I haven't been able to play many online matches in Mario Strikers Charged this week because I have been focusing on winning the Strikers Cup but I have got to admit that failing to do so all the time is making me get a bit frustrated, but I have improved a lot since I started playing the Strikers Cup and if I get a little bit better I may be able to beat Petey.

What made me write this blog is the huge number of people who disconnect from the games every time they are losing. On Monday I played 16 games and lost only two, and I had a record as good as this one on Sunday, but exactly nine days ago I had many more losses than victories. And I do think that I have improved like that because I admit to lose so instead of complaining all day long about Dry Bones teleporting into the goals, Toads jumping over Goalies I tried to find a way to counter all those strategies, obviously I eventually fail but a failure is always good if you eventually learn something from it.

Players who keep disconnecting whenever they find a better challenger won't learn anything, because if you carefully watch the way a more experienced and skillful person plays you will try to copy some of his strategies if you think they can be useful. I am proud to say that I have only disconnected once and it was not on purpose, my Internet actually had a problem so my connection was down for some minutes so I got a loss and lost a few points.

By the way, now I'll try the Strikers Cup once again, I think it's the 15th time I'm doing it but it's still fun! I also have yet to watch the new Metroid Prime 3 videos Nintendo has put on the Preview Channel yesterday, I hope they are great.

Warning! If you don't want to know anything about the videos that Nintendo is posting on the Metroid Preview Channel just ignore this post.

This Monday on the Metroid Prime 3 Preview Channel Nintendo released two new videos of the game, one of them is just some footage showing a cool Morph Ball track but the other has caused some excitement among the Metroid fans.

The video mentioned is about the Aurora Units, supercomputer initially designed for scientific purposes, and that by connecting to other Units it can have access to a huge Database, but that a few years after they were constructed they were also being used in other different areas. During the video some of those Aurora Units are shown and they are surprisingly like the mighty Mother Brain.

At first I thought it wasn't so likely, because as the series' story tells us Mother Brain was acquired by the Space Pirates while they invaded Zebes to kill all of the remaining Chozo, they found it completely deactivated because some years before the invasion the supercomputer, that was used by the Chozo, had turned upon them. The Space Pirates then reactivated it and started building their headquarters in Zebes.

But by the end of the video they show the complex on which the supercomputer is kept and for those who played the original Metroid and Zero Mission that is a pretty familiar place, it is exactly like the place where you find Mother Brain for the first time, and this part of the video erases all my doubts, Mother Brain is an Aurora Unit.

Still, I am curious to know why the Chozo, that are a let's say religious race, would want a machine that is so powerful, and how did they acquire it. I do believe that this and many other questions will be answered in Metroid Prime 3. And you, do you think Mother Brain is an Aurora Unit? Will it be the final boss?

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is now upon us, today we have exactly two weeks before Nintendo ships Samus' biggest adventure up to this very day. While many people worry about how cool is that game going to be and if it will really set the bar for FPS controls on the Wii most of those gamers forget that this is the next installment of a seriesthat brought back afranchise that was in Nintendo's limbo for nearly a decade. Before Metroid Prime that came out in 2002, Super Metroid was the latest game on the series and its dated fromback in 1994.

I do think Nintendo didn't expect Metroid Prime to be the best game of their last gen system, the Nintendo Gamecube, neither they thought that a series that was kind of forgotten would sell so many copies and remain at the top of the GC's best seller games for the rest of that system's life span.

Not only did Prime resurrected our favorite Bounty Hunter but it also presented some major gameplay changes. Who would have thought that after three side-scrolling adventures videogame's coolest heroine would be engaged in a first person adventure.

The main accomplishment of Retro Studios was that even though the game underwent some dramatic changes the whole feeling and aura of tMetroidwas kept perfectly. While playing through the huge levels and solving the magnificent puzzles you reallyfelt you were playing a Metroid game even given the huge differences.

Now, after the end of Prime I wonder where will the series head next, because as most of us know, Nintendo is a company that is not barely afraid of changing successful formulas, just take a good look at the recently released Super Paper Mario, although it wasn't as long and as hard as the previous games it was a change that was welcomed, no more trun based battles andbadges, because as series get older they need to go through some modifications otherwise they will go back to Nintendo's limbo, a place where nowadays rest series like Earthbound and Kid Icarus.

That's one of the main reasons I like Nintendo because they are able to do these bold moves even with their most successful franchises. I don't think Microsoft would do anything like that to an already well-known game like Halo, they may prove me wrong soon, as the years pass by and I honestly hope they will but I don't see it happening.

