Gamecube Controller Cable Repair

Last year I wrote an article about a platinum Gamecube controller I bought from the outlet store many years ago. For unknown reasons the plug had been completely cut off, rendering the controller effectively useless. Regardless of any possible reasons, I decided it would be well worth my time to spend the small change on the poor thing. If for nothing else other than to use it as parts for potential future Gamecube controllers.

This past weekend I was at the new outlet store and came across a pair of Gamecube controller cable extensions. At first I tossed them into my bag just because they were video game related, but after bringing them home and finding that one of them didn't work, other plans started to formulate. The port in which you plug the controller into wasn't working correctly, so I decided to snip off that end and use the cable to repair the little platinum Gamecube controller that could.

The controller and donor extension cable.

After cutting off the end and exposing all the wires, I decided to map out which wire went where; lucky for me the color codes matched exact to the normal Gamecube controller cable. All I had to do was carefully remove the OEM controller cable, tin up the ends of the extension cable wires and solder them into place.

My haphazard way of connecting the new cable

The OEM way of connecting the cable

Admittedly my soldering skills aren't the prettiest, nor is my soldering iron, but after a few minutes of sharp concentration I had all 6 wires soldered into place. Again, she ain't pretty, but she'll do! She'll do...

After a quick test the controller is now fully functional again. I'm still cautiously optimistic, to say the least, but for now everything works as it should. Even with my soldering skills this was a fairly simple undertaking. In researching how to change out the cables I've found the typical, lazy internet answer of "No way man!", "Can't be done", "Impossible", and many other answers from people who are too lazy or stupid to try it for themselves.

The finished product!

If you're thinking about doing this project I highly suggest you understand how to map the pinout for the controller, as I felt that's the hardest part. I mean, look at that soldering job, it's hideous! But it works, and as long as it continues to work, that's all I need. Just another case of outlet store trash being turned into a fully working product once more.

Mario Kart vs Mario Kart 7 vs My Sims Racing: DS Showdown!

For Christmas I received a Nintendo 2DS, which came with a code to download Mario Kart 7. I held on to the code hoping I would find a physical copy in the future, or perhaps I could trade it to someone who was more into having a digital version. As my birthday arrived, three months after Christmas, I decided it was best to just use the code and make do with what I was given.

After having the DS version of My Sims Racing for a few months, I was a bit underwhelmed by Mario Kart 7. Mario Kart 7 is pretty much the same as any other Mario Kart, except now you have to worry about collecting coins and holding on to them throughout the race, while any weapon used by an opponent, and sometimes even yourself, can quickly and easily deplete them. After a while I felt like Mario Kart 7 was just too repetitive for it's own good as all I was doing was racing, re-racing and yet still racing the same tracks over and over trying to collect the coins.

I will say that My Sims Racing isn't exactly the best kart racing game, but at least it feels better and offers more than Mario Kart 7. In the Wii version you were restricted to a top down, board game style map where you would go from point to point and then appear in races to help people do random things. In the DS version you actually get to drive people around, sure it gets boring but you're now driving them around, instead of a simple point to point with a single press of the directional pad. Where Mario Kart 7 has menus, My Sims Racing has actual driving, albeit with shallow objectives, but actual driving.

The online feature for Mario Kart 7 didn't really help me like it anymore either. All the online multiplayer option did was make me feel stupid, because I hadn't played enough of the single player and collected enough coins to unlock new, better parts to be more competitive in the online mode. Why would I want to play online if it's going to penalize me for not having played enough of the single player side of the game? And why would I want to keep playing the single player campaign when all it is is me playing the same tracks over and over, stressing about being in first and having to cross the finish line with 10 coins?

I'm no stranger to Mario Kart, I loved Mario Kart 64. Sure Mario Kart 64 was more of the same, but it made me want to keep playing, it made me want to keep racing and doing better. I quite like Mario Kart Double Dash too. The graphics are great, the game play is fun, although I still find it to be more of the same, I like the power up weapons, as well as having a co-driver is sometimes quite entertaining. Mario Kart 7 just doesn't have the same effect on me.

