Super Mario Galaxy

Platform: Nintendo Wii
Year Released: 2007
IGN Score: 9.7





With the release date of Super Mario Galaxy 2 revealed last week, I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss my thoughts on the first Mario Galaxy. Mario is one of my all-time favorite gaming series, and Galaxy, while on the surface seems to be a very unique Mario experience, when you get to its roots it is basically the exact same game wrapped in a different package. This is the first time I have played a Mario game since 1996's Super Mario 64 (has it been that long??), which I consider to be both the greatest Mario and launch game ever. Quickly, I think Galaxy is pretty terrific, though I don't give it the praise a lot of critics do. There are a few things that prevent this game from topping Mario 64.

When I first played Galaxy I didn't really like it too much. I thought the whole concept was over the top and weird and I just didn't understand why everyone thought the game was so great. My attitude changed when I read the IGN review comparing Galaxy to Mario 64. It was at that time that I realized that the two games are exactly the same. Mario is in a confined space (castle vs space station) and enters different rooms within that confined space which magically take him to different lands. Oh yeah, and he is chasing stars again, the exact same concept seen in Mario 64. The other thing that bothered me from the beginning was the lack of any real story or character development other than rescue Peach from Bowser. Modern video games have evolved so much that it was difficult for me to remember even playing a game without plot progression and story twists. I had to remind myself that this game was born in the 1980s, and that at its core was a run and jump timing game and that has changed very little since the very first Super Mario Brothers on the NES. Actually, this game tries to incorporate a story probably more than any other Mario game before it, but frankly I found the story to be very odd and even a little bit creepy. Thankfully the story basically played no part in the progression of the game and you could choose to ignore it if you wanted to, which is what I did.

I was able to put those two major complaints behind me, and I am glad, because once I got into the game a bit I discovered a fantastic game. Nintendo doesn't shy away from the fact that this game is just like the old ones, and in fact utilizes almost all aspects from old games in Galaxy, including the music and numerous villains. I've mentioned before that I am a huge fan of video game nostalgia, and it is quite satisfying to arrive at a galaxy to be greeted by music from Mario 3.

Even more important than the nostalgia are all of the wonderful galaxies/stages seen in the game. Every galaxy is unique and wonderfully done. You never know what you are getting into when you fly to a galaxy for the first time, but everyone of them was a lot of fun. To be honest, I am kind of over the whole rescue Peach from Bowser thing, but there is something about acquiring those stars - its like video game crack - that keeps me coming back for more. And none of the stages disappointed in terms of fun on my quest to get the stars.

I do have a couple of complaints. One is minor and the other is kind of major. The minor point is that the game is very childish. Now I realize this is Mario and not Grand Theft Auto, and that the game is made for kids, but I think this game went a little much in the childish direction to the point of being kind of annoying. Mario 64 was for kids too and its theme wasn't nearly as annoying as this game's theme. The other complaint is that I think this game is plagued by awkward camera angles that frequently make it difficult to time your jumps correctly. That combined with the fact that some of the planets have odd gravitational forces makes dying very easy on this game. This might not make a whole lot of sense unless you play the game as it is hard to explain. Or it could just be that I suck at video games.

Overall Galaxy is a very good game, and a must own for any Wii owner. I think the IGN rating is a little high. I probably would have given it more like a 9.0 than a 9.7. I don't think it is better than Mario 64, and I don't think it's the best Wii game either (don't even get me started on how fantastic I thought Twilight Princess was, despite the dumb title), but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Check in Tuesday when I explain how Mario Galaxy (and Twilight Princess) ruined the Wii for me.

PS - Sarah really loved all of the toadstools roaming around the various galaxies!

