It's All in the Name

See You Next Mission began as a blog about Metroid. This made sense at the time I started it, seeing as how Metroid: Other M's release was upcoming. After the release of the latest Metroid installment, I decided that a Metroid-exclusive blog just wouldn't work. Since then, I've expanded the focus of my posts, but I kept the name of the blog as "See You Next Mission". I've come to the conclusion that this doesn't really work. This is where you guys come in. I need a new blog name, and I really would like a reader-inspired one. Email your suggestions to project538@gmail.com, and I'll pick the four or five I like best. Then, I will put those submissions in a poll, and the poll winner will be the new blog name. This is something that reader response is required for. Am I capable of thinking of a new name? Absolutely, but I think it's more fun this way. Even if you feel that the blog doesn't need a name change, email and let me know. See you next mission!

-Nate

Stupid Sandals...

Hang around me for any period of time and you will realize something: I hate shoes. I only wear them when the situation demands it; most of the time you will find me in my well-worn Birkenstocks. Until today, that is. I was out on a walk, and I stubbed my toe on an elevated section of sidewalk. At first I thought it was no big deal, but then I looked down and saw a cut running across the front of my right foot's big toe. Oops. I was a few blocks from home, so the first thing I did was whip out my cell and call to inform my sister to have bandages and antiseptic ready. Let me tell you, walking three blocks in a puddle of sticky blood that is slowly collecting in your shoe SUCKS! By the time I got home, my foot was covered in blood. It looked like I had been shot in the foot. I cleaned and dressed the cut (ok, my mom did), then attempted to save my favorite pair of shoes. Alas, the blood had soaked into the sole. I had to throw them away. Stupid sandals. I love them, but if I had worn real shoes, this never would have happened...

Quickie Post: HOMECOMING!

Yikes! It's tonight! I guess I shouldn't be to worried. I don't have a date, so I'm going with a group of guy friends instead. I can't dance, but there's this girl that insists she's going to teach me... AT THE DANCE! I agreed, so that should be interesting. Also, my tie is purple. Who doesn't love purple, right? Stay tuned for an update. I work all day today, then have dinner, then the dance, then the afterparty, so if you wanna know what happened ASAP, check back at like 2:00 a.m. Central time. Unless, that is, I forget to post because I'm too tired. Which is very likely. So, yeah, just check tomorrow morning. See you next mission!

-Nate

Why the Readers Don't Write Back

The post title is more of a question than anything. Four people actually follow this blog (five if you count me), but judging by the numbers on the statistics page, I know I get more hits than that (for those who are wondering, only I can see the stats page. Sorry!). The only thing I ever get response on is the polls. Eleven people voted in the "Favorite Metroid Game" poll, and three have voted in the current "Best OS" poll. In the last post I tried to start a contest: send in a screenshot of your high score in Tetris and I'll publish the names of the winners here. So far, I've received no response (does nobody play Tetris anymore?). Nobody comments, nobody emails. If there's something wrong with commenting (e.g. you have to be signed in to comment) then please, someone email me and let me know. The four followers are nice, but I really want to know if anyone is actually reading this blog. If you think I'm whining, comment or email and tell me to shut up. Trust me, I'll listen.

On the Infinite Replay Value of Tetris

Everyone knows what Tetris is. Even people who don't play video games know what Tetris is. That's the beauty of it; it's simple if you want it to be, but it's challenging at the same time. You don't "beat" Tetris. It goes on forever, and that's the beauty of it. It's been potted to pretty much every system ever, including cell phones, and if you have it on a mobile device it's great for on-the-go play. The real reason that the replay value is infinite though is because you only play against a high score. Another great thing: Tetris never ends. If you're good enough, you could technically play the game forever. I pick up and play Tetris in quick spurts on my iPod touch when I'm waiting for someone or during car rides. Tetris is, in one word, amazing. So, what do you think? When do you play Tetris? Do you even play Tetris at all? Show how amazing you are at Tetris by sending in your high scores (screenshots are required for verification) to project538@gmail.com. Make sure you have "Tetris" in the subject line so I don't mark it as spam. I'll post the highest scores here when I get enough responses. See you next mission!