Let's get back to My Sims Racing for a little bit. In some ways it's better on the DS than it is on the Wii, and vice versa, because they're clearly two different games with the same name. Even though the DS version should be the weaker version, in many aspects it comes out ahead. The main thing that sticks out to me is that you get to freely roam and drive around a few different sections of town, as where the Wii version has what I thought would be more suited to a portable version; a slimmed down map screen.

My Sims Racing offers pretty much the same experience as it's Wii counterpart as well as what Mario Kart 7 offers, and then some. You have power up weapons, drifting that fills a turbo meter, although you need to manually use it, track shortcuts, and the list goes on and on. I truly can't think of something Mario Kart 7 offers that My Sims Racing doesn't offer, apart from it's graphics, which even so aren't too bad.

As I was growing ever more weary of Mario Kart 7 I started playing more My Sims Racing, but all that was about to change. You see, a few months ago my girlfriend had bought me a copy of Mario Kart for the DS, the original one, and soon there would be a third game on the race track. After receiving Mario Kart DS I quickly became addicted. Why? I can only assume because I'm not fucking stressed out by trying to collect those fucking coins!

Yes, almost instantaneously I was addicted to Mario Kart DS. Sure there were menus again and sure I was racing the exact same tracks over and over again to unlock new circuits, new racers and new karts, but I wasn't stressed out if I was smashed with a red shell or fell off the side of the track, because there are no coins to lose.

I don't hate Mario Kart 7, I just feel that a game should be fun and items earned should be earned and retained, not lost over every single teeny tiny little infraction that sometimes aren't even your fault. The original idea was to race and do your best, the rewards will come. Mario Kart 7 seems to say race, do your best and even so I'm still not going to allow you to obtain what you really wanted.

My Sims Racing is a phenomenal game with a lot of strong points as well as it overall feeling like a Mario Kart clone. It's not that the characters are bad, because they're not, it's just a simple matter of familiarity. Over the course of my life I've become familiar with most, if not all, of the characters I can use in Mario Kart, as where I haven't the slightest interest in why any of the Sims in My Sims Racing need me to take them across town, all I know is that I need to do it to progress.

Mario Kart DS is an amazing game, even though the graphics look really choppy and dated. Going from Mario Kart 7 back to MK DS was like night and day, and it helped me suss out why I disliked Mario Kart 7 so much. Maybe because I'm more a fan of older games, maybe because I don't like to be stressed out and on edge when I'm playing a game, which only leads to me making more mistakes within said game. I can't say for sure why, but I absolutely prefer Mario Kart DS to My Sims Racing. And I prefer My Sims Racing to Mario Kart 7. All three games are good kart racing games in their own rights, but it seems, to me, the older and simpler wins.

Wii Wheel Review

I have a habit of doing reviews about obsolete things on this blog, and this time won't be any different. After collecting a handful of Wii racing wheels I figured I may as well explain and complain, where applicable. So, here we go.

First up is the wheel that came with a ton of other items in the Wii Fit Plus box I bought a few months ago. Made from a thick, and weirdly textured, plastic, this one is sturdy but still feels cheap. It holds the Wii remote quite well and allows easy access to the B button as well as accommodates the wrist band. Compared to the others I feel this would be best for larger hands. It's not the most uncomfortable, but not comfortable.

Next is a rather small, but sturdy, wheel made from a smooth black plastic with a golf ball style texture on the handles. Open design makes it smaller than necessary, but comfortable to hold. Holds the Wii controller well and offers the same round wrist strap hole as the official wheel with easy access to the B button. I would suggest this one for kid hands or small to medium adult hands.

Now we reach the third party wheel seemingly made from the same mold as the official. The plastic's texture is smooth, but if you own an official Nintendo wheel you will easily be able to feel the cheaper plastic. Other than the plastic quality everything is the exact same, with exception of the extremely cheap B button on the back, but still does it's job.

