Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Homework, Eyestrain, and being somewhat Heartbroken
Wow, what a weekend it's been so far. In fact, a ton of stuff happened on Saturday (which is yesterday as of the time I posted this).
So I've been looking forward to this four-day weekend, and it's been turning out pretty well so far despite some bumps in the road. I've managed to get almost all of my homework done on Friday and Saturday alone, and last night I finally got to watch Avatar in 3D with my friend. It was awesome, although we were unfortunately sitting in the very front row, and considering how large the screens are (I'm talking LARGE), I expectedly had a large headache and eyestrain after enduring the 2 hour, 40 minute experience. Oh, I definitely enjoyed the movie though; definitely a masterpiece and a technical landmark in cinema.
However, this weekend hasn't been just flowers, rainbows, and candy for me. On that very morning, I was shocked to find that upon going on Facebook, my crush is now in a relationship, and I could have had the chance to ask her out earlier last week. Needless to say, I experienced bouts of jealousy and anger, not at the situation, but at myself for failing to have taken some form of initiative to possibly ask her out. However, I'm almost completely past that now, and I hope that I'll be able to find someone else who could change my life for the better.
Looks like 2010 has a lot in store for me overall though, but not entirely bad things, and that is why I am definitely looking forward to this year.
So I've been looking forward to this four-day weekend, and it's been turning out pretty well so far despite some bumps in the road. I've managed to get almost all of my homework done on Friday and Saturday alone, and last night I finally got to watch Avatar in 3D with my friend. It was awesome, although we were unfortunately sitting in the very front row, and considering how large the screens are (I'm talking LARGE), I expectedly had a large headache and eyestrain after enduring the 2 hour, 40 minute experience. Oh, I definitely enjoyed the movie though; definitely a masterpiece and a technical landmark in cinema.
However, this weekend hasn't been just flowers, rainbows, and candy for me. On that very morning, I was shocked to find that upon going on Facebook, my crush is now in a relationship, and I could have had the chance to ask her out earlier last week. Needless to say, I experienced bouts of jealousy and anger, not at the situation, but at myself for failing to have taken some form of initiative to possibly ask her out. However, I'm almost completely past that now, and I hope that I'll be able to find someone else who could change my life for the better.
Looks like 2010 has a lot in store for me overall though, but not entirely bad things, and that is why I am definitely looking forward to this year.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Metroid Prime: Trilogy Review
"The Wii’s answer to The Orange Box is an absolute must-have compilation."
What do we have here? A compilation of three spectacular first-person adventure games on one disc, in a well-made shiny metal box that comes complete with some very nice concept art as well as a synopsis of the whole trilogy? You may be thinking, “There’s no way that all of this is sold for only $50!” Well, my friend, your mind may be blown right now, but Metroid Prime: Trilogy is, for all the content that it has, being sold for the price of just one game, and I can say that, for both Metroid fans and newcomers, this is absolutely worth it, and it’s incredible that, while these games have been out anywhere from 2 to a whopping 7 years, they still hold up amazingly well. Even though there is more to this review, I’m going to say it early: you MUST buy this game.
I am also going to be straightforward and say that I am not going to go in-depth with the three games in this review simply because despite the enhancements and differences from the original versions of these games (mostly Prime 1 and 2), they are still 99% of the same game that you may have played before, and that I have already made in-depth reviews of these three games. Because of this, just like what Matt did in his review, I am going to recommend that you read my reviews of Prime, Prime 2, and Prime 3 if you want a more in-depth analysis of the Trilogy, as this review will almost entirely be about the changes and additions that come with this compilation.
First and foremost is the fact that Nintendo decided for some reason to give this compilation a quite luxurious metal box for a game case. While it may look like a Wii game, the metal tin is actually covered by a plastic slip which shows the Wii logo and all the stuff you usually see on the back of the box. Upon taking this slip off you will see the game case in its entirety, featuring some really cool box art, and inside you will not just find the game and its manual (as well as a few promotional stuff included in all of Nintendo’s games), but a nice little collector’s art booklet featuring concept art of the three games as well as a synopsis on the opposite side of the whole trilogy. The booklet isn’t even half-assed, either – the paper is high in quality and has a nice glossy look with a smooth feel, probably due to being laminated. Even before putting this game into the Wii, I’m really impressed by how this game is presented just by the game case alone.
