AndrewTS

On Bryyo now, have to destroy the 2 energy signatures. I think I know where to go but for some reason nothing seems to be working. I've defeated , got the grapple swing, upgraded my ship, but I seem to keep running into dead ends. As far as I can tell I have to deal with the Eastern energy signature first, and I see paths that seem to be where I need to go. I see panels that can be ripped from the walls but I can't reach it. In the next area, with the big pool of fuel gel, there's a destructible pipe that I pelt with missiles and nothing happens, a large smokestack that is held in place by a support that I should be able to grapple/pull but I can't reach that. I know there's probably some simple thing I need to do to proceed but I'm stumped. EDIT: Nevermind. Had to sic my ship on it.

Played much more of the game, swapped my jump and shoot buttons and disabled free aim with the lock on. NOW it's clicking with me very well. And silly me to judge it on the first level. It feels way more like Prime now instead of a standard FPS. I did get a bit stuck on the area with the destroyed golem because there seemingly wasn't a way back. Then a bit further past that I slipped on my scan visor--ah-ha!

I've got the game, recently beat and so far I'm happy and disappointed. Happy that the game controls so well but disappointed it seems more like a typical FPS than the original Metroid Prime, where combat was never a focus because the exploration and puzzles were so grand and fun. It's a nice touch that there's a pseudo-achievement system in place, and I was a bit surprised to see the word "kills" in a Nintendo game ("hey, I got 200 kills!"), although makes me wish Nintendo's online system was up to even Live Silver standards. Anyone who has gotten the guide book, can you tell me if scanning is really necessary for unlocking anything of value? I've scanned almost everything since I learned how, and it's a pain in the ass now that I have to switch to a separate visor for it. Since the game is more linear it seems, I'd be less likely to be to be retracing my steps and getting to scan old stuff too. Somebody please tell me I can tell scanning to go to hell unless I really need to find out what something does. The absolute worst aspect of Prime, IMO. I see that the quirk about Prime I found most annoying--shooting doors ahead of time makes them take forever to actually open--is still in place. I'm guessing it just screws with the game loading the next room, which is ordinarily almost seamless?

My Wii was offline and it did it anyway. But I'm still at 2.2 firmware, so I don't know what it did.

Speaking of naughty games, it Sierra is going to be publishing what appears to be a blatant Tomb Raider clone. It's called Wet, and is developed by a company called A2M. Feel free to google it up, but expect search results to be NSFW. The gameplay sounds interesting (Prince of Persia/Tomb Raiderish), but considering these guys have made a bunch of lousy GBA games and that horrible Teen Titans console beat 'em up, it could be another Getting Up. EDIT: there's a trailer. Prepare to groan. http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?play...id=4333&s=l

I wanted to bump this to point out to some folks that there a few diaries you can ONLY get when you first go to a few areas, and if you don't you can't get it any longer. It's been updated to note these. The two diaries in the beginning section, which we knew, and a few others. Only on easy. On Medium I had problems in Neptune's Bounty in between being low on grenades, and facing turrets, splicers, and Big Daddys. Stockpiling ammo helped a lot, though.

Like, 40%-ish.

I wouldn't count on it until after Mario and Sonic is released.

Haven't invested in any of them yet. I've had a PS2 since launch, played it in fits and starts, but only after playing Resident Evil 4 this spring did I really get back in the gaming mindset. It just seems odd to me to suddenly drop over $700 on hardware, even though I could and kind of want to. I'd say winter would be a good time to take a look at the titles and jump on what you want more. You've got two systems under starting at under 300 bucks (although with 360 hard drive is a must IMO), with major games due to come out this holiday (Mass Effect and Halo 3 on 360, plus Mario Galaxy and Brawl for Wii). Otherwise, wait until spring and take a look at 'em side-by-side with the Metal Gear Playing Machine. I doubt my EB games will have it. It is just a short demo or seemingly the full game? Don't they want your name, address, SS# and a urine sample to hand you the wiimote/nunchuck tho? Bleh.

Puff piece on TAFKA Irrational's Ken Levine: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3162207 Really interesting and fun read, although I wished he talked more about Bioshock's "Nazis on an island" period. He remains quite humble, a far cry from certain other folks who have critically acclaimed games under their belt. Oh, and I picked up Deus Ex for like 4 bucks and began trying it out. Thanks to the folks who recommended. I'm very impressed with gameplay even though the graphics are weak. You can open doors in other ways than just finding a key card of a matching color? I can blow it up, pick the lock or hack it open (depending on what kind it is)?! I'm very slooooooooowly making my way through the area to get to the Statue of Liberty. I don't really totally get what I'm doing, but I'm having fun getting there, playing it very much like a FPS Metal Gear Solid (stealthing around, popping enemies, dragging their corpses out of sight and picking them clean of goodies).