And finally we reach the genuine article. What else would we expect from Nintendo than an extremely sturdy and light weight plastic. Accommodates the Wii remote perfectly, as to be expected and this time the B button feels absolutely solid. The only drawback that I've found is that there seems to be only one comfortable way to hold it. That includes the black clone of this wheel too, it's simply just the design.

I would suggest staying clear of the large wheel, as it feels cheap and personally it just seems to get in the way, rather than making the experience better. The small steering wheel is good for kids or adults with small to medium hands, but isn't really all that much fun either. I would highly recommend the official wheel and maybe, if you're on a budget and find it cheaper, the third party clones. The official wheel design just seems to make you feel like you're actually racing and it helps make the experience that little bit more fun. At first you will notice the difference between the genuine and the knock off, but once you're focused in on the game you may not notice at all.

The outlet store rides again!

After having a miserable time with a pair of purchases from an online site that's name may rhyme with cramathon, I decided the cure for extremely long shipping waits and one product coming in broken was to hit the outlet store. After four hours of bin diving, book tossing and cheerful banter with some fellow outlet shoppers I walked away $3 poorer, but richer for the experience. Although the outlet store is always hit or miss, it's nice to at least have new things to occupy my mind.

The items I found were, from the bottom right: three Nintendo DS games (My Word Coach, Flash Focus and MLB 2k12), as well as some weird little Megaman Battle Chip thing, Space Spartans for the Intellivision, an Atari 2600 power adapter, a small Sonic LCD game from a happy meal, a Playstation 2 DVD remote, a Nintendo Wii wheel, a Link AR card, 2 Nyko Rechargeable Wii battery packs, a PSOne style Playstation controller extension cable, two Nintendo DS Lite charging adapters, a TNT and Iron ore Minecraft blocks, a seemingly complete (minus the game) Pokemon Emerald box, two replacement Wii cases, Pokemon Blue manual, and finally the charger for the Nyko battery packs.

Everything seemed cheery until things started falling apart. I had my suspicions that the Wii wheel and the Pokemon Emerald box were both fakes, which I later confirms. The wheel feels ever so slightly cheaper than the official one, but looks almost dead on. The Pokemon Emerald box and manual just aren't up to the same standards as an official GBA game box, of which I have a handful to officially compare. What I found weirdest about the Pokemon box was that it was brand new, I mean it was literally brand new and never even folded up to hold the cartridge. Still a nice little conversation piece.

The two DS Lite chargers seemed to work fine when I tested them, so that's all well and good. The DS games are pretty lackluster, but it's always good to find DS games at the outlet store. After cleaning up everything I sat back and figured I may as well test the Wii rechargeable batteries. I pushed it into a controller, popped it on the recharging station and hoped for the best.

At first there was no response at all, none. After I jiggled the controller a little bit the blue light came on. Good, at least this thing is doing something! Suddenly the light turned to green. What!? It's charged already? No no no, let me test this. The Wii remote lit up with all four lights flashing blue. Then three. Then two. Then one. Within a matter of 30 seconds the Wii remote had sucked all the life out of the battery pack that the charging station just told me was full.

After checking with a multimeter one battery was still holding 2.7 volts, but the Wii remote was too power hungry and that wasn't enough. The other battery refused to give any sort of reading at all, even though it did the exact same as the previous one; blue light quickly turned to green. I cleaned the contacts on the batteries recharging ports, the battery contacts for the charging station as well as the ones that go inside the controller. After testing again I found that both batteries charge, slightly, but don't go above 2.8 volts, which clearly both of my (Officially mind you) Wii Remotes just won't accept.

It was only $3, and I had a great time digging through the bins. Sometimes it's not necessarily about the treasures at the end of the journey, it was the fun you had along said journey. Missing the outlet store as much as I had for the past few years has really made me appreciate the little things I find at the outlet store much more. They're not solid gold scores, but they're absolute brilliant finds to me. 