Buying Crap I Can't Afford

When it comes to spending money, I have a problem. Not as bad as some people, mind you, but it's a problem nonetheless. Of course, being under 18 I lack a credit card, which is something I'm actually glad about. However, this doesn't stop me from wanting to buy things I really don't need and also really can't afford. The most recent example is an Apple iPad. I had a rather heated discussion with my parents last night about buying one. It basically came down to this: most of the things I would do on the IPad I can already do on some device I already own, and spending a rather large chunk of my savings account (yeah, I have no money) on something I don't really need is stupid. Of course, there's also the classic case of "buyer's remorse"; a week or so after I would have bought the thing I would have felt stupid for doing so. Then you have to take into consideration the fact that the iPad is an electronic gadget that is periodically updated (although hasn't been yet), and if you haven't bought one at this point it's probably best to wait for the iPad 2 (or whatever they will call it). So, what do you guys think about this? Sound off in the comments section below, or email me at project538@gmail.com! Also, take note of our new Sidebar Survey question (yeah, I thought of that name as I was typing this), "Which OS do you prefer?". I'm a Mac person myself, but I know we all have our preferences. See you next mission!

-Nate

A Change in Subject

Since the Metroid: Other M hype has kinda died down, I feel a little silly doing an entire blog dedicated to Metroid. Therefore, I have decided I will post about stuff that interests me, which happens to include Metroid. The blog's name won't change, and I'll keep the sweet Screw Attack background for now, but don't expect every post to be something regarding Metroid now. I'd like to hear from the followers on this, but since I've started See You Next Mission the feedback from followers has been pretty nonexistent. You know who you are. Contact me anytime at project538@gmail.com, and make sure to leave your comments right here. See you next mission!

-Nate

Contacting Me/Other M Help

I have received a request to offer help on Metroid: Other M. I will be glad to post answers to any Metroid-related questions (or any questions you have, for that matter) right here on this blog. You can contact me at any of the provided accounts, but please do not @ or DM me on Twitter, as I currently am unable to access my account from my mobile device. As always, email is going to get you the fastest response. If I get a lot of questions I will make regular "help posts", but you can feel free to contact me about almost anything! See you next mission!

-Nate

Metroid: Other M - Review

The wait is finally over! My Other M review lies just ahead. However, I cannot promise that it will be spoiler-free. In fact, I can promise just the opposite. This review will be an absolute spoiler-fest! If you want a spoiler-free review, there are plenty of other sites out there to visit. I will mark spoiler sections, however, so if you wish to read ahead just be careful. So the adventure begins...

Metroid: Other M is supposed to be a return to the series' roots. The Metroid Prime trilogy, while excellent, takes place entirely from a first-person perspective. Classic Metroid is on a 2D plane, taking place entirely in third person. Other M is a hybrid of sorts. Is it better than Super Metroid? No, it's not. That's not to say it's a bad game, however. Read on to see what I mean.

STORY
Whoo, is there a lot of story. Narrative is the focus of Other M, and I thought it worked quite nicely. Taking place immediately after Super Metroid, Samus picks up a distress call from the Bottle Ship, a scientific research vessel in a remote corner of space. She runs in to a few old friends from the Galactic Federation Army, including her old squad mate Anthony Higgs and her former CO Adam Malkovich. I won't go in to too much detail here, but I do want to voice my complaints about the story/voice acting/dialogue. The voice acting, while ok, is far from award-winning. The dialogue is too wordy, especially the monologues from Samus. The localization team could have done a better job of Americanizing the speech, as it still comes off as "Made in Japan" even though the characters are speaking English. The story is a generic science fiction story, but it's still good. If the plot twists were not spoiled for you, then they aren't predictable. It's not perfect, but overall it's ok.

GAMEPLAY
Other M's gameplay is, to sum it up in one word, fantastic. Gone is the slow-moving, tank-like Samus of the Primes, replaced by an agile Samus who moves more like a ninja than a tank (I promise, that is the ONLY ninja comparison I will make. I have never played the Ninja Gaiden games, so this will be evaluated strictly on a Metroid game to Metroid game level). Along with you're standard beam and missile arsenal, you can perform melée attacks. The Lethal Strike is a way of taking out downed enemies with cinematic flair. The action Samus performs varies by enemy, so it's neat to try it on different creatures and see what cool thing Samus will do. The attacks range from shoving her arm cannon down a giant worm's throat to taking a Ghalmanian (giant chameleon) into a headlock and firing into it's skull. The Overblast involves jumping on enemies and firing charge shots into them, which is also very cool. The standard beam weaponry is controlled by an autotargeting system, which is really the only way they could have controlled beam firing in a 3D space. It works, but it certainly doesn't make the game easy. Missiles are fired differently, which I will discuss in the "Controls" section. Bosses are definitely challenging enough, but you almost never get rewards for defeating them. Weapons are usually unlocked, or rather "authorized", before battles by Samus's CO Adam Malkovich. Some people hate this mechanism, but it works in the context of the game. Shut up and get over it. Some of the Metroid feel is lost in this game due to it's greater linearity, but it ends up ok.

