I decided to create a list. This list is my list of Metroid games. I wanted to rate all the Metroid games for myself and give others an insight into why I chose what I chose. Alright, here we go.
1. Metroid Prime. Everyone always picks Super as number one. I do not deny it is a good game; however I cannot place it as number 1. Putting it in that position seems to stem from a nostalgia point of view. For nearly 10 years fans of the series had only Metroids 1 2 and super available to them so obviously Super would be considered the best. But now I feel Metroid Prime should be considered top. The game is solid. It keeps the classic feel of “here’s the world. Figure it out” that the original games had, but it still included the hint system Super lacks. There were times in Super that just felt hopeless when you weren’t sure what to do. In Prime, you do this for long enough, the game chimes in with “ok, we’re not gonna tell you what to do when you get there, but go here.” Prime also gives a good classic fight with Samus’s nemesis: Ridley. Overall, I fell this game hits the most good points under the Metroid flag.
2. Super Metroid. It still needs to go near the top. Many common elements that are now complete staples in the Metroid series: Charge beam, grapple beam, beam stacking, etc. all came from this game. It sent gamers back to the original world to see how it had changed and to see what else there was that had never been revealed. There is so much good in this game, but it didn’t feel quite as solid to me. Certain items were hardly used. The SNES controller was completely wasted. So many buttons to choose from and we still had to cycle through items with select? Come on! I also felt the reserve tanks were a waste and should have just been replaced with more ordinary tanks. But still, a great game and one of the best in the series.
3. Metroid Fusion. There may be bias in my heart for this one’s position as it was my first game. But that is where it’s true beauty lies. It is the perfect first game in this series. When I talk to people who haven’t played a Metroid game but are interested in the series, I always tell them to pick up this one. Yes, there isn’t a lot of self done exploring. But by having Adam guide you through the game, you can learn the exploration techniques necessary to better yourself in games like Super and Zero Mission. Also, this game gives insight into the true nature of Metroids themselves and almost makes you feel bad about what you’re doing when you get to Metroid 2. But this title is incredibly linear. You have little freedom to do as you wish throughout the game. The controls also seem extremely clunky if you play and get used to Zero Mission.
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This title shows how to bring Metroid to a wider audience. The voice acting, the communication with others, the betrayal of the hunters; it all gives a show much more like modern gaming. Another thing that shines is the way it took the repetitiveness of Prime 2, tweaked, and made it seem very not repetitive. The energy cells were also an amazing way of taking the whole “items needed for final boss” artifacts/temple key thing and making it seem not like that. The Valhalla was revealed early on in the game and by the time you absolutely had to travel there, you had already gotten most of the cells by chance. There were maybe 2-3 you might have missed along the way. I was genuinely surprised to find that these were the artifacts of this game.
5. Metroid Zero Mission. This was a good review of the original game for those of us like myself who kinda missed the boat of the original 3 (either cuz we hadn’t been born yet, or had just never heard of it). It also gave new insight to the planet Zebes and the Chozo presence there. However, it was short. 2 hours was your goal for the best playtimes, so without even being a speed runner you could beat it in less than 2. I played through it a lot, and it is really a very easy game. Looking back, even my first time was only 5 hours to get through it. Quite a waste.
6. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Really fun the first time, but its replay drops like a rock. It feels like Prime 1, but it’s just the same thing over and over. Go the temple, get the 3 keys, go to the dark temple to recover the energy, oh look a boss, repeat 2, then get 9 keys for the 4th go around. Just really repetitive after a while. And if you missed a key when you were originally “supposed” to find it, it was so much backtracking to go back and find that stupid thing. All in all, a game that had potential, but fell short.
7. Metroid 2. Probably what bothers me most on this game was simply due to the lack of power on the original gameboy. Plus, my least favorite feature of Samus’s suit, her giant shoulder things, was introduced in this game, ruining an otherwise excellent suit for all time. Metroid 2 avoids being lower than this on the list because it gives insight into what makes a Metroid and how diverse they can be.
8. Metroid Prime: Hunters. Oh what a disappointment. This game along with Prime 2’s multiplayer spawned what I call the “Adventure vs. Multi Shooter Theory” (Halo also confirms this). The theory states that a first person game can have a well made single player adventure, or a well made multiplayer system, but rarely does it have both. Prime 2 got the adventure and Hunters is the multi. Everything about the adventure seems to say “get this over with so you can play with your friends.” And that’s what happened. Heck, my friends playing this is why I purchased a DS. Although they soon grew tired of it after I finally could join in…. oh well, no matter. That’s life.