Post-Birthday Outlet Store Goodies!

Getting older isn't fun. You start to forget things, your eyes, muscles and other parts of your body don't work as well as they used to, and you start to forget things. Did I mention the fact that you start to forget things?

Regardless of my age, I decided that I would spend the day after my birthday having an amazing time at the new local Goodwill Outlet store, and indeed I did! Not only did I see my good friend Isaac again (the manager of the outlet I used to frequent) I also picked up a lot of good stuff, or at least stuff that I think is good.

First up I picked up yet another empty DS and Wii case, to swap out in the future if need be. But along my journey I happened across a cable that had only recently came onto my radar. My current computer monitor is old and I've been wanting to see if there was any way to get just a little bit more out of her, so I checked into DVI to HDMI. The cables on Amazon were fairly cheap, but even so I couldn't justify the cost of something I currently couldn't use, and it may not even do me any good once I can. As I walked past a bin, there it was, a black cable with shining golden ends, one of them attached to an Apple mini-DVI to DVI converter. Being I was at the palace of impulse, I decided I had to pick it up.

Next I happened to find a dual Nintendo DS Lite and DSi charging Dock. Sure it's not practical and it's blue LEDs could light up half of a city block at night, but with Goodwill Outlet prices, and me being a sucker for weird video game things, it was yet another "had to have". After more walking around I found a small block that looked like a block of coal ore from Minecraft, but I left it where it was. It wasn't until I actually found the Enderman that I decided if I was going to get one, I had to get both.

Next up are just some loose discs. Three loose Playstation discs, Bully for PS2 and two Poison CDs. Even though I already own Bully complete, need I remind you, it was the Goodwill Outlet store where these things are $.99 per pound! And who doesn't like a little glam metal from time to time?

Finally we reach the surprise part of the haul. Almost a year ago I had picked up a uDraw tablet for the Nintendo Wii at a Goodwill 50% off sale, and I felt kind of cheated ever since. I could never find the game to test and see if the tablet even worked, but yesterday I found a total of four complete, and in varying condition, copies of uDraw Studio. I took the one that was in the best shape, which the disc doesn't even look like it's been used at all, and made that my personal copy. I also found Sega Superstars Tennis/ Xbox live Arcade combo pack-in for Xbox 360, again complete and in immaculate shape, as well as Kinect Adventures in the same condition. Oh, and I also bought a complete copy of Spore for some reason.

It was a good time at the outlet store, needless to say. I also bought a few miscellaneous items like a gold RF to coaxial adapter for my Atari 2600, a AA battery box that has some strobe circuit with LEDs and a small candle for my girlfriend, but the above shows the meat and potatoes of the day. It was fun, great to see Isaac again and to get out and treasure hunt. Not only was it great to treasure hunt, but it was even better to actually bring home a bounty of goods and renew that sense of wonder and daydream of what I'll find next time I go. I just hope I'm not forgetting to mention something.

Assecure 18 Game DS Case Review

As my video game hunting has expanded to DS games, I'm finding storing them has become a bit of a problem. In the past I've been lucky enough to run across an empty case before I find the game, which allowed me to simply track down a game that already has a good case to call home. The problem isn't hunting down a game to fill a case I already own, it's hunting down storage for the abundance of loose DS cartridges I find.

In the past I've picked up any loose DS storage case I could find from thrift stores, and mostly the Goodwill Outlet. More often than not I find official, but empty, Nintendo DS cases; I will keep the good titles and hunt down the cartridge or empty them out and use them as swaps for cases that aren't in such good shape. I've also found a little, rattling box that holds four cartridges (in two stacks of two), and a three in line key chain style, neither of which held the cartridges securely. The best I've found was a dual sided little box that held four, two on each side, and held them in with a smaller version of what the official Nintendo DS cases use. The problem with the last three storage cases being they either rattle or they're too small.

