The original, the best. Here we are on Friday and we finally come back to the NES and a top 15 games for it. There were around 700 games for the system and given Nintendo's strict licensing and control systems...that was a remarkable number of games and variety. Without further ado,
15. The Adventure of Link - This game may not have made the list until the past couple of years when I got on a quest to beat a lot of older games I could not stand or be good at as a kid. While I still believe it was a huge mistake to change Zelda to a completely different style of game, the game is pretty well done for what it is. Zelda 2 also happens to be one of the hardest games in Nintendo history because the controls were kind of tough to get good at consistently.
14. TMNT 2: The Arcade Game - Like Street Fighter for the SNES, TMNT 2 stole many quarters from me and others in the arcade era. TMNT 2 is not a great single-player game, but partying with one other player (or 3 others in the arcade) was what made the game awesome. How can you beat finally giving Shredder the heave-ho as well? The only thing keeping this game out of the top 10 was the fact that on the NEW you couldn't play with 4 turtles at once.
13. Galaga - While this game may have been much more cool back in the arcade or back on the atari, the space invader battle game was simple enough to get good at and challenging enough to keep players coming back for more. There's nothing like the outbursts you have when your double-ship gets plowed by kamikaze alien forces or you mess up when trying to make a double ship. Sometimes the most simple games are the best.
12. Dr. Mario - This game is another that might suffer from me not being introduced to it until recently. I had originally thought this was a Nintendo knockoff of Tetris, but the game is an amazing 2-player battle which Tetris did not offer. You can up the intensity and handicap the players, all aspects of making a tetris-type game into something even better. This game is reaching legendary status on our bowling team.
11. Metroid - Again just recently playing this game, but the game that started the Metroid series in 1985 is amazingly well-designed. The gameplay is simple and challenging, but all the power-ups and add-ons (missiles, morph ball mode, etc.) that are so amazing when done in 3D in the Prime series were thought up in 1985 for the 2D original. It's actually amazing there were not more of these games over time, but we will always have the original thanks to downloading it on the Wii.
10. Marble Madness - While I realize that I'm in the severe minority by putting this "stupid marble race game" above games like Metroid, this is a game I've always been fascinated with. It is a successful concept too as Super Monkey Ball ran with it on the GCN and just this month there's a Marble Madness type race game on the Wii. While there are only 6-7 levels and they are easily memorized, the game is still challenging to get through today. What really made the game was the 2-player race mode.
9. Disney's Adventure of the Magic Kingdom - There were a couple of kiddy games that ended up being really good for the NES (Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers being the other), but this game had it all and then some. Not only did this game make fun battles out of 6 of the most famous DisneyWorld rides, it remains challenging today. The variety in the games was also refreshing.
8. Tecmo Super Bowl - If there's one thing you can see from my game collection, I love playing sports games and always have. Unfortunately they get dated every single year by the newest and updated version, and old system sports games fade into obscurity when looking at the top games in retrospect. This game breaks from that mold though and was the absolute shit back in the day. The quintessential football game on the NES remains playable and fun today.
7. Super Mario Bros. - I've seen this game on the top of many NES lists, but these people are simply delusional in my opinion. This game is great, but it was just the beginning on the NES. The game has lots of replay value, but you do get so good at it eventually that it is not really challenging. This is still the game that hooked us all into the revolution of gaming that was Nintendo and the lovable plumber platformers. Our princess is indeed in another (later) castle on this system.
6. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out - Whether it is Mr. Dream or Mike Tyson, this game is the only real good boxing game until the Wii allowed us all to actually punch and dodge. While Glass Joe and Soda Popinsky are some of the biggest jokes ever, learning how to combat and getting good at beating fighters with great special moves like Bald Bull, King Hippo, and the dude with the turban and tiger was a tough challenge and fun at the same time. This game also kind of channels the spirit of Rocky movies in my opinion...in any event beating on boxers was always a great way to let off steam on the NES.
5. Final Fantasy - One of the more disappointing yet awesome moments of the past 4 years was when my dad found a sealed copy of this game at a yard sale. Yes sealed. Yes a yard sale. Absolutely unbelievable, as there might not be 25 other sealed copies of this game in existence. What was disappointing was he broke the seal wrap and tried the game out, not liking it and giving it to me. Well I was happy to have the box and book and everything in mint condition, but still...this is the RPG that blew open the RPG market. Good characters and varied gameplay allowed this classic to spawn the most famous series of games in the past 20 years.
4. The Magic of Scheherazade - While Final Fantasy gets all the credit and deservedly so, this RPG was actually the only one I got into back in the NES days. This little hardly known gem was certainly one of the best games on the NES as far as gameplay and depth and difficulty go. There was also plenty of comedic value in pissing off the shopkeepers by making low offers on their goods multiple times until they kicked you out of their store. The title of the game is nearly unspellable and copies of the game are damn near impossible to find now, but it's worth it if you ever see one.
3. Tetris - From Russia With Fun. This play on the famous movie title really was fun as the Cold War was just beginning to wrap up. This Russian block dropping game was so addictive and fun (the Sudoku of its days for you young kids out there) that it actually led to worried companies because worker productivity was down due to people playing this game obsessively. The only downside was no 2 player mode, but the game is still iconic and good enough to overcome that.
2. Super Mario Bros. 3 - This game was the most expensive and hard-to-get game in NES history because Nintendo hyped up the release and did the worst of their short stocking of stores for this game. It was still worth the $65-70 dollars retail stores demanded for it (after this game Nintendo went to a $50 price for everything that has not changed in 20 years and is now pretty affordable). This update of the classic SMB platformer had better graphics, more items, inventive levels, and nice controls and music. The thing that keeps this game super-playable though is the fact that you can play it in a co-op 2 player mode instead of the independent 2 players in competition for SMB 1. One of the best games ever made, this game set the bar high for all future Mario games (and has only been matched in awesomeness by Super Mario 64...but high hopes for Super Mario Galaxy).
1. The Legend of Zelda - Unlike SMB 3, this game is not loved as much overall because it is not a kid's game and not a casual gamer's kind of game. For someone like me though the Zelda game is the best you could get for an adventure battle kind of game, and it was unique and smooth in its creativity. Zelda and Mario have to be one and two in any NES discussion, and the genius of S. Miyamoto in bringing both these games to light is unparalleled in game design even today. The original Zelda had plenty of depth and difficulty to make it hard to get through over and over again, so the replay value is high even today. For a single player game on the NES, it doesn't get any better than this.
So now it is finished. You've seen my top lists this week for all the various Nintendo systems, so feel free to comment and tell me how you would rank them. But enough talking about the Nintendo, it's time to go play some of these old classics and solve my craving. Have a great long weekend!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Top Super Nintendo Games
The Thursday feature is the SNES, the golden era of Nintendo before the Wii came out. Plenty of good games, improvements on the 8-bit games, and nice hardware made for many great games. A top 15 should cover it nicely.
15. Super Star Wars - All three original Star Wars movies were made into a great set of SNES games, but this first game was the best of the bunch. Taking Luke Skywalker and shooting down enemies or kicking ass with a lightsaber was just simply outstanding. Enough challenge to keep you going through all 15 levels also.
14. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Quest - Took the fantastic graphics of the original and made the levels a bit more original and varied. The game was still a little too easy to do after you got good at DKC, but the controls and graphics were solid enough.
13. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting - This was one arcade game that seemed to eat everyone's quarters in bulk back in my childhood, so when an improved version hit the SNES it was a dream come true. No more quarters after quarters and better controls on the SNES controllers than at the arcade. The combos were better in Turbo and the characters were slightly better than those on Mortal Combat (although I have a soft spot in my heart for Sub-Zero, Scoprion, and Rayden). Definitive 2-person combat.
12. Super Mario All Stars - Yes this game was just SMB 1-3, but there was a lot more to like here. Not only were the graphics updated and improved for all three of the classic Mario games, but the previously Japanese-only SMB2 was offered as the Lost Levels. This alone was enough to make the list, but revisiting three of the best NES games was also very nice.
11. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - While I was not a huge RPG fan as a kid, there were just some games that you could not miss. SM:RPG finally branched Mario out past the regular platformer and saw characters such as Luigi and Bowser in new roles. An interesting twist on the Mario story that was so successful it opened the door for Mario Party, Tennis, Golf, and more Kart games.
