"I think every player should think that he's a difference maker."

As a gamer that spends most of my game time on a handheld console, it can be frustrating when I get into a game on our Wii U and don't have the time to sit and play for extended periods of time. Being able to take the 3ds about with me is a lot more convenient. There have been some amazing Wii U releases this year and many of them I have wished could be somehow moved to the 3ds so I could fit them into the times I can actually dedicate to playing. It's this frustration that is getting me so excited about the Nintendo Switch, I love the idea of being able to continue a game I am playing on the go and I cannot wait to give the console a try in 2017.

Until that is possible though I spend my time hoping that the games I love will be moved to a handheld platform. Recently I've been in luck (Twice). Since reviewing Super Mario Maker back in September it instantly became my favourite Nintendo release of this year and inevitably made its way to the top of my top 5 Nintendo Christmas List. Super Mario Maker has taken those Mario games many of us have grown up with and given the Nintendo gaming world the chance to design custom levels to share with people all over the world. This is what I have always loved about Nintendo, for me, they are at the peak of games design.

When I first read that they would be creating Mario Maker for the 3ds I was so excited and couldn't wait to get stuck in. There are some really creative levels that have been designed and I love seeing what people have come up with, The boys and I really enjoy making almost impossible levels for each other to tackle and the game has sparked some serious competition in our house.

I was actually expecting the 3ds version of the game to be really limited, but there is just as much going on. The only negative I have found and its nothing to do with the actual game, is that you obviously need to be connected to the internet to enter the course world and play other gamers levels. That being said though, as I sat outside Seth's school with the game on, I clicked on 'Mario Challenge' and I have become obsessed! At first glance, these not very challenging levels look simple to complete but when you add things in like not being able to use the left button or only being able to destroy certain bad guys, the levels become not only difficult but very very addictive.

Seth has asked for Super Mario Maker for Christmas and has refused to play this until then. With the option of being able to design levels and send them to each other, I've got a feeling we are going to be in for a pretty eventful Christmas day.

I did mention earlier in the post that there has been two occasions where a game I love has had the WiiU to 3DS cross-over, The second is coming soon. I cannot wait to get my hands on another of my favourite games in 2017 when Nintendo also release that 3DS version of Yoshi's Woolly World, Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World. 2017 is going to be huge for Nintendo and I'm excited to be a part of it.

Living with the Secret Service.

It's an exciting time for kids at the moment. For years I have had many conversations about how much better it seemed being a kid in the 80's and for many reasons I stand by that comment. When it comes to toys though I can't help but feel a little jealous at what is available for kids these days. When I was young I wanted nothing more than to be a spy/adventurer. The Goonies was my big inspiration and Data (being my favourite character) was my daily driving force for solo activities to fill my time. I was constantly setting up booby traps for my family and desperately trying to find ways to make those 'slick shoes'. If the Goonies wasn't enough inspiration, there was always the bank holiday showings of the Bond movies to wet my secret agent appetite. 


 
The movies and TV shows were there but the world of toys just couldn't keep up with all those imaginative young minds. with the help of Spynet though they are definitely making up for it now. We've reviewed a few Spynet products over the years and what I love about the products is that each one oozes intrigue. also selfishly they give me the best chance to relive a youth I would have loved through the boys.

For me, the RC Recon video bot that we had reviewed a couple of years ago was everything I wanted as a kid, but that product kick started a love of spyware for the boys and we were soon walking about with a bionic ear and night vision binoculars, adding to our arsenal. Things had died down a little this year in the spy world, or maybe the boys were deep under cover? but it wasn't until last week that their love of the secret service was reborn. With new Spynet products hitting the shelves, the boys have been sneaking about the house acting exactly how I would have of at their age.

The video watch is a cool bit of kit! the mischief I could have got into with one of these back in the 80's would have been amazing. I'd have most definitely taken this into school and caused some trouble and Seth has said exactly the same thing. Being the responsible parent I am though I have discouraged this kind of thing. If I am honest though I wouldn't be at all disappointed if he decided too anyway, he's a kid after all, it's all part of the fun. You can secretly capture 20 minutes of video, 3 hours of audio or 2000 images (without the need for an extra SD card), all from the tiny camera hidden in the watch. You can also download an app for downloading the images from your watch which is great and there are downloadable spy games to play too.

As soon as we turned on the Spyclops bionic eye, I knew which one of our family of wannabe spies was going to be in complete awe of this product and it wasn't me or the boys. For a woman who is obsessed with picking, prodding and poking our skin at every given chance and who is always vocal about how much she would have loved to have been a dermatologist, this product had her hooked from the minute I plugged it in and held the bionic eye against my skin. With the on-screen images magnified by 200x, when it comes to your skin it's fascinating what comes up, especially when investigating my beard.  The Spyclops Bionic eye is going to come in very handy over the coming months for Opeie's science lessons especially because of the petri dish also included in the package. I just need to work on focusing a little more to get the best results.

