Zeldametrossiki

It's been a while! I've been pretty busy, but rest assured that I've been playing plenty of video games!

I'm just gonna do a quick, not-too-detailed update here, letting y'all know where I'm at in the various games I'm playing.

I've been making a lot of headway in Metroid Prime 3. I just (as in, literally five minutes ago) got to the Pirate Homeworld, which is pretty intimidating. If I come away from this game having learned only one thing about myself, it's that I fucking hate Space Pirates. I don't care if it's racist; I fucking hate all of them. They shouldn't be allowed to vote. Anyway, those of you who have played the game should realize that I just finished the Sky Town portion of the game. So in addition to being scared of the ominous Pirate Homeworld, I'm also very sad to be leaving one of the most beautiful levels of any game I've ever played. I was shocked how much I enjoyed Sky Town, because it's pretty much the antithesis of what a Metroid environment should be. It's not cavernous, claustrophoic, dark or scary. But whatever, it fucking ruled. I am guessing that I don't have very far to go in this game. My total out-my-ass guess is that I'm maybe 2/3 of the way done...? I am hoping against hope to finish this game before Super Mario Galaxy comes out in one week, because I know if I don't, I'll callously toss it aside in favor of Mario, and then god knows if I'll ever get back to it. We shall see.

In other Wii news, I purchased Zack and Wiki yesterday. I played through about 4 of the levels, and then put it aside, because I want to save it to play with my girlfriend. It's definitely the type of game that requires heads being put together. I had to force myself away from it, because it's god damn addicting, but after I finished the fourth level (out of a total sixteen), I turned it off until I can play with my gal by my side. The game is absolutely fucking brilliant. I guess I'd describe it as an amalgam of a point-and-click adventure game and an Adventures of Lolo type game. For fans of puzzles, this game is like winning the lottery. I am sort of in awe of the cleverness of it all, and I'm sure it's only gonna get better. I'm not spoiling shit, though, so make sure you get this game and check it out for yourself.

I am also currently playing a borrowed copy of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS. I'm enjoying the fuck out of it. Before I played, I was pretty intimidated by the notion of a stylus-only control scheme in a Zelda game. I totally ignored that option in Animal Crossing in favor of traditional d-pad controls, and I wasn't too keen on the idea of being forced to use them in my favorite video game franchise. But check this out: The controls are GREAT! For me, there wasn't even a "getting used to it" period. I just jumped right in and found them instantly intuitive and satisfying! The game itself is great too, incorporating all the best elements of Wind Waker without the really annoying ones. I have not yet formed an opinion on one of this game's main gimmicks - the Temple of the Ocean King, a temple you return to repeatedly, advancing further each time. This part of the game incorporates two of my most-hated video game mechanics: stealth, and timed levels, so I was all prepared to totally hate it. However, my first run through the temple pleasantly surprised me - I actually found myself really enjoying it. However, I am currently in my second run-through, and I'm enjoying it far, far less. Having to backtrack through the same environments a second time (solving every puzzle again, finding every switch and key and item again, etc) is really frustrating and annoying. Still, this hasn't really fucked with my enjoyment of the game (yet), so I'll reserve judgment for now.

Finally, I am still sneaking in games of Picross, mostly on the subway to and from work. I am up to the very last level of the Free Mode, and holy jesus has it gotten hard. I'm not gonna lie - I'm pretty much using the Hints on every single puzzle now, and I still usually have to do them over two or three times before I complete them. Perhaps my subconscious realizes that I am almost done with the game, and it's trying to delay the process... because at this point, the thought of a train ride without a game of Picross is kind of really depressing. Hopefully Nintendo keeps the downloadable puzzles coming!

So that's about it for now. Hopefully by the next time I check in, I will have beaten Metroid, and will be waist-deep in the pure bliss that is Super Mario Galaxy.