lobotomy42

So, I finally got my Wii back from Nintendo. Or rather, they just sent me a new one. Either way, I spent this Thanksgiving weekend resuming Prime 3, which I hadn't played since early September. It's awesome! I love it! I've noticed that Prime 3 is a bit more, er, "cartoony" (for wont of a better word) than the previous two. (The bosses look a little "silly" according to my brother.) That's mostly ok with me, though. The only places that this has been a bother are when you find those secret Chozo areas. For some reason, It just feels a little less special than in the original. The gameplay and puzzles are still spot on, and there's tons of places to go. All is well, and I'm loving this game!

Alright, you've sold me. I'll add it to the list...

Hugo's House of Horros was great! Although I ended up using the hints, as I do in every adventure game. Let's see, what else was there on my old 386? Some kind of primitive platformer called Dangerous Dave, I think. There was a also a less primitive one..which I remember almost nothing of. Some sort of puzzle game with a title that was a parody of Guns 'n Roses....Or was it a play off of Romancing the Stone? Man, I can't even remember. There was also Zany Golf, which totally ruled, I think. Anyone remember Bubsy the Bobcat for SNES?

I've been hyped for this game since it was announced, basically, but the actual gameplay elements have me a little turned off. How much of a shooter is it, really? (Side-rant: Why do all Western RPGs these days insist on making the combat less turn-based and more like action games? That's stupid.) I like the idea of the plot, and another BioWare game with lots and lots and lots of talking...but I don't want lots and lots and lots of boring combat. Heck, I could do without the combat entirely. (KOTOR at least gave me this option via the "Force Push" power which eventually turned into a "kill everything on the screen" power.) Furthermore, I've been hearing bad things about the sidequests...namely, that it's just the same sidequest repeated about 200 times. Is this true? God, I hope not... I don't know. I'm lukewarm right now. Really, I just want KoTOR 3. And I want KoTOR 3 to NOT be an MMO.

This is the coolest new game announcement in a long time. I'm totally psyched.

Mostly I'm waiting for Nintendo to f***ing fix my Wii already so that I can play all the games they just released.

At least, for those of us in NA Man, I really need to start making more time for video games. A ton just came out that I really wanted to play, but didn't get around to - and this winter looks to be even worse! I haven't even finished playing all the awesome titles from *last year,* let alone this one! I had started Metroid, before my Wii broken. Then Eternal Sonata just zipped on by before I could play it, and Phantom Hourglass and now Touch Detective 2 (which I didn't even *know about* until a week ago) are out. Phoenix Wright is just around the corner, along with Battalion Wars, Fire Emblem, Mario, Mass Effect, Hellgate, Zack & Wiki, Rock Band, Nights into Dreams.... Is it just me, or is the Wii suddenly about to be on fire? And here, I am, little old me, playing Okami and Half-Life 2. (The one with no "Episode" after it.) It feel so out of touch. So old! So "I have a job so I don't have time for that anymore" responsible. I should just quit and play games all day.

A public thanks to Toblix for my new copy of HL2 Also, this forum rules!

Indeed, although I *thought* that I had done so, apparently it didn't stick. But I'm in now, and activated, and everything. (I hope.)

Yes, because when I think of Smash Bros., I think of long dialogue-laden cutscenes that feature lots of voice acting...

I don't really use Steam much, but I'm lobotomy42 ... I sometimes hang out here

Ooooh! Me! Me! I don't have them! I don't have them! Hang on, let me find my Steam information... EDIT: I'm lobotomy42 on Steam as well, fortunately. So I think I need to friend someone first? How does this work?

No? There are some games where the execution may be difficult, but figuring out where to go? What to do? How to do it? Japanese games are frequently much more straight-forward in this regard. (A trait I appreciate...in moderation.)

Dammit, I need free time again so I can play this. I'm still waiting for my Wii to get fixed so I can play Metroid again. And then there's still Okami, Dragon Quest, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Castlevania, Viewtiful Joe, and BioShock that I'm working on, and Phoenix Wright 3 comes out soon, and Chibi Robo and Mass Effect and Zelda and Mario....ARGH!!! I hate having a job. Not because I dislike the job at all, but because there's so little time for gaming! But yeah, to stay on topic here....I should get this. And I should play it.