Another Gin and Tonic, Please

They should really make medical school three and a half years instead of four. During your third year everything is brand new and you are periodically tested so there is always this pressure to perform and stay on top of your game. Once you hit your fourth year the periodic testing stops but you take step 2 of the boards sometime during the first half of the year so you are busy studying for that test. Once you get that test behind you, there is no more testing for the rest of the year, so there is little incentive to study much for the whole second half of the year. In addition, you begin to worry about other things, such as interviews, residency, the match, and moving, just to name a few. Plus, the routine of moving around from month to month (both literally moving and moving to different specialties) really starts to lose its appeal in the second half of the final year too. All of these things combined really make for a dull experience for the second half of fourth year. I think if we went straight into residency after we took step 2 we would be more fresh and excited about our professional futures and less frustrated with the process.

In addition to all the aforementioned things in the first paragraph, I am working with a physician's assistant this month, which is making things especially difficult for me. This person is the same age as me. She has been to school less than me, and yet at this point she has her own office, gets to join an established practice and not worry about the business side of things, makes probably twice as much as I will during residency (and a lot more than I do now), and even more irritating is that she gets to prance around pretending to be a doctor. She signs scripts, dictates, has her own patients, etc. Meanwhile, I am just standing around day to day, getting bored, patiently awaiting May. At this point, it is really, really tough to stay motivated. I try my best, but it is hard. I know my route should pay off in the long run, but sitting back and watching all of this is a tough pill to swallow at this point.

This month I am seeing a lot of sleep medicine, and along with that goes restless leg syndrome. RLS is when you get a sudden urge to move your legs and the urge is only relieved by actually moving your legs. These symptoms affect a lot of people at nighttime. They are usually treated by dopamine agonists, such as Requip or Mirapex. An interesting thing I learned this month (from the PA, actually...) is that you can treat RLS by drinking tonic water. Tonic water contains quinine, which can be used to treat a lot of ailments, including cramps and pain. Some quick research brought up all kinds of interesting facts on tonic water, including its use in treating malaria. I, along with a lot of other people I would believe, always thought tonic water existed for the sole purpose of mixing drinks. With that being said, drink up my friends. It is the weekend for me already. I guess life isn't so bad after all, eh?

Frustrating Parts of Life

Something that I find very frustrating about life is when you go and get a haircut, the stylist can always make your hair look cool and good. But once you get home, no matter how hard you try, you can never make it look as good on your own as it looks in the salon.

I met my new stylist Tina last Friday. She is really cool. Definitely the most sophisticated stylist I have ever had. I think Tina and I can do good things together with my hair.

Metal Gear Solid

Platform: Playstation 1
Release Year: 1998
IGN Score: 9.8

I am a big fan of video game nostalgia, so when I played through Metal Gear Solid 4 a few months ago I was quite amused with all of the flashbacks and references made to the incident at Shadow Moses and the original Metal Gear Solid on the PS1. I truthfully remembered very little about the game from when I played it for the first time over 10 years ago. Most of the flashbacks and back story made very little sense to me. Luckily, you could download the Metal Gear Solid database for free from the PSN (thank you Wyatt), which filled in most of the gaps. Metal Gear Solid 4 was amazing, and the story from the current game with all of the flashbacks inspired me to play through the original again. This was made easy due to the fact that you can download the game from the PSN for only $10 as obviously I no longer own a PS1 or a PS1 memory card, which is needed if you play the game on a PS2.

Very simply, the game is amazing. Even 10+ years after the fact, the gameplay and storyline hold up very well. It involves a terrorist conflict on an island in Alaska. You play the main character, who is sent in as a one-man-army to save the DARPA chief and determine if the terrorists have nuclear capabilities. As the story unfolds, you learn all kinds of crazy stuff about the backgrounds of the characters and all of these government-conspiracy type stuff. Obviously I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything. The story is quite over the top, but I applaud the writers for going all out in this aspect because I think the game would just be goofy otherwise. They do a great job of taking history and intertwining it with their own make believe story. Also, the series is known for its long cut-scenes, and the original game is no exception. The cut scenes and background story takes about as much time to get through as the actual game play. This and the fact that the voice acting is kind of weak at some points might turn some people off as the industry has come along way in the past 10 years in this regard. Overall, however, the story is just fantastic.

