There's something up about the ratings system. Games that I would think would qualify for a 'Superb' rating are getting demoted to 'Great', despite the fact that they are every bit as good as Superb-rated games. My cases in point for this argumnt are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. In both cases, the major reason cited by the GameSpot reviewer for their downgrade is their fundamental similarity with previous games in their franchise.

So what do we have going on here? Is this a novelty bias? Can only new franchises, or massive changes to existing franchises hope to get a Superb rating? Is there a developing bias against Nintendo? Is a certain, Seattle-based software company not-so-subtly influencing game reviews with financial support for the site? In any case, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition seemed to buck the trend, but that's beside the point. Let's get back to the two games in question.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was graded down because it was said to resemble it's 10-year old predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 'too much'. Firstly, let's take a look at this game Twilight Princess is said to resemble. Ocarina of Time is, admitted by GameSpot, the first game the site ever gave a 'Perfect' rating to. On top of that, it was recognized by many gaming sites and magazines as being the best game ever made, and by many more as at least being in hte top 3 in that category. Alright, so let's go back to Twilight Princess. Its graphics are better than Ocarina. Its gameplay is an improvement. In short, in virtually every way, it is an improvement on the model that Ocarina represents. There is only one real issue. Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game to make the leap into 3D. That's a leap that can't be made again. Game makers can't add another dimension any more, they've run out. So Twilight Princess ends up getting labeled 'another 3D Zelda game'. Does this mean it's not a Superb game? Maybe it's not perfect, but do you get knocked down from Superb by resembling THE GREATEST GAME EVER MADE?! It seems a bit rediculous to me.

Now, it's happened again with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It has been knocked down to Great status from Superb because it bears a resemblance to its predecessors: Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Mind you, it is duely upgraded for its new system, including more voice acting, better graphics and, most notably, a significantly upgraded control scheme, which GameSpot themselves said set the standard for FPS-style games on the Wii. So this is to say that it is everything its predecessors are, but better. Now looking back, Metroid Prime was given a strong Superb rating, and an Editor's Choice award. It easily ranks among the top games ever made for the GameCube. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was given a somewhat weaker Superb rating, though the review states that it was everything Metroid Prime was, and more, but it seems that was somehow already becoming a bad thing. Once again, I have to ask:if Metroid Prime was a Superb game, and Metroid Prime 2 was a Superb game, and Metroid Prime 3 is not only just as good, but better.... how can it not be a Superb game? How is that possible?

I'm not going to nit-pick over tenths of a point, but these are major categories, and the fact is, when you're comparing games, 'Great' is still a disappointment, and I think the fact that games of the quality of Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3 were given this rating, with such poor rationale, demonstrates clearly that there is something deeply wrong with the rating system here.

So a couple weeks ago I finally got a Wii.  The store I got it from would only sell it to people who could trade them $70 worth of resale material.  Before you think that is easy, keep in mind that they value everything at a tiny fraction of their MSRP, so even recent games might get you like $5 at best, and a console might get you between $30 and $50.  I traded in my GameCube, GBA SP, and several games for the GC and GBA, and still was just under the $70 mark.  The owner decided to go with it anyway, however.  

Then came the struggle to get my Wii online.  The store I was at didn't have the Nintendo Wifi USB adaptor, so I got another brand, and that one was just a serious pain in the butt and didn't work for me, so I had to trade it back in for store credit and get the Nintendo adaptor from a nearby EB.  After some frustration, and a very helpful conversation with a Nintendo customer service rep, I got it to work.  Note: do the Network Setup wizard!

So now this legally blind guy is playing hte Wii.... It's tricky and frustrating at times, but I stil appreciate it.  I cashd in some of that store credit to get a Wii Points card and got myself Street Fighter II and Mario '64.  I got Street Fighter because I always loved it, and Mario 64 because I was deprived and never owned an N64.  I also got Wii Play and Zelda, because everyone has to get Zelda.  The beginning of Zelda wasn't too hard for me to play, but it's getting very frustrating for me... much like many of the recent games tend to... Guess that's why I'm mostly an RPG kinda guy.  Less visually intensive. 

I got my eye out for some games coming up.  My mate and I are looking forward to Pokemon Battle Revolution, as well as Super Mario Glaaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Fire Emblem.  She's looking forward to Metroid Prime 3, and maybe I'll get it, too, though I suck at the series.  FPS = not the blind guy's forte.  Of coure we're also looking forward to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, and hoping to see other RPGs on the Wii as well. 

Well, I'm having some fun with Mario 64, and she's all about NFS Carbon, and so we're both glad the Wii is here, for our own reasons.  Thanks for caring.

So, what self-respecting gamer can't voice their opinion on E3 this year?   My thanks to GameSpot for having tons of great info on it, including the press conferences. 

I try to stay objective, but for the time being, I'm in the Nintnedo camp.  It was cold and lonely here a month ago, but now I seem to have lots of new neighbors.   It seems that E3 made believers out of a lot of people.  It seems that the Wii has something for everyone.   What does it have for me? 

1.) The Virtual Console:   The idea of getting to play my old favorites again, and old games that I missed the first go-around really excites me. 

2.) The Wi-Fi Connection:  I don't care that it's not Xbox Live.  I have friends in distant places, and I want to give them the opportunity to kick my ass in SSBB, or play cooperatively with them in Crystal Chronicles. 

So, as wii all know, it's been an exciting wiik.  Game announcements and news have been pouring out of the woodwork.  Wii'll have to see what new info comes up in the wiiks and months to come.