10. Final Fantasy II - Speaking of RPG's, the most famous RPG series came back for the sequel on the SNES and was no disappointment. Just squeaks my Mario because this game was a lot more in-depth and not an introductory game to the RPG market.
9. Final Fantasy III - Unfortunately this game was destined to be the final FF game to arrive for Nintendo as Square took a first step toward fighting Nintendo's policy of exclusivity and short supply. Another solid version of the classic RPG though.
8. Starfox - This was the game that sold the FX chip graphics in the SNES, making a relatively realistic flight combat game. While the graphics are still a little polygonal, the effect was very high-tech for the time. Controls of the Arwing were easy and the game had tons of replay value. The best early space/flight and fight game.
7. Super Mario World - While this game arguably was not all that much better than SMB3, SMW brought my favorite Nintendo character of all time into the mix, that being Yoshi. Every hero needs a sidekick, and Mario finally got one in the green dino. An excellent start for the SNES, and the game is still fun today.
6. F-Zero - Again a game makes much more out of the graphical capability of the SNES than seemed possible for any console games at the time. F-Zero really did a nice job of making you feel like you were racing futuristic hovercars at ridiculous speeds. The only downside to this game was that it needed a good multiplayer mode to be the best racing game on the system. As it was, it ends up getting beat by...
5. Super Mario Kart - While it is true that SM:RPG smashed the door open for other Mario types of games, SMK was the first new type of Mario game. Still the absolute best racing game on the SNES, this game was very challenging despite the lack of really good graphics. The multiplayer battles were genius as well.
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - The second Zelda on NES was too different and hard for me as a kid, so I grew away from Zelda in the SNES days. Looking back this was a mistake because this console's Zelda went back to the original and improved everything about it. The dungeons and bosses were better, the graphics were better, and the story was improved. A great addition to the Zelda line.
3. Donkey Kong Country - This game began to show gamers what we could expect from the next generation of systems. The graphics and backgrounds are stunning and pretty. The game was simple yet somewhat challenging and fun at the same time. The only downside to the game was that it was a bit short, but still a very solid game.
2. Super Metroid - Many will choose this game as their number one, but I never got into Metroid until Prime came out. Looking back and playing the original and Super Metroid, these were great games that were inexplicably stopped after this version (until the current Metroid Prime series started). Even the current Game Boy Advance and DS versions of the sidescroller are not as fun as Super Metroid, so it earns the number 2 spot.
1. Chrono Trigger - As someone who did not get into RPG's, this game was far and away the one I spent the most time playing for 2 solid years of the SNES. The game is so good you still cannot track down a copy for less than $40-50, and this game defines what a good RPG is. Not only are the story and characters good, the game has around 15 separate endings to try and get for beating the game in different ways. This game therefore is so deep and re-playable that it easily takes the top spot on this list.
One final day to go, and the Friday feature will finally take us back to the 1980's and the console that brought us into the modern era of console gaming, the Nintendo Entertainment System. No longer would Atari and Intellivision rule the world of games.
15. Super Star Wars - All three original Star Wars movies were made into a great set of SNES games, but this first game was the best of the bunch. Taking Luke Skywalker and shooting down enemies or kicking ass with a lightsaber was just simply outstanding. Enough challenge to keep you going through all 15 levels also.
14. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Quest - Took the fantastic graphics of the original and made the levels a bit more original and varied. The game was still a little too easy to do after you got good at DKC, but the controls and graphics were solid enough.
13. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting - This was one arcade game that seemed to eat everyone's quarters in bulk back in my childhood, so when an improved version hit the SNES it was a dream come true. No more quarters after quarters and better controls on the SNES controllers than at the arcade. The combos were better in Turbo and the characters were slightly better than those on Mortal Combat (although I have a soft spot in my heart for Sub-Zero, Scoprion, and Rayden). Definitive 2-person combat.
12. Super Mario All Stars - Yes this game was just SMB 1-3, but there was a lot more to like here. Not only were the graphics updated and improved for all three of the classic Mario games, but the previously Japanese-only SMB2 was offered as the Lost Levels. This alone was enough to make the list, but revisiting three of the best NES games was also very nice.
11. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - While I was not a huge RPG fan as a kid, there were just some games that you could not miss. SM:RPG finally branched Mario out past the regular platformer and saw characters such as Luigi and Bowser in new roles. An interesting twist on the Mario story that was so successful it opened the door for Mario Party, Tennis, Golf, and more Kart games.
10. Final Fantasy II - Speaking of RPG's, the most famous RPG series came back for the sequel on the SNES and was no disappointment. Just squeaks my Mario because this game was a lot more in-depth and not an introductory game to the RPG market.
9. Final Fantasy III - Unfortunately this game was destined to be the final FF game to arrive for Nintendo as Square took a first step toward fighting Nintendo's policy of exclusivity and short supply. Another solid version of the classic RPG though.
8. Starfox - This was the game that sold the FX chip graphics in the SNES, making a relatively realistic flight combat game. While the graphics are still a little polygonal, the effect was very high-tech for the time. Controls of the Arwing were easy and the game had tons of replay value. The best early space/flight and fight game.
7. Super Mario World - While this game arguably was not all that much better than SMB3, SMW brought my favorite Nintendo character of all time into the mix, that being Yoshi. Every hero needs a sidekick, and Mario finally got one in the green dino. An excellent start for the SNES, and the game is still fun today.
6. F-Zero - Again a game makes much more out of the graphical capability of the SNES than seemed possible for any console games at the time. F-Zero really did a nice job of making you feel like you were racing futuristic hovercars at ridiculous speeds. The only downside to this game was that it needed a good multiplayer mode to be the best racing game on the system. As it was, it ends up getting beat by...
5. Super Mario Kart - While it is true that SM:RPG smashed the door open for other Mario types of games, SMK was the first new type of Mario game. Still the absolute best racing game on the SNES, this game was very challenging despite the lack of really good graphics. The multiplayer battles were genius as well.
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - The second Zelda on NES was too different and hard for me as a kid, so I grew away from Zelda in the SNES days. Looking back this was a mistake because this console's Zelda went back to the original and improved everything about it. The dungeons and bosses were better, the graphics were better, and the story was improved. A great addition to the Zelda line.
3. Donkey Kong Country - This game began to show gamers what we could expect from the next generation of systems. The graphics and backgrounds are stunning and pretty. The game was simple yet somewhat challenging and fun at the same time. The only downside to the game was that it was a bit short, but still a very solid game.
2. Super Metroid - Many will choose this game as their number one, but I never got into Metroid until Prime came out. Looking back and playing the original and Super Metroid, these were great games that were inexplicably stopped after this version (until the current Metroid Prime series started). Even the current Game Boy Advance and DS versions of the sidescroller are not as fun as Super Metroid, so it earns the number 2 spot.
1. Chrono Trigger - As someone who did not get into RPG's, this game was far and away the one I spent the most time playing for 2 solid years of the SNES. The game is so good you still cannot track down a copy for less than $40-50, and this game defines what a good RPG is. Not only are the story and characters good, the game has around 15 separate endings to try and get for beating the game in different ways. This game therefore is so deep and re-playable that it easily takes the top spot on this list.
One final day to go, and the Friday feature will finally take us back to the 1980's and the console that brought us into the modern era of console gaming, the Nintendo Entertainment System. No longer would Atari and Intellivision rule the world of games.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Top Nintendo 64 Games
The Wednesday feature is where Nintendo began to flounder as a console maker, the Nintendo 64. Many good franchises either started or continued on this system, but the third-party support was too low and that led to Sony's success in my opinion. Nonetheless, there were some classics to fill a Top 10.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - For the first and only time so far in the Zelda series, Nintendo had to come up with a second game on a system using the same control and graphical layout. The game suffers from not being as good as Ocarina of Time, but that's unfair because OOT was perhaps one of the best 3 games in history. This game is actually more deep if you go and try to get all the masks, and ends up being enjoyable in the end.
9. Mario Kart 64 - The follow-up to the huge SNES hit did not disappoint, as the graphics upgraded significantly and the courses were just as good as the original. The real improvement in this version was the better courses.
8. Starfox 64 - The original Starfox was great due to the FX graphics on the 16-bit SNES, but a jump to 64 made things much better and more realistic. All the worlds and paths to Venom are fun to play through so this game has a lot of replay value. The controls are smooth and familiar, working at their best in the 3D boss battles.
