neurological dryer lint

i haven't had a lot to write about lately, besides metroid prime 3, which is as good as you've heard.

it's also true that, for at least the first hour, there is heavy plagiarism from halo. although that raises an interesting chicken & egg problem, as halo could be said to have drawn heavily from metroid, if not in storyline, definitely in their main character's appearance.

still, prime 3's thievery is almost to the point of silly at the outset... a crew of space marines, fighting hostile aliens, guided by a female AI that shows up as a glowing blue hologram... fortunately it quickly dissolves into the traditional rhythm - exploring worlds, solo, marveling at the intricately detailed art that surrounds you.

i do enjoy the way they've finally included a lot more of the series' surrounding mythology... you can now use your ship extensively - dropping airstrikes, moving large obstacles with a grappling hook... you also see consistent reminders that you're a bounty hunter, and that apparently the military you are assisting sucks at everything and they have to get you to do all the hard stuff. the addition of voice acting... eh. the game would be just fine without it, i never really played through the others and thought "wish there were some people talking to me right now"...

some have maligned the expansion of the game to multiple planets with smaller maps instead of one huge planet with a few different areas... personally i enjoy it - it breaks up the monotony and makes skipping around the game much easier, as now you can fly your ship to one of a dozen landing sites and it feels faster and less tedious.

the controls took quite a while to get used to. as long as you can remember to point your wiimote at the screen the entire time, and you remember where the buttons are remapped to, you learn in about 30 minutes and are comfortable within a few hours. in the previous games you just instinctively lock onto an enemy and fire and know you are hitting them... now you have to remember to actually aim, watch where your targeting reticle is pointing. it does end up giving you better focus... after you get used to it.

it's much better than echoes was but i still like the first one better.