITH descriptions and WITH power stats.  I will be posting it to the blog later and can then order it accordingly etc.

I may also work towards getting the character bio's typed out and posted...

I would already have done that stuff IF the playthrough were complete...I kind of want to keep the focus on that, finish it, and then get in to the extra stuff  and details etc.

Skylanders Battle Tournament

I won't go into many details, but I really want to get a new Battle Tournament set up BEFORE Thanksgiving...It will be the same set up as last time...Video intro, vote on the blog, winners advance, crown a champion!  Stay tuned for updates!

Currently Playing

Wii: Skylanders Giants, Wii Fit Plus
3DS: Skylanders Spyro's Adventure, Find Mii II, Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Currently Listening

Auto Audio (In the Car): Taylor Swift RED
Home Audio (At Home): Train, Live, and Soundgarden

Conclusion

First off, hopefully that post makes sense...I'm typing it at 430-5 AM and this is after I was up until 7 AM last night recording all the new character introductions.

My plan of action for today (Sunday) is to get a little sleep, take in the Cowboys game, and then head up to TRU to pick up the Wii U.  I will record an unboxing, hook it up, and kind of give you some first impressions on it and Nintendo Land etc.  As of right now I am not sure if I can record gameplay footage or not...I am not really set up for HDMI stuff.  In all honesty if not for getting a new computer last summer I wouldn't have an HDMI port anywhere in the house, lol.  My TV may be old school but the picture is great and I don't really like spending money on stuff like that when it works just fine as is...

Luckily, the new computer has the HDMI port and a very nice size screen so I can hook it up here (with the help of (yet) another outlet expander).  It will be far from ideal, but it will let me download the update (which is quite lengthy from what I have seen tonight...expect over an hour), and check things out.

I guess I'll probably unbox it, update it, and then play around with it while some vids upload :D

So the next question is who all else is getting a Wii U on launch day?  What games are you picking up?  If you aren't getting one do you want it for a gift, or hope to pick one up later as funds allow?

I feel lame for getting the console, not having a "modern" tv, and not really wanting to spring for all of the new titles, but I suppose I am a different sort.  My tv is staying put and I really do want to focus on Giants before diving into ACIII, Black Ops II, Darksiders II, Batman Arkham City, MEIII, or even ESPN Sports Connection (which I think will drop from $49 soon...hopefully).

I kind of want to take the Wii U on as a chance to buy 1 game and actually complete it  before getting backlogged like I have done with the Wii, lol.  I guess on the bright side I can play all these untouched and waiting Wii titles on the Wii U!

Anyway, I'm very tired and going to get some sleep...Post up what your plans are!  Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Weekly Update: First Week of August 2012

Hey Everyone,

It was another busy week, but not without some cool announcements...Let's get started with the run down and go from there.

Skylanders Battle Tournament

I was out-of-town, but got to post the Round 2 Results and Round 3 Matchup Videos.  As of right now there are 7 days left to vote in Round 3 (Elite Eight).  Each contest has over 150 votes at this point, but the matches are not as close as they have been in the past...granted, that can change (especially with a week left).  The vote margins run from 24-57 at the time of typing this post out.  You can vote in the polls by scrolling down this page, finding the Twitter Feed, and then the polls will be right below.

You can also keep up with all the developments here:
http://www.1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/06/skylanders-battle-tournament.html

Nintendo 3DS

Street Passin'

Well, with being out-of-town one should have the chance to get more and unique Street Pass Tags....If you follow the blog you know I hardly ever do.  This past weekend I did get 2, but neither registered for Find Mii or Puzzle Swap??  I'm not sure what the deal is there, but I at least got 2 new tags in Mario Tennis Open and got to bump the win streak up 2 matches!  One opponent was fully equipped and the other was just in casual Mii trim.  I'm not sure how I didn't get to use them for Find Mii/Puzzle Swap, but oh well.

Thanks to these two...whoever you may be, lol:

IF I'd have had genuine Street Pass tags, I'd have taken the time to rotate the photos...I snapped them at like  6 AM in the hotel room so work with me, lol.

Find Mii II

I have actually progressed quite nicely on this one...thanks in large part to using Play Coins.  I am in the first level of the castle and was able to breeze through the Pink Slime right before that and got a sweet "Critical Hit" that finished off the otherwise tough Granite Golem with one swing.

Coming Soon

August 19th is coming up really quick and that is the day you can get your hands on the 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2.  I'd really like an XL, but with my Aqua Blue 3DS in hand I can't really justify getting a new one at this point...Although that would allow me instant Street Pass Tags anytime I had both on...that might be worth it, lol.

If you pick up New Super Mario Bros. 2 in stores and register it, you can get 50 Coins in Club Nintendo.  Since this is the first, in a likely long line of future releases, that you can "download" from the eShop, Nintendo has put a 100 Coin bounty on the title to encourage that action.

I'm sure this is to test the waters and see how it stacks up with the mobile market, but I am one who simply likes to have the concrete product in my hand.  My only reason to buy from the eShop in this case is to get the extra coinage...tempting, but not enough to sway from my preferred medium.  If you plan to get the game, be sure to say so in Club Nintendo for bonus coins.