What I need is something strong, held more cartridges, held them securely and was big enough that I couldn't misplace it. That's where the Assecure 18 game case comes into play. While perusing Amazon for some games to fill the DS cases I already had, this popped up as a suggestion. At first glance it looked like a cheap Chinese case that would be flimsy and probably wouldn't hold up to being opened and closed more than a dozen times, but images can be deceiving. After reading some reviews and doing a little bit of research I decided that for $10, what was the worst that could happen?

After less than 2 weeks it finally arrived, and I was excited to get my hands on it and see what this thing was really like. My initial thoughts were relief as it feels very strong, and sturdy. The mechanisms inside that hold the games look exactly like the official DS cases, albeit they feel slightly more loose and easier to obtain your game once you want to play it, which does create a very slight rattle. For now all signs point to $10 well spent, but the item is brand new and I will be paying attention to it throughout time, as time is the true test of sturdiness.

The Assecure 18 game case is almost the exact same size as an official DS case as well, almost like the Club Nintendo multi-cartridge case they offered. If you're looking for a good way to store a maximum of 18 loose DS or 3DS games this thing is a pretty good choice. It fits my personal needs and allows my loose DS cartridges to fit in pretty well with my complete DS games.

My only complaint about this is that while taking pictures for this blog entry the case is now easy to open. It's not popping open on it's own, yet, and I believe it can be adjusted, but when I first opened the case it felt like an official DS case and was slightly difficult to open, but now it simply pulls open with minimal effort. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I'll just have to wait and see!

Wii Controller Showdown!

As I may have stated before Project Outlet Wii is not my first experience with the Nintendo Wii, but it has reinforced how much I dislike the Wii remote. The only game that I can say the Wii remote has accentuated the experience for is Kirby's Epic Yarn; perhaps only because the controller is held in a more traditional fashion and doesn't require being waggled around, or a cable connected accessory, which is another issue. The need to add a directional pad, ala the nunchuk, always feels gimmicky, which itself is reinforced by Nintendo forcing developers to replace perfectly good controls to work with that gimmick. To me, the Wii remote just feels like a terrible joke that went too far.

Although my Wii library is small I still feel as though I've ran most of the gambit in controller gimmicks that the system has to offer. By far the most fun games I've played for the Wii are the ones that allow me to plug a Gamecube controller directly into the ports on the side. My only complaint there is that I've always felt that the Gamecube controller's button placement could have been designed better, but instead good enough won out. In addition to having all the controls on one unit I'm a large fan of not having to replace batteries in the middle of playing a game, which has happened more times than necessary with the Wii remote, so mark that as another win for the Gamecube controller.

When I finally got my hands on the Wii Classic Controller Pro I felt all my dreams had come true. I had all my controls together in one unit and the buttons were all arranged in a way that I easily knew exactly what buttons I was pressing at any given time, but there was one massive issue that I had overlooked. As soon as I plugged the controller into the Wii remote I realized that I was still dealing with a wireless, battery hungry beast. The controller felt amazing and it allowed me to navigate the main Wii menu screen withing having to point the remote at the screen, but it was still very dependent upon the batteries in the remote, which were now being drained even quicker because I had attached an accessory that drew power of it's own.

For my personal tastes the Nintendo Wii doesn't truly have a perfect controller, they all have their pros and cons. The Wii remote is a gimmick that oftentimes is more cumbersome than functional for casual gaming. The Gamecube controller is quite functional, yet the button layout was seemingly the brainchild of a brain dead child. And the Wii Classic Controller Pro (and by extension the Wii Classic Controller) relies heavily on the power of the Wii remote and drain it slightly quicker. I would like to get my hands on a Wii Motion Plus add-on or the Wii remote with it already integrated, just to see how much better it really is compared to the original.

Back in the Outlet Groove.

