Thursday 21 September 2017

Metroid: Samus Returns (A Review)

(Hi, kids! I got a copy of that new Metroid game and played it and liked it a lot, so I did a review of it which is right down below this paragraph. It's not as esoteric as my other Metroid posts, being a more mainline review for GameFAQs, but I'm sure you'll like it. Anyway, here's my words on it.)



OH GOD THE BABY GREW UP IN SEVEN YEARS
Metroid. Where do we even begin? It's a pillar of an action/adventure series from Nintendo that's been around for over three decades, but it's the last of those decades that have proven turbulent. The 2010s have been somewhat unkind to the series; 2010's Metroid Other M sought to bring coherent story and narrative to the series and fell flat on its face in doing so. Six years later gave us a spinoff, Federation Force, which further alienated the die-hard Metroid fanbase. The only shining light for them last year was the release of a fan game, Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R). As the name suggested, it was a remake of the second game in the series and radically reinvented it, updating its play style to feel more like later 2D games in the series. Nintendo did not take kindly to this and issued takedown notices for AM2R... and yet, here we are. A year after that unkind business, Nintendo and developer MercurySteam have taken their own crack at reinventing and reimagining Metroid II into a bolder, more expansive form. Did they treat their own creation with more love and care than the fandom that's kept the candle burning for Metroid these long seven years? Here, then, is Metroid: Samus Returns.

Sunday 3 September 2017

Coming Soon: 31 More Days, 31 More Screams!

Hey hey. Very very quick post this time around, while I grapple with writer's inspiration to try and get some motivation to write about some computer games. In the meantime, I'm thinking ahead to the very busy future as the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder. It's September now, and summer's in its dying embers. Thank God for that, but it also means that October's just a few weeks away. Last year I had a lot of fun with a monthly marathon of short writeups on spooky-themed media and I want to do it again! So... that's the plan! October 1st will be the start of 31 More Days, 31 More Screams... and I need your help! I did open the floor to requests last year, but as I recall I only took about one or two. I'd like to do more, if you out there have wild and weird requests for me. Let's do that again, and set a few ground rules.

-Obviously if I did it in last year's marathon, I can't do it again. So... check out the old ones I did before making a suggestion.

-I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to throat trauma, which makes me apprehensive towards a lot of the slasher genre. You can still make that request, but just warn me if such things are involved; I'll let my own genre-savviness warn me of when said trauma's about to happen so I can look away or whatever.

-Basically all forms of media are fair game for this, but if you're going to suggest something more long-form than a movie, be wary of how long it may take me. I'm a fast reader and can conquer books quickly, but more longform video games are subject to scrutiny; my free time's at a bit of a premium, after all.

-I'd prefer if you left your comments here, just so I have them all in one place rather than spread over four different social media channels and messenger services.

I think that's about it. Please pop some suggestions in so I can fill up the month! I used a lot of my favorite picks last year, but I'm sure together we can build an interesting and eclectic list. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all throw at me, and I hope you're looking forward to reading about it!