MISSION COMPLETE

Debriefing: Is it TimeSplitters 2? Is it?!? No. But I did try, I swear! TimeSplitters has been put on indefinite hold due to technical difficulties. Each time I try to boot up the game I get a disc read error. So frustration has set in, and I will revisit it at a much later date.

Then what did I beat today? Trauma Center: Under the Knife. This was the first entry in the popular surgery/puzzle series, and let me say it is quite challenging! To top it off, it actually has a well-written plot to drive the story-based missions along, compelling you to actually feel how important it is to successfully complete these operations. Now I didn't 100% the game just yet. That's something that will have to wait. I tried to complete the bonus challenges, but those operations are incredibly difficult! Maybe someday I'll come back to those, but I can't say when.

What is the next challenge then? Indeterminate. TimeSplitters remains on the docket by default. I also want to tackle Castelvania: Rondo of Blood. Let's say Super Metroid just for good measure. However, I'll put most of my time into 100%ing Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and finishing the campaign in Age of Mythology. Funny story about those two: AoM I picked up for free at a garage sale where it was just being given away. And I'm revisiting Spirit Tracks so long after beating it because I just picked up the Collector's Edition strategy guide for one cent! So my time is spread pretty thin right now. I'll play all of these games on and off for the foreseeable future. I might end up buying Kirby's Epic Yarn sometime soon.

When we last saw our heroes: I'm not far at all in Rondo of Blood. I forget exactly where. I think some early boss had me stymied. As for Super Metroid, I was totally stuck. I might need to start all over, but I wasn't terribly far in the game anyway. Here we go!

MISSION COMPLETE

Debriefing: New Super Mario Bros. Wii is done. Not 100% mind you. But I played all the way through to the end and beat that giant lizard, Bowser back down into the lava from whence he came. Then I found out about the secret world that became available. I wanted to go ahead and beat it, but I found its levels are not accessible until you collect all the star coins in each of the previous 8 worlds. Well, let's just say I skipped a lot of those coins on my play-through. Because the game offers multiple paths, I skipped over some levels entirely! Collecting the leftover star coins and beating the secret levels they unlock will be something I work on over time. But for now, we cross another game off the list and move on to the next one:

TimeSplitters 2. Yes I know, I know. I've been saying it for months, but I finally am going to finish it. Just wait and see.

When we last saw our heroes: Second-to-last level of the game. The Robot Factory is quite difficult to get through. Hoping I'll be able to without breaking down and playing on an easier difficulty.

Well, the tournament deciding the greatest video game villain of all time has come and gone. I was somewhat surprised to see Sarah Kerrigan named the victor, though that's not to discount any of her villainy. Those of you who have played StarCraft are well aware of how heartless and cruel she can be. Those of you who have played StarCraft II...don't say anything, 'cuz I'm not playing it until I get a better computer!

Anyways, I might not have picked Kerrigan to win it all (I had her being knocked out in the semifinals. I had picked Darth Vader to triumph over the Joker in the Finals [Yes, I am aware those two are not primarily video game characters, and probably shouldn't have been in this competition in the first place. I was betting that they had enough pop culture credibility to get them through.].), but I still did very well in the tournament prediction department. I picked up no less than five medals for it! Read on:

Greatest Game Villain Bouncer I got this one for voting in the Wild Card round of the tournament. This determined the last 10 villains that entered the tournament. Easy enough to earn.

Greatest Game Villain Henchman This one was just for making a bracket. Also nothing special.

Greatest Game Villain Staff Subjugator You earn this one for doing better in the tournament than the members of the GameSpot staff. You'd think this one would carry some prestige with it, but considering how poorly they all performed, I guess not...

Greatest Game Villain Competition Crusher I got this one for beating...all of you! This medal was handed out to the users who created a tournament bracket and then proceeded to finish higher in the standings than all of their friends who also entered. Though it looks like only 7 of you entered, I still think this one is pretty cool!

Greatest Game Villain MiniBoss I think this one is the coolest of all. It's actually my first 'Rare' medal. This one was earned because I finished in the Top 1000 of all GameSpot users who created brackets for the tournament. I finished 894th. Cool! Apparently, my reward for this is a new job: to wait in the middle of the level for an unsuspecting hero to come along. Can do. I'll wait right here...