Eh, kind of lost the impact now that every site basically has covered it. I think Seanbaby has the definitive Atari porn coverage: http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/naughty03.htm

Metroid Prime 3 guides are out, for those who anticipate sucking at the time/want to be ready to collect everything.

Thanks. I checked the other day and I didn't see it, so probably did just go up.

12-track soundtrack free download: http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/home.html It isn't that Moby trash that comes with the LE.

Yuna is on a Miho/Sin City kick, I see. Oh yeah...Manhunt...yay for R*. I'm surprised they got it edited, resubmitted, and approved all quick. That was all so sudden.

Preordered it and paid in full. Metroid Prime 2 was a bit of a letdown for me--I never finished it--however Metroid Prime is one of my favorite games of all time, featuring some of my favorite boss battles of all time. Do you have a PS3 or just haven't invested in any of the new systems?

I don't know many people complaining about the story, but System Shock veterans expected a major plot twist ever since playing the demo (see: the recent Retronauts podcast covering survival horror games, where they touch on Bioshock and its spiritual predecessors). Some liked it for that, some didn't. However, the System Shocks were and are pretty obscure, while Bioshock looks to be a big, mainstream hit. However, I'm rather annoyed at how damn bloody many of those log things there are (and they're sometimes better hidden than any of Prime's info panels), and despite collecting about a million of them there are still more because I didn't achieve Historian. If anyone knows where there is a checklist, would you kindly point me to it?

They slapped Wii ads in the textures that were used for some brand name jetskis in Wave Rave 64 for VC, so it wouldn't be unprecedented. But N didn't develop No Mercy.

Okay...there's this awesome little game coming this fall, with a really cool art style, where you control a wolf and its squawky companion...oh, and its on PS2. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/okam...tml?sid=6148341 I had *heard* about it, and it looked mildly interesting. Then I played the demo, and was very much impressed. I didn't want to psyche myself up too much, though, because it is a demo. However, the import version has been scoring very well (including a 90 out of Famitsu, which is comparing it to Zelda), and now it looks like there's going to be yet another fall title I'm looking forward to. For $4.99 you can try it on Jampack #14, plus there are playable demos of Shadow of the Colossus, Ratchet: Deadlocked, Shadow Hearts From the New World, Tomb Raider Legend, Beatmania, Steambot Chronicles, and MLB 06 The Show.

Finished the game, starting on my next playthrough for the good ending. Darn fine game, although all the hype from the magazines have done it a disservice. It's darn good and a very pretty game with beautifully designed environments and excellent atmosphere. Genre-defining megaton that redefines the FPS? I'm going to say no way. Folks who have been weaned on some of the best of the genre will probably be left jaded and unimpressed except for the visuals. However, it's good and fine for me, as it's changed a lot of the expectations and possibilities I ever considered for the genre. Bring on Metroid Prime 3.

Has anyone spotted any

Is the two-installs-only for any kind of installation, including a basic one that just runs the game from the disc, or only when you full-install the entire game? I assume the publishing muckity-mucks were the ones who went for this, not TAFKA Irrational.

He's back again and about time too, And this time he's in the mood, He can fly real high with his jetpack on, With his pistols out he's one tough Kong, He'll make you smile when he plays his tune, But Kremlings beware 'cause he's after you!

Yeah, not all the plasmid powers are worth it. bites the big one, except in the "looking cool" area. Plus there's I once again love the layout. There are distinctive levels, but you can go back to previous ones to take care of unfinished business (except tutorial, but nothing is really much there. Main story goals are given to you, but you can screw around and explore all you like. Unfortunately, exploring is really all you can achieve in the meantime. There's not really alternate goals I see that you can achieve. oldskool: I'd say crank up the difficulty and run through it again. Anyone discovered a way to take care of those booby-trapped electric wires other than crouching under or jumping over them? Shooting them doesn't seem to break them. I notice enemies can set them off and if I levitate an object and toss it at an enemy, sometimes they set it off. Levitating objects directly into the wires doesn't seem to work, though.