After two and a half years I finally returned to the Goodwill outlet store, and boy what a return it was. A few months ago it was announced that they had opened a Goodwill outlet store closer to my house, which filled me with nostalgia and excitement of getting back into the treasure hunt. Yesterday was the day, the day to get back into the swing and reward myself for facing anxiety and attempting to put it in it's place, and get my Goodwill outlet groove back.

The day started out with disappointment as the first Goodwill store I stopped at only had an overpriced DS soft case that only interested me because of the pair of stylus inside. I wasn't about to pay $6 for a case I didn't want, nor was I about to become an asshole and pocket the stylus, so I walked away defeated. After lunch at Hardee's, the big chicken sandwich by the way is AWESOME, the day cracked open and laid forth it's bounty of goods.

The second Goodwill store seemed barren, not a good deal in sight, until I looked down at the lowest shelf in the electronics and saw a Wii Fit Plus box. The box was wrapped in tape like a mummy, seemingly covered in blood stains, and it was HEAVY, which is a good sign that the Wii Fit board would be inside. I found the manager and asked him to cut the box open for me so I could take a look inside, just to make sure what I would potentially be purchasing be worth the $10 they were asking. As I peaked inside the box my heart sank to see that there was no Wii Fit board, but the rest of the goodies inside were definitely worth the price! Needless to say I bought it without a second though.

With my blood stained box of miscellaneous Wii parts safely packed into the vehicle it was time to finally go to the only Gamestop within 100 miles that had Lunar Dragon Song. I've been wanting this for a long time, as I've had the case and manual for the game, which I found at the outlet store, for many, many years. As I stepped into the store, my eyes quickly scanned the store and found the manila envelopes Gamestop keeps them in. My anxiety was already fucking with me all day, and the last thing I wanted to do was search through, literally, hundreds of these little envelopes to find a DS games. I had gone through at least 90% of their loose DS stock before I finally found it. After my purchase it was only a quick jaunt over to the next Goodwill store, which is literally just behind Gamestop.

Goodwill store stop number three seemed pretty barren as well. Tons of VHS tapes, tons of CDs and DVDs, and enough PS2 and original Xbox sports titles to build a bullet proof fort. Back in the electronics section was an old lady trying to get a small portable TV to pick up any signal, in vain because all TV signals are now digital, poor thing. Apart from the screaming children, who should have been in school, and the old people trying every single electronic device they could turn on, the store was a complete bust. Or was it?

As the crowd of unintelligible screaming children were cleared from the toy section and cornered into the clothes, which helps muffle their unrest, I took a crack at seeing what items I could find in the aftermath of their tornado. The first thing I found was a tiny piano with what appeared to be a GBA game attachment at the top, so for laughs I decided to pick it up and call it the Nintendo DS's Miracle Piano. (Video game humor) As I kept digging I found what was to be my favorite find of the day. There it was, sitting upon the shelf, looking at me and waiting for me to take it home, clean it and give it a good home. I've wanted one of these for years, and now was my chance to finally own one. At only $1.99, I knew that this purchase wasn't going to slip through my hands, and I actually proclaimed out loud "Mine!", as I snatched it off the shelf and checked the price tag. A Nintendo Wii Classic Controller Pro.

Next up was the trip to the outlet store. My nerves and anxiety were at their peak, but I wasn't about to let that stop me from at least giving this Goodwill outlet store a thorough checking out. Within the first few minutes of checking I found a green Afterglow Wii remote. After that came some empty video game cases, followed by a Dazzle DVC-170 for video game capture. What happened next was unexpected, and my reaction to it was even more unexpected. I had an internal struggle to stop myself, but I was too determined. With the flow of the day going the way they already had, this was now my chance, this was another item I had wanted, albeit for a short time.

