Listosaurus Rex

This is an excellent list submitted by the major Scrubs fan Amilie, who is regular here.

Top 10 Episodes of Scrubs

  

One of my favorite TV series of all time is Scrubs, a hospital sitcom that rarely fails to delight me with its quirky humor, snarky banter, and profound insights. This series can make me smile about a divorce and cry about an engagement as if that’s the natural thing to do. Sometimes it’s very predictable, sometimes it presents you with such a shocking hairpin plot turn that you go careening off the edge of your seat, gasping for breath. Every episode is a gem in itself, but here’s a list I made of what I consider the top 10 best Scrubs episodes out of the 7 seasons that have been released so far. Enjoy! (note: The review I wrote of each episode contains plot spoilers.) 

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This is a guest post by my good friend,  littlefoot.  This is his first post as a contributing writer.  Leave him some nice comments!

So when raptor asked me to write this, I wasn’t really sure what to think. I got my GameCube late in the generation, and have been at college during much of my time owning a Wii, so relative to the size their libraries, I have a somewhat limited experience with either console. Now — trust me — I like video games as much as the next guy, probably even more. It’s really just been a time commitment issue more than anything else. 

So what authority did I have when it came to video games, I wondered? And then it came to me: It’s true I’m the Joe six-pack who only bought a couple games for their systems. However, I read the reviews, talked to friends, and did thorough research before I shelled out the cash.  I’m well-versed on games for the systems.  So with that, I present to you…

If You Only Buy 5 Games For Gamecube and Wii, You Should Buy… 

When reading this list, you have to keep in mind that it’s not strictly a top 5 best games list. These are the games that you play when your friends come over and say, “hey, you have a Wii, let’s play something!”. These are the games your family breaks out at Thanksgiving when they’re tired from stuffing their faces with Turkey. But no, that doesn’t just mean the best multiplayer games. Your younger cousin could get hours of amusement by watching you play through a hard single-player game. These games are the ones that you can get the most hours out of playing through and attempting to master. 

Also, a quick note: the majority of this list happens to be Nintendo exclusives, strictly because in general, 3rd party games released on multiple consoles are best on one of the other consoles. Also, the Wii offers an original control scheme, which few 3rd party games have managed to implement into a game so that it improves its overall quality, so it’s usually a better idea to just opt for the improved graphics of the other versions of multiplatform games.

So now, the lists. 

GameCube

5. Mario Kart: Double Dash

Not a lot needs to be said about this one. On one hand, it’s another great Mario Kart game, but on the other hand… it’s just another Mario Kart game. It doesn’t add much to the N64 version besides new maps, the “double” feature (which really doesn’t change the experience very much), and improved powersliding. If you have a Kart game for the N64 or an SNES this probably isn’t a must-buy, but otherwise it’s well worth the money.

4. Metroid Prime

The start of the Prime series. My personal experience with the game is limited, but that’s mostly just because I’m not a fan of first person shooters. From what I understand of the genre and system, it’s an absolute classic. Winner of multiple game of the year awards in 2002 and recipient of rave reviews, it should be a shoo-in for this list. However, this game is single-player only and has (to my knowledge) little replay value outside of speed runs. The game itself was incredibly well done, but its play is limited.

3. Super Monkey Ball 2

An excellent single-player game in its own right, this game is also a good party game. It’s incredibly simple to pick up, and has a cute charm to it. What could be more fun than rolling a monkey around in a ball trying to get bananas? It’ll take you a while to beat the 100 different levels on your own, and if you’re REALLY dedicated, you could continue working to improve your times.

2. Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door

One of my favorite games of all time, and this is probably the only reason why it’s on this list. It’s a ~30-hour single player game with many different ways to play. It’s an RPG that you don’t need a long time to get into the storyline. It \uses characters that are already familiar and has a fairly simple plot. However, the combat has a lot of strategy and the puzzles require creative thinking to get through. Before very long, you’ll get absorbed by it and will hopefully enjoy it as much as I did.

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee

One of the best multiplayer competitive games ever (at least, since the home console era). I’ve put countless hours into this game, and I still can’t consistently beat a level 9 computer. So much strategy and practice is involved to master this game. And even once you master one character, there are 20-some others to work on. Not that I ever got that far… It takes an awful lot of practice to get good. This game is a multiplayer classic. With 3 or more other friends, you can play this game for hours and still not be even slightly bored. 