7. Waverace 64 - Given the title of the last 3 games on the list, you can see the lack of creativity in this era of Nintendo game-naming. Near the launch of the console, Waverace took a completely new race genre (jet ski) and actually managed to pull it off very well. The physics and randomness of the waves and how they affect you are a great challenge. This looked to not be a huge title at launch but ended up being one of the greats.
6. Perfect Dark - This was dubbed the improved version of the super-popular Goldeneye 007. While the game utilized the expansion memory pack well, the game was not much of an improvement over Goldeneye. Graphically more pretty, this game was an excuse (along with Majora's Mask) to help sell more expansion memory packs. Still one of the best first person shooters ever brought out on a Nintendo system.
5. Goldeneye 007 - The classic first person shooter on the N64 wins a top five slot by being the Halo of its day. Halo 1-3 has and is single-handedly selling a good percentage of the Xbox systems sold, but the first game to really master the genre was Goldeneye. Not only did this game follow the movie very faithfully, the multiplayer was outstanding. The original Halo was a true highlight of the N64 experience.
4. Mario Party - While Goldeneye was far more popular and perhaps better back in the day, in retrospect the beginning of this franchise was a brillant move by Nintendo. Combining the fun of minigames with a board game background is a formula that has been sold for 8 iterations now successfully. This game did not have very good graphics, but it did have great party value.
3. Conker's Bad Fur Day - Just like Eternal Darkness on GCN, this is my sleeper pick that not many people played but everyone should experience. BFD mixed a lot of pop culture references of the day (incorporating the Matrix, Saving Private Ryan, and many other things) with some very funny original characters (Opera singing Poop Monster anyone?) to create one of the most playable and funny games in history. Yes it is a little crude in humor, but more adult humor in a game is always appreciated when well done. Also a good multiplayer mode to put this in the top 3. On some systems this might be the top game, but...
2. Super Mario 64 - Another Mario launch title, another great game to lead the console into the market. This game introduced the platforming game and the gaming world in general to 3D gaming, and what an introduction it was. This game pushed the limits of the hardware but ran so smoothly that nobody could possibly complain. We were all too wrapped up in the graphics and the notion of playing in true 3D. The game is also truly fun with bunches of different levels and lots of variety to get all 120 stars. A real gem and Top 10 all time likely.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Perhaps the greatest game of all time, OOT took everything Nintendo learned in making SM64 and took it to a whole new level. The graphics are even better (you could just watch the sun rise and set and the moon move across the horizon in awe without being bored) and Zelda moved into 3D combat perfectly. The storyline was very well written and the different elemental kinds of dungeons has continued to present-day Zeldas (Forest, Fire, Water/Ice, Shadow, Desert, Light/Shadow). The movement between young link and adult link is also a great part of thr story. This game was the definition of success and should not be missed by anyone.
Well there's the short list for the N64. Looking ahead, the Thursday feature will be the Super Nintendo, and we'll be back up to 15 games as the first golden age of Nintendo is what we will be going back to tomorrow.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - For the first and only time so far in the Zelda series, Nintendo had to come up with a second game on a system using the same control and graphical layout. The game suffers from not being as good as Ocarina of Time, but that's unfair because OOT was perhaps one of the best 3 games in history. This game is actually more deep if you go and try to get all the masks, and ends up being enjoyable in the end.
9. Mario Kart 64 - The follow-up to the huge SNES hit did not disappoint, as the graphics upgraded significantly and the courses were just as good as the original. The real improvement in this version was the better courses.
8. Starfox 64 - The original Starfox was great due to the FX graphics on the 16-bit SNES, but a jump to 64 made things much better and more realistic. All the worlds and paths to Venom are fun to play through so this game has a lot of replay value. The controls are smooth and familiar, working at their best in the 3D boss battles.
7. Waverace 64 - Given the title of the last 3 games on the list, you can see the lack of creativity in this era of Nintendo game-naming. Near the launch of the console, Waverace took a completely new race genre (jet ski) and actually managed to pull it off very well. The physics and randomness of the waves and how they affect you are a great challenge. This looked to not be a huge title at launch but ended up being one of the greats.
6. Perfect Dark - This was dubbed the improved version of the super-popular Goldeneye 007. While the game utilized the expansion memory pack well, the game was not much of an improvement over Goldeneye. Graphically more pretty, this game was an excuse (along with Majora's Mask) to help sell more expansion memory packs. Still one of the best first person shooters ever brought out on a Nintendo system.
5. Goldeneye 007 - The classic first person shooter on the N64 wins a top five slot by being the Halo of its day. Halo 1-3 has and is single-handedly selling a good percentage of the Xbox systems sold, but the first game to really master the genre was Goldeneye. Not only did this game follow the movie very faithfully, the multiplayer was outstanding. The original Halo was a true highlight of the N64 experience.
4. Mario Party - While Goldeneye was far more popular and perhaps better back in the day, in retrospect the beginning of this franchise was a brillant move by Nintendo. Combining the fun of minigames with a board game background is a formula that has been sold for 8 iterations now successfully. This game did not have very good graphics, but it did have great party value.
3. Conker's Bad Fur Day - Just like Eternal Darkness on GCN, this is my sleeper pick that not many people played but everyone should experience. BFD mixed a lot of pop culture references of the day (incorporating the Matrix, Saving Private Ryan, and many other things) with some very funny original characters (Opera singing Poop Monster anyone?) to create one of the most playable and funny games in history. Yes it is a little crude in humor, but more adult humor in a game is always appreciated when well done. Also a good multiplayer mode to put this in the top 3. On some systems this might be the top game, but...
2. Super Mario 64 - Another Mario launch title, another great game to lead the console into the market. This game introduced the platforming game and the gaming world in general to 3D gaming, and what an introduction it was. This game pushed the limits of the hardware but ran so smoothly that nobody could possibly complain. We were all too wrapped up in the graphics and the notion of playing in true 3D. The game is also truly fun with bunches of different levels and lots of variety to get all 120 stars. A real gem and Top 10 all time likely.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Perhaps the greatest game of all time, OOT took everything Nintendo learned in making SM64 and took it to a whole new level. The graphics are even better (you could just watch the sun rise and set and the moon move across the horizon in awe without being bored) and Zelda moved into 3D combat perfectly. The storyline was very well written and the different elemental kinds of dungeons has continued to present-day Zeldas (Forest, Fire, Water/Ice, Shadow, Desert, Light/Shadow). The movement between young link and adult link is also a great part of thr story. This game was the definition of success and should not be missed by anyone.
Well there's the short list for the N64. Looking ahead, the Thursday feature will be the Super Nintendo, and we'll be back up to 15 games as the first golden age of Nintendo is what we will be going back to tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Top Gamecube Games
The Tuesday feature brings us the Top 15 games from the Nintendo Gamecube. Yes there were 15 good games for this system, despite the much-maligned criticism of the Cube. The fact that the Wii is backwards compatible to the mini-discs of this system will help these games continue to see play for the next few years.
15. Star Wars Rogue Leader - It had been quite a number of years since a Star Wars game blew me away, but this game was outstanding. Early in the life of Gamecube, this was a game that saw a majority of play time on many Cubes. Good for kids and adults, this is a sleeper on the list.
14. Super Monkey Ball 2 - The original may be on many people's lists, but SMB2 channels the greatness of the old game Marble Madness and adds a level of 3D complexity to that genre not seen before. This game is so good they rushed out another for the Wii launch, so hopefully there will be more in this series.
13. Resident Evil 4 - Same argument as the Wii version, except on GCN the game is simply a port of the PS2 and Xbox versions. Still a great game worth looking into if you prefer the traditional controllers.
12. Timesplitters 2 - A friend introduced this gem to me on the PS2, but the GCN version is just as good if not better. Timesplitters reminds me a lot of Goldeneye 007 which is a good thing for those who like mission-based spy type first person shooters. A nice story to back up the traveling to different time periods keeps the game varied and fresh.
11. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - Every trio of games or movies has to have a dark middle tale, and the Metroid Prime series got just that in Echoes. This game is much like the original, with the only problem being that the designers should have gone further in developing the series.
10. Resident Evil - While RE4 gets a lot of press for being quality, the first Umbrella Corp zombie battle is a classic not to be missed. Cheap scares abound as well in this surprisingly successful hit.