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Debriefing: Well, that was much quicker, wasn't it? Today I have 100% completed Metroid: Other M. Obviously, this was not too long of a game, or really that hard when it comes down to it. It took me less than 20 hours, which is the benchmark I hope to get out of any game. Aside from length complaints, what did I think of it? Not bad. Not great, but I liked it. The presentation was great, but if you ask me, delving into Samus' past to show her emotions was not good for the character. They made her much weaker in my opinion. But gameplay was solid, the graphics good. If you're thinking about getting it, go ahead.

So what is next? Well, you pretty much already know. New Super Mario Bros. Wii and TimeSplitters 2. Eventually I'll beat them, I swear! I can't say for sure if I'll be buying too many new games in the near future. Epic Mickey, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns are definitely on my radar, but they aren't Day 1 Buys. They might be "Pick It Up Used In A Few Months" buys. The only must-have title I see on the horizon is Okamiden, and that's not out until next year. That means I should have plenty of time to take care of old stuff on my list.

When we last saw our heroes: You know this already. On the last level of TimeSplitters and one more world to go in NSMBW. I swear it's going to happen this time.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Debriefing: Well, things didn't go exactly to plan this month. TimeSplitters never made it off the shelf, so 0% progress made on that front. In regards to New Super Mario Bros Wii, remember I said my wife wants to play it with me, and don't go ahead without her? Well, she finally said, 'go ahead, you can play it without me.' So I sat down with the intent to get it all done in one sitting a few days later. Aaaand, she was annoyed that I didn't even ask if she wanted to play with me. Oiy. Women. So, I haven't finished it yet, cuz I'm going to make sure my next sitting with it is with her. But it shall be done soon!

So what did I actually do this month? Well, 'working at the Green Star Challenge on and off' turned into 'playing SMG2 for hours on end almost every day.' Just about an hour ago, I beat the Perfect Run and collected the 242nd star! I am 100% done with Super Mario Galaxy 2! I am somewhat disappointed with the in-game recognition I received. Rosalina says 'thanks for collecting all the stars,' and joins the crew. I get a note from the staff and photo of all the stars. Eh, whatever. It took 41 hours, and 708 deaths, and I guarantee you a huge percentage of those deaths and hours were spent on that frustrating Perfect Run level. Yeesh...

What's next? Well, today was my deadline for finishing those three games. Tomorrow Metroid: Other M releases. You know I'm snatching that up right away and diving headfirst into it. I am really excited for it. Most of the critics seem to like it. However, it was Game Informer that didn't, and their complaints were the very things I feared for the game. I won't go into detail though. I just hope all the other critics were more correct. Anyway...

When we last saw our heroine: Other M picks up immediately after Super Metroid. It will begin with Samus reminiscing about how the baby metroid saved her from Mother Brain, sacrificing its own life so that its surrogate mother might live. Now Samus responds to a distress signal codenamed 'baby's cry' and her new mission begins...tomorrow.

MISSION COMPLETE

Debriefing: At this time I am putting a checkmark next to Super Mario Galaxy 2. Please note that I am making a distinction between 'Mission Accomplished' and 'Mission Complete,' a la Star Fox 64. This game is not 100% finished, but having defeated Bowser, it is beaten. I could have written this a few days ago, but I wanted to finish the Special World. At this time I have 121 stars and am just beginning the Green Star challenge. For those of you who are unaware, beating Bowser with all the stars available up to that point opens up the Secret World. Once the Secret World is completed (bringing the star total to 120), you are given the Green Star Challenge. This challenge consists of replaying all the game's levels on a hunt for 122 additional hidden stars. Needless to say, that is something I will work on over time. In the meantime, I can say with pride that I have beaten (though not completed) Super Mario Galaxy 2.

So what is next? Well, I am scratching Mario Tennis off the list. Not sure why it was there to begin with. That one falls into the category of "Beaten, but not Completed." My plan for this month is to work at the Green Star Challenge on and off. I will also put some time into Timesplitters 2 and New Super Mario Bros Wii. Once Metroid: Other M releases at the end of the month, that will become my primary focus.

