The Rumble Pack Posts

While Super Mario Galaxy had to live up to some lofty expectations, it had always been Metroid Prime 3: Corruption that had the most to prove. One of the first games announced for the Wii, Nintendo had been touting the game’s “revolutionary” control scheme for years. But beyond the motion controls, Prime 3 was also Nintendo’s sole “hardcore” entry this past fall. While the 360 and PS3 may have be flooded with gritty shooters of both the first- and third-person varieties, Prime 3 had both the luxury and tremendous pressure of being the only significant game of this type on the Wii. Factor in the (perhaps unfair) critical failure of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and it would seem that the odds were stacked squarely against Retro Studios. However, much like with the rocky transition from Super Metroid to the original Metroid Prime, Retro has once again proven that they have an intimate understanding of both the series and Nintendo’s latest hardware.

To be perfectly honest, that game makes a pretty poor first impression. Before you really get a chance to control Samus Aran, you’re forced to wonder around some nondescript space station in order to familiarize yourself with the Galactic Federation. Samus is quickly introduced to some general (or something to that effect – he’s not exactly memorable) and the lamest collection of bounty hunters since Dengar, 4Lom, and Zuckuss paraded around on the Star Destroyer in The Empire Strikes Back. I know Retro wanted to have a sweeping, Halo-esque space opera unfold, but the end results just feel forced and distracting. Luckily, the station is attacked in true Metroid fashion and Samus is forced to hightail it to a nearby planet to prevent damage to the Federation’s Aurora unit (heavily hinted to be the next-gen equivalent of Mother Brain, but I’m warning you right now not to get your hopes up).

There will be a slight delay in the already unspecified update scheme we have here. With Justin out of the country and Nick and Tom settling in after both of them moved I thought a Kaz only podcast, while totally awesome, would basically only appeal to myself and maybe my mother (she may not like me that much either).

Do not fret, we’ll be back on the air as soon as we’re all settled in.

10:30am Tuesday, August 21.: Recieved Limited Edition Bioshock from local Gamestop.

10:43am: Tore open package to get a gooey gamey goodness inside, immediately used EP soundtrack for Tuesday’s podcast. Moby is on the soundtrack. Why?

10:59am: Looked at included big daddy figurine while uploading podcast, upon inspecting the feet I noticed a “Made in China” sticker. Fear of poisoning on the rise. Note to self: don’t lick big daddy…

11:13am: Began playing Bioshock

5:00pm Wednesday, August 22: Finished single player campaign of Bioshock.

This week, Kaz, Justin, and special guest Tony Pane gather to discuss Denis Dyack’s latest ramblings and the potential for console mods while doing their best to hold back enthusiasm for a certain big game. Jack Black may be returning to gaming, but we pray that its more playable than Nacho Libre DS. We also discuss our love-hate relationships with a variety of games, including Heroes of Mana, FFXII, and The Darkness. The start of a good gaming season is certainly upon us.

Brain Age 2 adds more than a dozen new “training programs” to Nintendo’s patented regimen, features much improved speech recognition, and is loaded with Sudoku puzzles once again. This should essentially be a warmly-received, by-the-books sequel, especially for fans of the first game. Instead, folks most familiar with the original will tire of this game the fastest. The sense of déjà vu found on this DS cart is impossible to ignore. The menus look identical, and most of Kawashima’s quips seem recycled. Hell, even the box art is practically the same (it’s blue instead of yellow). Perhaps this is for continuity’s sake, but it just feels lazy.

Even so, doing math problems and solving word jumbles remains mysteriously fun. Or something closely approximating fun. I’m not sure if any of this is truly beneficial for my brain (at the very least, it doesn’t hurt), but Nintendo’s formula retains some of its novelty. Anyone who remembers futilely shouting, “BLUE!!” into the microphone will be pleased to learn that the microphone is much better at picking up “rock,” “paper,” and “scissors” in this installment. Best of all, some mini-games now have real world applications, such as the change counter or piano player games. Cashiers and budding musicians will be overjoyed.

Brain Age 2 is still a quality DS title at a reasonable price, and anyone who has ignored the “non-gaming” bandwagon until now should at least give it a try. However, after a week or so of the required 15-minute training sessions, don’t be surprised to find yourself spending more time with the Sudoku puzzles than with the good doctor’s disembodied head.

Overall: 3 Stars

Technical difficulties led to a split podcast this week. After losing the second half of the podcast and with Nick on the road and Tom hard at work, Kaz and Justin record a replacement news segment. They also slip in some serious drooling over the Bioshock demo. Nick and Tom have been chipping away at Guitar Hero: Encore—Rock Your Wallet Edition. And the Picross DS bug has spread to Tom, once he has internet access the crude phallus sharing will commence. We really need a “Rock Band” band name.

Due to technical difficulties there will be a delay in getting the latest episode out. We have to rerecord segments that were lost to the great data pool in the sky.

The full crew returns for a massive episode in a news-lite week. Tom, Nick, Kaz and Justin combine forces for an epic discussion of all the games they have been playing. Picross DS takes center stage and everyone can guess what the puzzle sharing will really consist of. Grand Theft Auto IV delay news pissed some of the crew off and they discuss the uses of games as an educational tool. Ooey Booey (Uwe Boll) is back, get the scoop here. Do you remember Shenmue? Do you remember it fondly?

Rock Band and Guitar Hero – thanks to the help of these two series, music games have reached a level of mass market appeal that not even Master Chief or Solid Snake could achieve. And yet, for all of the ingenious multiplayer modes and plastic instruments, the two rock giants still rely on the same “scrolling-notes” game mechanics popularized by Bemani games (arguably derivative of PaRappa the Rapper). Though this presentation is obviously well suited for peripheral-based games, I think the more exciting developments in the genre are coming from the oddball hybrids that eschew this formula. Look at Rez for example, or the recently released Patapon. These games manage to combine music creation with rail-shooter and strategy elements respectively, creating completely entrancing experiences that don’t require expensive add-ons (unless you want to spring for an optional Trance Vibrator). But if you’re trying to trace the evolution of these less conventional music titles, you’ll want to be sure to remember Rhythm Tengoku, a little Japanese gem released by Nintendo a couple of years ago.

the source of much confusion on our podcast