9. Super Mario Sunshine - While most other systems launch with a Mario game alongside, GCN decided to launch with a Luigi game instead. While we all love Luigi, Sunshine was only disappointing in that the gameplay did not improve much over Luigi's Mansion. The game is a noble addition to the Mario line, but will probably fade to obscurity over time.
8. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The 2D Mario series continues to impress with this entry and certainly provides more than the platformer at #9.
7. Mario Party 7 - GCN had an amazing 4 Mario Party games come out in 5 years, and that is just too many. While the market was saturated, the minigames themselves really got better in this one. With a little more work on the graphics and board gameplay, this series could have gone to greater heights.
6. Super Smash Bros Melee - Many people would put this in the top 3 for sure, but I just am not huge into the fighting genre. This is a fun game to play but is only more fun than Mortal Combat and Street Fighter because the characters are Nintendo classics. Still the controls are almost perfect and the boards are nicely interactive, so the gfame ranks high even for me.
5. Animal Crossing - While pulling weeds, fishing, running errands for others, and building up and decorating a house may not be an adequate escape from real life for some, this game is terribly addictive to those who like the SimCity or Sims genre. While the characters do look childish and doofy, the gameplay is actually very fun. The kicker that puts this in the top 5 is the ability to carry characters and designs to your friends' Animal Crossing neighborhoods. The interactivity with real time is awesome also.
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Initially I did not like the cel-shaded graphics of this game or the fact that I beat it in one weekend, but now I realize the game has so much depth just like Majora's Mask did (both games suffer because the basic storyline does not require a lot of these interesting side quests that are available). I may never like the cel-shading, but this game does earn its place in the Zelda landscape as a good game.
3. Wario Ware - This game certainly did not seem like much of a hit when it first came out, with Mario Party holding the minigame crown for so long. The question was why would you buy a game of minigames when you could play minigames as part of a bigger board game in MP? The answer was that when the games are so well designed to make a party laugh and replay the game for hours on end, you have something that beats any Mario Party. Wario Ware was one of the best in the GCN era.
2. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - And now we get to my sleeper pick on the Gamecube. For those who have played this game, you will understand why it ranks so high on my list (and many others). If you did not pick up this game and many players did not, you missed one inventive and easy to get into game. The storyline is compelling, the game has some cheap thrills and scares a la Resident Evil, lots of fighting and spellcasting action, and the best addition to any adventure game in years, the sanity meter. You had to keep up your health and magic meters, but the sanity meter made you hallucinate and see things not there, which is very inventive. The game is also playable many times because there are three different pathways through the game based on different kinds of Magic. A real hit.
1. Metroid Prime - I really wanted to put Eternal Darkness here, but it goes against the grain to put an unknown in the top spot. Metroid Prime updated a series that had been dead since the SNES days (despite huge NES and SNES popularity) into 3D and first person shooting, but Metroid was still more than awesome. While many of the same aspects from the 1986 classic came back, doing it all in 3D environments with a new juicy storyline just made everything perfect. With the Mario and Zelda franchises bringing out mediocre games and the Starfox franchise being all but murdered by a terrible outing, it was nice to see one of the old classic Nintendo standby franchises take over the throne in such a nice fashion.
Tomorrow is Wednesday, and that will bring us to the Nintendo 64. The Top ten will be revealed then (the N64 suffered from poor games far more than any other system in Nintendo history, which is why the list is limited to 10, and also coincidentally why Sony got such a great market placement).
15. Star Wars Rogue Leader - It had been quite a number of years since a Star Wars game blew me away, but this game was outstanding. Early in the life of Gamecube, this was a game that saw a majority of play time on many Cubes. Good for kids and adults, this is a sleeper on the list.
14. Super Monkey Ball 2 - The original may be on many people's lists, but SMB2 channels the greatness of the old game Marble Madness and adds a level of 3D complexity to that genre not seen before. This game is so good they rushed out another for the Wii launch, so hopefully there will be more in this series.
13. Resident Evil 4 - Same argument as the Wii version, except on GCN the game is simply a port of the PS2 and Xbox versions. Still a great game worth looking into if you prefer the traditional controllers.
12. Timesplitters 2 - A friend introduced this gem to me on the PS2, but the GCN version is just as good if not better. Timesplitters reminds me a lot of Goldeneye 007 which is a good thing for those who like mission-based spy type first person shooters. A nice story to back up the traveling to different time periods keeps the game varied and fresh.
11. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - Every trio of games or movies has to have a dark middle tale, and the Metroid Prime series got just that in Echoes. This game is much like the original, with the only problem being that the designers should have gone further in developing the series.
10. Resident Evil - While RE4 gets a lot of press for being quality, the first Umbrella Corp zombie battle is a classic not to be missed. Cheap scares abound as well in this surprisingly successful hit.
9. Super Mario Sunshine - While most other systems launch with a Mario game alongside, GCN decided to launch with a Luigi game instead. While we all love Luigi, Sunshine was only disappointing in that the gameplay did not improve much over Luigi's Mansion. The game is a noble addition to the Mario line, but will probably fade to obscurity over time.
8. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The 2D Mario series continues to impress with this entry and certainly provides more than the platformer at #9.
7. Mario Party 7 - GCN had an amazing 4 Mario Party games come out in 5 years, and that is just too many. While the market was saturated, the minigames themselves really got better in this one. With a little more work on the graphics and board gameplay, this series could have gone to greater heights.
6. Super Smash Bros Melee - Many people would put this in the top 3 for sure, but I just am not huge into the fighting genre. This is a fun game to play but is only more fun than Mortal Combat and Street Fighter because the characters are Nintendo classics. Still the controls are almost perfect and the boards are nicely interactive, so the gfame ranks high even for me.
5. Animal Crossing - While pulling weeds, fishing, running errands for others, and building up and decorating a house may not be an adequate escape from real life for some, this game is terribly addictive to those who like the SimCity or Sims genre. While the characters do look childish and doofy, the gameplay is actually very fun. The kicker that puts this in the top 5 is the ability to carry characters and designs to your friends' Animal Crossing neighborhoods. The interactivity with real time is awesome also.
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Initially I did not like the cel-shaded graphics of this game or the fact that I beat it in one weekend, but now I realize the game has so much depth just like Majora's Mask did (both games suffer because the basic storyline does not require a lot of these interesting side quests that are available). I may never like the cel-shading, but this game does earn its place in the Zelda landscape as a good game.
3. Wario Ware - This game certainly did not seem like much of a hit when it first came out, with Mario Party holding the minigame crown for so long. The question was why would you buy a game of minigames when you could play minigames as part of a bigger board game in MP? The answer was that when the games are so well designed to make a party laugh and replay the game for hours on end, you have something that beats any Mario Party. Wario Ware was one of the best in the GCN era.
2. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - And now we get to my sleeper pick on the Gamecube. For those who have played this game, you will understand why it ranks so high on my list (and many others). If you did not pick up this game and many players did not, you missed one inventive and easy to get into game. The storyline is compelling, the game has some cheap thrills and scares a la Resident Evil, lots of fighting and spellcasting action, and the best addition to any adventure game in years, the sanity meter. You had to keep up your health and magic meters, but the sanity meter made you hallucinate and see things not there, which is very inventive. The game is also playable many times because there are three different pathways through the game based on different kinds of Magic. A real hit.
1. Metroid Prime - I really wanted to put Eternal Darkness here, but it goes against the grain to put an unknown in the top spot. Metroid Prime updated a series that had been dead since the SNES days (despite huge NES and SNES popularity) into 3D and first person shooting, but Metroid was still more than awesome. While many of the same aspects from the 1986 classic came back, doing it all in 3D environments with a new juicy storyline just made everything perfect. With the Mario and Zelda franchises bringing out mediocre games and the Starfox franchise being all but murdered by a terrible outing, it was nice to see one of the old classic Nintendo standby franchises take over the throne in such a nice fashion.
Tomorrow is Wednesday, and that will bring us to the Nintendo 64. The Top ten will be revealed then (the N64 suffered from poor games far more than any other system in Nintendo history, which is why the list is limited to 10, and also coincidentally why Sony got such a great market placement).
Monday, August 27, 2007
Top Wii Games
The Monday feature, a little late but then again this list is so preliminary after only 8 months with the system. We begin with a couple of honorable mentions which will likely make the list once they come out.
Honorable Mention: Super Smash Bros Brawl - This game will probably compete with the Gamecube version for one of the most popular party games in the Wii.