Screenshot courtesy of GameSpot.com

Wii

5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I picked this game up a week ago, and have fallen in love with it. The graphics are a generation behind (not to say that they’re bad though), but the storyline and the gameplay make up for it. Not to mention that you will get a solid 40+ hours of gameplay out of it. Rumor has it that there’s another Zelda game coming for the Wii in 2009, and if that game is anything like what I think it will be, Twilight Princess may get kicked off of this list.

4. Wii Fit

Wait, what? Did Wii Fit really get on this list? The main audience of Wii Fit is the family just trying to stay healthy. That’s part of the appeal, though. Like Wii Sports did, it gets the entire family involved in an activity that was once reserved for the kids. Also, what’s so bad about a game that promotes a healthy lifestyle? I know there will be people who say that it doesn’t help as much as going outside for a run, but it’s still better than nothing.

3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

I have a hard time putting Brawl this low on the list, but it needs to be done. In most Nintendo fanboys’ opinions, Brawl doesn’t have quite the competitive atmosphere that Melee did. This argument wasn’t what prevented it from reaching the top of this list, though.  There are other problems.

In terms of raw gameplay, Brawl didn’t improve much over Melee. Sure, there was a graphical update and then there were a bunch of new characters and stages, but — unlike the jump from the original to Melee — nothing added much to the experience. For example, I doubt anyone was playing Melee one day and said, “gee, I really wish I could play as Wolf or Lucas”.

2. Mario Kart Wii

Unlike Brawl, this game took a popular series and made game-changing improvements to it. The addition of the wheel by itself turned the game into something you can just pick up and play. They added motorcycles into the mix as well. Various shortcuts and tricks make the game difficult to master. Also, Nintendo made the environment competitive by allowing you to upload your high scores and send them to your friends. Sure, the battle mode still sucks, but why would you even bother with that when you can race your friends around 32 awesome tracks?

1. Super Mario Galaxy

Of course. The graphics are spectacular, the music is fantastic, the gameplay is unrivaled. Seriously, a platformer game where the platforms are tiny planets? The physics must have been a royal pain to program. Regardless, it was executed exceptionally well. If you just want to rescue the princess, 60 stars isn’t that hard to obtain (though still rewarding). The real challenge is collecting all 120 stars. Although the multiplayer capabilities are limited, who cares? You can still trade off with friends trying to beat various levels. Multiplayer isn’t the point of this game. Go ahead and enjoy this fantastic game for what it is: the most essential Wii game.

Screenshot courtesy of 1UP.com

Last week, I declared Make Believe to be Weezer’s worst album.  This is a guest post by regular reader and commenter Grant J. that defends the album and explains why Make Believe is, in fact, Weezer’s best album.

In their career trajectory, Weezer have rarely followed the traditional rules of rock and roll.  Their debut was an unexpected success, but the subsequent long layoff and eventual follow-up, Pinkerton, suggested they didn’t have aspirations of grandeur; yet it was hardly a typical sophomore slump, as it became, over time, their most popular album.  Lulls and comebacks have defined the band’s career, but Make Believe, their fifth studio album, is the work of a supremely confident group doing just what it wants to do.  It succeeds both by projecting a more mature emotional perspective than their earlier output and because of its sheer sonic grace and beauty.

From beginning to end, the album sounds soothing and heavenly, with a majestic scope that rivals 1980s U2.  Whereas some of Weezer’s other work can come across as abrasive upon repeated playings, Make Believe is one of the most euphonious albums I own.  Without sacrificing power, the band and producer Rick Rubin create mellifluous soundscapes that underscore the emotional purity at the center of the songs, producing a strikingly absorbing result.

And the album has the songs to match its sound, for along with eschewing their occasionally caustic sound, Weezer also leave behind their amateurishness.  The album opens with the hit single “Beverly Hills,” which announces that anthemic chants will rule the day.  Make Believe is full of grandiose choruses and guitar solos that envelop songs sung with full conviction by frontman Rivers Cuomo, with themes ranging from typically self-conscious (“Perfect Situation”) to idealistic (“This is  Such a Pity”) to shamelessly emotional (“Hold Me”).

Yet even when the chorus isn’t perfect (“Situation”), the band nevertheless sounds stronger than ever.  “Hills” is a touch bland, but “My Best Friend” could easily be a Green Day ballad, and the verses of “The Other Way,” especially on the heels of the chorus, click along in ideal rhythm.  “Pardon Me” builds to its crescendos masterfully, and the haunting album closer “Haunt You Every Day,” which wouldn’t fit on any other Weezer album, makes you want to do nothing more than close your eyes and be carried away.

