Quickscoping

Something that has plagued many games makes and unfortunate appearance in GoldenEye 007. Quickscoping. For those of you who don't know what is it, check the video in the comments.
Basically, in GoldenEye, the sniper rifle is a tool that is used far too often for cheap kills. Some may say skill. Some may say it's pure garbage. 

Metroid Prime Review

Back in 2002, the idea was born. The idea to turn the much loved franchise of Metroid into a first person game. Released way back on the Nintendo Gamecube, Metroid Prime was loved by many fans and critics. Now, in 2011, how does it hold up?


Metroid Prime looks stunning. Even without HD graphics, the art direction and design make the Alien world of Tallon IV look like a living breathing planet. Not even alien set games like Halo manage to achieve this. The sound it also perfect for the locals. While the music isn't memorable like Zelda, it helps set the mood. You play as Samus Aran, Nintendo's famed space bounty hunter (she doesn't hunt space...but, you get the idea) You will arrive on Tallon IV in search of a mysterious, yet familiar beast that seemingly was behind part of the destruction of Frigate Orpheon. Upon arriving on Tallon IV, the storytelling ceases and you have to begin working it out for yourself. You'll do this by scanning various Chozo scripts and that of the Space Pirates. Be warned though, you will be doing a lot of scanning. But, without spoiling too much, the planet Tallon IV was once inhabited by the Chozo, until a meteor hit the planet. Riding on the meteor is this substance called Phazon, which has strange effects on the world and the inhabitants. The Space Pirates want to weaponize it, therefore creating some pretty freaky stuff in the process. And guess who's job it is to stop them!

The gameplay of Metroid Prime revolves around traversing the world in search of suit upgrades, things to scan, Artifacts and of course, the source of the Phazon. While it may be marketed as a first person shooter, this is closer to a first person adventure game that anything else. The greatness of Metroid Prime comes from comes from exploring the world and finding new ways to get about. There are some enemies which can only be fought in a certain way which means you have pretty interesting and varied gameplay. There is one function in Prime which people will either love or hate. Backtracking.  After obtaining new upgrades, you can go back and get upgrades which you weren't able to get before. Me? I was okay with it. It did mean that the upgrades you get can be limited if you wish to plough the game, making it harder. I love the gameplay though, it's so hypnotically engrossing. However, it does have flaws. For instance, it takes AGES to get around ANYWHERE! If there was a fast travel system, the game would be SO much better, even if it is already amazing. There is one other problem. Prime has a lack of direction. The only time I didn't enjoy the game was when I spent 40 mins walking around mindlessly doing nothing. Eventually, I had to resort to doing something I hated: using a walkthrough. Sometimes, you just won't know where to go at all, and you'll have to wait for ages for a hint to pop up, and even the you'll have to do a lot of walking to the place. ARRGGH! So, if anyone uses a walkthrough, don't judge. Please. However, the feeling of getting a new suit upgrade is more than worth all this unnecessary travelling. The only other problem I have is that the game doesn't tell you which doors are save stations. One time, I went into a room with two doors. I decided to go one way. I was killed and had to spend another 10 minutes walking to get to the room again. I went through the other door and, turns out, it was a save station. That's another thing. save stations. Every time you die, you return to the last one you saved at. This is a feature that comes with age. In fact, a lot of the problems I had with the game can be attributed to age. Back in 2002, this game's flaws would have gone unnoticed, but now, I can't help but notice. But either way, this is a truly masterful game. Despite the flaws, like the fact that you have to start gain if you beat the game (I am going to play it again though!) it's a magical experience that is almost indescribable. 

Here's a new trailer to help kick off zelda month

Wii U can eliminate screen-cheating.

Think about it. Not many people actually play local multiplayer anymore thanks to online deathmatches, but it's a thing that I'm looking forward to at least.

Metroid Prime so far...

The first of the trilogy, Metroid Prime sees you playing as Nintendo's famous bounty hunter, Samus Aran as you platform, blast, navigate and scan your way through the remote alien world on Tallon IV. As you progress through the game, you'll be searching for suit upgrades, scanning enemies to record them in the logbook and solving some pretty tricky puzzles. A lot of your time will be spent walking, and I mean, a lot of your time, and I mean, A LOT of your time, and I mean, A HUGE FREAKIN' LOT of your time will be spent walking. However, when you aren't walking, there is a lot of great fun to be had. Walking into a new area in the game is just fantastic. You go around and try to find everything, every little secret so that you don't miss out on anything. Discovering new places is by far the best feeling you get from this game. There are some amazing battles to be had with some of the Space Pirates and Tallon IV's phazon affected inhabitants. There are also some pretty cool boss fights although, the most recent one I had was a huge jump in difficulty for the game. I almost beat the last boss with my eyes closed, but this one was completely different, almost entirely cheap. But once I figured out how to beat him, the battle stopped being frustrating and became fun. I will cover more of Prime in the review, but for now, you'll have to wait. I will say that this game is for the patient gamer. With the genre of FPS littered with the unfortunate success of Call of Duty, not many people would find Prime interesting. But for the true gamer, Prime can be a great experience.

zelda month begins

PBG has stuck to his word and begun zelda month as it is a month until skyward sword comes out. Which is good because the more pbg vids the better. Hapsy halloween for monday by the way.