After inserting the dual-layer disc into the console, you will begin to notice Retro’s excellent presentational values in-game. The main menu itself is unique only to this game, and it looks really nice and slick. Upon selecting which game you want to play, there is a cinematic which will show Samus in a pretty cool action sequence, but what’s really neat about this is that it will change depending on what suit upgrades you have at the time; for example, if you currently have the Gravity Suit in Prime, Samus will be wearing it in the cinematic. If you currently have the Dark Suit in Echoes, she will be wearing the aforementioned suit in the cinematic. Upon selecting which game you want to play, there will be a brief loading screen that fortunately lasts only a few seconds, and then you’re good to go from there.
The most significant difference between the Trilogy versions of Prime 1 and 2 and their original counterparts are that they are now outfitted with Corruption’s control scheme, replacing the GameCube with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo. These new controls feel more natural than on the GameCube, and although it may be awkward at first, you will eventually get used to them in a short period of time. In fact, you might just be amazed by how such phenomenal gameplay is made even better with the Wii controls, which I believe are more efficient and engaging than on the GameCube. For those of you who haven’t played these games before, you will be overwhelmed by just how good these controls are, and for those of you who are veterans of the Prime series, you will have a very good time playing these games with the new controls; I certainly did. One gripe I have is that you are only limited to a few control options now that games such as The Conduit and the Wii port of Call of Duty 4 feature a fully customizable control scheme, but for what the game has, you will find little problems with finding something that matches to your liking.
Retro Studios has also made a few fixes to the game, adding or removing some mechanics or objects that make it much harder, if not impossible to sequence break in Metroid Prime. In addition to this, some of the bosses in Echoes, which is considered the most challenging game in the series, have been slightly toned down in difficulty. This means that the Boost Guardian and Spider Guardian bosses, which were an absolute pain in the ass for many players before, are now a bit more manageable to defeat this time around. In addition to this, the first two games feature the Normal, Veteran, and unlockable Hypermode difficulty modes. Normal is the “easy” version of the games, Veteran mode is equivalent to the Normal mode of the GameCube versions of the games, while Hypermode is the Hard mode in their original counterparts.
Another welcome addition to Prime and Echoes is a 16:9 widescreen mode, which gamers with widescreen or HDTVs will finally be able to take advantage of for these games. This however is at the slight cost of the cutscenes being cropped to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio, but it really isn’t that big of a deal. Also, the HUD in these two games will appear stretched due to being unmodified, but it’s no big deal, as you won’t have a problem looking at it regardless of what aspect ratio you play in. The two games also have some slight graphical enhancements with some texture sharpening as well as the addition of bloom lighting in Metroid Prime, which makes a great-looking game even more beautiful. Prime 2 unfortunately does not have bloom lighting as its rendering method apparently does not support the use of it, but the game still looks very, very good nonetheless.
Speaking of how beautiful these games are, I’m amazed that Prime and Echoes still look fantastic despite how old they are; 7 and 4 years old, respectfully; in fact, they sport some of the greatest visuals on the Wii despite their dated tech. Despite the graphical improvements that are present, however, there are still a few blurry textures which are present, and it disappoints me that Retro didn’t take any action to work on those specific textures, although this could be due to a limited budget or timeframe to improve upon the games’ graphical shortcomings. The rock-solid 60 frames per second is still really nice to have, but that was to be expected considering what Metroid Prime 3 was capable of.
All of the unlocks found in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 are still present, with the exception of the original Metroid game, but that’s not that big of a problem unless you have some personal problem with it being taken out, but you can just download it off of the Virtual Console if you’re really that peeved about it. Unlike the original games, however, these unlocks are made available to unlock through the medal/achievement system, which is now implemented in the first two games. It’s kind of annoying to have to unlock the extras, then have to purchase them with the medals that you’ve earned, but it’s nice to at least have some sort of achievement system.
