Gaming Doesn't Lead to Violence?

This is a fantastic video. These guys decided to do some real research in regards to video games and how it relates to violence in children. I particularly enjoy the segment about the Virginia Tech shootings around the 5th minute.

Maybe I enjoy this video because I am a gamer and the results of these studies shows gaming in a positive light. I would say more but I think the video pretty much speaks for itself. Tell me what you think.

What Mario Kart Wii Should Be

I thought it would be interesting to post about a Mario Kart Wii game that I would actually buy. I decided to use another game, that we all seem to be thoroughly enjoying, as the cornerstone for how Mario Kart Wii could have been. The game I am comparing Mario Kart to is Super Smash Bros Brawl. I may have simply stolen features from Smash Bros and added them to the Mario Kart series but in all honesty, that's what Nintendo should have done anyway. Adding bikes to a kart game that effectively handle the exact same as the karts is not an upgrade. And since I'm on the subject, baby-ifying existing Mario universe characters is not the same as making new characters.

Let's start off with a big one. Why doesn't Mario Kart for Wii have a simple level editor? I'm talking about both battle mode tracks and racing course here. How awesome would it be to effectly make the game with all new courses, rather than half the courses being rehashes, and allowing us to "download" created versions of past courses. This would be a feature just like Smash Bros in that we could receive levels from other people, or Nintendo themselves, once a week from the Mario Kart Channel. Smash sends levels that only take a single block of memory, why couldn't courses be small file sizes too?

One of the major complaints I always hear about the Mario Kart series is the fact that the rubber band AI is too elastic. Well, a very easy way to fix that issue is to allow you to turn off all items (obviously not in Grand Prix modes). Or even better yet, let me turn off just the triple red shell or single banana peel. And while I'm on that note, allow me to change other options of each race or battle. Why can't I change the gravity on the course allowing for huge jumps and tricks? It would allow for near flight combat segments. Now try and tell me that wouldn't be a cool option.

And lastly, allow me to save replays of races or battles and let me send them to friends. If you had a great comeback in a race, send the replay to a friend. If you had a classic moment you want frozen in time, send the picture to a friend. And in addition to that, something Smash doesn't allow, let me save these images as jpgs so I can send them to friends that don't have the game. Think about it Nintendo, that's free advertising for one of your best franchises. Or at least it used to be one of your best.

Casual Games are to Water what Hardcore Games are to Soda

Casual Games = Water
Hardcore Games = Soda

For the sake of this argument we are going to assume there is a difference between what are called "casual" games and what are called "hardcore" games. And let's be honest, there is a drastic difference in a game such as Gears of War and a game called Wii Play. What I find interesting is the relation of "casual" games to a glass of water and "hardcore" games to a can of pop.

Water has a plain flavor that anyone can enjoy. Give a 12 year old child a glass of water and they love it; same goes for an 85 year old woman. Grandparents love water. Much like "casual" games, everyone can enjoy a tall glass of water.

Soda pop has a much more complex flavor when compared to water. It almost has an acquired taste, one that many older people do not enjoy do to the excessive bubbles (complicated controls) or the "it's bad for you" reputation (violence). I know not all hardcore games have violence but that is the common belief among non-gamers.

I am the type of gamer who loves both types of beverage (talking about games now). I own and love drinks everywhere from Dasani to Aquafina to Fiji (Brain Age, Wii Sports, Picross). But I also love myself some Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, and Sierra Mist (Halo, Gears of War, and Super Smash Bros). All of these drinks I can enjoy, a good beverage is a good beverage no matter the type or the flavor.

Mario Kart Wii is an interesting beast in regards to this beverage analogy because it is trying to appease both the water crowd and the soda crowd. This game to me seems closer to a Propel Fitness Water, which I do not enjoy. There are certain things I do not like about beverages and one of the main ones is when you water down my fountain drink. I'm sure you have all taken a drink of your 7-11 fountain drink about an hour after you fill it up and the ice has begun to melt into the drink. It's nasty. That is how Mario Kart Wii tastes to me.

I can't quite put my finger on the reasons why Mario Kart Wii seems like a watered down version of the series but it simply tastes bad in my mouth. Could it be the lack of a co-op Grand Prix mode? Perhaps. Could it be the requirement that battle mode is team based only? Maybe. Or could it be the fact that it is impossible to be eliminated in Battle Mode because it is all score based? Good chance. There are simply no options, no complex flavors.

