Here Comes the Sun: The Three Es
I’m getting on a plane at 7:30am on Sunday morning and flying to Los Angeles for the first time in my life. To be honest, I’m a little nervous. I used to travel quite a bit when I was younger but haven’t in some time. Life in New York tends to work in one of two ways. Either you’re a jet setter, one of those people that have some kind of crazy glamorous job that sends them all over the world for business and pleasure or you’re city bound. Make no mistake, it’s hard to get out of this place even just for a day. My favorite joke is that even if you walk over one of the bridges or through the tunnels, there’s going to be some gruff civil servant demanding two dollars to cross the border beyond the city limits. It gets comfortable though. Sometimes the city is a big enough world on its own. I don’t know what to expect from LA other than for it to be hot as hell, for the food to be expensive, and for the people to be a whole lot blonder.
Then there’s E3.
Comments: (0)
Tags: alan wake, Atari, chrono break, chrono cross, chrono trigger, e3, fumito ueda, ghostbusters, ico, john constantine, metroid, metroid 5, metroid dread, Microsoft, nintendo, pokemon, psp go, sony, tatsunoko vs. capcom, team ico, trico
Samus Aran: Heroine or Space Harlot?
Today, the world received lovely news: all three installments of the Metroid Prime series will be collected on one Wii disc. Opinions are mixed about Metroid Prime 2 and 3, but the Gamecube’s most vocal critics shrank back from Metroid Prime like a vampire withering away from a crucifix.
As can be expected, the news of a Metroid-rich future has sparked a lot of conversation about the series’ heroine: Samus Aran. Samus is easily gaming’s most admired female character, well-liked for her steady footing, perseverance, and sense of duty. But her self-discipline doesn’t wash away her humanity, a point illustrated throughly by the climactic fight with Mother Brain at the end of Super Metroid.
Moreover, Samus retains respect for being selectively modest. If you put forth your very best performance in a Metroid game, you might catch a glimpse of the bounty hunter out-of-suit. If you slack, well, enjoy fantasizing about a big tin suit.
It’s easy to mark Metroid’s famous endings as mere fanservice, but when Samus unveils, you’re not just being rewarded with a big ol’ slice of cheesecake: you’re earning a (figuratively) naked glimpse at one of gaming’s most reserved heroes. This revelation was especially important in the 8-bit era. It wasn’t just a shock to find out that Samus was a girl: discovering that there was a happily-waving human at the core of that bulky robot suit was pretty thrilling, too. It was one of console gaming’s earliest and most important twists of character.
Now that Samus’ popularity has finally gained momentum, some gamers wonder if her appeal as character is being drained in favour of bigger slices of the aforementioned cheesecake. Samus has long avoided being made up like the same brand of gaming tart that’s available for ten cents a dozen these days, but there’s worry that might be changing.
Comments: (5)
Tags: female characters, metroid, nadia oxford, samus aran, solid snake, super smash bros brawl
It’s the Game that Never Ends, It Just Goes On and On My Friends…
So, what’s the longest period of time you’ve ever spent on any individual single player game? I ask because over a month later, I’m still playing Rune Factory Frontier. Technically I’ve completed it and am in the process of writing a review for it. Also technically, Rune Factory is the type of game that’s never really finished. I have no idea if my stint with this game is a personal record, but it’s gotta’ be up there. Frontier is hardly alone in its marathon status, however.
Typically, when I play through a game and reach the end of its main objective, I stop playing. If there’s bonus content, I promise myself to come back to it later. Then there are the games that strike a chord of interest in me, maybe even obsession, that call me back to play again and again. If I could figure out what that magic formula was I’d bottle it and sell it to the industry for a tidy profit.
Comments: (5)
Tags: amber ahlborn, chrono trigger, devil may cry, metroid, musings, rune factory, wii
I Still Hate Toon Link
Whilst browsing GoNintendo, I came across this nifty piece of fan art and the comment, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if Nintendo took Samus in this type of artistic direction? “.
Hell no.
Comments: (9)
Tags: amber ahlborn, art design, game design, legend of zelda, metroid
John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself. 
Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.
Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.
Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines.
Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.
Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.
Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.