If you were wondering if Corruption has been changed at all, there aren’t any besides it being based off of the PAL version of the game if you owned the NTSC version. In fact, all 3 games are based off their PAL releases, meaning that there will be some different lore entries in Metroid Prime and the removal of Admiral Dane’s infamous explicative in Metroid Prime 3. Besides that and the enhancements present in the first two games, the games are overall the same.
Now, the final question is, is this compilation worth it? It really depends on the type of person that you are. If you happened to have missed out on the trilogy, this is an absolute must-have, featuring 3 excellent action-adventure games for just the price of one. However, there’s no denying the fact that despite how good these games are, they are not new by any means. If you have played the three games already and don’t think it’s worth investing the $50, then chances are, it’s not worth it for you. However, if you’re a fan of the series and are dying to try out the first two games with their enhancements as well as what else Trilogy has to offer, then you will most likely be very happy with your purchase. Metroid Prime: Trilogy may be dated, but it is unquestionably the definitive version of the Prime series, featuring a ton of content to enjoy, and has the nice touch of being a really cool collector’s item for fans of the series like me. Trilogy is absolutely worth the buy in my opinion.
Ratings:
Presentation: 10
Retro has done it again. Three excellent games on one disc, the first two with very welcome refinements, complemented with a lot of extra content. This is definitely a collector’s edition.
Graphics: 9.5
Beautiful. Prime and Echoes look even better than before with their texture enhancements and 16:9 widescreen support, but there are still some rough spots which could have been smoothed out.
Sound: 9.5
The ambient, moody soundtrack accompanies the gameplay of the Prime trilogy very well and is excellent overall. More orchestrated parts would be nice, but I'm not complaining too much.
Gameplay: 10
Words alone cannot describe how unbelievable the Trilogy is to play. Two of these phenomenal games are made even more glorious with the definitive Wii controls, and that is just spectacular.
Lasting Appeal: 10
The Trilogy is really an experience to play - it will take 60-80 hours to complete all 3 games, but the extras and replay value will keep you coming back. All for the price of one Wii game. Awesome.
Overall Score: 9.7: Incredible
(out of 10 / not an average)
What do we have here? A compilation of three spectacular first-person adventure games on one disc, in a well-made shiny metal box that comes complete with some very nice concept art as well as a synopsis of the whole trilogy? You may be thinking, “There’s no way that all of this is sold for only $50!” Well, my friend, your mind may be blown right now, but Metroid Prime: Trilogy is, for all the content that it has, being sold for the price of just one game, and I can say that, for both Metroid fans and newcomers, this is absolutely worth it, and it’s incredible that, while these games have been out anywhere from 2 to a whopping 7 years, they still hold up amazingly well. Even though there is more to this review, I’m going to say it early: you MUST buy this game.
I am also going to be straightforward and say that I am not going to go in-depth with the three games in this review simply because despite the enhancements and differences from the original versions of these games (mostly Prime 1 and 2), they are still 99% of the same game that you may have played before, and that I have already made in-depth reviews of these three games. Because of this, just like what Matt did in his review, I am going to recommend that you read my reviews of Prime, Prime 2, and Prime 3 if you want a more in-depth analysis of the Trilogy, as this review will almost entirely be about the changes and additions that come with this compilation.
First and foremost is the fact that Nintendo decided for some reason to give this compilation a quite luxurious metal box for a game case. While it may look like a Wii game, the metal tin is actually covered by a plastic slip which shows the Wii logo and all the stuff you usually see on the back of the box. Upon taking this slip off you will see the game case in its entirety, featuring some really cool box art, and inside you will not just find the game and its manual (as well as a few promotional stuff included in all of Nintendo’s games), but a nice little collector’s art booklet featuring concept art of the three games as well as a synopsis on the opposite side of the whole trilogy. The booklet isn’t even half-assed, either – the paper is high in quality and has a nice glossy look with a smooth feel, probably due to being laminated. Even before putting this game into the Wii, I’m really impressed by how this game is presented just by the game case alone.
