I'm a little behind (yet again) posting my favorite pickup from July, but better late than never So, let's get started!

July was a mediocre month for pickups, I found a few pretty decent deals, nothing spectacular but enough to prevent me from making too many impulse purchases! I managed to get quite a few games this month that I had been wanting and more importantly I was able to mark several games off my list of games I want to get. Despite all the games I purchased last month, one definitely stands out as my favorite and that is:



Game: Klonoa
Price Paid: $13.99
Purchased: FYE


Klonoa is a game that I have been interested in since it first came out on the Wii. I had heard a little about some of the older Klonoa games, but knew very little about them. I managed to pickup a GBA Klonoa game some time ago and really enjoyed it, which only made me want the Wii game even more. While I wanted the game it wasn't one I needed to get right away, so I decided to wait for the price to drop. I noticed a lot of places had dropped the game down to $20 a few months ago, but for some reason didn't pick it up. When I was finally ready to buy the game no stores in my area had it and looking online the prices seemed to have gone back up. So, when I spotted the game at FYE for $14 I knew I had to get a copy, despite it being gutted, before I missed out on it.

When I got home from purchasing Klonoa I was really excited to give it a try, so I opened it pretty quick and popped it in the Wii. I had seen a lot of gameplay of the game and read about it, but I was really excited to get to try it out for myself. After playing the first level, I was immediately hooked. The game looked great, it was bright and colorful, just the perfect looking game on the Wii. But more importantly, the game was fun! Grabbing enemies to jump to higher platforms and trying to figure out what you needed to do in order to get from the beginning to the end was not only fun, but also a little challenging at times trying to figure out what you would need to do. Everything about the game is a blast and though I haven't completed it, I think the only complaint I may have is that is too short.

Who Do I Recommend It To: I feel Klonoa is a game just about anyone will enjoy. While there are some challenging areas to it, I don't feel there are any areas that are too difficult for even younger gamers. This is the perfect game for families with gamers of all ages. Klonoa is a perfect game for Wii owners that are looking for a a great third party game to hold them over until the next big releases from Nintendo. Of course, if you enjoy puzzle/platformers, Klonoa is absolutely perfect as well. Once again, as with most games I pick, the only people I don't recommend this to is anyone that dislikes casual games, platformers, etc.


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For the past few months I have included some foods I have tried and absolutely love and recommend others trying. For some reason food has made it into this blog a lot more often than I ever thought it would. While I do actually have a food item from July that I would recommend to others, I'm going to skip food for this month and move onto another of my pickups for the month, that also happens to be my favorite, overall, pickup for the month. The item is:



Item: 32gb 3G Apple iPad
Price Paid: $729.00
Purchased: Best Buy



Oh boy, where to start. The iPad is something I was interested in as soon as it was announced. When I first heard about it, I was very excited, but being an Apple product I figured it would be overpriced. When Apple announced the base price of $499 I was quite tempted to purchase it. Despite how much I wanted it, I was able to resist buying the iPad for a few months. As with most products, especially when they are brand new, I like to let a little time pass so I can read reviews and get feedback. I also decided to wait because I just didn't think it was something I would need or even use that often. I knew I wanted it, but I figured it would be more of a toy than something that I would actually use a lot. After waiting for a little while, I finally decided that it was something I really wanted to get. So, I looked into it a little more, looked into alternatives, etc. but I ultimately decided the iPad was the best way to go. So, I decided to purchase it, but then realized that the supply still hadn't quite reached the demand. So, it became a little bit of a hunt to track one down, but I was finally able to after a short while.

Even after buying the iPad I was a little nervous that I would regret the purchase. I already had an iPod Touch and while I like it, I just don't use it that much. I would sometimes use it to check emails on the weekend, or play a quick little game, but nothing too special. I finally decided to just open it and see what it was all about. All I can say is WOW! Since I first opened it and started using it, I really haven't put it down that much. I've used it so much that it has actually cut into my gaming time and caused my progress in my backlog to suffer a little. About the only time I don't use it is when it is charging and even then I sometimes turn it on to do something. The funny thing is, I mostly bought the iPad to use on weekends when I'm not home that much but still like to be able to check things online when I have a few minutes. My iPod Touch, Blackberry, etc. all worked for that, but just wasn't quite what I was looking for. However, now that I have the iPad I've actually used it more than my computer and my computer is what I use only a few days a week now.

The screen on the iPad is probably what appeals to me the most. There is plenty of space to do various tasks, i.e. surf the web, send/read e-mail, play games, read the news, etc. Despite the big screen, the iPad is still very portable and can be taken anywhere. The speed it quite impressive, the time to load full pages on the iPad is usually quicker than mobile versions on the iPod Touch, etc. The amount of apps is great, while there still aren't as many options as for the iPod Touch/iPhone there is plenty of things to choose from and you still have the option to use the other apps, they are just small or pixelated if you decide to increase the size. I could go on and on about everything I love about the iPad, but I won't bore you!

While the iPad is really great, there are a few things that are a little annoying, that I have noticed so far. First is the fact you don't have flash. I've not run into too many issues with it and about the only time I really wish I could have used flash was when I tried to read the ad for Toy's R Us. It isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice if you were not limited at all. Second is the fact you can't multitask, but that should not be an issue in a few months, I really can't wait for that. Third is YouTube videos. One of the biggest reasons I wanted the iPad was so that I could watch YouTube videos, I liked the idea of pulling up my account and watching videos from my subscriptions before I went to bed. However, I've learned that the iPad can have issues with YouTube, I've used both the app and just tried watching from Safari, but either way it can be incredibly slow to load videos, to the point that I usually just stop trying because it isn't worth the wait. I've not tried watching anything in the past few days, but when I last tried it seemed like the loading times were a little better, but still not perfect. This is definitely something I would like to see improved. My fourth, and final complaint (which is mostly me nitpicking) is the lack of a camera. While it isn't something I have to have and wouldn't be something I used all that often, I still think it would have been a great feature to include. As much as the iPad can do, it just seems like it would have been perfect if there was a camera on board (ideally one on the front and back like the iPhone 4) It is definitely something I can live without, but I think the iPad is the perfect device to have included a little camera on.

Who Do I Recommend It To: Anyone that is looking for, what I consider to be, the ultimate mobile media device. The iPad is large enough that you can enjoy movies and things in a decent size, but not so large you don't want to have to take it anywhere. The battery life is really great, especially considering the size of the screen and that I use wifi pretty much all of the time. I have watched quite a few videos since getting the iPad and they look incredible, the speaker that they included is very impressive and makes the movies very enjoyable. I don't have Netflix yet, but I'm definitely planning to get it so that I can basically have unlimited movies and tv shows as well. The amount of apps to choose from gives you tons of options of both things you can use for work or play. It is just so much fun to use because I can watch videos, then view photos, listen to music, go online, read a book, read a comic, play a game, create a document, etc. There is so much you can do with it, it is quite amazing! Despite my initial questioning of the purchase, I couldn't be happier now and have absolutely no regrets.