Even though they are adding an online mode it still seems to me that this is a watered down version of the series' past. Please explain to me why this is a delicious flavored beverage because I would like nothing more than to continue my love for one of Nintendo's greats, but it simply isn't happening right now.

Nintendo's Pay-to-Play Online, Bad News for Gamers

As mentioned during this years Game Developers Conference (GDC) Nintendo could very well start charging its customers to play games online. Not only that, but it will allow companies to start releasing downloadable content for games.

I personally think this news is awful. I can't stand the fact that companies hold onto content for a game, charge full price for it, and then release said content and charge you again. I would rather wait a year for the full-blown sequel while playing the original than pay $30-$40 to "upgrade" the same game and then pay for the sequel a year and a half later anyway. Make this downloadable content free (yeah right), and we'll talk.

A game like Animal Crossing on the Wii, which I am (was) quite excited for, now holds some serious potential to be a total wallet killer by forcing us to pay for every single piece of furniture. Disaster in the making? I sure hope so. This may be the first time I have ever hoped for something that Nintendo does to fail. So much for appealing to everyone huh Reggie.

As for paying to play online games, until Nintendo's online services prove not to suck compared to the competition, one of which is also free (see PS3), then they should hold off on this move. The announcement stated this change is for the Wii and the DS system, but DS users are already paying an extra $5 charge for every WiFi compatible title ($35 for a DS game rather than $30). Now Nintendo is going to charge an addition fee after the already increased $5 price? If Mario Kart Wii is the first game to demonstrate this move for Nintendo, then it could very well be the first Mario Kart game that I do not buy.

Am I alone on this one? Are there others out there that feel the same way I do or am I standing on top of a very small soap box?

Sony Ends 80GB Model, Analysts Suck

Well it's official. Analysts are a bunch of idiots. And yes, I mean all analysts. I have never particulary liked analysts, for really any industry, because there are so many of them guessing so many different things that a few of them are bound to be right. And those are the only ones who get recognized. The 95% that failed never get mentioned because that's not interesting. I suppose I have always seen them with this thought in mind: "Those who can't; predict." Or should I say try to predict.

Didn't see that pole there did you analyst? Whoops...

For those of you who may not have seen the rumors, they seem pretty accurate and reasonable to me, about Sony discontinuing their 80GB model of their PS3 then head on over and read the news. With this news I was alerted of another reason I don't tend to read analyst blogs or care in the slightest what they say. According to GameDaily Mike Hickey, an analyst for Janco Partners, said

"Sony is likely dumping the 80GB version because it has failed to meet internal sales projections."

DO YOU THINK???? Could Sony possibly have canned the 80GB version of the system because it was selling too well? That's the only logical reason I could come up with. It's a good thing Janco Partners pays this guy [any money at all] to inform us of the ways of retail.

Leon S. Kennedy in Smash Brothers???

After yesterday's announcement about Olimar in Smash Brothers it is quite apparent there are a few secrets left in Sakurai's magic bag. According to IMDB (Internet Movie Database) Leon S. Kennedy of the Resident Evil series will be voiced in the new Smash Brothers game. This doesn't really mean anything since nothing has been announced but it is certainly interesting. I would have to think, were this information true, then Leon would have to be a playable character. If he was merely an Assist Trophy or side character then he would most likely not need a voice for the game. So he must be a playable character.

Leon may seem out of place in a game that is compiled of mostly cartoony sort of characters but the way the series has been going Leon really makes sense. Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid series has already been announced as a playable character and he is a very real-to-life character. Capcom, the makers of Resident Evil, also currently have no character represented in Smash. Sega has Sonic, Konami has Solid Snake, and Nintendo has, well, Nintendo has everyone else. So why not allow a company such as Capcom to release a major player in Smash. It may give them some incentive to support the Wii a little more with some other games, here's looking at you Bionic Commando (please help it happen readers), if they got a character in Brawl. It also leads me to wonder if Square-Enix or Ubisoft has anyone in the game. I sure hope so. On second thought, I just hope this rumor is true first, then I'll worry about Square and Ubi.