For starters I see two main options, Metroid can look at its past and return to its side-scrollingroots however this can be risky because I believe many younger gamers wouldn't enjoy it as they are too worried about cool graphics and gargantuan worlds, but who cares, I would love it during the prior generation we have seen some amazing 2-D adventures such as Viewtiful Joe which is one of the Gamecube's most thrilling games.

Nintendo may also try to place Samus in a 3-D world where she would be controled in third person, which I think would be their option if the franchise had headed to the Nintendo 64, this may look like na odd idea but it could work.

Another good option would be keep the gameplay the way it is and add some new features, but as I have already said this may wear the game out because since Prime there have been four Metroid games who are played in this way, but it could also prove to be na interesting path.

In my opinion the first option is the most likely to be picked, because as a series gets to an end so doesthe whole gameplay, either way I'm only absolutely certain of one fact, Metroid will keep on going and it will always be remembered as one of the best franchises ever created.

Well, today is Sunday which means that by midnight all points and status will be reseted on Mario Strikers Charged because as you probably know at the beginning of each week a new season starts where everybody who is on top will start with the same number of wins and losses as everybody else on the leaderboards.

Some people may think that's annoying but I actually like it because it gives you a new chance to be in the top of the leaderboard. I think that if the scores were permanently kept the advantage of people who have many hours to play this game during the week to people who need to work or study would get bigger by the hour and by reseting everything at the end of the season Nintendo gives players more hope to climb up the ranking because usually people who are busy and can't stay the whole day in front of a TV or a PC get disappointed because sooner or later they notice that it is impossible to catch up with the leaders.

I started this season pretty well, I won my first 8 games but suddenly, as I have already told you, I entered a huge slump that lasted until Friday that was when I decided to change my strategy, after practicing for a while I managed to win most matches this weekend and I finished the season with 55 - 51 due to 18 victories and only 2 losses today which made me a proud member of the top 200 players of the day.

Despite this success I haven't been able to beat the last cup of the single-player mode yet, it is damn hard. The most annoying thing is that the AI is utterly uneven because in a game you can completely crush the CPU while in others they will own you badly. And when you get to the knockout rounds the same thing happens the problem is that if you lose a single match you have to go way back to the start of the championship and play 10 games all over again. I actually won the championship once so I had to face Petey in a best of three series, but his team is so brutal I lost both games by three or four goals.

This makes the game absolutely challenging, yet it can be frustrating sometimes. I'm not complaining about it because I have always said that Mario sports games have always been a piece of cake, especially Tennis and Golf, but Strikers change it extremely, my only concern is with the absurd AI that varies a lot.

I'll keep on practicing, this game is the hardest one I have played since F-Zero GX.

Everybody who has a Wii, and many people who don't have one, are highly excited about the last part of Samus Aran's biggest and best mission, as Metroid Prime reaches its third and last installment that will be out by the end of this month.

Nintendo has released a new Wii Channel that contains 4 Metroid Prime 3 videos, 2 of those videos are not available right now but they will be tomorrow, I only discovered it yesterday by reading some of your blogs otherwise I wouldn't know about that. For those who weren't aware of that you can get it at Wii Ware on the Wii Shop Channel for free, it will only take 70 blocks of your Wii memory so it's not too big.

One video is quite amazing and it makes you feel like you are watching a trailer from one big Hollywood sci-fi movie, it presents a small part of the storyline, it also shows that other three hunters will be involved in this last game, I'm not sure whether they will help you during the whole adventure or if they will vanish after a while, but I hope they will stay with Samus as long as possible, is always good to have some company while facing those devilish Space Pirates.

The other one is some gameplay action of a battle against loads of Space Pirates ans shows how smooth and perfect the controls are, it looks like this title will set the bar for any other shooter that is developed for the Wii.

Super Metroid is coming to the VC and I'm really happy about it, I'm going to get it as soon as possible.

I read something interesting today, it may be a little bit old right now because Nintendo has already released that Metroid Channel, but Matt from IGN wrote a nice article about how Nintendo totally forgot to hype Metroid Prime 3 while they were too worried with both Mario Galaxy and Brawl which are games that will only be launched by the end of the year, and that if Corruption winds up being an awesome game that doesn't sell many copies, although I think that's hard given the Wii's huge popularity, they will be the only ones to blame. Where's the love for Metroid, Nintendo?

Here's the Link

By the way, I'm also wondering where the franchise will go after Prime. But I'll talk about that in my next blog on this amazing month of August!

My first Wi-Fi day at Mario Strikers Charged started pretty damn well I won my first 7 games but my record was actually 8 - 1 because I got disconnected from a game which I was winning by one goal. After those 9 games I had to go to my English course, 1 hour and a half later I had returned and started playing again.

Suddenly I was in a slump, I don't know if it happened because my rank improved so I got paired against better players or if I simply had lost rhythm, I lost 10 games in a row, but I managed to win some before I went to bed.