After inserting the dual-layer disc into the console, you will begin to notice Retro’s excellent presentational values in-game. The main menu itself is unique only to this game, and it looks really nice and slick. Upon selecting which game you want to play, there is a cinematic which will show Samus in a pretty cool action sequence, but what’s really neat about this is that it will change depending on what suit upgrades you have at the time; for example, if you currently have the Gravity Suit in Prime, Samus will be wearing it in the cinematic. If you currently have the Dark Suit in Echoes, she will be wearing the aforementioned suit in the cinematic. Upon selecting which game you want to play, there will be a brief loading screen that fortunately lasts only a few seconds, and then you’re good to go from there.
The most significant difference between the Trilogy versions of Prime 1 and 2 and their original counterparts are that they are now outfitted with Corruption’s control scheme, replacing the GameCube with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo. These new controls feel more natural than on the GameCube, and although it may be awkward at first, you will eventually get used to them in a short period of time. In fact, you might just be amazed by how such phenomenal gameplay is made even better with the Wii controls, which I believe are more efficient and engaging than on the GameCube. For those of you who haven’t played these games before, you will be overwhelmed by just how good these controls are, and for those of you who are veterans of the Prime series, you will have a very good time playing these games with the new controls; I certainly did. One gripe I have is that you are only limited to a few control options now that games such as The Conduit and the Wii port of Call of Duty 4 feature a fully customizable control scheme, but for what the game has, you will find little problems with finding something that matches to your liking.
Retro Studios has also made a few fixes to the game, adding or removing some mechanics or objects that make it much harder, if not impossible to sequence break in Metroid Prime. In addition to this, some of the bosses in Echoes, which is considered the most challenging game in the series, have been slightly toned down in difficulty. This means that the Boost Guardian and Spider Guardian bosses, which were an absolute pain in the ass for many players before, are now a bit more manageable to defeat this time around. In addition to this, the first two games feature the Normal, Veteran, and unlockable Hypermode difficulty modes. Normal is the “easy” version of the games, Veteran mode is equivalent to the Normal mode of the GameCube versions of the games, while Hypermode is the Hard mode in their original counterparts.
Another welcome addition to Prime and Echoes is a 16:9 widescreen mode, which gamers with widescreen or HDTVs will finally be able to take advantage of for these games. This however is at the slight cost of the cutscenes being cropped to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio, but it really isn’t that big of a deal. Also, the HUD in these two games will appear stretched due to being unmodified, but it’s no big deal, as you won’t have a problem looking at it regardless of what aspect ratio you play in. The two games also have some slight graphical enhancements with some texture sharpening as well as the addition of bloom lighting in Metroid Prime, which makes a great-looking game even more beautiful. Prime 2 unfortunately does not have bloom lighting as its rendering method apparently does not support the use of it, but the game still looks very, very good nonetheless.
Speaking of how beautiful these games are, I’m amazed that Prime and Echoes still look fantastic despite how old they are; 7 and 4 years old, respectfully; in fact, they sport some of the greatest visuals on the Wii despite their dated tech. Despite the graphical improvements that are present, however, there are still a few blurry textures which are present, and it disappoints me that Retro didn’t take any action to work on those specific textures, although this could be due to a limited budget or timeframe to improve upon the games’ graphical shortcomings. The rock-solid 60 frames per second is still really nice to have, but that was to be expected considering what Metroid Prime 3 was capable of.
All of the unlocks found in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 are still present, with the exception of the original Metroid game, but that’s not that big of a problem unless you have some personal problem with it being taken out, but you can just download it off of the Virtual Console if you’re really that peeved about it. Unlike the original games, however, these unlocks are made available to unlock through the medal/achievement system, which is now implemented in the first two games. It’s kind of annoying to have to unlock the extras, then have to purchase them with the medals that you’ve earned, but it’s nice to at least have some sort of achievement system.