9. Metroid. Finally we have the original. Being the original, you’d think it’d be higher on this list. This is not true. Why? Because I never want to touch this game again. Even Hunters I’ll play with friends. But Metroid 1 was so annoying, so difficult, and so frustrating that beating the Mother Brain didn’t make me happy because I won, I was happy because I didn’t have to play anymore. And that pretty much sums it up.
And thus ends my Metroid list. The only gaming series that has a history older than myself which I have completely decimated. And I’m darn proud of that!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Work and Jobs
Well, as usual by this time of the month I can hardly stand my job. And this year more than others. Previous years I just got sick and tired of cleaning rooms over and over again, and I hated doing "projects" even more. Projects are no fun at all. This year we have the added drama of a feud of sorts going on. Basically our crew has divided into different factions. The faction I don't belong in blames us for goofing off too much and not working as hard as they are. They, however, are not working as hard because they are valuing the quantity of their work over their quality. Case and point, they did a job that in the past has taken the same number of people most of the morning in 2 hours. However, when our group inspected the job they had done, we found something wrong with every single thing they "cleaned." One of us even remarked that one of our projects could be going around and picking up their slack.
Anyway, this rant about custodial work leads me to this thought: I cannot work another summer at that school. And, if things go as planned, I never will. Next 2 summers will be spent on my mission and when I get back I plan to spend that summer taking classes to catch back up to where I wanted to be school wise by fall of 2012. Then by summer '13 I'll have 3 years of school under my belt which should be more than enough to get an internship of some sort for that summer or even a research job. I can actually spend my time working on engineering. I absolutely cannot wait for that because I can finally get paid to do things that I love doing instead of cleaning a school. I really hope all goes according to plan. I really do not think I can take another summer of custodial work. I truly do not understand the type of person who can make a career out of this.
Anyway, this rant about custodial work leads me to this thought: I cannot work another summer at that school. And, if things go as planned, I never will. Next 2 summers will be spent on my mission and when I get back I plan to spend that summer taking classes to catch back up to where I wanted to be school wise by fall of 2012. Then by summer '13 I'll have 3 years of school under my belt which should be more than enough to get an internship of some sort for that summer or even a research job. I can actually spend my time working on engineering. I absolutely cannot wait for that because I can finally get paid to do things that I love doing instead of cleaning a school. I really hope all goes according to plan. I really do not think I can take another summer of custodial work. I truly do not understand the type of person who can make a career out of this.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Culture
What is culture? What defines a culture? What happens when the culture that you're supposedly a part of does not feel like who you are?
There are a lot of questions and thoughts that can come from/go into American culture. Our pattern has often been to define each decade of the past century or so based on the prevalent culture at the time. In fact, we do this so much that the popular genre of music from the 1980s is simply referred to as '80s music.
This current decade seems to be going towards a definition of hip hop. This gets me thinking that "great, this is what my generation is going to be known for. Utter garbage." Although most people would agree that previous generations tend to feel that the current generation's culture is a load crap, at the moment they are most certainly correct.
So what about the rest of us? If we don't feel like we were part of this strange hip hop culture, then what culture were we a part of? Are we un-American?
This leads to the next point in my thought: the subculture. American culture, while usually divided by time, can further be divided into many subcultures. Many of these form the cliques of high school. These "cliques" are the focus of my writing today. While I cannot go in depth to each subculture, there are a few from my generation I would like to comment on.
First and unfortunately foremost comes pop culture. The most popular and widespread way of behaving and interacting with others. This culture tends to become the one the decade is "defined" by. Pop culture seems to decide what is normal, what is acceptable, what is entertaining, what is fashionable, etc. In high school, these are the cheerleaders, the jocks, the student government, and everyone who wishes they were one of the other 3. In college, they become sororities and fraternities. These are the people who care more what some air headed celebrity did last month than what the leaders of the free world are doing today. These are the people buying into popular music at the time.
These are those who listen only to the radio. They let someone else tell them what is cool and what they enjoy. I have seen it in people I know and even my own family.
The pop culture generation tends to eventual grow spines and stick to what they truly enjoy once they settle down and grow up. However, they still retain their sense of what is "normal" and, as will be the focus later, what constitutes "having a life."
Next comes the gamer. Now, what is it that makes a gamer? Is it anyone that plays games? Is it someone who is dedicated to games? Do you have to grow up a gamer to be one now?