Most Enjoyed Games of the Year List

Over the course of the 2007 year there were multiple games that were worthy of my time. As you may have seen a few days back I listed out all the games that I completed during the course of the year. The games on the Completed List were in no particular order but this time they are in order of my most enjoyed games of those I completed. There were a few games on the Not Completed List that I enjoyed a lot more than some of the games on the Completed List. Take Contra IV for instance, if I had beaten that game it would most likely be somewhere near Picross DS on the list. But since I didn't "complete" it I can't rank it on this list. Most games that were truly worthy of my time I found a way to complete but Contra wasn't released until late in the year, I didn't even get the game until four days before the New Year, so I couldn't complete it in time.

In the end, I would have to say that Super Mario Galaxy gave me the most fun experience this year. Does it help that the game was released in November and is fresh in my mind? Yes. But did you notice Gears of War resting at #2? That game was released in '06 and it still made it to the top. I've now beaten that game (co-op) three and a half times and once on every difficulty. Twilight Princess was mostly completed in '06 but the final boss wasn't defeated until '07. I would like to play through Metroid Prime 3 again but I'm struggling to find the time with Zack and Wiki, Contra IV, Medal of Honor Heroes 2, and Guitar Hero III still on my plate and Endless Ocean (a very long term game) and Smash Bros Brawl coming out in the next month.

The best classic game I beat this year was surely Gunstar Heroes, you'll notice it was the only Virtual Console game I completed, but I am only a few hours away from beating Super Metroid so it lucked out on that rank. I had a blast with Excite Truck, mostly with friends over, and Metroid Prime Hunters I finally managed to beat the single player experience by March of '07. If you have MPH on your plate to complete the single player mode, I wouldn't recommend jumping it to the top of your list anytime soon. The multiplayer was great but the single player was seriously lacking.

So let me know what you think of my rankings and feel free to post your top games for '07 in the comments section so we can compare.


Best Games Completed This Year (Order of Fun Experienced)

1. Super Mario Galaxy - 120 Stars (Wii)


2. Gears of War (Xbox 360)


3. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)


4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)


5. Picross (DS)


6. Resident Evil 4 (Wii)


7. Halo 3 (Xbox 360)


8. Wii Sports - Reached Professional Levels (Wii)


9. Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)


10. Castlevania: DS (Not Julius Mode) (DS)


11. Super Mario Strikers Charged (Wii)


12. Red Steel (Wii)


13. The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Wii)


14. Excite Truck (Wii)


15. Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS)


16. Baten Kaitos (Gamecube)


17. Wario Ware (Wii)


18. Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii)


19. WiiPlay (Wii)

Multiplayer > Single Player in Phantom Hourglass

Is it a bad thing that I am more interested to play the mulitplayer portion of a game that has, in the past, been strictly a single player fare? I have successfully completed the first dungeon in the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS and I was mildy impressed, but it's the multiplayer portion that really gets me wanting to pick the game up again. The single-player seems like a watered-down version of The Wind Waker for the Gamecube with a stylus covering parts of the screen at all times. That may be an unfair comparison because the game seems to do a lot of neat things like writing notes on maps and drawing the path of a boomerang.

The multiplayer in Hourglass is a first for the Zelda franchise, at least competitively. Four Swords was a multiplayer Zelda game but that was more of a co-operative event using the Gameboy Advance and the Link Cables. The thing about Hourglass' multiplayer is that it actually has more in common with Pacman VS, another game that used the Link Cables, than it does any other Zelda game.

The way Pacman VS works is one person gets the top down view of typical Pacman games while three other players control the ghosts in a more constricted 3-D view. Hourglass is similar with only a few changes in the design. First of all, it's Link (Pacman) that has the contricted view and not the Statues (Ghosts). Secondly, it is only a two-player game with the defensive player, the one controlling the Statues, controlling all three at once using the stylus. This player draws paths for the Statues using the top-down map and can see Link's location on the map at all times. Link runs around the map trying to grab Triforce pieces and bring them back to his base without getting sliced by the Statues. There are six rounds, three for each person, and you get scored based on the size and number of Triforce pieces in your base at the end of the final round.

To top it all off, the game allows you to play multiplayer over the WiFi Connection against both strangers and friends. Due to the crappy nature of Nintendo's friend codes playing with friends is pointless other than knowing you are playing against someone you know. As you play the game you get points that upgrade your rank. There are also various "achievements" in the multiplayer that allow you to unlock little things in the single player mode. Completing a game without ever dropping a Triforce piece, shutting out the opponent, and winning without power-ups will all earn you different unlocks.