MUSIC
Music? What music? Although the soundtrack is almost entirely orchestrated, it is more ambient background stuff than the driving, memorable tunes of older Metroid titles. The two pieces that really stand out are the remix of Ridley's theme and a certain piano piece that plays near the (real) end of the game. Other than those pieces, nothing else really shines. I can honestly think of and hum at least one tune from every Metroid game except Other M. It's kinda disappointing.

CONTROLS
I'm going to be brief here, and mostly adders the major complaints I've heard about the controls. First of all, a d-pad in 3D space works, despite what you may have heard. In some instances it is preferred over an analog stick, such as when you are running in a straight line to activate the Speed Booster or trying to Wall Jump. Secondly, switching to first person for it's various uses works as well. I found it to actually be quite easy, and it becomes second nature as you progress through the game. So, all ye haters: shut up.

FANSERVICE
Yes, this deserves it's own section, as there is plenty of it. And no, I'm not talking erotic fanservice. Get your mind out of the gutter. What I mean is references to past games, cool little touches that fans want to see. Spoilers are ahead, though, as I am actually going to mention what I thought was cool. So, if you don't want to see spoilers, scroll down to the next section header. I think it's great that the game opens up with an act of fanservice in the form of a 3D recreation of the final boss from Super Metroid. Many enemies from the past games are here in 3D goodness for you to blow up. Throwing Nightmare (from Metroid Fusion) in as a boss was a nice touch. There were Rinkas (you know, the nuclear Cheerios from Metroid 1 and Super) on the way to the (sort of) final boss. My favorite thing was probably the Phantoon fight, which is what I'm calling the real final boss fight. And of course, the Zero Suit escape sequence with the Paralyzer stun pistol was really fun too.

THE VERDICT
Adam Malkovich authorizes the use of your hard-earned cash to buy Other M. So do I. While it doesn't exactly live up to previous titles, it should be appreciated by series fans. If you don't like the game, then I am sorry for your loss. You are truly missing something great. While not perfect, Other M is very well done. I don't really want to slap a number on it, but if I did I would give it a solid 9/10. As opposed to a liquid 9/10, or maybe a gaseous 9/10. Or perhaps even a... PLASMA (gasp!) 9/10.

Final score: 9/10

So there you have it. There's my review of Metroid: Other M for your enjoyment and reading pleasure. If you liked it, show your appreciation by commenting below. Feel sympathy for me, as this took ms almost an hour to type on an iPod touch keyboard (so excuse any typos). If reception is positive, I may review the other Metroid games in the future. See you next mission!

-Nate

Other M Display Stand

You may know what I'm referring to in the title. The almost 6 foot tall display stand, featuring a cardboard Samus in the center, that doubles as a shelf for game and/or movie cases. It's sweet. It can possibly be found at your local GameStop. Except for, that is, the one that was outside the door to GameStop at the Valley West Mall in Des Moines, Iowa. Because it is now in the corner of my bedroom. Now I have Samus (and Anthony Higgs, who happens to be hiding in the background) to watch over me while I sleep. That is, until my parents make me get rid of it. I sure hope they don't, but parents will be parents. How did I come across this wonderful piece, you may be wondering? Well, here's the answer: don't be afraid to ask! I asked multiple times at my GameStop, and when I was in today he said that I had waited long enough, and told me to take it with me. It barely fit in the car (I had to slightly disassemble it), but it now stands in my room. Just thought I'd let y'all know.

-Nate

Poll Results!

And....

SUPER METROID WINS! I had expected this, of course. We got a total of 11 votes. Here is the breakdown:

1: Super Metroid- 4 votes
2: Metroid Prime- 3 votes
3: Prime 2: Echoes- 2 votes
4: TIE: Metroid II/Metroid Fusion- 1 vote each

Nobody voted for Metroid or Metroid Prime 3. For the record, I did not vote, though if I had I would have voted for Super. See you next mission!