Scott Ramsoomair does a pretty good job of summing it up here *language warning*
Now, I usually define a gamer as a person who plays real games. What's a real game though? Well, first of all, I immediately eliminate anything on Java or Flash you find on the internet. Or anything similar to this as there are many DS and Wii games that feel like Java or Flash ones.
Ultimately, being a gamer is about dedication. Does it sound crazy to you to play a game for 5 hours and have nothing but a blinking "The End" as your reward? If so, you are not a gamer.
A true, or hardcore, gamer has this kind of dedication. Gaming isn't just for passing the time, it is a full blown hobby.
This brings me to my next thought.... Many of the first subculture I mentioned would tell me people with that kind of dedication have no life. My question: what else do you suggest they do? If it is done in their freetime and does not interfere with other aspects of their life, how is this not having a life? Is spending money on dinner and movies with other people really "living" that much more? Everyone has times they wish to spend alone. Why are you a "lifeless loser" if you choose to play a video game in that time? And my other question, with all the self esteem promotion that our society is obsessed with these days, why is it still ok to tell gamers they have no life? As much self esteem as we try to push on people, the gamer (and geek/nerd) stereotype is still allowed to be picked on. Everyone expects the teenage kid to "grow up" and replace the games with something else. And at times this will happen and can be a natural occurance. Careers and families are undeniably more important than any hobby. Why is this feeling not agreed upon when the hobby is some form of sport or athletic activity? Every man is supposed to enjoy football well into his old age. This is mind, what then is wrong with a 30 year old man playing Zelda or Halo in his free time? It should be nothing, but the mainstream media still plays it as pathetic. In any mainstreamers head, they've subconsciously added "living in his parents' basement" to the description. There is so much hypocrisy when a 9 year old kid is considered to be wasting his time playing a video game and succeeding, but is rewarded for "participating" in a baseball league which consisted of standing in the outfield, sweating, and doing nothing.
This inevitably leads to the nerd/geek persona. First and foremost there is the need for a defining differene between the two. While both show dedication to fantasy and sci fi subjects and are well connected with the gaming culture, the distiction is still key. A nerd leans more towards the academic strength as well as the non mainstream hobbies. Due to this classification, I find myself as more of a nerd. That is not to say geeks don't also excell in school and such, they just tend to move their lives in less of a learning and more of an application direction.
Distictions of nerd/geek subculture include but are not limited to: a love for fantasy and science fiction, computer aptitude, love of reading both novels and comics, scientific trivia and facts, activities involving manipulation of scientific facts and technological capabilities.
This once again leads me to the thought of why is it not "normal" to be interested in these things. Why is it considered normal and ok to have entire channels devoted to watching as many sporting events as possible but to strange and unhealthy to buckle down for a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings marathon? Comic or sci fi conventions are strange and unusual places when far more expensive sporting events are not?
So the question is this: Why is the mainstream, a single subgroup in a much larger set, the group that defines our thinking and what is "normal?" As much as I do not consider myself a part of that group, I often think as they do. But why? What makes them right? What makes theirs the ultimate authority? They aren't the ones doing the studies. That's the nerds. Most of what makes mainstream culture possible are the contributions of nerds and geeks that form the technological backbone of our modern age.
Anyway, this far too long post that I originally tried to write from a nonbiased stand point (epic fail there) needs to come to a close. A close with a thought from a friend concerning the film Revenge of the Nerds. That movie catered to the very people who were portrayed as the bad guys. When we, the nerds, truly have our revenge (discounting of course the money we make while the jocks are getting our orders wrong) it will be far more epic than a pathetic greek festival in college.
There are a lot of questions and thoughts that can come from/go into American culture. Our pattern has often been to define each decade of the past century or so based on the prevalent culture at the time. In fact, we do this so much that the popular genre of music from the 1980s is simply referred to as '80s music.
This current decade seems to be going towards a definition of hip hop. This gets me thinking that "great, this is what my generation is going to be known for. Utter garbage." Although most people would agree that previous generations tend to feel that the current generation's culture is a load crap, at the moment they are most certainly correct.
So what about the rest of us? If we don't feel like we were part of this strange hip hop culture, then what culture were we a part of? Are we un-American?
This leads to the next point in my thought: the subculture. American culture, while usually divided by time, can further be divided into many subcultures. Many of these form the cliques of high school. These "cliques" are the focus of my writing today. While I cannot go in depth to each subculture, there are a few from my generation I would like to comment on.