My opinion may change as I get further along in the single player mode but as of right now, multiplayer is the bell of the Phantom Hourglass ball.

Metroid Prime Trilogy Comparison: Final Day

Bosses
In Metroid games, there is one thing that really sticks with you. No matter how great a puzzle is, it is rarely remembered over a great boss fight. Boss fights, in Metroid games, are essentially a puzzle on their own, a puzzle that can kill you. Every time you encounter a boss you need to determine its weaknesses and decide how to defeat them. There are great boss fights in each of the Metroid trilogy games but none compares to the greatness that is Quadraxis. This is a boss that actually made use of the Echo Visor in a meaningful way. The visor is used in other instances in the game, but this is one of the rare times that it actually made sense.

First of all you need to take out the four-legged spider creature by the knees. Once you get it down to the ground you tear away at its armor until the body of the system separates from the legs. The body then flies around receiving sound frequency data from the legs. Until you destroy the sound frequency signal, using the visor, the body is invulnerable. The body is too high in the air for you to reach from the ground so you must use the Morph Ball to crawl up the legs, still resting on the ground at a 45° angle, and boost ball off to attach to the floating body. From here you drop bombs in certain locations on the body. This is a boss fight that could not be done in any other game.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Quadraxis, Morph Ball-only boss)
2) Metroid Prime (Metroid Prime, Meta Ridley)
2) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (1st Meta Ridley, Gandrayda)

Overall
For all of you out there that may be sick of these Metroid comparisons, this is where it all ends. We've compared bosses, graphics, weapons, suits, and many other Metroid-esque features. MP is the most influential of the Metroid games, MP2 has the best boss fights and suits, and MP3 has the best graphics and controls. So how do you decide which of the three trilogy games is the best all around game. Well, what it really comes down to, is the best balance and overall impact. MP may not have had the best scan system of the three, the best weapons, or the best graphics but the trilogy would not exist without it. This is as good a transition from 2-D to 3-D as it comes and we owe it all to the greatness that Metroid Prime.

One last thing that needs to be mentioned is the character model used for Samus. In this regard, MP is far, far superior to that of MP2 and MP3. If you need to see for yourself, please see the images below. MP Samus is the image on the top and the cartoony looking Samus from MP2 and MP3 is on the bottom. Enjoy.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime (Balance and Innovation)
2) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Compilation of everything)
3) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Wonderful Bosses)

Metroid Prime Trilogy Comparison: Day 4

Suits
In all Metroid games, including the trilogy, Samus can don mulitple different suits giving her varying attributes and abilities. But one of the coolest parts about any Metroid game is the way the heroine looks while weraing the different suits. MP starting the beauty off with a very attractive looking Varia Suit. Complete with extra large shoulder pads and a shiny looking tan and yellow color scheme Samus was ready to go. She then lost her cool looking suit and got a gross looking thing. She later got a slick looking black and silver looking suit with some Phazon corners. MP3 also had some cool looking suits, well, at least sort of cool looking. None of the suits in MP3 were really all that crazy looking to be honest, mostly just the same ol' same ol' with a slowly darkening color scheme.

MP2 is where the real beauty comes shining through. Not only do the suits in MP2 look far more unique and original than the other two games, but without them it would be impossible to survive in about half of the MP2 universe. The suits in MP and MP3 are vital, yes, but not near as vital as the suits in MP2. Above you will see two images of the Light Suit, the most glorious looking suit in the Metroid series.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Light Suit)
2) Metroid Prime (Phazon Suit - Unlockable Metroid Fusion suits)
2) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Graphics
There's more to graphical comparisons than just pushing the limits of polygons and textures; the art design is also an important concept. When comparing the art direction of the three different games, there are a few things to mentions: impact and immersiveness. The art direction in MP was the game with the most impact on the series, you can tell that by the way MP2 and MP3 look. MP2 is a slight step up, but MP3 is the game that really polishes the art design with multiple planets and brings you into each world.