The beginning part of *anything* is always the best part. It's the part that still holds the promise, vision and intent of the creator, before the harsh limits of reality have set it. The beginning has the benefit of *your anticipation* of the rest of the work covering up for some of its flaws. Sometimes, this is the way of things. I don't really mind it

Imagine this. There was a time, before the internet, when I didn't know anything about video games until they *were already out*. I would convince my mom that I had really, truly, thoroughly beaten the current game I was on (because she said it was a waste of money to buy a second game if you hadn't finished your first), and then she would drive me to Toys 'R' Us. There, I would rows and rows and rows of little pictures of the boxart of games, with a title, price and maybe a brief description. Based on THIS INFORMATION ALONE, I would make a purchasing decision, run home, and begin playing the game. What happened if the game sucked, you ask? Well, tough shit for me. I would have to play through the entire damn thing before my mom would even contemplate an additional purchase. Moral of the story: When I was a kid, we bought shit like SmartBall and we hyped ourselves, dammit! We played through the whole thing, and we liked it! BECAUSE WE HAD TO. So, let's look at the back of the box (by which I mean an Amazon.com listing) and get you all properly hyped, as if you just found the slip in Toys 'R' Us that says "Super Paper Mario - $49.99" Run through vibrant 2D worlds, stomping on enemies and breaking blocks With the press of a button, flip into 3D and find hidden paths, battle foes and uncover secrets hidden from 2D eyes Hold the Wii Remote sideways and control the game in classic Super Mario Bros. style Play as Peach and Bowser, both with their own sets of essential skills Duuuuuude! Play as Peach AND Bowser! There might me levels where you're trying to conquer Mario in Mario's Castle! The possibilities are endless! And check it out, you can hold the controller sideways, like an NES! Can you imagine the special effects involved in flipping from 2D to 3D? It will be so freaking great, that you don't even know! Alright, if that doesn't get you hyped, then NOTHING WILL.

So I indulged myself, put all my other games aside, and went out and bought this. The first section on the spaceship was sort of lame, but now I'm on the planet below, all by myself and... Ahhhhh. THIS is what Metroid is supposed to be like. So glorious! So lonely! So...awesomely controlled! Sweet! Also started watching my friend play BioShock. Seems fun, but...my preference is clear.

Am I crazy for actually enjoying the music?

But...but...the second phase is so easy! She takes like, just a few rounds of Phazon. Her wave attack you can just jump over, and the Metroids you can Power Bomb. I won't call you a quitter, for I have never beaten the final boss in "Trauma Center: Under the Knife," and...many other games I'm just surprised you found the *second* part difficult rather than the first.

Well, primarily, the appeal is for old 2D Metroid fans getting to see their beloved franchise in 3D. But, more to the point, the Prime series is an awesome platformer-in-shooter's clothing. The appeal lies in being dumped in a huge overworld, and figuring out where to go next. It uses the Zelda-style strategy of showing you doors/ledges/chasms early on that you think "Hmmm, how do I get through there?" but then not giving you the crucial item or special ability you need until much later on, so you think "Aha! Now I can go back to that first room and open this thing!" And sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't. And the really special-secret items are hidden really well, so it helps to have a *fantastic* memory. So, for example, you're dumped in an area with four or five visible exits. You hop around, blasting some debris, and eventually determine that two of them are actually reachable. A third you may think is reachable, but you eventually realize that it is *just* out of reach over a large hole. And the other two are differently-colored and do not respond to your attempts to shoot them open. So, you pick one of the two, and go exploring. Then you'll fight an enemy or two, and repeat the process. There's also morph-ball puzzles, and lots of "scans" (essentially, text to read - much of it optional, but providing clues as to what weapons work strongly on what enemies, and how to get through certain areas.) After so many rooms, you'll solve a puzzle, fight a huge boss and collect a new item/ability. Really, the best way to think of it is as an "old-school" 2D shooter-platformer gone modern. The videos for all the Prime games tend to focus on the shooting of the enemies, but don't be fooled. This is mostly to lure in the mainstream gamers who haven't played the series much. The actual game is mainly focused on what I'd call "exploration" rather than "adventuring," as Nintendo calls it, apparently unaware that the adventure genre exists. And though I'll admit the videos and screens have never looked great, the games look *really good* in motion, with some really nice art design and a solid 60fps framerate (which is a small thing, but it adds more than you think).

Don't give up on the last boss, she's easy! Well, as long as you have all four missile combos. If not, go back and get them. Then she's easy. Especially the second phase. And no, I don't have Prime 3 yet, nor the time to play it. But if I did...man, I'd be excited.

I think this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Alright, sold, I'll get it.

I think this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Alright, sold, I'll get it.

Maybe I'm still not getting it, or maybe I'm just overly cynical. I just feel like this is the same type of thing we saw in Dark Messiah of Might & Magic (or whatever it was called). The fantasy-shooter game that used the HL2 engine, and you could break the wood under the creatures, or throw them off, or just hack at them, etc. Or, heck, even in No One Lives Forever 2 I remember setting traps, and then throwing a coin somewhere to lure the guards out and then killing them with the traps. Or, again, Deus Ex. Hmmmm. Maybe I'm just one of those people you mentioned who are disappointed it's a shooter. The demo for PC comes out tonight. Mayhaps I'll give it a go and see if my impressions change.

So, at first I thought it was stupid. Then I realized that it's *not a parody* and now it's HILARIOUS!