The gameplay is the other part of the game that is great. It uses a unique over-head third person perspective, which takes a few minutes to get used to. At times it seems like you are looking at your radar more than the actual screen, which is kind of annoying, but overall these are minor points. The stealth part of the game is just awesome, and quite unique to video games. Instead of going through a stage blasting everything in site (you do this in some instances), most of your time is spent sneaking around just trying to avoid being seen in the first place. In this aspect, I think the original game actually outshines the most recent one because I think they added a lot more action to the new one, especially with the Drebin points and the fact that you can buy a gun at any point. In the original, you don't even start out with a gun. And not to be morbid, but sneaking up behind someone to snap their neck seems much more satisfying than simply shooting them. The game play is so good, that even dying is fun. I love hearing the "Snake? Snaaaaaake!!" every time you die.

If you own a PS3, then Metal Gear Solid 4 is a must own. I would suggest downloading this game for $10 off the PSN just to refresh the story and so the flashbacks make sense. It takes about 10 hours to play through, and is a fantastic game that continues to be fun even though it was released several years ago.

Vampires In Vogue

With the success of Twilight and True Blood on HBO, vampires seem to be everywhere these days. I used to watch Buffy sometimes with Sarah in the past. It was a decent show. True Blood is pretty good too, I suppose, but I don't get this Twilight phenomenon at all.

Anyway, today we saw a patient with porphyria. According to Up-To-Date, "porphyrias are metabolic disorders caused by altered activities of enzymes within the heme biosynthetic pathway." Basically, it is a blood disorder that can affect the red blood cells or bone marrow or both. It has all kinds of crazy side effects, including skin disorders that are exacerbated by sunlight. The lesions can be quite painful, causing some people with the disorder to avoid sunlight altogether. Of historic interest, and this is where True Blood comes in, is that some people believe that the origin of vampires began from observation of people with this disorder. I don't know how accurate this assessment is, but it is interesting none the less. And porphyria isn't a disease that you see all that often unless you are a hematologist, so I thought I would shed light (no pun) on the subject.

Jokers Part II

While there are several things that I dislike about NASCAR, I thought that I should mention that I watched the NNS race on Saturday and thought that it was very entertaining. The Nation Wide Series brings up a couple of points that I don't like about NASCAR:

#1. The fact that the drivers from Sunday race in this minor league series is ridiculous. What other sport in the world do you know of where the major league players play in the minors? I don't see Derek Jeter spending his free time playing ball in Scranton.

#2. NASCAR races are way, way too long. Who wants to watch people drive in circles for 6 hours long?

Point number one being ignored, one of the things I like about the NNS is that the races are shorter. I can much more easily watch a 300 mile race than a 500 mile race. Of course the obvious reason why I watched this race was to see how well (or poorly) Danica Patrick performed. I have never been a huge fan of Danica, but I've never disliked her either. I always thought she was an interesting story. That race didn't really tell me much about how she will perform in NASCAR. She did OK, I guess. I will probably be tuning into more NASCAR than usual this year just to see how she does. Secretly I kind of hope she fails so she returns to IndyCar full time.

Jokers

I almost didn't comment on this because I didn't even watch it on TV but I have heard so much about it and I find it quite amusing so I decided I would go ahead and add my two cents. Sorry for the run-on.

I really enjoy racing. One of my favorite sports easily. I first started with NASCAR, but over the years I have liked NASCAR less and less and have switched to other forms of racing, namely IRL, F1, and sports car racing like ALMS. I could go on and on about the reasons why I dislike NASCAR these days, but I don't have the motivation to do so, at least not at this moment. Suffice it to say that I think every year (or race, even) NASCAR gets farther away from real racing and closer to manufactured entertainment, similar to professional wrestling. Yesterday was the biggest race of the year - the Super Bowl of stock car racing - the Daytona 500. And it was delayed for hours because of potholes in the track. What a joke NASCAR has become.