HM: Super Mario Galaxy - There are certainties for every Nintendo system, one being that there will be a high quality Mario game. This game looks like it will revolutionize the Wii platformers and be nearly as successful as Super Mario 64. Big times await Mario.
10. Wii Play - A collection of nine mediocre games comes together with a pack-in Wii Remote for the same $50 as all other games. For $10, you really cannot beat the value assuming you bought the Wii-mote at retail value. The games do grow old in a hurry though.
9. Madden NFL 07 - Certainly to be outdone by the 2008 version once EA gets off the pot and brings out the Wii version, the 2007 Madden showed that the future is bright for football franchises on the Wii. You finally feel like you are in the game by throwing and stiff-arming and all the other neat moves you can do.
8. Mario Party 8 - While this game has a new set of great minigames, it offers nothing unexpected or new to the Mario Party formula. It's nice to have Wii minigames, but the visual quality should really be better. Perhaps this franchise needs a break. Still a fun party game.
7. Wario Ware Smooth Moves - This was the first set of crazy new Wii minigames, and the set is actually better than the Mario Party ones. The big disappointment is that Wario Ware was a great party game for the Gamecube, but this is only 1 player. With a few more hours of design this game could've been in the top 2-3 for a long time. Single player Wario Ware is not as fun.
6. Resident Evil 4 - The Wii version incorporates all that was great about the other versions and adds beeter control with the Wii-mote. The silly scare tactics might be gone, but the game is devilishly scary still and challenging.
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 - TW has been a vastly improving sports franchise the past half-decade, and this entry is no disappointment. The Wii Sports template for golf was imrpoved upon and made easier in this classic.
4. Wii Sports - The pack-in game with the system does not disappoint, as the games show off the basic realm of control possible with the Wii-mote. Bowling is amazing, Tennis is scary realistic, and the other three are all fun to play over and over again. A nice introduction to the Wii.
3. Super Paper Mario - Although Super Mario Galaxy may change this perception, but the best Mario games to come out since Super Mario 64 opened the door to 3-D are all in the Paper Mario 2-D series. Of course there are some 3-D puzzles and aspects, but a primarily 2-D game shows how well the platformer games continue to be playable.
2. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - OK so I don't have my hands on this game yet, but it appears that this game will set the bar high for graphics, story, and first-person shooter controls on the Wii. Add in the fact that Metroid games are some of the most popular games out there, and you have a sure-fire winner. This could end up #1 eventually.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The most genius decision outside the design of the Wii was Nintendo pushing this game back a year to become a Wii release title instead of a second Gamecube title. The best entry in the Zelda series since Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess did everything right to set the bar high for Wii games. The controls are seamless, the graphics astounding, and the difficulty about perfect. Twilight Princess will be a hard game to beat, but the new Metroid and Mario games may just surpass this instant classic.
So there's the current Top 10 list for Wii, subject to many changes. The fact that there are 10 games to rank (and 6-7 of them very deserving) in one year is a good sign for this system, which gains market share and strength every day. Nintendo is entering a second golden era with the Wii for sure.
Tomorrow, we cover the top 15 Gamecube games.
Honorable Mention: Super Smash Bros Brawl - This game will probably compete with the Gamecube version for one of the most popular party games in the Wii.
HM: Super Mario Galaxy - There are certainties for every Nintendo system, one being that there will be a high quality Mario game. This game looks like it will revolutionize the Wii platformers and be nearly as successful as Super Mario 64. Big times await Mario.
10. Wii Play - A collection of nine mediocre games comes together with a pack-in Wii Remote for the same $50 as all other games. For $10, you really cannot beat the value assuming you bought the Wii-mote at retail value. The games do grow old in a hurry though.
9. Madden NFL 07 - Certainly to be outdone by the 2008 version once EA gets off the pot and brings out the Wii version, the 2007 Madden showed that the future is bright for football franchises on the Wii. You finally feel like you are in the game by throwing and stiff-arming and all the other neat moves you can do.
8. Mario Party 8 - While this game has a new set of great minigames, it offers nothing unexpected or new to the Mario Party formula. It's nice to have Wii minigames, but the visual quality should really be better. Perhaps this franchise needs a break. Still a fun party game.
7. Wario Ware Smooth Moves - This was the first set of crazy new Wii minigames, and the set is actually better than the Mario Party ones. The big disappointment is that Wario Ware was a great party game for the Gamecube, but this is only 1 player. With a few more hours of design this game could've been in the top 2-3 for a long time. Single player Wario Ware is not as fun.
6. Resident Evil 4 - The Wii version incorporates all that was great about the other versions and adds beeter control with the Wii-mote. The silly scare tactics might be gone, but the game is devilishly scary still and challenging.
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 - TW has been a vastly improving sports franchise the past half-decade, and this entry is no disappointment. The Wii Sports template for golf was imrpoved upon and made easier in this classic.
4. Wii Sports - The pack-in game with the system does not disappoint, as the games show off the basic realm of control possible with the Wii-mote. Bowling is amazing, Tennis is scary realistic, and the other three are all fun to play over and over again. A nice introduction to the Wii.
3. Super Paper Mario - Although Super Mario Galaxy may change this perception, but the best Mario games to come out since Super Mario 64 opened the door to 3-D are all in the Paper Mario 2-D series. Of course there are some 3-D puzzles and aspects, but a primarily 2-D game shows how well the platformer games continue to be playable.
2. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - OK so I don't have my hands on this game yet, but it appears that this game will set the bar high for graphics, story, and first-person shooter controls on the Wii. Add in the fact that Metroid games are some of the most popular games out there, and you have a sure-fire winner. This could end up #1 eventually.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The most genius decision outside the design of the Wii was Nintendo pushing this game back a year to become a Wii release title instead of a second Gamecube title. The best entry in the Zelda series since Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess did everything right to set the bar high for Wii games. The controls are seamless, the graphics astounding, and the difficulty about perfect. Twilight Princess will be a hard game to beat, but the new Metroid and Mario games may just surpass this instant classic.
So there's the current Top 10 list for Wii, subject to many changes. The fact that there are 10 games to rank (and 6-7 of them very deserving) in one year is a good sign for this system, which gains market share and strength every day. Nintendo is entering a second golden era with the Wii for sure.
Tomorrow, we cover the top 15 Gamecube games.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The First Week
Nothing quite like the first day of school, and this will be the last time (one would hope) that a summer ends and school begins for me. Quite a difference 18 years makes though, as I remember being so scared and excited with a brand new backpack in one hand and a box lunch in the other as a 5 year old kid in New Matamoras, OH. Now I just grab my satchel of law books and laptop and rush out the door to prevent being late.
The first class of the new term was Securities Regulation with Professor Rose. Rose is a new guy who just came from Northwestern Law School, and the law school is really happy to get this guy. He calls on people alphabetically with a third of the alphabet on call each day of the week (MTW), so I guess we early alphabet people only need to care about Mondays. He not only is a powerpoint professor who puts his slides online, he seems to know a great deal what he is teaching from his experience as a broker. A good corporate professor not named Oesterle, who would have thought? I think I will enjoy that class, which is why I'm taking corporate type classes to fill the time this year anyways.
Sales with Professor Johnson is interesting also. There is plenty of mixed opinion out there on Professor Johnson, but she seemed OK in one class this week (Tuesday was cancelled). This is another Whaley book so I'm going to treat it as remedial Contracts since our 1L contracts was essentially UCC Article II anyways with common law mixed in. It should be easy but Contracts didn't turn out so hot, so I'll have to keep on it. The subject is kind of boring...however, with Professor Johnson being the only random Socratic method teacher this semester, that should be enough motivation to do the reading. Lots of my 1L class in there as well. Happy to have Larry in the class and maybe we'll study group despite our terribly different study styles (me being last minute and him starting early). More on this class later when we've had more of them as Professor Johnson is hard to get a read on this early.
AK and I were late to Johnson's class and she is a stickler about attendance and being on time (whatever floats your boat), so we got our proverbial tongue lashings at the beginning of class. Shouldn't be too hard to make a class after an hour and a half lunch break, unless you go to Eddie George's Grill apparently. I like EG's place, but on this day they were not very busy and took literally 55 minutes from the time we ordered to the time the food arrived. Then half the food had to be sent back because the orders of chicken wings were ice cold and the steak was medium rare for somebody who dislikes the sight of any pink. So I wolfed down mine and AK had his boxed up to go when the wings were warmed again, but still we were late. Thanks EG's. Word to the wise...maybe avoid that lunch destination until they get quicker service (probably when the undergrads come back). Even though that's Johnson's pet peeve, at least AK and I got our customary tardiness out of the way on the first class.
