Super Mario Galaxy: A Review

This time, Mario travels through space in what can only be described as his finest outing ever!

There is no doubt that Mario Galaxy is a wonderful piece of work. It controls beautifully, it sounds beautiful, and it implements some beautiful ideas. The crazy Mario Sunshine, in which Mario ran around with a water squirter on his back, left many people thinking, "What else could they possibly do with Mario?" Answer: put him in space. Let's get one thing clear now: this is not Super Mario 128. There never was a Super Mario 128, and there never will be. Mario 128 was a tech demo from 2000 to show off the power of the Gamecube. Bits and pieces were used in the creation of both Sunshine and Galaxy. That's where the planetoids come in. Mario Galaxy sure does have some dazzling and innovative new concepts, and the planetoids stand out as the best of what the game has to offer. Throughout your journey, Mario will encounter floating planetoids and space junk. He can run, jump, and explore every square inch. If you jump off the edge, Mario will be pulled back by the planet's gravity. If you walk off the edge, Mario will appear on the underside of the planet. It's a truly great idea and you wonder why no one thought of it before. The crazy gravity also highlights the spectacular camera system. Mario 64 really innovated the camera in 3D games, and now Galaxy has done it again. As you run and jump around various atmospheres, the camera flies, pans, flips, and follows your every move without missing a step.

The game also controls like a dream. It's interesting how elements of both 64 and Sunshine have been implemented into Galaxy. There's classic long and tripple jumps, in addition to spin and wall jumps. All control beautifully with the wiimote/nun chuck combo (or as i like to call it the "waggle wand"). Speaking of waggle wand, Galaxy makes good use of it without ever feeling gimmicky. There is a blue star on screen that acts as your pointer. It never feels bothersome or in the way like the dreadful fairy from Twilight Princess. Mario has one new move in the game that sends him spinning in a circle with a flick of the remote. This stuns enemies and allows Mario to easily take them out. You would think that Mario's new attack would detract from the experience or make it too easy. Not so. It really adds to the fun- trust me. You can even have a friend help you out by controlling another star pointer! On the subject of difficulty, Galaxy seems slightly easier than previous titles. This is somewhat balanced out by the fact that Mario can now only take three hits. Health can be replenished with coins, as always, but coins are now less abundant. In their place are star bits which can be collected with the remote. These can be used to unlock new levels or to buy useful items before a boss fight.

The overall flow of the game is the same as always (as always, with zero plot). You start in a hub world and travel to different levels while collecting stars along the way. These stars unlock more levels until you've reached the end of the game. Galaxy is different in that you unlock observatories when you defeat a galaxy's final boss. The observatories have about four or five galaxies each that you can travel to, each with one to three stars to unlock to start out with. The first thing you'll notice is that there are a lot more levels this time around. More levels, but each contains less stars- it's a trade off. Personally, I like the layout of Galaxy. There's just more to explore. And, boy, are is there a lot to explore. The sheer diversity of levels is astounding! There was even a Monkey Ball-type level that had Mario rolling on a giant ball (controlled by twisting the remote of course). You only need 60 stars to finish the game, but if you really want a challenge go for all 120. You'll even be rewarded by unlocking Luigi as a playable character!

Mario Galaxy is the prettiest game on the Wii, hands down. It's colorful, sharp, and graphically stunning. It proves that you don't need super high-definition visuals to look beautiful. Finally, there's the sound. Mario Galaxy contains the Mario franchise's finest soundtrack yet. Plus, it's the first to be fully orchestrated. I have to say, Mario is at least 10X better with a fully orchestrated soundtrack. The music is wonderful and quite varied. New tracks and old are both represented here. Word's can't describe how great it felt to journey my way to fight Bowser with a beautifully orchestrated version of the N64 song playing in the background.

In all there is just one word to describe Mario Galaxy: stunning. Galaxy is Mario's finest game ever, the best game on the Wii, and my pick for Wii game of the year!

Breakdown:
Visuals: 10
Controls: 10
Gameplay: 10
Sound: 10
Replay Value: 9
Overall: 10/10

Wii Game of the Year

New MMORPG looks promising

To be honest i love MMORPGS. The only problem is that the MMORPG formula has not changed at all, i mean just look at this list of MMORPG that have been released in the last few years:

Asherons Calling
Everquest
Linage
World of Warcraft
Lord of the Rings
City of Hero's
Planetside
Star War

I think you see the problem already don't you? A huge percentage of these games are based on a fantasy setting the barely vary. Planetside and Star Wars both took setting in space which is good, but pretty soon that setting is going to get old as well within a matter of years. In fact the only true original MMORPG on that list is COH. It had a great concept, but the game itself lacked depth and that was its downfall.