First and unfortunately foremost comes pop culture. The most popular and widespread way of behaving and interacting with others. This culture tends to become the one the decade is "defined" by. Pop culture seems to decide what is normal, what is acceptable, what is entertaining, what is fashionable, etc. In high school, these are the cheerleaders, the jocks, the student government, and everyone who wishes they were one of the other 3. In college, they become sororities and fraternities. These are the people who care more what some air headed celebrity did last month than what the leaders of the free world are doing today. These are the people buying into popular music at the time.
These are those who listen only to the radio. They let someone else tell them what is cool and what they enjoy. I have seen it in people I know and even my own family.
The pop culture generation tends to eventual grow spines and stick to what they truly enjoy once they settle down and grow up. However, they still retain their sense of what is "normal" and, as will be the focus later, what constitutes "having a life."
Next comes the gamer. Now, what is it that makes a gamer? Is it anyone that plays games? Is it someone who is dedicated to games? Do you have to grow up a gamer to be one now?
Scott Ramsoomair does a pretty good job of summing it up here *language warning*
Now, I usually define a gamer as a person who plays real games. What's a real game though? Well, first of all, I immediately eliminate anything on Java or Flash you find on the internet. Or anything similar to this as there are many DS and Wii games that feel like Java or Flash ones.
Ultimately, being a gamer is about dedication. Does it sound crazy to you to play a game for 5 hours and have nothing but a blinking "The End" as your reward? If so, you are not a gamer.
A true, or hardcore, gamer has this kind of dedication. Gaming isn't just for passing the time, it is a full blown hobby.
This brings me to my next thought.... Many of the first subculture I mentioned would tell me people with that kind of dedication have no life. My question: what else do you suggest they do? If it is done in their freetime and does not interfere with other aspects of their life, how is this not having a life? Is spending money on dinner and movies with other people really "living" that much more? Everyone has times they wish to spend alone. Why are you a "lifeless loser" if you choose to play a video game in that time? And my other question, with all the self esteem promotion that our society is obsessed with these days, why is it still ok to tell gamers they have no life? As much self esteem as we try to push on people, the gamer (and geek/nerd) stereotype is still allowed to be picked on. Everyone expects the teenage kid to "grow up" and replace the games with something else. And at times this will happen and can be a natural occurance. Careers and families are undeniably more important than any hobby. Why is this feeling not agreed upon when the hobby is some form of sport or athletic activity? Every man is supposed to enjoy football well into his old age. This is mind, what then is wrong with a 30 year old man playing Zelda or Halo in his free time? It should be nothing, but the mainstream media still plays it as pathetic. In any mainstreamers head, they've subconsciously added "living in his parents' basement" to the description. There is so much hypocrisy when a 9 year old kid is considered to be wasting his time playing a video game and succeeding, but is rewarded for "participating" in a baseball league which consisted of standing in the outfield, sweating, and doing nothing.
This inevitably leads to the nerd/geek persona. First and foremost there is the need for a defining differene between the two. While both show dedication to fantasy and sci fi subjects and are well connected with the gaming culture, the distiction is still key. A nerd leans more towards the academic strength as well as the non mainstream hobbies. Due to this classification, I find myself as more of a nerd. That is not to say geeks don't also excell in school and such, they just tend to move their lives in less of a learning and more of an application direction.
Distictions of nerd/geek subculture include but are not limited to: a love for fantasy and science fiction, computer aptitude, love of reading both novels and comics, scientific trivia and facts, activities involving manipulation of scientific facts and technological capabilities.
This once again leads me to the thought of why is it not "normal" to be interested in these things. Why is it considered normal and ok to have entire channels devoted to watching as many sporting events as possible but to strange and unhealthy to buckle down for a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings marathon? Comic or sci fi conventions are strange and unusual places when far more expensive sporting events are not?
So the question is this: Why is the mainstream, a single subgroup in a much larger set, the group that defines our thinking and what is "normal?" As much as I do not consider myself a part of that group, I often think as they do. But why? What makes them right? What makes theirs the ultimate authority? They aren't the ones doing the studies. That's the nerds. Most of what makes mainstream culture possible are the contributions of nerds and geeks that form the technological backbone of our modern age.