The other two classes are only scheduled once a week, which is unfortunate considering they are going to be my two favorite classes. Supreme Court Lit with Judge Sutton should be as much fun as the State Con Law seminar was. I'll take a more active role in class too as I was all but dead silent in class discussions last semester (too many very assertive 3L's in his seminars). This seminar is all 3L's and would be chock-full of A's even if there were a regular curve on seminars because there are tons of people from our 1L section and tons of OSLJ people in there. There should be plenty of good class discussion though with the people that are in there, which makes for a good seminar. I'll be writing on Justice Alito, so kind of a fresh slate there to work with. International IP with Lee should be a good time, and hopefully I will not need to miss any more class after missing the second hour this week to go to Cincinnati. The usual suspects are in that one for one more IP go-round with Lee.
All the JDR things seem to be going well finally. Got one of the two late articles and passed it off to associate editors. The other one is AWOL, but Erik finally is contacting the author to say "Where is it?" I'm hopeful that they just decide to not get published, but probably not. Just another year where the publication schedule will be pushed off by one author...we're used to it. This week the articles go to the authors, which means I'll need to work on my note for the last time as an author. Also in journal related news, Daniel and I got the Nintendo room up and running (well minus a TV) so that's good. In honor of the Nintendo room and because I was bored enough surfing the net to find some top 25 lists, I'm going to post one countdown a day this week of top games for each system. I'm sure nobody will agree but you can only go by your own experiences. we'll go backwards in time, so Monday look for the Top 10 Wii games (as you might imagine, this list is still preliminary). Tuesday Top 15 Gamecube, Wednesday Top 10 N64 (because there just are not 15 good games for that system), Thursday Top 15 SNES, and Friday Feature Top 15 NES.
Football season had officially returned with the high schoolers this past weekend. Marietta busted Parkersburg South for 25 unanswered points in the final quarter to win on the road 38-20. That's absolutely remarkable and might mean Marietta could seriously compete for the SEOAL title. The other team I follow (Frontier) got crushed in a league game week one 39-12, so another poor season for the tiny school I started in. But more importantly, this means we are only 6 days from BUCKEYE FOOTBALL! We have such an easy schedule for the first 8 weeks that barring a meltdown in Purdue or Washington, we should be 8-0 entering the beef of our schedule. Then we finish at Penn State, home against Wisconsin and Illinois, and at Michigan. The Big Ten schedule is also backloaded like the Big East was last year, as the last three weeks have the top three teams visiting each other (11/3 Wisconsin at OSU, 11/10 Michigan at Wisconsin, 11/17 OSU at Michigan). While I'm looking forward to November, just getting out there this weekend to watch the new Buckeyes grow up against Tressel's old school Youngstown State.
Went down to Cincinnati this week on Wednesday to watch the Reds play the Braves and go to dinner at the ballpark with the firm. It's nice that they move around their quarterly partner-associate dinner to various different places around the metro area, but of course any time I get free Reds tickets I'm not complaining. I could seriously tell that Keith and the guys wanted me to accept the offer, and of course Keith tells me about who he is interviewing at OSU OCI. Turns out Jim (the other summer) accepted his offer and we had a long chat after the game in the firm's parking garage. Kelley and I discussed things over after I received a couple more important rejection letters on Wednesday night...and we have big news. I ACCEPTED THE OFFER! Had to call and turn down 3 callbacks, but 2 of those were firms I was not particularly interested in anymore based on location. We are happy to be done with it and be in a great firm in a good local city. Did not think last year at this time that I would be taking the Ohio bar exam, but that's how it is. Sharing Reds season tickets with Jim and his wife should be nice too. Now we can start looking at neighborhoods and houses to rent. Fun!
So now that those decisions are off the table and football season is starting, it really feels like school time again. That's all for now, but hopefully some of you will enjoy the lists coming this week (or will comment back with your own favorites). Have a good week!
The first class of the new term was Securities Regulation with Professor Rose. Rose is a new guy who just came from Northwestern Law School, and the law school is really happy to get this guy. He calls on people alphabetically with a third of the alphabet on call each day of the week (MTW), so I guess we early alphabet people only need to care about Mondays. He not only is a powerpoint professor who puts his slides online, he seems to know a great deal what he is teaching from his experience as a broker. A good corporate professor not named Oesterle, who would have thought? I think I will enjoy that class, which is why I'm taking corporate type classes to fill the time this year anyways.
Sales with Professor Johnson is interesting also. There is plenty of mixed opinion out there on Professor Johnson, but she seemed OK in one class this week (Tuesday was cancelled). This is another Whaley book so I'm going to treat it as remedial Contracts since our 1L contracts was essentially UCC Article II anyways with common law mixed in. It should be easy but Contracts didn't turn out so hot, so I'll have to keep on it. The subject is kind of boring...however, with Professor Johnson being the only random Socratic method teacher this semester, that should be enough motivation to do the reading. Lots of my 1L class in there as well. Happy to have Larry in the class and maybe we'll study group despite our terribly different study styles (me being last minute and him starting early). More on this class later when we've had more of them as Professor Johnson is hard to get a read on this early.
AK and I were late to Johnson's class and she is a stickler about attendance and being on time (whatever floats your boat), so we got our proverbial tongue lashings at the beginning of class. Shouldn't be too hard to make a class after an hour and a half lunch break, unless you go to Eddie George's Grill apparently. I like EG's place, but on this day they were not very busy and took literally 55 minutes from the time we ordered to the time the food arrived. Then half the food had to be sent back because the orders of chicken wings were ice cold and the steak was medium rare for somebody who dislikes the sight of any pink. So I wolfed down mine and AK had his boxed up to go when the wings were warmed again, but still we were late. Thanks EG's. Word to the wise...maybe avoid that lunch destination until they get quicker service (probably when the undergrads come back). Even though that's Johnson's pet peeve, at least AK and I got our customary tardiness out of the way on the first class.
The other two classes are only scheduled once a week, which is unfortunate considering they are going to be my two favorite classes. Supreme Court Lit with Judge Sutton should be as much fun as the State Con Law seminar was. I'll take a more active role in class too as I was all but dead silent in class discussions last semester (too many very assertive 3L's in his seminars). This seminar is all 3L's and would be chock-full of A's even if there were a regular curve on seminars because there are tons of people from our 1L section and tons of OSLJ people in there. There should be plenty of good class discussion though with the people that are in there, which makes for a good seminar. I'll be writing on Justice Alito, so kind of a fresh slate there to work with. International IP with Lee should be a good time, and hopefully I will not need to miss any more class after missing the second hour this week to go to Cincinnati. The usual suspects are in that one for one more IP go-round with Lee.
All the JDR things seem to be going well finally. Got one of the two late articles and passed it off to associate editors. The other one is AWOL, but Erik finally is contacting the author to say "Where is it?" I'm hopeful that they just decide to not get published, but probably not. Just another year where the publication schedule will be pushed off by one author...we're used to it. This week the articles go to the authors, which means I'll need to work on my note for the last time as an author. Also in journal related news, Daniel and I got the Nintendo room up and running (well minus a TV) so that's good. In honor of the Nintendo room and because I was bored enough surfing the net to find some top 25 lists, I'm going to post one countdown a day this week of top games for each system. I'm sure nobody will agree but you can only go by your own experiences. we'll go backwards in time, so Monday look for the Top 10 Wii games (as you might imagine, this list is still preliminary). Tuesday Top 15 Gamecube, Wednesday Top 10 N64 (because there just are not 15 good games for that system), Thursday Top 15 SNES, and Friday Feature Top 15 NES.
Football season had officially returned with the high schoolers this past weekend. Marietta busted Parkersburg South for 25 unanswered points in the final quarter to win on the road 38-20. That's absolutely remarkable and might mean Marietta could seriously compete for the SEOAL title. The other team I follow (Frontier) got crushed in a league game week one 39-12, so another poor season for the tiny school I started in. But more importantly, this means we are only 6 days from BUCKEYE FOOTBALL! We have such an easy schedule for the first 8 weeks that barring a meltdown in Purdue or Washington, we should be 8-0 entering the beef of our schedule. Then we finish at Penn State, home against Wisconsin and Illinois, and at Michigan. The Big Ten schedule is also backloaded like the Big East was last year, as the last three weeks have the top three teams visiting each other (11/3 Wisconsin at OSU, 11/10 Michigan at Wisconsin, 11/17 OSU at Michigan). While I'm looking forward to November, just getting out there this weekend to watch the new Buckeyes grow up against Tressel's old school Youngstown State.