Then, however, there are songs (such as “Pardon Me”) where the choruses are just about perfect, and it’s almost impossible to deny Cuomo’s sentiments.  That’s all the more true because his lyrics are as smooth as the music, conveying a refreshing gratitude to replace his prior whininess. (“I can’t tell you how the words have made me feel” wipes the floor with “What could you possibly see in little old three-chord me?”) But it’s his vocals that deserve the most acclaim.  His extended notes in “Hold Me” represent his finest moments, and he shows an equally deft touch sighing “Did I hurt you / Are you OK” on the change-of-pace effective “Freak Me Out” as he does belting out the lovely oh-oohhs of “Perfect Situation” and “Peace.”  Playing to the crowds, perhaps, but the earnestness is undeniable.

That sentiment applies to the whole album.  The band may be striving for accessibility, but in a much different way than their early power-pop did.  Their melodies have never been stronger, their songs never denser, and they’re accessible because Weezer is capable of wearing their hearts on their sleeves without coming off as overwrought.  That’s not easy to do, as albums can collapse under the weight of their good intentions, but the songwriting prowess evinced here alleviates any such concerns.  They’ve stripped away their unfortunate qualities to reveal their musical gifts, in the process indicating a willingness to continue to grow.

Make Believe isn’t quite muscular enough to be one of my all-time favorite albums, and you could argue that the songs sound a little too similar, but the exquisitely warm and soothing sound ensures that playing it lights you up.  All their talent coalesces on “Hold Me,” which has more heart than most modern bands’ entire catalogues.  They stretch all the way out here, and in the interlude, Brian Bell launches into a guitar solo that sounds timeless and old-fashioned at once, the product of a forgotten age when bands were unafraid of unabashed emotion.  When they leave their insecurities behind, Weezer are one of the few bands who can still pull that off.

Every once in awhile I like to look at the lists that don’t necessarily inspire a lot of intelligent discussion but just make you smile as you read them.

Here is such an example: The Top 10 Worst Shoes to Wear and Step in Dog Poop In.

If you’re curious and don’t want to read the whole thing, here are the picks:

1. Aqua socks
2. Custom-dyed wedding/prom shoes
3. Bunny slippers
4. Espadrilles
5. Converse (classic style Chuck Taylors)
6. Flip flops
7. Brand new white running shoes
8. Marabou slippers
9. Heelys
10. Kitten Heels

The low (high?) point of the list is the surprisingly colorful and icky story to accompany number five.

Thanks to regular reader and commenter yoshi for recommending this list.  You can recommend a list, too, by e-mailing me.

GameSpy started making annual top ten lists in 2002 at the latest.  Just by changing the year in the URL, you can go back to 2003, and they reference game awards back through 2002.  It’s possible there were earlier lists, too.  Here we are in 2008 and they’re still making them.

Their lists are really good, year in and year out.  First, the picks are always solid.  A good balance of mostly highly-reviewed titles everyone talks about with a few forgotten gems.  The clincher, though, is the writing.  It explains well what was good about the games that get picked.  I feel genuinely excited about playing these games after I read the picks.  In recent years, the site has had multiple perspectives on each games for some lists by having remarks from different writers about each game.  It provides points, counterpoints, arguments, and a variety of perspective.  This year Gamespy provided multiple perspectives for each game in the Top 10 Overall Games of the Year list.

Speaking of that list, here are the picks:

1. Fallout 3 (PC/360/PS3)
2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
3. Left 4 Dead (PC/360)
4. Gears of War 2 (360)
5. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
6. Grand Theft Auto IV (PC/360/PS3)
7. Rock Band 2 (360/PS3)
8. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
9. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
10. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (NDS)

2008 was a year in which more great video games were released than any year before, so it was probably quite difficult to pick and rank the games.  The writing explains why the picks were made and kept me hooked.  Here’s the link again.

My runner up choice for my favorite end-of-year games list in 2008 is one that isn’t even really a traditional list.  It’s GamesRadars’ yearly recap awards thingy.

I like it because of some unpredictable picks and an excellent big-picture analysis.  When I went to go find the link, I accidentally read the whole thing again, so I guess the writing’s pretty compelling too.

Too bad I’m a poor college student so I can only play games I download on my computer.