I can't wait to see what Spynet come up with next, these products have opened the boys up to a world of intrigue and intelligent creative imaginative play. 

"I'm one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

I've felt a little naughty this December. After building Krennics Imperial Shuttle last week and feeling a little guilty that I was building it alone while the boys were in bed. I've found myself sitting here this evening building another huge Star Wars kit all on my tod. It's been a month of solo LEGO indulgence and secretly this time round I don't feel guilty at all. I'm loving having some 'me' building time and it has made me realise just how much I love building the kits as well as custom building.

I say 'solo building' but if I get the LEGO out when everyone is in bed then I nearly always have Polly joining me, she's a HUGE fan of the boxes.

As with all the Star Wars kits, I'd love to see a little more colour, but these detailed vehicles are awesome. Like Krennics Shuttle, the shape of the Clone Turbo Tank had me intrigued. I love how LEGO gets around the obscure shapes of each build. It gives me so much inspiration for my own building. The best thing about this build for me was the movement of the wheels, when you are actually building the wheel they seem over flimsy and just wrong, but once you have placed them on a flat surface the magic happens. These wheels are amazing and now that I've seen how they are built I think me and the boys will be building some similar vehicles over the summer to roam around our back garden and over the rockery.

The Clone turbo Tank reminded me of a Transformers Optimus Prime toy I had when I was a little boy. The tank looks great complete and the design means that you can fully open up every part of the build making it a great playable build. The Mini AT-RT walker also cleverly folds up and can be stored in the back part of the vehicle to be stored ready for action.

Included with the kit is Luminara Unduli, Quinlan Vos, Clone Commander Gree and the Elite Corps Clone Trooper along with two droids.

I couldn't resist taking this outside the following morning even though it was raining. The Clone turbo Tank is made for playing outdoors and we'll definitely be making the most of that once it's dry.

The great thing about a solo build is seeing the boys faces when they wake up to new LEGO to play with the following morning. Polly is always there to take full advantage of that box for a little longer.

The Clone Turbo Tank is just part of the huge selection of LEGO Star wars products available, including all the kits from the new Rogue one movie. You can find them all HERE.

"Its all fun and games, 'til Santa checks the naughty list"

With Christmas only weeks away, our preparations for the big day are in full swing. Rather than encouraging the boys to write a huge list of things that they want we told them to write 5 things on their Christmas list that they would really like from Santa. With gaming being such a huge thing, it was inevitable that one of them would ask for a console game. I wasn't at all surprised that it was Seth as he uses gaming as a distraction for his daily physio. With this in mind I thought I'd write about my top 5 Nintendo releases of 2016.

5: Kirby Planet Robobot

I love a good platform game. Finding it difficult sometimes to dedicate larger amounts of time to the bigger role-playing type games its always great to have the sort of game that you can just switch on wherever you are, knock out a few fast paced levels and then switch off until your next spare few minutes. Kirby Planet Robobot ticks all those boxes and has been my game of choice while parked up waiting for the troops.

4: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

If you played the original then who doesn't love a good remake. I bought a friend of mine the 3ds Ocarina of time remake at the beginning of the year after he had had an unfortunate accident while away and was advised by his GP to relax for a few weeks. Ill never forget his eyes lighting up as he unwrapped it, as the game was a great memory from his childhood. With Twilight Princess you can relive the epic story again in HD. With a huge free roaming world and many puzzles and activities to complete along the way, this is a game that will have you hooked.

 3: Yo-Kai Watch

Although Sun and Moon is HUGE at the moment, it seems that the Yo-Kai Watch fire is still burning bright in the Nintendo gaming world. I honestly expected things to have died down a little with this game now but I am constantly getting updates from the Yo-Kai Watch Twitter site, telling me that the game is still as big as the early weeks of its release. Yo-Kai Watch is a 3DS Role-playing game that has been compared to Pokemon a lot. If you look past the similarities though you'll see that this game has a pretty cool story and characters that you can really relate too. If you played a demo of this game I can guarantee you would purchase it.

  2: Pokémon Sun and Moon

Pokémon Moon is the first handheld console role playing game that I have got into for a long time. If I am honest I probably would not have even given it a try if it wasn't for Seth's excitement over its release and him being adamant that I had to have the game too so that we could play together. I'm so glad that he did steer me towards it though as I am hooked. If I had Mrs M's job travelling back and forth to London then this is how I would be spending my time. The latest installment from the Pokémon franchise is a must.