Just as I had done with my NES top loader from another Goodwill outlet, from beneath a ton of miscellaneous stuff came a Nintendo Wii Fit Board. I was stunned, it was heavy and as I carried the behemoth up to see how much it weighed I made a choice in my mind that there was no way I was going to pass this up. Sure it was $9 and I could have found a better deal at another time, but I had just picked up the Wii Fit Plus box earlier and there was absolutely no way I was going to pass this up. I tried to stop myself and use my frugal mind, but I felt myself blocking such thoughts. Blind determination and the same will power I used to block out the anxiety had now locked me into the purchase of a $9 video game peripheral I have only used once, to make sure it worked. Even so, I still feel like it was destined to happen that way, and there was no other way it could or should have happened.

Everything cleaned up quite well and functions as it should. The only dud of the day is currently the Afterglow Wii remote, which seems to be a common issue, but for the outlet store price I really can't complain. Whether I fix it or part it out, I'm sure there is a reason I current own it, it's just not currently known. The Wii Fit resides within the box, which is now 99% clean of it's blood/juice and tape residue. The Wii remote that was inside the box had some batteries corroding inside, which cleaned up really well, but it does work.

I'm excited to go back to the outlet store and see what else I can find. With the serendipity of the day proving that there is a reason to some of the madness within one's life, you just need to push through and make things happen. Sure the anxiety was extremely rough, and like a scolded child it still is, but the prizes of the day were both physical items and reassurance that I can do this, and I will do this more often.

Dawn of Discovery DS

With the ability to actually play DS games again also comes the ability to expand my DS library. Such is the case of Dawn of Discovery, which originally came onto my radar for the Nintendo Wii. Through a mixture of laziness, anxiety and Gamestop's low stock I never got the chance to buy the Wii version, but on a recent trip to pick up some DS games I did pick up the DS version.

Dawn of Discovery is an economic management simulator that loosely reminds me of a mix between Age of Empires and Sim City. With two modes to choose from, continuous and story, you'll be taken through building and managing numerous islands in what I assume to be the 1400s, simply because the game is called Anno 1404 outside of North America. Story mode will teach you the basics of the game, and Continuous mode is where you're set free to test the skills they have taught you.

Dawn of Discovery can be addictive, but it can also be acutely frustrating. While building homes and manufacturing buildings you'll need to pay close attention to their needs to succeed, which means placing them within a certain radius of a building they deem vital to their survival. For example: when building a garment factory you will need to place it within a certain distance (rather close) to the material provider. This doesn't always work, as more often than not the game will tell me that it's not within the already small area in which it should be, even though the needed area was clearly marked when placing the building.

This becomes even more frustrating when building housing for your residents. The lower level homes are the most fussy and must be placed around a few things with such a small radius that you may find yourself taking up valuable land that should be homes, but is instead just duplicate buildings that are already a few short meters away from each other.

Once you think you've mastered that, which shouldn't take too long, your population will thrive, then dip, then thrive again, then dip down again, then you'll be in debt, get a loan from the king, lose all that money and need another loan, all before you eventually figure out that your populous are all just a bunch of whiny bitches. Yep, I said it. Your populous will always find a reason to complain, coupled with the game already not being too accurate with making things work by it's own rules, you may find yourself just walking away from the game for hours on end.

Despite the growing pains I eventually found a good balance. My residents always have something to complain about and no matter how many garment factories, date plantations, milk farms or food producers I have going successfully, it's never enough for them to ever be completely happy. Regardless I've managed to get it to correct itself just before the income drains and I need yet another loan, so I believe that's how real economics work anyway, right?

Sure, Dawn of Discovery can be a pain in the ass sometimes, and sure it's not all that well put together, maybe just because it's a stripped down portable version, but I did eventually start having fun with the game. I haven't started a new continuous mode yet so I'm not sure if the islands are randomized, but if so this game does have some replayability. For 99 cents I would suggest it, maybe not highly, but I do actually enjoy it. I'm sure after I sharpen my skills on making things work it will become more fun, but it does initially seem very frustrating.