Bad Business

I haven't had a haircut in 7 or 8 weeks. For those keeping score at home, that is a long time. I usually get a haircut every 3 or 4 weeks. My hair is so shaggy now Sarah had to take my razor and some scissors to trim up the edges, and the hair behind my ears is starting to curl. Part of the reason why my hair is so long is because I was out of town last month and didn't have a chance to get my haircut. When I am out of town for long periods of time like that I am usually able to get it cut when I come home on the weekends, but that wasn't an option this time because the salon where I used to get my haircut closed down.

One of my former favorite things about living in the neighborhood where we live was getting my haircut at Knockouts. The simple explanation is that it is like Hooters except they cut hair instead of serve chicken wings and beer. They did employ younger, (mostly) attractive girls to cut hair, but they just wore shorts and a T-shirt. The outfits weren't nearly as skimpy as Hooters. In reality, it was a very nice salon with big comfy chairs and TVs playing sports at every station. They would even give you a beer if you wanted one. Now, I don't know much about business, but to me this idea seems genious. You are specifically targeting men, so you are cutting out half the population I suppose. But (almost) every man needs a haircut, and most men enjoy pretty ladies, so to me this was a no brainer. The concept is genious, but the business was ran very poorly. Every other time I would call to schedule a haircut, my stylist would no longer be working. Just when you would find someone who could cut your hair decently and who was pleasant to talk to during the half an hour you were there, she would randomly quit and then you would be stuck with someone with no personality and who wasn't good at cutting hair. This cycle continued for the better part of a year for me. Honestly, I was getting tired of it myself and was about to switch salons when I found out they closed and made the decision for me. I even brought this up a few times to the stylists working. The short end of the story is that the owners were jerks to the employees and didn't treat them very well, so they would just quit. It's too bad, really, because I really enjoyed going to that place once a month on Saturdays to get my haircut.

My new stylist is actually the same girl who cuts Sarah's hair. She has been trying to get me to switch for months and she is excited that I am finally meeting her. Sarah has talked her up quite a bit, so she has high expectations to live up to. Unfortunately, she doesn't work on weekends and with Knockouts closing, that is why it has been 2 months since my last cut. I am looking forward to the cut and meeting the new stylist this evening. Hopefully she will make Knockouts a distant memory.

Theme Day

It's theme day today at Hooters. Yay!

Alison Brie

Sarah and I are big fans of Joel McHale and The (Talk) Soup on E!, so when we found out he was starring in a new TV show on NBC titled "Community" we were obviously interested and began watching. I honestly didn't think the show would be very good when I first heard about it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is quite watchable and funny and I am able to catch almost every episode. The show also features Chevy Chase and the always funny Ken Jeong, who seems to be everywhere nowadays, including in "The Hangover." Anyway, since the show began I was first introduced to Alison Brie, who plays the super-cute and dorky Annie on the show. I have been a fan since the first episode. I have since seen her on "Attack of the Show" on G4 and in a few magazine layouts, so I know her popularity is increasing since the show began. Below are a couple of pictures, one from the TV show and the other is from a recent magazine layout. You can see more of those pictures by clicking on her name in the right column. Enjoy!

Super Bowl Disappointment

Feeling a little down this evening as the Colts were defeated by the Saints in the Super Bowl. I really thought the Colts would win this one easily, but New Orleans played exceptional. I must say, if I had to pick a team to beat Indianapolis, the Saints would be right at the top of the list. For one thing, I used to dominate with them in Madden 2002 for the PS2. I won 4 Super Bowls in 12 seasons before retiring as their head coach. But more importantly, I am happy for Drew Brees. Brees, along with coach Joe Tiller, helped bring excitement back to Purdue football during the late 1990s/early 2000s. He was an amazing college football player, breaking all kinds of school and Big 10 records. Now in the NFL he puts up Madden-like stats. The interesting thing about him is that he was never really wanted as a football player. Purdue was only one of two D1 teams that actively recruited him. Then in the pros the Chargers basically let him go so they could have Philip Rivers. Meanwhile, Brees has won everywhere he has went and put up impressive numbers along the way. So I am happy for Drew - he is a great player and a lot of fun to watch.