When it comes to pushing the graphical limits, I'm talking polygons here, MP and MP2 are no competition for MP3. In fact, the number of polygons are decently close to that of the other two games but the textures are double the resolution. So all around the game is sharper and more detailed. Not to mention the game runs in progressive scan, as does MP2, and widescreen.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2) TIE - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime Trilogy Comparison: Day 3

Weapons
Weapons are a major factor in the Metroid universe because there are typically only a few different options. Each weapon has it's own unique abilities and features. Unlike so many other first person view games, the weapons in Metroid games actually play a part in puzzle solving as well as combat. In MP and MP2 the weapons system is different from MP3. In the first two games you must use the C-Stick to switch weapons, much like the D-Pad is used for visor switching. In MP3 each weapon upgrade is "stacked" onto the preview weapons so there is no need for switching. This is a nice feature when it comes to battling multiple types of enemies at a time. To add on top of this is the feature that MP3 offers to use the grapple beam to assist in combat, thus, doubling it as a weapon.

Another major advantage to "stacking" weapons is how it effects doors. Doors are opened in Metroid games by shooting them and this is handled in a few different ways in each of the three games. First thing to mention is the fact that MP and MP2 force you to open doors with different types of weapons. This is obnoxious when trying to quickly run through the world because you are constantly switching weapons just to open doors. MP3 limits this issue. In the end though, the weapons really come down to how they are used in each game. The weapons in MP and MP3 are extrememly similar (both have ice, fire, and explosive weapons) and MP2 has very different weapons (light, dark, and combo) but is limited by ammunition. The difference really comes with the utilization of the weapons in each game. And requiring weapon changes to open doors and restricting weapon usage with ammunition are the two major factors.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Freeze Missiles and Fire Beam, stacked weapons, Hypermode)
2) Metroid Prime (Fire, Ice, Plasma)
2) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Light, Dark - limited ammo)

Upgrades
The upgrades, in all honesty, are really what moves a Metroid game along. Without discovering a new upgrade it would be impossible to progress in the game. Or rather, if you had all the upgrades from the beginning the game would be over extrememly quickly. MP was somewhat limited in upgrades compared to the other two simply because they only had so much they could add in the first 3-D iteration of the franchise. To be honest, there isn't a single upgrade in MP that isn't available in one of the other two. So in terms of sheer numbers, MP is lacking.

MP2 added a few neat additions to the missiles by allowing you to lock onto multiple enemies at a time and adding the Screw Attack, but MP3 upped the ante again by making missiles freeze enemies and objects. Really, MP3 is a compilation of the upgrades from MP and MP2 with a few additional ones. Aside from the Gravity Suit (there was no water in MP3) and Power Bombs, there is nothing that MP3 doesn't offer that the other ones do. MP3 does, howevever, offer up a few new upgrades. There is the use of Samus' ship in combat and puzzles and the use of the Grapple Beam in combat and puzzles. And let's not forget Hypermode, the mode that allows Samus to use Phazon as a weapon.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
3) Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime Trilogy Comparison: Day 2

Puzzles and Level Design
One major factor of the Metroid series is the puzzles. There are a few different types of puzzles typically in the form of first-person view, morph ball, and bosses. I will be touching on bosses later this week so today I will only be discussing the other two types. All three Metroid games in the trilogy sport the Spider Ball, an upgrade that allows you to stick to walls on a pre-determined track, but only MP2 and MP3 added the Boost Ball feature to allow large jumps between tracks. So in regards to morph ball puzzles that feature alone added more creative morph ball puzzles to the later two games.

In regards to first-person view, it really comes down to the different visor and weapon options and the overall level design of each game. Depending on the visor and weapon combinations you have there will be different puzzles. The X-Ray Visor coupled with the Nova Beam in MP3 allowed some neat situations because it allowed you to see and shoot through objects. The Light/Dark World level design in MP2 turned out not to be the best fit for the Metroid series. In a game that often requires you to revisit areas multiple times it is often very difficult keeping track of multiple rooms twice (one for each world).

Finals Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Boost and Spider Ball, no Light/Dark)
2) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Boost and Spider Ball)
3) Metroid Prime

Originality
This should be a pretty obvious one considering the core gameplay and visual mechanics remained the same in all three Metroid games. When MP first came out there was some fear from the Metroid fanbase that the transition from 2D to 3D wouldn't be so smooth. Since the release of MP there have been three Metroid Prime games released (counting Metroid Prime Hunters for the DS) so the fans were definitely pleased. Everything from the edges of the visor being visible to the drops of rain that hit Samus' visor, the fans were impressed. The transition from Super Metroid to Metroid Prime has been compared to the Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past to Ocarina of Time transition. It is that good.