When we last saw our heroes: I'm quite close to finishing both these games. I just have hit some snags. My copy of Timesplitters was a used one, and apparently a little scratched. I'm on the second-to-last level (Robot Factory), but this punishingly hard level of a surprisingly hard game is made more frustrating by the fact that I frequently get error screens when I try to load the level. Nothing is more frustrating than dying and then getting the error screen instead of a respawn. So there's that I will put time into. In NSMBW, I simply need to convince my wife to sit down and play it. To make a long story short, Rebecca isn't much of a gamer anymore, not since the Sega Genesis days. She does enjoy playing some games with me though, and NSMBW is one of them. She doesn't love it, so we don't play it too often, but at the same time she doesn't want me to finish it without her. At our current pace we'll have it done in three sittings, as we have a world and a half to go, and play it half a world at a time. I think it's more than possible to have both these games done before Metroid releases. Here we go!

In an effort to start using this blog more frequently, I am pleased to introduce the beginning of what should turn out to be a regular segment here on my page. As I have mentioned recently, I have a whole lot of games in my collection that I simply have not gotten around to finishing. For whatever reason, I started them and never played the rest of the way through. I'm not talking about 100% completion here. Just simply getting through the single-player campaign mode. Well, as you may or may not know, I am something of a completionist. I hate leaving things unfinished, so it's time to rectify these many omissions. Here is the list of all I have which is unfinished (excluding simulations and puzzle games, which don't really have an end to them):

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising [GBA]
Castlevania [NES via the Virtual Console]
Castlevania 64 [N64]
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest [NES via the Virtual Console]
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse [NES via the Virtual Console]
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood [PC via the Virtual Console]
Castlevania The Adventure [GB]
Donkey Kong Land 2 [GB]
F-Zero GX [GC]
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance [GBA]
Jet Force Gemini [N64]
Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth [PC]
Mario Tennis [N64]
Metroid II: Return of Samus [GB]
Metroid Prime Pinball [DS]
New Super Mario Bros Wii [Wii]
Perfect Dark [N64]
Pokemon Blue [GB]
Pokemon Gold [GBC]
Pokemon Silver [GBC]
Sonic Spinball [Genesis via the Virtual Console]
Sonic the Hedgehog [Genesis via the Virtual Console]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 [Genesis via the Virtual Console]
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 [Genesis via the Virtual Console]
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer [N64]
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire [N64]
Starcraft 64 [N64]
Streets of Rage 3 [Genesis via the Virtual Console]
Super Castlevania IV [SNES via the Virtual Console]
Super Mario 64 [N64 via the Virtual Console]
Super Mario Galaxy 2 [Wii]
Super Metroid [SNES via the Virtual Console]
Timesplitters 2 [GC]
Trauma Center Under the Knife [DS]
Viewtiful Joe [GC]
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link [NES via GBA rerelease]

Additionally, I have already beaten the campaign modes of Command & Conquer: Generals, Starcraft, and Starcraft: Brood War, but those save files were lost when I had to reformat my hard drive. I will be needing to replay those as well.

So yeah, this won't be done any time soon. I'm not setting any sort of deadline for it. I'm just going to try to not buy too many new games as I try to shrink down this list. I need to watch my spending anyway.

The first one game we'll tackle is the most recent addition to the list: Super Mario Galaxy 2.

When we last saw our hero...he wasn't too far along this adventure. Having only purchased the game less than a week ago, I am progressing steadily through it. I am in the second world, and loving every second of it. I'm not blown away by it like the critics want me to be, as it seems too much like an expansion pack for the first SMG, rather than a complete sequel, but hopefully it will reach that level. Anyway, I will be playing this game exclusively for the time being. Once Metroid: Other M releases, I will switch to that one. I may not have all 242 stars by then, but I will most definitely have completed the story mode. You will hear from me again once I complete this game and move on to another on the list. Here we go!

So I couldn't help but notice that prior to yesterday's post, I hadn't blogged anything here in about 10 months. Obviously, I don't do this too often, but that's OK. I just couldn't help but notice that the subject of that post back in August was about how I was so close to purchasing a PS2. In case you were wondering, that has not happened yet.

It's not like I haven't had the opportunity. When I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was in the market for one, he offered me his and his entire PS2 game collection. I forget the specifics of it now, but I believe he said there were about 50 games included, and he wanted...well I forget now. $100? $200? That might be right, or I might be inflating due to a faulty memory. But it wasn't really the price tag that made me decide not to get it.