Went down to Cincinnati this week on Wednesday to watch the Reds play the Braves and go to dinner at the ballpark with the firm. It's nice that they move around their quarterly partner-associate dinner to various different places around the metro area, but of course any time I get free Reds tickets I'm not complaining. I could seriously tell that Keith and the guys wanted me to accept the offer, and of course Keith tells me about who he is interviewing at OSU OCI. Turns out Jim (the other summer) accepted his offer and we had a long chat after the game in the firm's parking garage. Kelley and I discussed things over after I received a couple more important rejection letters on Wednesday night...and we have big news. I ACCEPTED THE OFFER! Had to call and turn down 3 callbacks, but 2 of those were firms I was not particularly interested in anymore based on location. We are happy to be done with it and be in a great firm in a good local city. Did not think last year at this time that I would be taking the Ohio bar exam, but that's how it is. Sharing Reds season tickets with Jim and his wife should be nice too. Now we can start looking at neighborhoods and houses to rent. Fun!
So now that those decisions are off the table and football season is starting, it really feels like school time again. That's all for now, but hopefully some of you will enjoy the lists coming this week (or will comment back with your own favorites). Have a good week!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The End of The Summer, 3L Year Arrives
Well it's time to get back into old habits, especially sportswriting and blogging. I tracked down my old blog right before it got deleted and pulled many of the posts over here from 1L year and last year of undergrad. Some tough days back then, but some good days. But that's in the past and mostly for me, so let's move back to the present and catch-up from a much too short summer break.
My last entry listed my schedule for the year, and it's so hard to believe I'll be in class again Monday. Kind of sucks because I'm ready to be done with school, but this will likely be the last year of school ever for me so I should enjoy it to some extent. Went to go buy books yesterday and I'm pissed at the bookstores. Not only do they never stock many used books (although I went too late to get them this semester), they have trouble getting law books in before classes start for some classes. So I've got 5 of my 8 required books so far, but hopefully the others will come in next week. Doesn't seem like too much to ask, but OSU is not geared for us law students. I actually had to ask permission to go into the textbook section of Long's (one of two bookstores that carry law books) because they had it roped off "in preparation for the upcoming quarter." Undergrads don't start for another 4 weeks...so thanks for being so accomodating Long's. Speaking of slightly inconvenient changes, the construction following me around campus continues...the last part of the shell that was the Ohio Union came down 2 weeks ago. First the mechanical engineering building, then the main library and Oval, now the Union. At least the major points of campus will be nice to come back to :-)
I'll highlight some of the good and bad points from the past few weeks, but looking at the summer overall, it was a success. Went to two more Reds games, a third bobblehead night where we actually beat the Brewers and climbed out of the NL Central cellar, and of course the July 3 fireworks game for our anniversary. Diamond seats are more than amazing, and we're hoping to go at least once a year for that. Not only the best and most comfortable seats in the house right behind home plate, but also unlimited food/drinks (yes alcoholic) and service at your seat every inning. You also have a private lounge and bar underneath the seats as well. The seats are very expensive, but I think we definitely got our money's worth. Plus, we won the game against the Giants and saw Barry Bonds hit home run #752. Fireworks were very well done as well after the game. It's funny that Bonds has hit a home run in both the games I've seen him in and Griffey has yet to homer when I go see the Reds despite countless opportunities. Darn fate. If we settle there it will be nice to get Reds season tickets or a partial season.
Last time I wrote we were still in the middle of softball season and it was the day of the formal attorney-guest dinner. Well the formal dinner was dressy, but more like LBD instead of prom wear if you know what I mean. It's definitely a little intimidating speaking to people you work with when you still don't have a full-time offer from them and to other attorneys at the firm you have not worked with, but I'm sure it was worse for Kelley. The dinner was good and the conversation was OK. We sat at a table with Colin (a new associate), Kurt (undergrad co-op student for the summer), and Rich (a partner working half time on his way to retirement)...so lots of different views. Hopefully it will be a little better if we do it again next summer. Softball season ended on a high note as we won our last game in extra innings against the worst softball team I've ever seen. Of course I think that says something that we needed extra innings to beat them, but oh well at least we finished with our first win in over 2 years (they say). Everyone makes the playoffs and we lost our playoff game to a team we were very competitive with both times we played them. Still, it was a good end to the season.
The work itself became much more centered on patent applications. I got plenty of small research projects in all IP fields to fill some time when I got into a lull, but still there were days where I did not have much to do. I completed 8 or 9 patent applications wire to wire, so that's more than most summer clerks at most firms. Also did another office action, but only did 3 of those this summer. Of course the patent search online and at the USPTO was also good experience. One final thing I did work-wise was litigation discovery work and going to a Markman hearing. I couldn't ask for a better work experience for a first-time IP summer associate, and thankfully after being on this path of schooling for 6 years, I am confident this is what I want to do as a career.
The apartment drama never really ended. They finally moved us to the other building 2.5 weeks after they said they would, so I never again really felt unpacked at those apartments. Stephanie was really apologetic and sweet about the whole mess, and I figure Heather (who I subletted from) and her will probably not live together much longer. Too much displeasure between them. It happens even when you live with friends. I'll be looking forward to renting a house next year or a nicer apartment wherever we go. Speaking of friends, the shit hit the proverbial fan this summer at the Columbus apartment. Kelley was there only half the time and couldn't clean much, but Sarah did not help out hardly at all. It got so bad in the kitchen and living room that I wanted to freak out one of the last weekends I came home. Plus Sarah apparently brought her mom into the apartment without giving Kelley notice so the place wasn't picked up at all. That makes us look bad and that angers me a little. Plus Sarah doesn't realize what she says around Bruce (her new b/f) and us...things like "my co-workers cannot wait for me to move out of the slums" and "it only takes 5 minutes to empty the dishwasher, but I just want to relax when I get home from work." I never was particularly happy about wasting my spring break helping her move from Philadelphia into our spare room...but at least I was gone all summer. This arrangement was OK for three reasons: (1) it got Sarah to save up some money and get on her feet here in Columbus, (2) it saved us rent money we desperately needed while I had to sublet another apartment, and (3) it kept Kelley from having to be alone in Columbus this summer. Now Sarah is on her feet, the sublet is over, and I'm back full-time again...so thank God she is apartment hunting. Here's hoping she finds something soon. I'm happy to be a friend and all, but it's time to have my office, my closet space, and our storage space in the basement back. I'm not helping her move out either...that's for her and her family. C'est la vie.
Bruce is an interesting cat. He's quite a bit older than the rest of us and works at COSI with Sarah. Perfectly nice guy, but definitely has a strange streak. Beats me in the geeky department which is hard to do! The only problem is he never seems to treat Kelley and I with much respect, as if we're too young to be smart and mature. He actually opened up to me more when he found out I was an engineering student who went to law school, not some random law student (he was an engineer himself). You can get the picture. I wish them the best, just in a different apartment because I feel like our hospitality is not appreciated as much as it was in April and May.
For free time this summer I spent a lot of time working on ebaying and sorting my Magic collection to sell at Origins. I also read the entire Harry Potter series mostly on lunch breaks at work and of course went to see a good number of popcorn flicks. Best of that bunch was a tie between Knocked Up and Order of the Phoenix, but Ocean's 13 was enjoyable also. The Harry Potter series is the first series I've read that did not have a disappointing ending. While I still recommend the Left Behind series, the Mission Earth decaology, and the Dark Tower books...Harry Potter is the only series strong from start to finish. I could nitpick how slow the first half of book 7 was, but it gave Rowling enough time to wrap up every major loose end and character from the past 6 books (there were a lot). I was also disappointed that there were no more deaths in the main characters, but the primary thing I cared about was Snape and that turned out how I wanted. Anybody who wants to talk Harry Potter can certainly msg me, but I'm looking forward to seeing Movies 6 and 7. Should be a banner holiday movie season for Christmas 2008 with Harry Potter 6 and Star Trek 11.