1: Super Mario Maker

 It was a close call between Pokemon and Super Mario Maker but for me personally, Mario Maker has so much more to offer with its gaming experience. This is a game that has endless possibilities and will never get boring as you are creating the levels yourself. On top of that there is an enormous catalogue of levels created by gamers all around the world. Whats more is that as of last week the game has now made its way to 3DS meaning you can take your creations on the road with you. For me, Super Mario Maker is everything I want in a game.

Whatever you decide on this Christmas you can be sure that Nintendo has you covered for gaming entertainment. It has been a really great year for Nintendo releases and I am so excited about 2017 with the release of Nintendo switch, yet again Nintendo are going to revolutionise on the go gaming.

Merry Christmas Ya'll

"Puck the halls with lots of Slapshots Fa la la la la la la la la "

'Dad can we have something hockey related to go on top of our tree this year?' was roughly what was said when the boys had finished decorating the Christmas tree in their bedroom this year. Every year it has been tradition for the boys to choose random toys to be our festive showpieces, but with hockey becoming such a big part of their lives this year it was inevitable that they would want their new love up high above the branches. There are so many cool Christmas related items available in the US and Canada and I'm kicking myself that we didn't realise that Hockey was going to be so big while we were away so we could have snapped some things up.
 

Sadly over here in the UK it is difficult to get many of these items and with import tax, extended delivery time and high costs, I just couldn't warrant splashing out this close to Christmas. So.... we did what we do best in our house and decided to make our own hockey-themed tree topper. Opeie is a big Chicago Blackhawks fan, partly because he loves the Jersey but also because he's a big Waynes World fan (I know what an awesome kid). So the Chicago Blackhawks were the starting point for our Christmas craft session. 

It's great crafting with the boys because they come up with the best ideas, like having a goalie mask and a Waynes World cap for the head piece. I threw in the idea for the wings and Opeie's last minute hockey stick idea while eating a frozen banana and being inspired by the stick,  meant our team creation ended up looking pretty great I think.

"Much to learn you still have"

It doesn't happen very often but when I see the chance to have a solo LEGO kit building session I fully embrace it. The boys want to be a part of all the building but when it comes to LEGO Star Wars they are just not that interested, so I use that as 'me time'. I can fully appreciate why they are not interested in (probably) LEGO's most popular theme, as in many ways they are like me, they love building in as much colour as possible. The LEGO Star Wars range is definitely heavy on the black and dark grey but they are true to the movies so its understandable, I'm not sure Darth vader would have commanded the respect and fear that he did, if he were flying about in a pink and green stripey Tie fighter.

As much as the Monochrome ships are less pleasing to me visually compared to, say the recent Beatles yellow submarine kit or (sticking with Star Wars) the Ewok village (which I would love to get my hands on), there is something else that excites my interests with these kits, the shapes! As a custom builder who spends a lot of time lay down on the floor creating with the boys, I am fascinated by the design features of the Star wars range and the detail that goes in to recreating the obscure shapes of some of the ships.When I reviewed the LEGO AT-ST and the Tie Striker a few months back I couldn't wait to get into building the main body of the AT-ST and the wings and cabin of the Tie Strike (which by the way is an awesome build). Seeing how the pro's design these kits is a huge inspiration for my own building with the boys.

Last nights build was no different. As I started unboxing Krennic's Imperial Shuttle from the Rogue One range, I couldn't wait to see how they had designed the crazy shape of the main section of the ship and those huge impressive looking wings. One thing I always feel a little guilty about when I'm building kits alone is Opeie not being there to build the Minifigures, it is his favourite part of any build but this is the only chance I get to do it. The 5 figures and Droid that you get with this kit are great, Pao is definitely my favourite, I'm sure that face of his will come in very handy down the line.

There's something about LEGO building that really relaxes me and clears my head, Mrs M always jokes that LEGO to me is like a form of meditation. There is something so satisfying about watching a build take shape. I wasn't expecting the wings to be as big as they are, even though the measurements are on the box. Once they were on though I couldn't wait to build that impressive main body of the ship, it gave me so many new ideas for creating odd shapes, it was some serious LEGO schooling.

I slipped in to that LEGO trance as soon as I started building the shuttle and before I knew it it was 2am as I clicked the last few pieces in to place. I can honesty say, I have never had a LEGO kit that wasn't an absolute joy to build. It may be a space ship heavy on the black bricks but the structure and design of this kit is really interesting. With retractable landing skids, a main body that opens up from every angle and huge wings that fold up, this kit really is a perfect playable kit as well as a great display piece. You can learn a lot about brick placement from the LEGO designers and I was full of inspiration after completing this.

