Metroids and Rock Climbing: A Weekend at Vanderbilt

Hello all! Xaralambos here. Nothing particularly exciting or world changing happened this weekend. That's just as well though. I assume the world is saving all of that for Halloween, so let's cross our fingers and hope Next Wednesday is host to something spectacular.

Hint Hint Universe

Anyhow, this weekend wasn't entirely uneventful. On Friday, we sat down as a group and watched, at Luke's suggestion, The 'Burbs, a film that contrasts a played out and overdone horror concept with comedic nuances to deliver an excellent comedic ride. That description sounds horrible and contrived, but trust me, the movie is amazing. I'm surprised I'd never heard of it before Friday.

Seriously. Watch it.

A good chunk of Saturday was spent waking up late and studying, but the rest? Well, I decided to prepare for Halloween  the only way I knew how: By playing video games. So, after turning out the lights, and preparing my mind, I booted up Slender. About 20 minutes later, I was a jittery, nervous wreck, and decided the Halloween spirit could wait another week, so I played Metroid: Zero mission. For those of you whom haven't already heard, Slender is a Freeware game, where the entire point is to collect 8 notebook pages scattered about a given area. The Titular Character, the Slenderman, is an Internet created urban legend. I won't give an entire review of the game here, but for what it is -- A free horror game about an Internet phenomenon -- it's excellent. Definitely check it out if you're interested in a game with a horrifying atmosphere, or if you're looking for Creepy Watson: The Game.

The average reaction to the game

After abandoning the Halloween spirit, I decided to run through a game that had been on my "To finish" list for a while: Metroid:Zero Mission. The game is a retelling of the original Metroid for the Game Boy Advance, with updated graphics, improved mechanics, and the long awaited ability to shoot diagonally. I beat it in about 5 hours, but despite it's relatively short length, it more than delivers in gameplay. Though the game came out in 2004, it's still an immensely enjoyable ride. Plus, the game comes with a built in version of the Original 1986 version of Metroid.

Also, it's a better game than Other M

The Dawn of the Third Day arrived...and found me still in bed. At 2:00 p.m., however, I joined a couple of fellow Highland dwellers (Referred to from hereon out as Highlanders) as we went rock climbing.

Alright, so it was indoors, and it was at Climb Nashville, but it was still a bit more difficult than pressing a button. the Highlanders all had an awesome time, whether we slipped  off the wall and thrashed about in midair, skinned our thumbs on the carabiners, and got blood all over our bright white shirts, or whether we engaged in glorious combat and payed witness to a Quickening. 

(One of these things may not be entirely true.)

So, that was pretty much my weekend. Halloween is in 10 days, more or less, so If you're looking for a game to get in the mood, I'd recommend Slender, and another freeware game, SCP Containment Breach. I know a couple of you watch Doctor Who, So just think Slender with Weeping Angels. You've also got Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Bioshock, and even the earlier Silent Hill games hold up pretty dang well. Just avoid Resident Evil 6. It's not a horrible game, sure, but it's just not a "Horror" Game. If you must play a Resident Evil game, Go for Resident Evil 4. Or even Dino Crisis. It's Resident Evil...With Dinosaurs! What's not to like about that?