Getting there...

So, every day I see Super Mario Galaxy 2 just sitting there on my shelf, waiting to be played. And yet, I'm still resisting until I finish some other games and books, just like I said I would (I once did this during my senior year of high school, forcing myself to read through Crime and Punishment for a class before I could even open Final Fantasy X-2, the new hot game at the time). Normally I would give in, having an inkling that by the time I get around to the game, I won't be interested in playing it, but not this one. Any Nintendo game from one of their three main series (Mario, Zelda and Metroid) developed for a console (I don't get as excited for their portable counterparts, after Phantom Hourglass and Metroid Prime Hunters) always has me excited, no matter what time of year. And when I say that, I mean that my gaming mood changes throughout the seasons. One part of the year I'm into RPGs, another part I'd rather play a FPS. One month a racing game, another an adventure with a grand story. Not those three series though, those I always look forward to playing.

Anyways, I won't start SMG2 until I finish some games and books. For the books, I just want to look at my bookshelf and not see as many unread books that I've been wanting to read for years. And for games, the first on my list was Shadow Complex. I can happily say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, or at least after I obtained the jetpack (the second time through is fun without the jetpack, since the levels make sense). It is extremely similar to the Metroid series, especially Super Metroid, right up until the end when one has all the upgrades, and then explores the whole map looking for missile and other expansion packs. On my first playthrough, I made sure to play on Normal difficulty (options are Casual, Normal, Hard and Insane). At first I thought maybe I chose something too difficult for myself, but now I think I was just getting used to the controls. Having beaten it once so far, I can say that while the controls are not perfect, the developers did a fine job for their first time making a game of this sort. Later in the game the controls become second nature, and speedy gameplay is easy to achieve along with quick advanced maneuvers. I would recommend Normal difficulty for all first time players, maybe even Hard difficulty if you're willing to put up with some cheap deaths here and there.

So I finished my first playthrough on Normal difficulty, having explored 100% of the map, acquired 100% of the items, ending with a time around 10 hours. Not bad for a $7 (normally $15) game. Now, that's not even counting replay value. Normally I'd probably play it once more on casual difficulty, seeing how fast I can beat the game, like I did with Super Metroid (though Metroid games, besides the Primes, don't have difficulty options). But there were some achievements I wanted to nab. Now now, these aren't stupid achievements people want just for the useless points, these ones seemed fun. I wanted to get the achievement "Beat the game with less that 13% of the items," but then I wanted to push myself even harder. The game comes with four more "Master Achievements," that don't even unlock any official Xbox 360 achievements, but are for the most hardcore players to strive for. So now instead of the previously mentioned achievement, I'm aiming for something much harder, which is "Beat the game with only 4% of the items," a Master Achievement. This one takes a little bit of planning, and some serious sequence breaking. Before I begin to undertake this run, I'm playing through a second time on Insane difficulty. I'm doing this to level up my character, since a new game + character occurs with each new game, continually carrying over the player level, and a few other random tidbits. The higher the difficulty, the higher the EXP gained, and man, is Insane difficult. Unlike normal difficulty, I must be extremely careful whenever I enter a room, and plan out each move, whether it be crouching behind certain crates, firing a well projected grenade with a jump, or trying to wing it. Definitely fun. Leveling up doesn't change the character much, but it also brings other perks, which can be useful in multiple replays.

Whew, what a long post so far! Sorry, but I felt the need to explain my happiness with Shadow Complex, after originally feeling rather disappointed with the game. In no way is it comparable to the likes of Super Metroid, but Nintendo should be proud of what they inspired. Also, I'm curious to look into Orson Scott Card's novel, Empire, which is what Shadow Complex is based of off (with the second novel as well, Hidden Empire). I'm already a huge fan of his novels (Ender's Game series, awesome books), and after finally understanding the story at the very end of the game, the plot seems interesting, if not VERY cliche. But with his writing, who knows what he could do with the story.

Yes, besides Shadow Complex, I have been playing a tiny bit of other games. I started Metroid II, just to see what it's like, and boy, is it tough. The gameplay and fighting isn't extremely difficult (though not easy either with low health and dangers with every step), but the whole world is one giant maze, and everything looks exactly the same. Trying to find and kill 39 Metroids? I've found and killed 3, and that seems like enough for me. Maybe one day I'll sit down with a guide and work my way through the game, but I highly doubt I'll ever beat it on my own.

I also played an hour or so of Persona 3, but it's just so hard to get into. Maybe it's because I've never played an RPG like this before, but it's radically new to me with too many details for me to remember and consider. I'll slowly keep putting more time into it (and want to beat it before I start SMG2), but we'll see how my feelings change.

Oh, and I want to start creating some games or at least some worlds for Kodu, but I just don't have any ideas. So, if anyone has any basic ideas for something to create, please let me know. Once I start with something, I'm sure it will grow and lead to other ideas.