I didn’t think it was possible.

But there it is. Variety gave Super Mario Galaxy a bad review.

I always hate these comments about the best next-gen graphics. I have seen some games that have amazing graphics on other systems. And sure, it is impressive. But a lot of them are really boring. For example, take any squad based shooter. People don’t play those for the graphics. They play them for the multiplayer experience. This is part of gameplay. The fact that they look good is unrelated to their success. The same applies to Mario. Mario is always fun. It always has been. Always will be. I do not want to see perfectly rendered denim overalls drenched in Italian plumber sweat in 1080p. That isn’t the goddamn point. The point is the gameplay. The point is the experience. No one cares that Guitar Hero’s guitarists aren’t realistic, because the gameplay is amazing.

I really wish reviewers would focus mostly on the gameplay, and less on how the entire experience looks on your HDTV. If you are playing games because you want them to have realistic effects…why don’t you just look around real life and enjoy yourself? If you want to play them for the gameplay, then remember that graphics are a relatively unimportant side-story.

I want to do a larger post on the flawwed review system for games, but we’ll get back to that later. I have a midterm today.

Here.

Apparently, NBC’s new television drama Life, which I have heard nothing but good things about, has writers who are mentally retarded. I mean it. From what I heard, the show was intelligent, funny and enjoyable. Like House M.D., but he is actually a detective. A quirky main character, interesting storyline. Seemed like an easy sell.

Unfortunately, I have not settled down to watch it yet. And now, I never will.

Below is YouTube footage of their most heinous crime. Apparently the show features some drug dealers. And these drug dealers hid some files on a computer. But it wasn’t their regular PC. It was hidden in their XBox (“a hard drive with games on it”). And, the only way to access these files is to get to ‘Level 10’ in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. Watch the video and laugh.

The faults with this are numerous.

First of all, if you are somehow able to reprogram a commercial game like Prince of Persia: Two Thrones, how can you be so stupid that you would store detailed listings of drug deals on it?

Second, Prince of Persia doesn’t have levels. And it certainly doesn’t behave like an arcade game. “You have died. Try again?” What the fuck? That doesn’t flash on the screen…ever. It looked poorly Photoshopped.

Third, if an entire police force can gather round to watch an employee play video games, then they must be living in the safest, most crime free town in all of the contintental United States. Shouldn’t someone be doing something? Dear God…I want a job where I can sit around and play games (not Prince of Persia, but some game).

And finally, if you truly were smart enough to reprogram a game and it was absolutely crucial that you keep exact records of drug deals, why not use Battletoads or Back to the Future? Games that are impossible. I mean, lets get real here.

This was very humorous. I think Mario would make an excellent Prime Minister…and we all know Bravado would give his left nut to be included in Mario’s cabinet.

I am glad I didn’t purchase Guitar Hero III for the Wii. Instead, my brother bought it for the PS2. This saved us money, because we already had three guitars for the PS2, and I didn’t want to get two more for the Wii.

The better news is that apparently the Wii version only outputs sound in mono. Can you believe that? No surround sound. No stereo sound. Mono.

Talk about truly retro gaming…that’s just terrible.

There was apparently a fire at my relatives cottage in Pointe-au-Baril last night.

No one was staying there at the time, but this was an extremely big investment for them. They had purchased it and restored/rebuilt/improved a lot of it to get it into its current condition, and now it has been destroyed due to fire damage. They are heading up to see it now, so I am not sure what the cause of the fire was nor how much damage the cottage has sustained. It might not be so bad, but we’ll see.

I am just glad that no one was up there.

I also feel bad for my uncle. He just retired from his job and this was his retirement place. My aunts - I believe - were intending on retiring in a few years as well. This sort of throws a wrench into those plans.

I hope everything works out for them.

UPDATE: Apparently, it has not worked out for them. Although I do not believe they have yet arrived at Pointe-au-Baril, the most recent update that I have heard from one of my aunts is that the cottage has collapsed. The fire damage was so extensive and the volunteer fire department was ill-equiped to handle such a blaze. By the time anyone had arrived to save the building, it was apparently beyond salvaging.

My cousin - who is accompanying them to Pointe-au-Baril - has said that he suspects arson. He says that his neighbours encountered a similar problem. A group of people break into a house or cottage while the owner is away, throw an expansive party, pile all the furniture in the middle of the house and light it on fire. Prevents anyone from identifying who was there. So, apparently there are people who think it is fun to commit several serious crimes in a single night. I wonder if they murder and rape someone at this party too. Seems like they would need that to flesh out their list of crimes a little bit.

UPDATE AGAIN:

Before and after pictures from roughly the same angle. The “before” cottage pictures were taken in the summer. The “after” cottage pictures were taken today (around noon).