PK Gaming Podcast: Episode 3 Part 2

I was going to wait until Friday to post this, but I have it ready now, so what the hell, I'll post it now.

There were only two parts in this episode, but we had a lot of fun recording it and talking about some of our favorite games with the 'Hall of Fame' topic.

Like I say at the end of the podcast, I'm not sure when we'll be able to record another, but hopefully it will be in May, though I'm not sure what we'll talk about in that one, we'll see. I do know what we'll talk about in the June and July podcasts if we get them done. June: Pre-E3 speculation and July: Post-E3 comments. (D'oh, I forgot that E3 is June 7th-9th, we might as well do the speculation episode in May then.) If at least 3 of us aren't busy during those times, we'll have 3 new episodes coming in the next 3 months.

If you have any questions about the podcast or the site in general, please e-mail us at PKGamingPodcast@gmail.com.

In this part of Episode 3:

Hall of Fame: Ours and Others

The Inductee: Super Metroid

Download the episode here!

PK Gaming Podcast Episode 003 Part 2

(Click on the Regular "Download" Button, or where the Flashing Red Arrow is pointing to Begin Download)

Poll: Hall of Fame: Super Metroid inductee

Greetings, readers! If... there are any present...

As you might have noticed, there is a poll at the top of the page right now, and we would like to know have your input. This will be a regular feature each month with our Hall of Fame inductees and we will start accepting 'reader's choices' for inductees once we get some of our own favorites out of the way. There will be more information about that on the next podcast, and later this week, I should have an article up about the requirements for inductees.

So... go up there and vote if you haven't already!

Hall of Fame: Super Metroid

Title: Super Metroid

First Released: March 19th, 1994

Available on: SNES, Virtual Console

Overview:

Super Metroid was developed by a staff of people from Nintendo's R&D1, managed by Gunpei Yokoi, the creator of the Metroid series, though this game was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto. It was produced by Makoto Kano, and the music was composed by both Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamono. Upon its release, Super Metroid was known well for taking the Metroid concept and running full force with it. From the amazing graphics creating lush environments to the fantastical bosses and enemies, the game had it all. Nintendo Power, back in May of 1994, gave the game a 4.425 score out of 5. To this day, it is one of the most appreciated titles of any console or handheld.

The game takes place immediately after Metroid II: Return of Samus and features, for the first time, a monologue from Samus herself setting up the story. The game, whether this is considered a flaw or not, had a decent amount of what is called "sequence breaking" which makes it a favorite among speedrunners. Following in traditional Metroid fashion, the sense of isolation is deep with a mix of subdued music and excellent level design.

Our thoughts:

SPOILER WARNING!

"I began playing the Metroid series around the time Fusion and Prime came out, and I've been a fan ever since, and I've tried my best to play all of the games in the series. This entry, however, blew away my expectations when I played it. The freedom the player has in this game to explore is unmatched by many modern games, even other Metroid games can't match it. There are a ton of power-ups and items to scavenge across planet Zebes, one of which I wish they would bring back to the series: the Spazer beam.

There are so many memorable moments too, such as defeating the Crocomire, with it's body melting in Norfair's intense magma, and then when I thought I saw the last of it, CRASH! It's skeleton pops out of a spiked wall and scares me. There's also the frustration of trying to get back to Maridia from Brinstar, only to find out you needed to break the 'n00b tube' as fans like to call it. Truly, right from the beginning of this game, from hearing the 'new' Brinstar music pick up for the first time, to finally defeating Mother Brain and seeing the Metroid baby give its life for you... this game will stick in my memory forever and it will live on as the greatest in the series for me."

-- Paleo

"Metroid, for me, was a gaming franchise I chose to ignore once upon a time. I heard it was pretty good but I just never ended up playing it. That changed when the Prime games started releasing and I finally understood what was so amazing about Samus and the world she existed in. So once Super Metroid was released on the Virtual Console (having missed the original release by over a decade...) I decided to take the "risk" and purchase it. To this day it stands as one of my most prized purchases sitting on my Wii. I wasn't surprised when the most popular title ofthe third pillar in the Nintendo Holy-Trinity turned out to be amazing.

I played it thoroughly and found everything I had ever read about it to be true. Discovering new moves and accessing the new worlds were so rewarding. The game was close on par with the Metroid Prime series I had already loved, but it was all in glorious 2D. Super Metroid, to me, is a game that is a prime example of the greatness Nintendo is as a game developer. They've had an understanding about game design and game theory that for many years was unmatched. At the time of Super Metroid's release, few games in the genre seemed to come even a little close. In the end, the Metroid Prime Trilogy still stands as my favorite trip into the Metroid universe, but Super Metroid uncontestually deserves to be in any gamer's Hall of Fame. It deserves every last energy pellet of respect from every last creature of that galaxy."

-- DrFinkelstein

Heads-Up: PK Gaming Hall of Fame

Tomorrow or Monday, we will be posting our first inductee into our own Hall of Fame. It will be similar to IGN's, but not exactly... and we'll actually follow through with it. (I noticed that they haven't inducted any games since October of 2009.) If we don't, please feel free to slap us in the future.

It's a bit of a late notice, but I might as well post about it since we're pretty much decided on what we're going to induct first. Later on, next week, I'll be posting an article about the Hall of Fame and how we decide on what games we want in it. Again, it will be similar to IGN's induction process but not really. Am I making sense?

Hopefully our next podcast will make it a lot clearer, since the first topic will be about our Hall of Fame and the induction process.

In the meantime, can you guess what our first inductee might be? Here's a hint: It's NOT related to the name of the site. (And if you're one of the editors I talked to in Skype about it, don't say anything.)

Christmas Haul and Happy New Year! (Plans for next year included)

I feel bad for not posting as often as I wanted to on the blog I founded, hopefully that will change next year.

Anyway, I guess I'll tell what I got for Christmas from my aunt and uncle and my father. Well, I received from my aunt and uncle the new 250 GB model Xbox 360, so I finally have one once again. With that, I also got Rock Band 3 with the keyboard from my father. My aunt and uncle also gave my dad and I a Samsung HDTV they had in storage. Along with those things, some minor things I got was a new watch from my mom and a new headset. That headset will come in handy for something new we have planned for the site next year. (I'll give you a hint, it starts with a 'pod' and ends with a 'cast').

We have a few things planned to get rolling next month, it may not get done in January, but we will definitely get these things started next year:

-PK Gaming Podcast
-Game of the Year awards (Mostly a personal GOTY awards type thing for each of us.)
-A Hall of Fame of some sort

That's all I have to post for now, I hope all you readers have enjoyed PK Gaming's birth in the later half of this year, and I hope you continue to follow us! Also, tell us what you might have received over the holidays and have a very happy new year!