Nintendo 2DS

When Nintendo announced the 2DS I saw it eventually becoming much like the NES top loader or the Wii mini; just another stripped down product for Nintendo to push out that won't be well accepted at first but in time will become hard to find, worth a lot of money and highly sought after by those who hated it when it originally launched. As people will undoubtedly disagree with that, that is exactly what happened with the NES top loader, and while I'm not saying everyone is rushing to ebay to pay the $100 for one of those, the large majority of people who just have to have them now are most likely the ones who mocked the console at its release, in favor of moving on to the Super Nintendo.

I fully understand there is no need to do a review of the Nintendo 2DS, by now either you love it or hate it, but I do want to write up my feelings on the situation anyway. After suffering through a few secondhand, broken DS consoles I decided it was time to look into finally owning a decent DS to play the few games I do own, and enjoy, for the DS line. Many issues cropped up, mainly the fact that I wasn't sure just how much fun I could wring out of another used console, much the same as I was quickly let down by the used DS and DS Lite consoles I already have. I do understand that my experience with the DS line is completely secondhand and that I bought them in poor condition, but that doesn't matter as there is plenty of evidence to prove the hinges are just an inherent problem. No matter how well a DS is taken care of a large number of them do break down.

When the DS first launched I wasn't exactly sold on the whole concept, as I was still waist deep in the GBA SP. As time went on I found that I was right to be less than accepting of Nintendo's new line of handhelds as many reports of the hinges snapping quickly filled forums across the internet. Nintendo's answer was to make the console smaller, yet the DS Lite didn't fair my better as it too suffered, maybe more so, from the easily cracked and broken hinge issue, which often gave way to the top screen's cable becoming ripped and rendering the system non-functional.

Then Nintendo decided to put a camera in the DS and call it the DSi, as well as offer an XL version of the DSi; this coupled with the seemingly more secure hinges the DSi, and especially XL, quickly become the definitive version of the DS to own. Eventually the DSi gave way to the 3DS and 3DS XL, which now used a 3D technology as well as used the cameras to allow users to take 3D stills. It didn't take long for the hinge issue to creep back up with the 3DS, among other issues such as parents not wanting their children to look at 3D games all day, even though that function is completely voluntary.

Through four variations Nintendo couldn't capture the successful execution of the hinged console the way they did with the GBA SP, and that was a major contributing factor in me deciding the new DS console I needed to own would be the 2DS. It was time to buy a new console so that all the life within the console was mine and mine alone, as there is no warranty with a used console. The 2DS has no hinges that plague the rest of it's brothers, since generation one. But even so the 2DS isn't perfect, it does have some faults of it's own.

2015 was a year I tried in vain to piece together parts from both the DS Lites I had picked up from the outlet store to finally make one that worked, yet in the process the fragile top screen cable ripped, rendering the last hope of my three DS handhelds useless. I decided to talk it over with my girlfriend as to what I should do about the situation, just to have an opinion I knew I trusted. After much discussion I received the best opinion on Christmas Eve in the form of a brand new 2DS my girlfriend so generously bought me.

My first impressions were excitement, as now I could finally start to expand not only my DS library but also add some 3DS titles to the collection as well. I am a bit overzealous about taking care of the screens, yet I feel as though this is better than having the hinges break, rip the top screen cable and render the whole console useless in a matter of time. The 2DS does feel a bit weak in areas, like a cheap Chinese import. That's not to say it's completely weak, but I do own a few Chinese Famiclone consoles and I know cheap Chinese plastic when I feel it; the creaks and snaps of having things poorly aligned, they're all present in the 2DS.

I have to say that I'm very happy with my 2DS as it does allow me to expand my DS library, add some 3DS titles and it finally allows me a stable way to play the games that it's hinged predecessors so painfully let me get hooked on and then quickly let me down when they ultimately broke down and became shining signs of Nintendo's poor planning and eager cash grabbing. Finally the fate of a console is all up to me, and I prefer it to be my mistake that I know I fucked up if something ever happens to the 2DS, not to be left feeling like someone just shit in my hands and ran off laughing when the hinge breaks and the screen cable rips, through no fault of my own.