Now I'm back from work and I'll play some Cups before I go online again, I'll try to improve my strategy and try new teams. Right now my team is Luigi, Dry Bones, Koopa Troopa and Hammer Bro, but I'm not quite satisfied with Koopa so I might end up changing him.

My early impressions are that this game is awesome, I fumbled with the controls a little bit but I'm getting used to them. It is a much improved game, with more tactics available and more options. Tomorrow my friends will drop by and I'm sure we'll have a blast.

If any of you didn't read my previous post, I want Friend Codes! Mine is in the post below.

Fastest and shortest bolg post ever gentlemen! My friend code is: 051647-088966.

I'm online right now, I will usually be online at night because during the day I'm working, on weekends I'll play whenever I can, I have 8 wins and 3 losses right now, one of those losses came because I lost my connection. I'm looking forward to play with you.

For starters I thought I wouldn't get crazy waiting for Mario Strikers Charged to arrive but I was mistaken, although I'm busy finishing Paper Mario, I'll beat Chapter 8 today, I can't wait to play it.

When I'm not doing anything at work I have been entering Nintendo's forums everyday to read stuff about the game and I keep reading about how great is the game, the online matches and the characters' new insane skills. Right now I'm so jealous of those people.

Super Mario Strikers was fun but it was faulty when it came to gameplay variety and strategies because all characters were actually the same, Koopa Troopa was exactly like Hammer Bro, which was like Birdo and so on. The single-player was also kind of boring but I'm sure this won't change.

Now the fact that each one of the sidekicks has their own special abilities and different characteristics adds a lot to the whole experience, since your team will never be like your friend's. The addition of an online mode also enhances the experience a lot, because now you can play some multiplayer even when your friends are not around, and you have the chance to see how you will do against other players around the world, or at least around our region is awesome.

Tomorrow I'll post my friend code, that's it, if I manage to stop playing the game.

I was starting to get fed up with my failed attempts to get Mario Strikers Charged but yesterday I finally found a copy in an internet store, I didn't even hesitate, I ignored the price which was a little bit higher than I expected and I bought it! Tomorrow I'll make the payment adn they will probably ship it on Tuesday which means that by Wednesday I'll have the game and I'll start by playing some online matches.

I really can't wait but Paper Mario will keep me busy until then, I'm doing quite well although I hadn't played this game for more than 2 years until Friday I didn't make any big mistakes up to Chapter 7, I only got a Game Over twice, the first time was because I used an attack I didn't want to and the second time was because that stupid Piranha that lives in the volcano always owns me.

So far I have played 10:05 hours and I just started Chapter 7, I wasn't expecting to finish this game so quickly but it looks like I can beat Bowser tomorrow if I don't have many things to do. By the way, what's your favorite partner on the Paper Mario series, Super Paper Mario aside?

My has got to be Gombella, during my first playthroughs The Thousand Year Door I didn't like her, my favorites had always been the Bombs, but once I managed to master the action command for her Multibonk I could destroy any boss in a few turns. This time in Paper Mario I am using Watt who is a character I was not so used to use but I noticed how effective he is, he uses little FP and yet he can do some serious damage.

When I get Mario Strikers Charged I'll post my Friend Code here so all of you can add me, I'm looking forward to playing with you guys!

The nostalgia is on after waiting for a couple of days my Wii Points arrived and I got Paper Mario and Mario Kart 64, I have already played both but it's been a while because I sold my Mario Kart 64 some years ago, don't ask me why I know it was something stupid to do, and as for Paper Mario I have finished it 2 times but it never gets old because it is a really challenging game with lots of cool badges to collect that give you new abilities during battle, I think that is the best one in the series so far.

Now my next Virtual Console purchases will be Super Mario Bros 2 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link both sequels for great classic games that were responsible for a big revolution, sequels that followed a different path than its predecessors, Zelda II presenting a side-scrolling adventure with some more RPG characteristics and Super Mario Bros 2 being strangely different from all Mario games.

I know Super Mario Bros 2 wasn't even supposed to be a Mario game, I think it was called Doki Doki Panic in Japan but when the game was brought to the US they replaced the original characters with Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach and some items with Mushrooms, Pow Blocks and many others which pretty much explains why the game's scenarios and bosses are not found in any other Mario game, I think some of you know this story better than I do. I like this game because of the different characters with different characteristics, Luigi being the best jumper, Mario being an all-around character, he is my favorite for this game, Toad is the fastest one and Peach can float!

I'm also looking forward to Earthbound, I tried to find the original cartridge but those things are really rare, I only found it at Ebay but unfortunately most users only ship the game to the USA and they are kind of expensive so I guess I would better wait for the VC version as it also doesn't present any saving problems.