Consoleation Status Report: Hitting The Road

I’ve been talking about this a bit, but now the hour is almost at hand.

On Thursday morning, I will be departing for my new home in Chandler, AZ. I’ll be driving out there, so I’m anticipating a 7-10 day trip… which is going to include a few sightseeing stops since I’ve rarely traveled out of New England. My current itinerary has stops at Hershey, PA and the Grand Canyon… but may also include Graceland in Tennessee if I make good enough time. This is my long-awaited vacation from everything, as I’ve not had a real vacation (with no work or writing responsibilities) since 2001.

As a result, there might be another lapse in entries here at Consoleation. I plan to use Twitter liberally, and may be able to sneak in some brief updates on my DSi-playing progress as I’ll be playing all three Castlevania games during the course of the trip. If I do update here, it will be via my Blackberry Storm, so the entries won’t be as detailed as I’m used to publishing… but since I’ve rediscovered my love for writing and have a goal of getting permanently re-established within gaming press circles once I’m settled into my new address (which makes travel to E3 a real possibility for the first time ever for me), I would like to continue sharing my thoughts and observations when I can.

Unfortunately, I won’t be in a position to hook up any consoles while on the road, so I won’t be on Xbox Live or playing Wii during the move. Once the move is completed, I have my eyes set on two major game releases: Modern Warfare 2 for the 360 and New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii. Aside from those games, my purchasing habits are going to be severely curtailed until I get situated with a job and start generating income again. Perhaps that will be a good thing, since I have a propensity to impulsively spend money on some games that I really don’t wind up wanting or liking. Having to budget money tighter than normal will hope me in the long run.

Before I go, though, here are some quick thoughts on Nintendo’s latest retro revival:

Excitebike: World Rally (WiiWare, 1000 Wii Points / $10) is a lot of fun. Nintendo has basically taken the tracks from the NES original and set them in more varied locations around the world… but the play control from the 1987 classic is carried forward here with few changes and feels as tight as ever. I would’ve liked to have seen updated leaderboards with the best times from each track, but there is online play here which works quite well. Playing online or with friends is what really extends the replay value of Excitebike: World Rally, but there’s plenty for solo players to do, as well. I really recommend this one, especially if you’re the nostalgic type.

With that, it’s time to retire for the night. Next stop: Arizona!