MP2 was also a splendid game but, in the originality department, failed to make any real impact. In fact, the whole Light/Dark World could be regarded as a step back in originality if you look at Link to the Past released for the Super Nintendo. There were new features, weapons, and visors but there wasn't anything quite as ground breaking as the brand new control scheme or the new motion controls found in MP3.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime
2) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
3) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Metroid Prime Trilogy Comparison: Day 1

First of all let me apologize to anyone out there that may not enjoy or care about the Metroid series because the rest of this week will be a comparison of the past games in the Metroid Prime trilogy. Throughout the week I am going to be comparing my personal beliefs as to which of the three Metroid Prime games is the best in certain categories. I will touch on things such as graphics, enemies, weapons, and puzzles. Today I will be discussing controls.

Controls
The one thing that really sets Metroid apart from other first-person games, in the control department, is the option to lock-on to enemies. The much loved Z-targeting system, initially conceived in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, allows you to lock-on to certain enemies and strafe around them. In MP and MP2 when you are locked onto an enemy every shot that is fired is directed towards that enemy. MP3 offers a slightly different take on the lock-on by allowing you to aim independently of your targeted enemy. This is extremely helpful later in the game during the more intense battles against multiple enemies. MP3 also allows you, due to the differing Wiimote controls, to strafe without having to target an enemy. This is a huge benefit when trying to cruise around the environments.

To add to the brilliant control setup that is the Metroid series, MP3 added some context sensitive situations involving the Wiimote. Rather than coming to a door and pushing "A" to open it, Retro Studios implemented various motion-based activities. There are times you must twist, pull, turn, and lift various levers or knobs to open or adjust doors and switches. And it all happens at a 1:1 ratio to your real life movements. Perhaps the best addition to the controls in MP3 or it's predecessors is the IR aiming that the Wiimote allows. You are free to look up and down as well as left and right similar to how you control a cursor with a mouse and keyboard.

Finals Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2) TIE: Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Visors
Visors play a large role in the Metroid Prime games, especially if you are a gamer who cares about the story. In order to gain the most out of the story you must use Samus' Scan Visor to scan the surroundings and read more information about the history of the planet and characters. In addition to the Scan Visor there are multiple other visors, some unique to each game. MP has the X-Ray Visor and Thermal Visor, MP2 has the Dark Visor and the Echo Visor, MP3 has the X-Ray Visor and the Command Visor. You will see the X-Ray Visor from MP below.

I find both the Dark Visor and rarely used Echo Visor to be pretty lame and uneventful when compared to the other options MP and MP3 offer. Both of the X-Ray Visors have simliar effects but based on appearance alone I prefer the look of MP's X-Ray Visor to that of MP3. One feature that the X-Ray Visor in MP3 has is it allows you to see through enemies bodies and determine weak points where you zoom in and take them out from the inside. That leads us to a comparison of the remaining visors: Thermal (MP) and Command (MP3). I personally find the Command Visor to be more appealing in regards to originality but in terms of total usefulness the Thermal Visor is superior. The Command Visor is only useful in rooms with no ceiling whereas the Thermal Visor is useful in any room. In the end, I must give the nod to MP3 for creativity and a new feature for the X-Ray Visor, but only by a tiny margin.

Final Standings:
1) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2) Metroid Prime
3) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Mario Galaxy, Not Quite Super Mario 3 Caliber?

I was in such a giddy little mood after seeing that Bee Mario suit image for Mario Galaxy that I just started speculating about the game and making assumptions. Well I am here to tell you that there are a few things that need to be told about this whole "back to the old days of suits like in Mario 3" business.

The first thing to note is this little quote from an IGN hands-on preview of the game at E3:

After activating a power-up spot, a black and golden mushroom will show up. Touch the mushroom, and you go into Bee Mario mode, where Mario dons a new sleek bee suit, and can now hover for about five seconds.

This is slighly disappointing, and could be different in the final game, because this is potentially different from the Tanooki and Racoon Suits of Mario 3 fame. The reason I say this could be much different is because I have a feeling you can only don the Bee Suit in Honey Bee Galaxy.