Club Nintendo

Speaking of Club Nintendo...Today (August 6th, 2012) is the last day to get your Gold or Platinum Gift.  I'm  Platinum and was torn between the cards and poster set.  In all honesty I would like the calendar more, but it is not a full wall calendar...Plus Gold can get it.  Majora's Mask was very, very tempting...but, in the end I went for the cards.  I figure most will do the posters, making the cards that much more "unique."  I like the posters, but I see the cards being easier to display.  I put my order in tonight...As usual, December 20th or so was the estimated date.  Keep in mind if you go with a game, it is available IMMEDIATELY.

Skylanders Update

And in yet another segway, I also just sent out my first two Skylander Sidekick Offers.  I went for Terrabite and Trigger Snappy.  I'm not sure if I'll go for the remaning 2 or not...It isn't  a horrible deal, but I'm also not big on the hassle of buying something I ordinarily don't (the bigger the bag of chips, the bigger the savings) and I'm mainly just not a fan of their insanely vague offering system.  For all I know, both offers I sent in will return a Gill Runt.  If things were nailed down I'd have probably sent in 4 forms.  As is, I'm fine waiting and seeing what happens.

Heroic Challenges

I am still working to get all the main Skylanders (37), fully upgraded and through all 32 Heroics...I'm not in any hurry...I like to use it as a change of pace and to stay fresh with "Skylands" at this point.

Giants Updates

We really haven't had any big developments...aside from this one.

Earlier this week, GameStop announced that they had teamed up with Activision for an Exclusive "Battle Pack."  This turned out to be the Golden Dragonfire Cannon Battle Pack.  It consists of: Series 2 Reposed Chop Chop, the Golden Dragonfire Cannon, and Shroomboom.  It is up for pre-order right now at the price of $24.99.  As best I know, this will only unlock a new battle arena...it is not an adventure pack as some have reported.  I would really like it to be, especially at that price, but it looks like it just unlocks an arena.  Hopefully the Dragonfire Cannon will serve a unique role in the course of the game to make up for not being an actual level/chapter.

Skylanders Hunting


This first shot was at Target.  They don't have much, especially compared to all the "out-of-town" Targets I have been to recently.  That said, I posted this for a reason.  This is the very first time I have seen Dragon's Peak at this store!  It is also the first time I have seen Lightning Rod, Zook, and Warnado (all in singles) at my local Target.  The rest of the line up was: Dark Light Crypt, Empire of Ice, Chop Chop, Eruptor, Flameslinger, Wrecking Ball, and Boomer.  The lone Triple Pack was Drobot, Flameslinger, and Stump Smash.

I also want to point out that I went back to the store 2 nights later...All that was left was Dark Light Crypt!

Next up is a local store that has a better stock...Pretty much everything but the Adventure Packs and Wham-Shell.

I had a few people ask me why  I still look at Skylanders when I have the complete set.  First, it is kind of a habit at this point.  Second, I like to keep tabs for myself and others as many still don't have the complete set.  Lastly, you never know when a new variant will spring up, or when you might land an already known variant...Just this past week I've seen 2 people get Crystal Stealth Elf...Most people gave up on that and Glow-in-the-Darks weeks ago...It is unlikely, but not impossible...I like the odds!

Current Projects

I just edited a few more Mario Kart Wii videos...I should upload one or two later tonight as a matter of fact. That said, I am obviously working on editing up through Part 16 which were all recorded over 2 months ago!

Once Part 8 of MKW is uploaded I will spring Mystery Game 1 in the mix...I'm just doing a quick playthrough on it..nothing major, but I think it is a fun game that doesn't get much love.

We still have the initial Skylanders Battle Tournament going and I have plenty lined up for later on...

Currently Playing

-Wii Fit Plus
-Mario Kart Wii
-Mystery Game 1
-Mystery Game 2 (Idle)

-Mario Tennis Open
-Professor Layton and the Curious Village

The goal here is to finish recording Mario Kart Wii and "Mystery Game 1."  Around the time that happens I'll kind of go into what "Mystery Game 2" is, what happened, and what people want to see...I've actually recorded the update video covering that...just need to upload it.

As for the 3DS end of things...I am working towards unlocking all the items in Mario Tennis Open...I just lack 25 at this point, although it is seemingly taking forever.  I really want to get Professor Layton and the Curious Village wrapped up ASAP.  I'd like to have an open slot for New Super Mario Bros. 2 and some other things.

Currently Listening

-Auto Audio (In the Car): Gary Allan, Hinder
-Home Audio (At Home): Seven Mary Three, Taylor Swift,


Conclusion

Well, that does it for this week.  I should have some new videos going up this week and I am really hoping to get back to recording...The main thing is to have Mario Kart Wii and  "Mystery Game 1" wrapped up and uploaded by the time Giants comes out.  Obviously, the sooner they get done, the sooner I can move on to something else before Giants...However much of a time window I've got will kind of dictate what I decide to record before hand.

I will hope for a regular (Thursday/Friday) update for this week and might have some more news to spring then, or very shortly there after.

Well, hope you enjoyed the post and stay tuned for some big udpates.  Also make sure to vote in the Skylanders Battle Tournament!  It is just 2 months and 15 days until Giants!!