Much like the AT-ST and Tie Striker build (which I also built into the early hours of the morning), I couldn't resist taking the Imperial shuttle outside to photograph it in the moonlight. With a huge range of LEGO Star Wars kits available, Krennic's Imperial Shuttle is definitely a must for any collection.

To see the full range of LEGO Star Wars and Rogue One kits click HERE!

"The fungus among us"

I have loved this Autumn, Opeie and I have been on so many homeschooling adventures and even though I have my 'am I doing enough' moments. I am confident that Opeie has learnt a lot over the last few months and most importantly has loved every minute of it. Homeschooling has been amazing since day one, being able to learn while being outdoors and doing exactly as we please has had an amazing impact on Opeie and he is the happiest and most loving child, I am so proud of how he is growing. Our outings throughout the week are a mixture of mini games and investigation that are ongoing. One of those, which started during the early Autumn months was fungi hunting.

It all started when we spotted fungi straight out of a Disney movie. I've never seen red toadstools (The fly Agaric) growing anywhere before so it was a nice surprise and kick-started a fungi hunt everywhere we went adventuring. Our collection is just getting started but I wanted to share the photos that we have collected so far which Opeie is really excited about. I named the post after a mushroom burger that I had in Orlando earlier in the year at the vegan restaurant Ethos. So here they are "The Fungus Among us".

"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was..."

Back when we first started writing for Nintendo I would write a lot of my posts from the car as I spent a lot of time waiting around for Mrs M and Seth, picking them up from places, so my 3ds went everywhere with me. It's not been that way for a while but yesterday, Because we couldn't get an extra ticket for Seth's nativity, I found myself in that perfect gaming situation again. It couldn't have come at a better time really, because at Seth's request I've embarked on a new Pokémon adventure with the latest installment Sun and Moon and I was itching to pick up where I'd left off.

There have been some amazing games released this year from Nintendo but for Seth, Pokémon Sun and Moon has been the most anticipated! He was a huge fan of Omega Ruby and Since he found out about Sun and Moon he has been counting down the days to its release. Despite my ongoing love affair with Nintendo which started around 30 years ago, I have somehow never played a Pokémon role-playing game. Seth was adamant though that I needed to join him so that we could both play together. His excitement was infectious so I jumped on board and we've both been playing for the last week.

When it comes to gaming I like the classic Mario way of doing things. 8 worlds, various levels that aren't too long etc, as I find it easier to fit that kind of gaming between other things that I'm doing. I'd love to get lost in a game but I find it difficult to make the time so it doesn't happen often. Sun and Moon surprisingly has been the sort of game that made that time as I was fully engrossed in the game within the first 10 minutes and I've literally been squeezing in bursts of gameplay every spare chance I've had. Seth has been loving it, as even though it is not a multiplayer game we've been sitting and playing together while checking out each other's Pokémon.

We had downloaded the demo a few weeks back so were both excited that we could take Greninja over to the full game. it was a great addition to the team (despite not being able to control him at the moment). We also added Munchlax to the team from getting the game around the release date. The early bird catches the.... Munchlax apparently! As I said I've not played a Pokémon game before, but Sun and Moon appears to be mapped out like the previous Role playing installments from what I have read. The story draws you in early on and being able to roam around battling and catching wild Pokémon in all the grassed areas scattered about is great. Because Seth knows so much about Pokémon I thought I was going to be terrible at playing but the story explains everything clearly and you feel like a Pokémon master in no time, knowing when to use a grass or water type Pokémon etc. 

The story so far has been really well written as you battle your way through the islands. Despite being extremely annoying, I kind of love how the bad guys (team skull) irritate me so much. When you bump into them while moving around the Alola region and they start talking that cringe worthy 'Gangster wannabe slang' while wearing those skull scarfs around their faces I instantly want to destroy them. Always a great feeling when you are playing a game as the hero.

The aim of the game is to move around the islands to advance and grow as a new trainer. With strong adversaries to defeat, including kahunas and Trial captains on each island. The battles get increasingly more difficult as you progress. It's not all battling though, there's a lot of focus on how you treat the Pokémon you catch too and your little army can get a lot stronger through affection and taking good care of your team mates, which is a great lesson to add into a game for younger players.

I've played Sun and Moon a lot over the last week, which for me has been really surprising. The game is amazing but what adds to that is how happy it makes Seth that I'm playing something that he loves. It's been great bonding time for both of us.

If you are looking for 3ds gift ideas this Christmas then Sun and Moon is a must and with Mario Maker coming out this week too, this years festive period seems like it's going to be dominated by that Gaming giant that has grown with me for many years.

And now I am off to bed to squeeze in another hour of play. Ive 'gotta catch em all' after all.