If you were wondering if Corruption has been changed at all, there aren’t any besides it being based off of the PAL version of the game if you owned the NTSC version. In fact, all 3 games are based off their PAL releases, meaning that there will be some different lore entries in Metroid Prime and the removal of Admiral Dane’s infamous explicative in Metroid Prime 3. Besides that and the enhancements present in the first two games, the games are overall the same.
Now, the final question is, is this compilation worth it? It really depends on the type of person that you are. If you happened to have missed out on the trilogy, this is an absolute must-have, featuring 3 excellent action-adventure games for just the price of one. However, there’s no denying the fact that despite how good these games are, they are not new by any means. If you have played the three games already and don’t think it’s worth investing the $50, then chances are, it’s not worth it for you. However, if you’re a fan of the series and are dying to try out the first two games with their enhancements as well as what else Trilogy has to offer, then you will most likely be very happy with your purchase. Metroid Prime: Trilogy may be dated, but it is unquestionably the definitive version of the Prime series, featuring a ton of content to enjoy, and has the nice touch of being a really cool collector’s item for fans of the series like me. Trilogy is absolutely worth the buy in my opinion.
Ratings:
Presentation: 10
Retro has done it again. Three excellent games on one disc, the first two with very welcome refinements, complemented with a lot of extra content. This is definitely a collector’s edition.
Graphics: 9.5
Beautiful. Prime and Echoes look even better than before with their texture enhancements and 16:9 widescreen support, but there are still some rough spots which could have been smoothed out.
Sound: 9.5
The ambient, moody soundtrack accompanies the gameplay of the Prime trilogy very well and is excellent overall. More orchestrated parts would be nice, but I'm not complaining too much.
Gameplay: 10
Words alone cannot describe how unbelievable the Trilogy is to play. Two of these phenomenal games are made even more glorious with the definitive Wii controls, and that is just spectacular.
Lasting Appeal: 10
The Trilogy is really an experience to play - it will take 60-80 hours to complete all 3 games, but the extras and replay value will keep you coming back. All for the price of one Wii game. Awesome.
Overall Score: 9.7: Incredible
(out of 10 / not an average)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
So I finally can use USB Loader on my Wii.
Yep, I finally got everything to work and played a bit of New Super Mario Bros. Wii as well as Paper Mario for a short time, and I've really had a lot of fun with New Super Mario Bros. so far! I can't wait to get an external hard drive so I can fit more games on it, because the flash drive I'm using to play my Wii ISOs from is only 2 gigabytes large.
On another note, I finally got the 4th Progcast episode up, even though I recorded it last weekend, so I'm sorry it's late. You can watch it on My Podcast or iTunes.
On another note, I finally got the 4th Progcast episode up, even though I recorded it last weekend, so I'm sorry it's late. You can watch it on My Podcast or iTunes.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I FINALLY beat Mario & Luigi 3!
Well, I was kinda late at doing so, but I finally beat the game. It's damn awesome, but the ending dissapointed me a bit, though.... it seemed like it was rushed to me, and the final boss was pathetically easy with Special Attacks (although I'm fighting him again using only solo attacks, and it's definitely more of a challenge). Oh well, the rest of the game was awesome and I was really glad that I pre-ordered it. Anyone else have this game, or beaten it as well?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
So, I guess my podcast series has kicked off.
After coming up with the idea last month, it finally came to reality when I made the first two episodes about two weeks ago, and to tell you the truth, while it could be better, I've had a lot of fun doing this so far. If I have time, I will make Episode 3 (which I hope is insanely awesome) sometime this weekend, hopefully on Friday. What do you guys think? Please comment any suggestions or feedback you may have, that would be greatly appreciated! :D
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I'm back using Blogger!
Well, after having quite a bit of fun using the blog feature on Webs, I decided that Blogger was ultimately better, as it seemed that not as many people read my blog on my website as they did here. Well, I'm back, and I'll probably post my previous blogs that were on Webs on here soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
