Zelda: Link on a Train?

They've officially run out of ideas for Zelda games on the DS.

Link. On a train. LAME. Offically announced at GDC 2009:

Thanks MTV Multiplayer blog

What I'm Playing: Not the Wii

I'm not really sure what the deal is. Mario Galaxy is one of the most creative and fun Mario experiences ever. It's certainly the best title on the Wii right now (with Metroid Prime 3 on it's heels). But I'm not totally sure why I've been so nonchalant about playing it.

Getting Rock Band definetly put a hurt on the Wii. My underlying desires to be a drummer have put many hours into the game. I'd say I'm pretty efficient and sight reading is second nature now. I think I could play a real drum set playing some basic stuff and getting used to real drum set notation .

Puzzle Quest also still has Nicole and I deeply entrenched in it's RPG-Puzzle goodness. The idea behind the game is probably one of the best gaming mashups ever. A card game (Magic the Gathering), a puzzle game (Bejeweled), and an role playing game (Dragon Warrior). If you like even one of those games or genres, you'll like playing this along with the other two.

But there's Mario, sitting in the Wii in low-power mode. I don't know if it's the fact that it's in the back room. If it's because I'm jaded on Mario-collecting-star games, or what. Mario Galaxy definetly deserves some more love than I'm giving, but when your at the point of forcing yourself to play a game, does it then lose it's purpose and meaning of existence? A game you HAVE to play. A game you HAVE to enjoy?

And that's just it. I'm not enjoying it. It's levels are entertaining bits at a time, but the overall goal of the game, to earn enough stars for a chance to fight the final battle, has permeated through the many layers that make up a video game (graphics, sound, fun, controls, etc.) and I'm seeing the forest for the trees.

Metroid Prime 3 suffered the same fate. Since it's graphics and gameplay are merely rehashes of the past two games with a different story and humans, it feels like a repetitive chore. Like the third chapter in the longest game ever.

I'm starting to think that it's because they are games made by Nintendo, but I know that can't be true because while these to games are collecting dust in my game room, the newest Zelda was played probably every available day until it was completed. I don't think it was the fact that I bought the GameCube version over the Wii version either. The new Zelda game had such a great new aroma too it. It was the new hearty chicken soup that made you forget about Cambell's version. The same thing, for sure, but energized and given mood and feeling and more character. Spice.

Mario and Metroid have somespice. Maybe it's just the wrong kind for me. Or not enough of what I do like.

Zelda: Twilight Princess - The Bad Reviews

Obviously it's easy to play a game and like it, but what do you think your missing or overlooking when your infatuated with a game? I thought I would try to gather up some user reviews of Twilight Princess (not necessarily a game I'm "infatuated" with, and see where the differences of opinion lie.

GameFAQs.com has turned up quite a few less than stellar if not dreary reviews. One user says, "with all the fields to run through, I am a bit too humbled by its scope. Warping, a skill you acquire early on in the game, helps some, but it presents a paradox: it makes the game too small." The world is huge. But it's realistic for the setting. I used the horse quite a lot in the game and found it to be much faster for traveling around looking for bugs and treasure. And of course you lose a lot of aural pleasure in just warping around. But it is true that if you stay on the main challenge of the game, warping will handle 90% of all your travel needs.

Another user comments on the world maps saying, "The overworld is bland-looking and extremely devoid of any people or activity. In the days of games like Oblivion and Fable, this is pretty unacceptable." I pretty much agree with this. It seems that Zelda is still stuck in the world of texture mapped cubes for forests and extremely unpopulated fields and mountains. Any small areas that are creative are only visited once and then only used for a highlight reel in the end credits.

Lastly, another 6/10 review posted on GameFAQs said, "In previous [Z]elda games, there have always been items that I liked so much that I would use them just for the heck of it. Deku Nuts. Fire, Ice, and Light arrows. The Wand and Book..." Another thing I didn't think of but is absolutely true. The bow and arrow and hook shot are the most used items in the game. There were three types of bombs and a need for only two (and that's because one dungeon needed water bombs). These used to be staples in Zelda games that just didn't seem to make a grand return.

When you get down to it, this Zelda is just different. We got the adult, graphic Link we have been asking for since Wind Waker and the story and background to go with it. In the end, there is no pleasing everyone, but having an eye for the faults is just as important as noticing the anti-aliasing and stellar MIDI compositions.

Finished: Zelda Twilight Princess

When I started playing Twilight Princess, I knew some of the game play would be different. I knew some of the storyline would be different. Weapons. Items. A few characters. But what I didn't expect was exactly how deep the story would go and how much quality and polish would be in the game.

As far as the Zelda series goes, this is it's "Resident Evil 4". It's the latest game in the series to just nail everything right on the head. It doesn't leave you with much to complain about. Your not bored during cut scenes. The mechanics that make the game stand out from it's predecessors work so well you would have thought they were there from the start.

I guess that's what people call a triple-A title. It's a game you tell people about. You buy posters for it. You want to own all a collection of figurines. If I had to revise my top games list, it'd put Zelda: Twilight Princess in the top 6. I think I'll do that tonight.

Zelda: A Light to the Past

I blogged about these a while ago, and now that I'm getting closer to that point in finishing my basement that I need to think about lights, I've started searching for them again. I found these perfect gamer lights in two places now, but the second one is the cheapest by about $50.

I was going to put two of them over the pool table, but memories of smacking the metal lights at the pool hall back home with an errant cue stick quickly flushed those memories down the toilet. So instead I'll be putting them over the bar. I can't wait to get them. And build the bar.

Zelda vs. Gears vs. Wolves

As much as I wanted to plow knee deep into Zelda, online gaming has kept me only ankle deep, occasionally jumping out and getting into the cool waters of Gears of War.

I thought I was mostly done with the game. I had beaten it on "normal". That's pretty much where I'm drawing the line at most games. And with Gears, the huge amount of hard time I had getting into a ranked match made it even more frustrating. But never under estimate the power of peer pressure. With Cullers and Mike online, there is that small sense of familiarity. A hint of Halo 2 lan parties (and Perfect Dark and GoldenEye and NBA Jam). Those are powerful memories.

I can get into gaming with strangers, but the whole mating process is tired and is very repetitive. Say your "hello"s, plop into a map, hope MrFancyPantx doesn't split of on his own close range with a sniper rifle, and then you can think about sending a friend request.

I did that all throughout Perfect Dark and I absolutely loved my crew. It was diverse and we did spend a lot of time talking instead of plotting. It was relaxed. We were casual gamers. Good casual gamers. But after a couple of months, well, any game, you just can't stand playing it anymore, as you peek out from behind your Super Dragon to look at the likes of Gears players. It's like another country where they speak their own language.

I know that Zelda is sitting back there. I've waited a long freakin' time to play as grown-up Link. I was put off a little bit by the wolf form, knowing I had Okami in the PS2. As soon as I started running around as Link the Big Bad Wolf, I knew that beautiful white Okami was just waiting for me; a game that had completely fleshed out the 3rd-canine-perspective genre. Gladly it was over almost as soon as it started.

It All Takes a Back Seat

All that talk about Crackdown and Halo 3 betas and Lost Planet have all
been moved to the back of the bus. Why should such potentially time
draining games be so suddenly removed from my playlist for the next month
or, quite possibly, two?

Because I just went out and picked up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight
Princess.

Call me or email me occasionally and remind me to eat, sleep and go to
work.