One reason is my stubborn dedication to Nintendo. Frustrated as I might be with the company's disappointing efforts as of late, I still love em to death and can't betray them. Another reason is that I looked back on all the games I still have in my possession that simply haven't been finished. Getting a whole new system right now would be irresponsible in a number of different ways. I need to be able to put a checkmark next to more of what I already have before I open up my wallet for a new console.

Don't get me wrong, the PS2 is still a very impressive system with a library of games one can't help but drool over. If I ever luck my way into one for the right price, it would be hard to turn it down. But with the 3DS now releasing early next year, I do believe that handy handheld will leapfrog the PS2 for my next gaming hardware purchase. Sorry, Sony. You almost had me.

Well, another Electronic Entertainment Expo has come and gone. What did you think of this year's show? Did you see everything you had hoped for? I know I have mixed reactions to it. Being a Nintendo junkie means that as always my interest was focused on one single direction.

I wasn't blown away by Nintendo this year. In terms of software for the Wii and DS, there weren't many surprises. Last year I came away excited about Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Metroid: Other M and Zelda Wii. NSMBW is already out. I'm playing through it slowly, as my wife likes to play it too, just not too frequently. SMG2 is out too, and I will be picking it up in the very near future (I waited a bit to try to watch my spending.). Metroid: Other M will be out in a short few months, and I have already pre-ordered my copy.

So, there wasn't a whole lot left for following up last year's strong showing. Of that group, only Zelda remains. No release date yet, though we got more details on it. The full title is "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword." Not really sure that I like it. Apparently, in this game Link lives in a city in the clouds, and comes down to save Hyrule from a new evil. He will be able to use his sword to travel back and forth, from the clouds to the earth. Visually, the game is combining the cel-shading of Wind Waker with the 'mature' design of Twilight Princess. It's a very interesting look which will take some getting used to. Unfortunately, I can't say I'm any more excited about the game than when I knew nothing about it.

We did get more info on Okamiden, the DS sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, Okami. It doesn't look quite as good as the original, but what can you expect when you move from console to handheld? I'm still incredibly stoked about it and will certainly grab it when it releases next year.

There were also announcements of new games in the Donkey Kong Country and Kirby franchies. They look promising, and will brighten up the barren landscape of Wii gaming.

I suppose the biggest thing out of E3 for Nintendo was the first hands-on time with the 3DS. I admit I didn't pay too much attention to this new handheld when it was announced a few months ago. I guess I assumed it was just another gimmicky redesign for the DS. But apparently it is the actual next-gen successor to the DS. Now you've got my attention! I cannot believe how many cool titles have been announced for the 3DS. Nintendo hasn't had third-party support like this in ages. Assassin's Creed, Metal Gear Solid, Saint's Row, BloodRayne, man the list goes on and on! If the system turns out to be solid, it will be hard to not get one!

So in recap, E3 for Nintendo fans this year: 1) The 3DS looks pretty cool. 2) Zelda is going to be interesting. 3) Okamiden is ultra-cute and fun!

You need no introduction about just how disappointed I am with my Wii. My wife and I play Mario Kart on it semi-frequently, but other than that I only play old GameCube games on it. There are only a handful of new Wii titles coming out that have my attention, and I will pass on them entirely if they don't score well with the critics.

So I've been playing all the GameCube titles I passed over back in the day when they were full-price. (Admittedly, I'll probably be doing this same thing a few years down the road once all these halfway-decent Wii games will be cheap.) However, I'm just about of decent titles that are worth playing. My recent forays have been Splinter Cell (good, but not quite my style), Second Sight (underrated hit) Geist (it had it's moments, but isn't too impressive overall) and now Enter the Matrix (utter garbage that I don't even want to finish but will anyway.) Next up is Bloodrayne, which I've already purchased. The others I'm still looking for are Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0, and Timesplitters 2 & 3.

Beyond that, I'm about out of GameCube time. So the time has come. I am prepared to finally give up my Nintendo exclusivity. I am ready and willing to purchase a PS2 and delve into its massive library of games I always drooled over but passed on time and time again. Granted I can't justify the purchase yet (being unemployed and recently married, my wife would kill me if I put the money down on another video game console), but I think it will happen within the next year.

So my question to you is this: What games should I get? I already know I'm going to get all the entries in the God of War, Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid series. Beyond those, what other action/adventure and first-person shooters titles should I look into?