Listosaurus Rex

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

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.

I never thought I’d do another post discussing a classic literature list that wasn’t at least focused to a single series or genre.  But alas, here we are.  Modern Library (which, I learn, is part of Random House) doesn’t have just one list for us to chew on, but a nice tandem!  Or, depending on how you count, a trifecta, or a quintfecta.  Let me explain.

First, there’s their Top 100 Novels List.  This is broken down into two parts: one assembled by a board of literary experts from Modern Library.  Another assembled by experts from a rival publisher, Radcliffe. And finally, one assembled by online voters.  Here are their respective top tens:

Top Ten Novels (Board by Modern Library)

1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
7. CATCH-22
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck

Top Ten Novels (Board by Radcliffe)

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Top Ten Novels (Readers)

1. ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
2. THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
3. BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
6. 1984 by George Orwell
7. ANTHEM by Ayn Rand
8. WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand
9. MISSION EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
10. FEAR by L. Ron Hubbard

The boards’ picks seem pretty reasonable.  Of the ten on Modern Library’s list, I’m familiar with eight.  I’ve read two and liked them both (Gatsby and Grapes).

The readers’ list is absurd!  Good God, the L. Ron Hubbard love!  Did scientologists tamper with the voting just like they so notoriously tamper with their criticizers online?  But I digress.

Equally insane is the number of Ayn Rand books in the top ten.  However, Ayn Rand is a writer of higher philosophical pedigree than L. Ron Hubbard, isn’t she?  Perhaps the Rand proponents and the Hubbard supporters traded blows until large sets of both authors’ works ended up near the top.  Whatever the case, having so many novels by each so high is silly.  There are decades of literature by thousands upon thousands to work with.  Do these two really compose seventy percent of the top ten best novels of the century?

Next up is Modern Library’s list of the 100 greatest non-fiction books.  Again there was one list made by a board of experts and one list made by online voters.  Here are the top tens:

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books (Board)

1. THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS by Henry Adams
2. THE VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE by William James
3. UP FROM SLAVERY by Booker T. Washington
4. A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN by Virginia Woolf
5. SILENT SPRING by Rachel Carson
6. SELECTED ESSAYS, 1917-1932 by T. S. Eliot
7. THE DOUBLE HELIX by James D. Watson
8. SPEAK, MEMORY by Vladimir Nabokov
9. THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE by H. L. Mencken
10. THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT, INTEREST, AND MONEY by John Maynard Keynes

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books (readers)

1. THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS by AYN RAND
2. DIANETICS:THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH by L. RON HUBBARD
3. OBJECTIVISM: THE PHILOSOPHY OF AYN RAND by LEONARD PEIKOFF
4. 101 THINGS TO DO TIL THE REVOLUTION by CLAIRE WOLFE
5. THE GOD OF THE MACHINE by ISABEL PATERSON
6. AYN RAND: A SENSE OF LIFE by MICHAEL PAXTON
7. THE ULTIMATE RESOURCE by JULIAN SIMON
8. ECONOMICS IN ONE LESSON by HENRY HAZLITT
9. SEND IN THE WACO KILLERS by VIN SUPRYNOWICZ
10. MORE GUNS, LESS CRIME by JOHN R. LOTT

From the Board, we have a lot of books that I’ve never heard of by authors whose names sound only vaguely familiar.  Here I was, thinking I’m a knowledgeable and well-educated guy, but I recognize very few of these books.  I’ve read, from all 200 picks of the two lists, a whopping… one book!  Double Helix.

From the readers, we have more Hubbard and a whole lot more Rand.

I’ve gathered that most of these voters were extremely libertarian, and let these views sway their voting.  I’m just not sure how Dianetics really fits into this.  Or Howard Stern’s autobiography, which nabs a spot at #84.

Really, these lists provide some interesting structure, but can’t be really useful or interesting because no discussion or justification is provided.  Numbers and names and titles are just thrown out there.  Perhaps, at least for the board’s picks, there is some explanation written somewhere.  It’s just not obvious from the site, rendering the lists nearly useless.

And then there’s the very issue of whether literature should be ranked in lists at all.  My answer: no.  Literature is a far broader medium than rock and roll or video games or cinema or American sports or… just about anything else covered on this site.

Overall, these lists are silly.  Especially the reader-voted sections.  Let’s just be thankful the voting didn’t happen ten years later, or the Twilight and Harry Potter fan groups would’ve probably gotten their favorites to the top of the list.

Note: I am not really the best person to discuss lists based on books.  If any readers come across any lists about books and want to write a guest post discussing the list, please shoot me an email. Also invited are original lists about books.

The Jewish Festival of Lights is upon us!  While I do not celebrate the holiday, I wish a most blessed one for everyone who does.

Here is special list to celebrate!  It’s also a very practical lists.  After all, I’m sure you’ve seen Hanukkah spelled a bunch of different ways at different times.  Things that often vary: # of k’s, presence of ‘C’ at beginning, presence of ‘H’ at the end, etc.  I was considering using google as a tool to find the best ways to spell it, but fortunately, someone already has done it for me!

Over at Joe Maller.com, the different spellings have been tracked and ranked in terms of popularity on the Internet.  Not an official bit of research, but I’m not sure how you’re going to get a better answer short of straight up polling everyone in America.

Keep in mind that this is only American spellings of the holiday, I think.  The original Hebrew spelling is the “official” way to spell it, and it never varies.

Here are the top sixteen, and their number of hits on google:

• Hanukkah : 11,300,000 hits.
• Chanukah : 2,930,000 hits.
• Hannukah : 867,000 hits.
• Hanukah : 556,000 hits.
• Hanuka : 357,000 hits.
• Chanukkah : 231,000 hits.
• Chanuka : 293,000 hits.
• Channukah : 131,000 hits.
• Chanukka : 108,000 hits.
• Hannukkah : 54,700 hits.
• Januka : 33,700 hits.
• Hanukka : 31,400 hits.
• Channuka : 14,700 hits.
• Hannuka : 12,500 hits.
• Hannukka : 7,870 hits.
• Channukkah : 6,050 hits.
• Xanuka : 2,520 hits.
• Channukka : 2,040 hits.
• Janukah : 394 hits.
• Janukkah : 215 hits.
• Chanuqa : 120 hits.

Xanuka, really?  Chanuqa?  Any spelling that starts with a J?  But to each their own, I guess.  My preferred spelling, Hanukkah, is verified.  I asked one of my Jewish friends, and this was his pick, too.

This guy has been tracking the results for a few years now and has a cool graph showing the changes in the popularity of the terms over time.  Here’s the original site.

What’s your opinion on the spelling of it?