The best part about the suits in Super Mario 3 was that all the suits were scattered all over the world for use in pretty much every area. And if there weren't a direct place to find a Hammer Suit, you could always find one in a Mushroom House and don the suit before each level. That was one of the best parts about the suits, they gave the game so much replayabilty.

So does this mean I am no longer excited for the potential of suits in Mario Galaxy? Not in the slightest. I just hope we have the option to take these suits anywhere in the game and use them at any time. I would totally love to fight Bowser (or whoever the final boss ends up being) in a Bee or Boo suit. Is that too much to ask Nintendo?

P.S. Please watch some video of Super Mario Galaxy if you haven't seen any yet. You can check out one of the few right here if you don't feel like Googling it yourself. Just be careful, your head could explode due to massive potential of fun.

Disappointing E3, Did This Year Start a Trend?

A trend seems to have started at this year's, no (significant) new games were really announced. Aside from that Mario Kart Wii announcement, which wasn’t really all that surprising, there wasn’t a new game announced with any importance to us gamers. The new Wii Channel was promised by Miyamoto months ago and we finally get a name for it. How is this news? Release the channel, don't name it. That channel should honestly have launched this week, not been named. Nothing new came out of Microsoft or Sony's conference either, just a bunch of news about the upcoming holiday games that were all announced a few years ago. And maybe that’s what E3 is becoming, just final info and dates for already announced games. I certainly hope this isn't the case because that would be a real shame.

Looking around at various news sources, the two biggest pieces of news seem to be the "dropped" price of the PS3 and the new game announcement by Nintendo, WiiFit. As a gamer I'm not really all that excited for the game, if you can call it that, but moreso in the technology that could be used in a more traditional game. In the end this is a media event and the media craves new things, they crave what we like to call "news." They could honestly care less (at least the mainstream media) about slightly upgraded visuals in Game X, or how Army of Two uses aggro technology. They want new, and that is not at all what we got this year.

In the end, I was quite disappointed in this year's E3. Could the reason be the fact that games are so complex these days that it takes 3 years to make a game look decent? Could it be that last E3 was a major system launch year so they announced everything they had to show up the competition, leaving nothing new for this year? Whatever the reason, as a gamer, I wasn't all that satisfied.

Is Sony's Price Drop Really a Price Drop?

Well, one of my E3 predictions has already been proven wrong (but then again, this happened before E3 so I guess I'm still good) because Sony just announced today they will drop the price of the PS3 by $100. Starting Monday you should be able to find a PS3 in stores for $499.

I have a slight issue with this move though. They didn't just announce a price drop for their system, they announced a new SKU as well. This new SKU will be have a $599 price tag (same as it was before) but it will sport an 80GB hard drive and come bundled with Motorstorm. Now my issue with this is that they've really not dropped any price on anything. Remember when the system launched and their were two SKUs, a $499 and a $599. Well if you don't remember, no big deal, nothing's different now.

And to top it off, most stores are going to be promoting the more expensive system (the more money the better) so the average customer will still be seeing the more expensive version. As happy as I am that we are now getting more memory space on the PS3 hard drive, I'm just not sure this move is even a price drop at all. I think it would have been smarter to drop the price to $499 and hold off until later this year to add the new 80GB version. That way you get more free PR simply by announcing the new SKU and you can get the mind set in the consumer that the PS3 really isn't all that expensive before announcing the pricier system.

Either way though, the more features for a smaller price is always good for us gamers. Maybe Microsoft will actually drop a price next time rather than increase it (Xbox 360 Elite).

E3 From The Outside

The greatest 3 days of the year, at least they used to be, are just around the corner: E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo has changed this year, for the worst as far as I'm concerned, so next week won't be quite as exciting as it was in the past. There will be a ton of announcements for new games, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will all attempt to prove the greatness that is their system, and you will have more news in three days then you usually get in three months. So why am I not as excited about this year's E3? Because this year, I'M NOT GOING!!!

The last four years my brother and I have attended the annual gaming convention with great success and happiness. After the first year, we successfully managed to bring a buddy of ours, and the next year we brought another, and this year we would have added a fifth to our group. But this year, they went ahead and changed the rules. Pretty much the way things are going now is only specifically invited media are allowed to go and they must be invited by a particular company. We were in the industry enough when it was more of an open event, but now we are merely viewers from the outside.