I see hope for the industry though. A new original MMORPG in coming soon, one which i think has the potential so be great, even great enough to compete with World of Warcraft.

It's called Pirates of the Burning Seas.

In Pirates of the Burning Sea, you are the captain of your own ship with your own crew. There are three fraction you can chose from : The English, French, and Spanish. Although you don't have to belong to a fraction, you can be a pirate if you wish and attack the merchant ships working for the European Empires. When one becomes a Captain in this game they can choose from four different careers. This careers are:

• Naval Officer - Focus on defense, escorting duties, and direct, face-to-face combat. Navy Officers gain access to the extremely powerful ships of the line.
• Privateer - Focus on utilizing small advantages for big gain, outmaneuvering and outwitting opponents. Privateers have an edge in boarding combat and can learn a skill that enables them to use Pirate PvP zones.
• Freetrader - Focus on trading, production and economics. They will have abilities to effectively evade opponents in combat. Freetraders may learn skills that increase their ability to gather resources and produce goods.
• Pirate - All-round capability including the special ability to take command of defeated opponent ships. These ships will only have one durability point. If a Pirate takes command of a Ship of the Line he will automatically be flagged for PvP.

My biggest concern for the game was the ship combat, i was worried that it would be mediocre, but after seeing this video I can't wait to get a ship and fight other pirates/ merchants.



Something else you can do in the is take over ports and cities. This is concept of "World Raiding" is something I feel that a lot of MMORPGS are missing and that Pirates does a great job implementing. In the game, after Pirates and Merchants conquer towns. Then the towns export goods which gives the player money and at the same time crafts goods that the player can use.

Obviously you're not going to be always just fighting with ships only. When you rush in to attack a town or if your ship gets boarded your pirate is going to be forced to fight. In the game there are three different types of fighting:

• Dirty fighting - Fight with a cutlass. Excels in disrupting the balance of the opponent and has many 'special' attacks.
• Fencing - The art of fighting with a rapier. Excellent at dealing high amounts of damage.
• Florentine - Dagger and sword fighting. Has the greatest defensive capabilities.

The fighting looks great in the game, and don't just take my word for it just look at this video.

Customization in game is great for both the in game characters and the ships. There are 54 different types of ships, with more planing to be implemented. There are however, there are five basic ship designs:

• Stripped – A merchant variant. A low-level requirement version of a large trade ship although not equipped with guns.

• Courier – An easy-access variant. Courier ships are slightly faster and easier to handle, but they have less firepower and armor.

• Heavy – An upgrade variant. Heavy ships have significantly more armor and structure, and often have other combat benefits.

• Sleek – An upgrade variant. Sleek ships are faster and handle better. They might also have slightly better armor.

• Mastercraft – The premier ship variant. Mastercraft ships are expensive custom made ships that have been restructured to have room for more (and potentially heavier) guns and stronger hulls.

Player Customization looks promising as well, the creators are looking to add as much customization options as COH.



Pirates also has "societies"(aka guilds). Societies can have custom banners and work together to defeat other societies.

Overall the game looks promising, it is definitely a new type of MMORPG, one that will hopefully be able to compete with the MMORPG monster known as World of Warcraft.

A Very Doosh-bah Christmas

So, yeah, I took Christmas off. Who didn't? Hope yours was merry! In honor of Christmas, I present this wonderful Christmas tale full of magic and wonderment that I just made up off the top of my head.

A very Doosh-bah Christmas

Doosh-bah woke up on Christmas morning and sprang out of bead,
All night those damn sugar plums danced in his head,
He stumbled down to the living room only to see,
Bacon under the Christmas tree,
He jumped up and down with such delight,
That Doosh-bah didn't notice he stepped on a mite,
The mite bit his foot,
And he bit it up good,
So Doosh-bah had to dance and put on a hood,
Just to keep it from swelling as it often does,
Doosh-bah had some Tylenol and then ate some peat moss,
It was back to the bacon for old Doosh-bah,
But suddenly the door rang- it was his Pa,
Pa came in riding a yak,
He had brought an enchanted Christmas sack,
Doosh-bah opened the sack with shock and awe,
Inside the sack he found the body of Pa,
In that instant Pa ripped off his face,
It turned out to be Smearbob- what a disgrace!
But inside the sack was no longer his dad,
But instead there was something totally rad,
It was a super-deluxe- awesome gun,
Something Doosh-bah had wanted since he was one!
Then Doosh's real dad flew in from afar,
Bringing with him drinks and a mini bar,
Then they all ate bacon with 'ol Saint Nick,
It was the best Christmas ever- or so they did think,
Until Jack Frost showed up and started wrecking the place,
So Doosh-bah blasted him to outer space,
Doosh loved his new gun- twas true,
The only thing he loved more was Gorilla Glue.
And so, It was Doosh-bah and Smearbob's greatest, most bacon-filled Christmas ever!