Anyway, this far too long post that I originally tried to write from a nonbiased stand point (epic fail there) needs to come to a close. A close with a thought from a friend concerning the film Revenge of the Nerds. That movie catered to the very people who were portrayed as the bad guys. When we, the nerds, truly have our revenge (discounting of course the money we make while the jocks are getting our orders wrong) it will be far more epic than a pathetic greek festival in college.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Desk
I have come to a realization: I am a person who needs a desk. I had a desk in my apartment up in Logan. I was always at my desk. My computer sat on it, I ate all my meals at it, and I used my chair to watch TV or play video games. And I really preferred it. I definitely like using a mouse more than the track pad on the laptop. That's the whole reason I purchased a wireless USB mouse in the first place. It's really hard to use a mouse on the couch. I also enjoy having drawers to keep folders and papers in and more importantly pens and pencils. The drawers is why using a table with my laptop just doesn't seem to cut it. It's not going to be much of a worry in a few weeks, but when I've finished college and am ready to find a place to live I will need to definitely need to have some sort of office with a desk that I can use. I won't be able to do much if I don't.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Lunchables
I bought a Lunchable for lunch today just for kicks and giggles. Good old pizza kind.... or so I thought. Turns out that sometime in the last few years when I stopped having these regularly they decided not to include the little plastic spreader for the sauce. Maybe it's just me, but it is a pain to try and make these little pizzas without a tool with which to spread the sauce. The best I could do was use the packet itself to spread what I had already squeezed onto the crust. This was crude work and it made the packet a mess so I had to be careful of where I put it down. It's disappointing because for me the spreader is essential. It was probably discontinued because of some "it's a waste of plastic. Let's look like we care about the environment!" angle that they decided to take. There are better ways to save resources than making the product just a little bit more frustrating.
In other news, those pizzas are still really good. That's very surprising considering how poor quality you would expect it to be. I vaguely remember still when they first made the pizza ones. When I was really young, we always had the cracker, meat, and cheese Lunchables. Then the pizza came and it was heavenly. Screw those stupid crackers, I can have 3 little pizzas! And I can eat them raw! Well, other than the crust at least. I always loved them and pretty much still do.
In other news, those pizzas are still really good. That's very surprising considering how poor quality you would expect it to be. I vaguely remember still when they first made the pizza ones. When I was really young, we always had the cracker, meat, and cheese Lunchables. Then the pizza came and it was heavenly. Screw those stupid crackers, I can have 3 little pizzas! And I can eat them raw! Well, other than the crust at least. I always loved them and pretty much still do.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Final Week of Classes
As the title says, this is the final week of classes. I can't wait to be done with this semester as I am getting really tired. Certain classes, such as manufacturing processes, could not possibly end soon enough if they tried. Although I remind myself that I still have one more assignment to complete in that particular class. I should get on that.
Speaking of assignments, half of my remaining assignments are all due during finals week. That seems a little odd considering that finals usually is the last thing we do and for either of these assignments, we could honestly hand them in after the final. It's a bit different from what you might normally expect. I should get to work on those assignments too....
In other news my mission papers are into my bishop so he should be sending them to whoever he sends them to next on Friday (tomorrow. Exactly 3 months before my birthday). Hopefully I haven't forgotten any information that would prevent those papers from going through as soon as possible. I need to get my call as soon as possible so that I can leave as close to my birthday as possible so that I get back in time for school in two years. I trust all will go as planned.
Which reminds me again! I need to make an appointment to meet with my adviser before I leave so she can tell me what to do when I am getting ready to come back. Goodness it's going to be a busy week....
Speaking of assignments, half of my remaining assignments are all due during finals week. That seems a little odd considering that finals usually is the last thing we do and for either of these assignments, we could honestly hand them in after the final. It's a bit different from what you might normally expect. I should get to work on those assignments too....
In other news my mission papers are into my bishop so he should be sending them to whoever he sends them to next on Friday (tomorrow. Exactly 3 months before my birthday). Hopefully I haven't forgotten any information that would prevent those papers from going through as soon as possible. I need to get my call as soon as possible so that I can leave as close to my birthday as possible so that I get back in time for school in two years. I trust all will go as planned.
Which reminds me again! I need to make an appointment to meet with my adviser before I leave so she can tell me what to do when I am getting ready to come back. Goodness it's going to be a busy week....
Sunday, April 5, 2009
I guess this is growing up.....
Depressing post time! This weekend, my grandpa had a screening of his digestive tract because he's been having trouble eating and lost a lot of weight because of it. The doctors' findings were not good. There was a tumor in his colon. He went in for surgery to have the tumors (also ones in the fatty tissue between organs and on his diaphragm) removed. When analyzed, the cancer was revealed to be at stage 4. Things were not looking good last night so they took him into surgery again. This time they learned he was bleeding internally from the first operation so they stopped that and at last I've heard he was doing better. Obviously, things are not looking good overall.
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