But one way or another, there will be huge announcements (my predictions later) and there will be plenty to keep you busy if you're interested in the gaming industry.

Online Censorship: Is It Possible?

I was playing a little bit of Gears of War online last night and something hit me, how can you give Gears of War a Mature rating? I find it extremely humorous that game companies can put a little sticker on a game box that says "Game Experience May Change During Online Play" and not be responsible for a complete shift in gameplay content. Play about five games of UNO on Xbox Live with random strangers and I guarantee you will see someone's privates using the Vision Cam. Play any shooter game (and most other games too but especially shooters) and you can't have your ear piece in for five minutes without hearing profanities and racial slurs.

I've seen plenty of R-rated movies in my time and hung out with plenty of people who curse up a storm (we call 'em sailors), so I've become pretty good at shrugging off curses and ignoring idiotic remarks. With the whole Manhunt 2 debacle with the ESRB a question has come to mind, how can you truly rate games with online features? Shouldn't you still be responsible for supplying an avenue for such things, or is that off your shoulders because it's online.

Not that I agree with Nintendo and their online plans (because for the record, I think game-specific Friend Codes are a complete waste of time) but they do have one way of helping these games get rated, or at least censored. Nintendo does not allow any player to have any verbal communication with anyone that they have not already exchanged Friend Codes with. So this stops random cursing from anyone that you don't, presumably, already hear it from. But this also cuts you off from a ton of the fun of online games, meeting new gamers within the confines of the game and "talking shop" with them.

So here is where I think Bungie (makers of the Halo series) has one of the better ideas in regards to online censoring, you are allowed to censor the game as you play. Halo 3 allows you the simple option to mute anyone who may be offending you in anyway. If someone says poop and you are one of those rare people who doesn't poop and is offended by even the mention of the word, then mute the person who said it and never hear them again. Does this help mothers wanting to completely censor their child's life from curse words and profanities? No. Is it a step in the right direction? Yes. You know what I would like to see, a company (and parents) actually use the Parental Controls, that's what I would like to see.

NY Times: Manhunt 2 No Worse Than Movies

The NY Times released a nice article, right here, about the whole Manhunt 2 debacle but this time it was a little bit different. The difference here is that the author of the article actually got to play Manhunt 2, unlike the ESRB that gave the game the Adults Only rating. I find it very odd how a ratings board can clearly rate any piece of entertainment without actually experiencing it, but more on that later. Seth Schiesel, the NY Times author, thinks Manhunt 2 is no more gruesome or adult-oriented than any of the recent Hollywood horror flicks. An R-rated movie is targeted towards people ages 17 and up, just like M-rated video games. Yet Schiesel, someone who actually played Manhunt, believes it to be no more gory or gruesome than the recent horror movie SAW II.

Now back to the whole ESRB ratings issue. Essentially what happens when a game is nearing gold status, the name for a completed game, is the producer sends over video footage of the game's more intense and arousing moments. In a game like Manhunt, Schiesel says, you spend most of your time being stealthy and solving puzzles rather than ruthlessly murdering others. But for the ESRB, all they see is a video montage of the bloodiest kills the game has to offer. Now to me, this seems like the killing has been taken completely out of context, giving the game an unbalanced rating. Maybe this game does deserve an Adults Only rating, but if it does, then there are plenty of other games and movies that should be given an equal rating.

If this whole Manhunt issue, and GTA "hot coffee" for that matter, doesn't enlighten the ESRB that things need to change, then we may be stuck with inaccurate ratings from here on out.

Official Announcement: Nintendo's Not Perfect

Well it's official, Nintendo is not perfect. Not that I, or probably anyone, has ever thought that but with all the great publicity surrounding Nintendo these days some may be lead to believe such things. Today Entertainmentwise released an official announcement that Nintendo is not perfect. Check out the article right here.

Basically, Nintendo has hired one of the worst actresses, and person for that matter, as their face to represent the new Brain Age 2 game coming to the States in August.

"Most importantly, I’ve quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind young"

Well why don't you just face-lift your brain, that way you can lie to the world in two ways. Sorry, I should end this bitter rant now before I mention Eyes Wide Shut and vomi......up, too late.