Back Home Again, In Indiana

For several reasons I am very happy to be back home again after being gone for a month on rotation. I absolutely hate being away from home. I hate being away from Sarah. I hate being away from my own stuff - my TV, my Computer, my PS3, my own bed, my own shower and bathroom. I hate being away from my own town in an unfamiliar place with no one else I know. I hate sharing one bathroom and small house with three complete strangers, even though my roommates this past month were all very nice and polite. I just never get into a comfortable routine sleeping in a strange bed and eating from a dirty microwave on paper plates and with plastic silverware. And you should see the shower in this place. It is literally a tub, like one you would see in a movie from the 1930s. It's completely separate from the wall, and has this metal ring around it hanging from the ceiling where the curtain completely surrounds you. When I stand in this shower, the curtain goes up to my shoulders and the water pressure is so weak that the water only hits me from the nipples down unless I hunch over. The shower by far is the worst part of the house. The shower notwithstanding, the house itself really isn't that bad, but the bottom line is it isn't home.

Everything I mentioned above makes living away from home tough enough, but in addition to being away and all of the pressures and anxieties that come along with that, this rotation was one of the most challenging rotations I've had thus far. It was really a great example of what can be great and what can be not so great about being a medical student. Some of the many great features include: (1) a busy service with lots of exposure to patients and many diseases, (2) a friendly hospital and nursing staff, (3) accommodating medical education department, and (4) free food. Now one of the features I could have put into this list was encouragement to be active and learn, but I felt at times that was only partly true and this is where things become wishy-washy. On some days, we were heavily included in what was going on - our superiors would ask us for our impressions and ideas, and would include us in on what was going on. They would even laugh and joke around with us. On other days, however, we would work hard and see people and would basically be completely ignored. They would have educational meetings and not tell us or they would jump up and leave and not even tell us what was going on, even if it involved patients we were working with and we were sitting right next to them. Honestly, not only would I not know what to expect day to day, it was hard to know what type of response I would get hour to hour. I felt like this rotation was like the rapid-cycling bi-polar girlfriend I always wanted but never had (sarcasm).

Another thing that made the rotation tough was that we worked with a lot of different superior physicians. One thing I have learned on my nearly two years of clinical rotations is that there are many ways to skin a cat. Part of being a medical student is being told you are not doing something correctly, and I get that. This especially occurs in the operating room. But I feel like it was multiplied a lot during this rotation simply because we were working with so many people. As an example, when you are told to cut a suture 1 cm in length instead of 0.9 cm in length in one surgery, then you are told to cut a suture 1.3 cm in length instead of 1 cm in length in another surgery, and you deal with instructions and criticisms like this all day, it really starts to wear on you. I think the icing on the cake was when a nurse ripped an electric razor out of my hand and showed me how to use it. Really? Does she really think I can't figure out how to use an electric razor? It almost becomes comical after awhile. These OR examples were actually pretty minor because the OR and nursing staff at this hospital were very nice overall and I enjoyed being in the operating rooms during this rotation. Unfortunately, I can not get into the details of things that happened that really bothered me due to professional reasons.

Part of the problem was that the service was really busy and there were A LOT of students working (which is why I kept saying "we" instead of just referring to myself) and I think sometimes they just didn't have time to help us out or include us. Also, when you work with so many supervising doctors, sometimes you work with people who have much different personalities than you. I am a very laid back person, and I think that sometimes for people who have more aggressive personalities, my attitude is misunderstood as being lazy or lacking knowledge because I don't speak up a lot. And as I said, all of this stuff happens on every rotation at every hospital. But for whatever reason it seemed to be exaggerated this past month. The month wasn't all bad - the strong features of the rotation that I pointed out above were really, really good. Regardless, the fact that I was away from Sarah and my home on top of the worse-than-usual awkwardness that goes along with being a medical student, I can safely say that I am glad to be back home again in Indiana.