Merry Christmas one and all!

The List: The Six Greatest Softdrindks

6. Peach Soda- It's peach soda. What else is there to say? Never seen it before? That's because it's a rare species of soda. It's on the list because it's so damn hard to track down!

5. Root Beer/ Cream Soda- Who doesn't love the taste of root beer or cream soda? Instant classics.

4. Mr. Pibb- It's Dr. Pepper with a cooler name and catchphrase. Put it in your head!

3. Mountain Dew Code Red- It's abnormally red, but so very delicious! A true cherry soda.

2. Vault- It most certainly does not kick like an energy drink, but it doesn't taste like one either. It's like good sprite.

1. Ginger Ale- Nothing beats good old ginger ale! The drink of kings!

Why So Serious?

In case you haven't seen it by now (You haven't? Loser.), there's a new Dark Knight trailer swimming around the interwebs. The Joker is truly incredible. Seriously, Heath Ledger is a genius. YOU SHALL BOW TO HIM!!

Download the trailer in regular, high, or super-mega-HD.

Also, enjoy this awesomely creepy new poster:







































More posters here.

What happened to Shups and Croids!?

Just in time for Christmas: it's Installation 04! Shups and Croids is gone. Forever. It has been merged with Gameweb to create the new Installation 04 (get the reference?). For those of you keeping track, this is now the third incarnation of this site. So the legacy of Shups and Croids is not lost (As was the legacy of Total Randomity. Don't remember it? I thought not.), I will now explain what the hell a shup and a croid are.

Shup: A type of field mouse located in the remote ice deserts of New Guinna. Don't think New Guinna has ice deserts? Look again, I'm right. Anyway, shups are known for there keen sense of touch. Yes, touch. They can feel a grain of ice-sand a mile away. Actually, that sounds really bothersome. Regardless, shups are a very rare species to behold. They have two inch long teeth, round scaly tales, and 16 strands of hair to keep them cool in the warm icy heat. If you're ever lucky enough to encounter one, you'll be blessed with finding 161 defective pennies which could either turn out to be completely worthless or worth a fortune. Shups are also quite tasty when popped like popcorn. They're a delicacy in Kenya.

Croid: Croid is a type of bagel spread first developed in France in 1886. It is made by mashing up polar bears into a fine paste. Then, strawberries are added to the mix followed by a shot of brandy. Fine French croid can be bought in a 5 oz container and costs $483 in American money (that's about $2.99 in France). Though most Americans find it strangely delicious, it is not sold in this country for two reasons: it's illegal to make food from polar bears, and it just costs too much to import. You may not think strawberry-polar bear sounds too tasty, but it's actually delicious. Unfortunately, you'll have to travel to France and pay $483 to get some.

So that's what shups and croids are... just in case you ever wondered. Anyway, please enjoy the new Installation 04!

This is the end

Well, sort of. It's been a grand journey my friends, but now it's time to say goodbye. Gameweb is closing its doors (that means Viewpoint as well) and, for that matter, so is Shups and Croids.The two blogs will be incorporated into one: Installation 04- effective immediately. And so Installation 04 is born! It will have the same whit and humor as Shups, plus gaming reviews and, occasionally, news. It will be less news focused and more opinionated because, lets face it, you could just as easily get your gaming news elsewhere. So sit back down and relax because Gameweb isn't going anywhere any time soon- it's just evolving. So I ask you to please enjoy Installation 04 as much as I've enjoyed working on it!

It's been fun guys! Thanks for everything!
Gameweb would have been three years old tomorrow.

Just Something To Think About...

You might want to consider the following before you go out and buy Crysis:

More Gift Ideas

For the readers on your list

Halo: Contact Harvest
Ever wondered how the humans and the covenant first met? Well, you'll find out if you read this book. Seriously, if you're a fan its a no-brainer. If your not a fan, it's still a pretty good sci-fi book. And who better to tell the story than Joe Staten, the man who helped create the series!

Rise of the Ogre
The perfect compliment to D-Sides. "Rise of the Ogre" is the official biography of the animated band Gorillaz. It's really quite a fascinating story. Plus, it's now in paperback!


Stay tuned for more!

Happy Birthday, Man!

In honor of my friend's birthday, I give you a delightful poem:

Indian Man
By: Perry Levine

Indian man looking at the sun
It must be fun
Being Indian man
He has long hair
At this I stare
But not to long
Indian man
He chants
Hee-ohh-alah-nee-oo-ogachaca-meow
Which means
Today we dance and sing but tomorrow we may not because I think I might be getting a cold meow frustrated
Thank you Indian man