Best week of the summer was our anniversary and Origins. Kelley and I went out to a very nice dinner at Melting Pot for our anniversary and of course she got her lovely three-stone diamond ring for the right hand. Then we did the Diamond seats Reds game as explained above and that was a good experience. Origins was back to being a blast this year after a year off. Thursday I offed the bulk of my collection for a hair less than I wanted (like $10 less but that's OK as I made about $3000 off the whole collection over the past year), and I played in the Settlers of Catan World Qualifier. You play 4 games against very good Settlers opponents and top scores counting wins and then points moves on to semifinals and finals on Sunday. I got one win and three second-place finishes, so I just missed the semifinals. Still a lot of fun playing a bunch of Settlers because I cannot get people to play much around here. Friday I branched out and tried a couple new things I've been itching to do for years. First was a LARP called Terrorwerks, which was an awesome experience. It was like playing Halo in real life, with Marines and air-soft rifles and alien creatures causing havoc. Also puzzles to figure out along the way. LARPS (live-action role playing games) are definitely a full-on experience, but I really enjoyed my first foray into one and will be trying to recruit my buddies into one next year. I also did one of the National Strategic Decision Making games (NSDM), which is a role-playing game where the controllers set up a scenario involving 3-4 countries and then certain conflicts arise while the players (which are assigned government or media or other leadership positions at the beginning and each having their own personal agendas) try to make deals and further the interest of their country. Our scenario involved Austrailia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. There were lots of people there who have done tons of these (in a room of 60 players, I bet there were 60% that had played 8-10 or more times all the way up to 50+ times...and these games last 4 or 8 hours apiece!). It was very awkward being the rookie and I ended up getting assigned Prime Minister of Vietnam, #2 in command over there. The geo-political knowledge and discussions of my fellow Vietnam players was way over my head...these guys know their geo-politics. Nevertheless, I just did what I could to make deals and not look like a fool. At the end of the game the controllers pick the top 9 individual players in order and recognize them for their great play. I think our group of core leaders clearly did the best for Vietnam and did better than Indonesia and Austrailia, but the shocker was that I was named #1 overall and the winner of the NSDM. This is no small deal to these people, and the rest of the weekend I kept running into people who played the game and congratulated me on my performance. I was kind of shell-shocked, but hey I guess I beat 60 other guys at a game using the lovely beginner's luck. I don't think I'll do that again despite my win because it was a little too over my head, but good times. Friday night Kelley came down and we tried Palabra but nobody else signed up to play. Bummer. Saturday we skipped Killer Bunnies and tried out a bunch of games in the Exhibit Hall (we brought home tons of new games this year and a mega-bagful of dice for Kelley since that's her thing). We played in the Apples to Apples National Championship and Kelley made the final table. I just missed the final table but won a copy of the game in a consolation game. That's a great party game if you have not tried it. Sunday I did some final shopping at the Exhibit Hall and watched the Settlers tournament final, which was for a trip to the World Championships in Germany. Looking forward to going next year and maybe actually getting the gang to go, as it was kind of lonely this year with Tom not going and Shep not coming up.
All of a sudden it was time for the Loyola patent interview program. My insistent bugging and pleading with the career services office (and Jon getting 15 interviews last year while I had 13) finally got some results and OSU sent twice as many as they ever have to the program, 17 people! I got to hang out with some 2L's and a couple 3L's as well as Jim from WHE while I was there. Ended up with 12 interviews when it was all said and done, and they all were easy conversations as you lose a lot of the pressure when you think you have an offer in the pocket. Plus a couple firms were repeats of last year and my experience/resume have only gotten better than last year so those went really well. Highlights were a Charlotte GP firm, a St. Louis branch of a Washington boutique, a laid-back California boutique, and a couple of really solid Indy firms. The NYC firm, Chicago firms, Texas firm, and Michigan firm all would have to woo me pretty well after what I saw in the initial interview. I doubled or tripled my nice clothes wardrobe the week before Loyola and bought new shoes, which messed up my feet badly on Friday. I'm still dealing with it over 2 weeks later, and I think it was a case of sesamoiditis. Essentially I cannot jog or play tennis or go bowling or anything because it was too painful and hard enough to walk without limping. It's finally getting better though, so that's good news. Much more painful than that ingrown toenail on the same toe from last year around this time.
Then it was time for JDR Orientation and the only 2 on-campus interviews I'm doing. Orientation was a long 4 days of hard work, but I think it all came off well and I did not get any complaints from the new staffers. They will be handing in their first Acc-check Monday and then we start the process with the managing editors and then the authors before coming back for a second go-round. I'm so happy to be done with Orientation, but with gimping around in pain and having to run around and stand all the time...it certainly did not help my foot heal. Exec Editor is going to be a lot of work from time to time, but thankfully Orientation is one of the biggest jobs and it's over. Now I have to manage the staff and play the double role for a while as my note is going through the editing process now as well. I probably should have added more substance to it, but I also don't want to stretch it out too long. Maybe I'll attack it this week, maybe not. No big deal either way as I think it's in a good spot even if it is shorter than the other notes we are publishing.
Kelley and I have decided to go on a cruise for fall break, and we chose the one that we took for our first cruise 3 years ago. That one ended a day early and sucked because of hurricane Francis, so hopefully no repeat performance of that. I went back to Wood Herron for two more weeks of 3 days of work leading up to the partner's meeting on August 15, so I could know if I had an offer before I left the firm (and also so I could earn some more money before school). These weeks I stayed in cheap motels at night, but Kelley stayed with me the second week since she had all week off. On Wednesday I got the good news that I indeed do have an offer for full-time work next year. The offer is six figures in Cincinnati which is very exciting given cost of living and full benefits as well (free health insurance for entire family, 7.5% of salary paid into 401K by the firm with no matching required, moving/bar exam expenses, death and disability insurance, etc.). This offer is so good that Kelley and I wished we could accept on the spot, but I do want to see if my better resume opened more doors this year at loyola. I am done with first interviews and sent letters out, but I really only am tracking the 14 interviews. I've already got 4 responses, three no's and one callback with Leydig in Chicago (who I called back with last year). Plus now with the offer I can push the timetable a little bit, so we should have a fuller picture in 2 weeks I'd think. All early indications are pointing toward WHE, but let's not count out the important Charlotte, St. Louis, and Indy firms I mentioned above; as well as any others such as Leydig. Still, it's comforting to know you have a good full-time job at a great firm waiting for you. The only two law school friends I've talked to so far (PS and DE) also got offers and are accepting them straightaway. So hopefully I'll hear lots of good news from friends this week. The other two summers at WHE also got offers, and I know Jim will accept his. Steve is only a 2L this year so he may look elsewhere for his second summer before hopefully coming back. He is our best softball player...we need him!
I'll also be going back to WHE for part-time work on Thursdays and Fridays if I accept the offer. That's good because I'll keep touch with the firm and also make better money than grading engineering papers. I'll also get to do a little bit of what I love as opposed to the likely boring coursework I'm taking as a 3L. Yay to bar exam prep. Also going down to the firm for the quarterly associate-partner dinner Wednesday because they are eating at the Club in Great American Ball Park and going to the Braves-Reds game afterwards. It's the fourth and final bobblehead night, so we'll have a complete set from the summer of 2007 as well. Should be a fun time. Also doing a fantasy football league with others at the firm, so I'll let you know how that goes if I remember. I tried a few different draft strategies in my 3 public leagues and this firm league...see if any of them work.
Also I'll be in charge of the NFL football pickem pool this season. Please email me if you want details, but it will be $20 buy-in for the entire season with payout only to first place unless we get ten or more people. We've only had 4-8 in the past three seasons, so hopefully we get more this season.
Between sportswriting, JDR exec ed duties, National Moot Court this semester, and classes...I'll be lucky to regularly update the blog. But I'm hopeful to keep my usual pace of the past 2 years of law school, at least once a week or so. We'll see you around.
PS - Went to The Beach waterpark Thursday. Why would anybody go there instead of King's Island? The Beach = lame. At least IMHO.
My last entry listed my schedule for the year, and it's so hard to believe I'll be in class again Monday. Kind of sucks because I'm ready to be done with school, but this will likely be the last year of school ever for me so I should enjoy it to some extent. Went to go buy books yesterday and I'm pissed at the bookstores. Not only do they never stock many used books (although I went too late to get them this semester), they have trouble getting law books in before classes start for some classes. So I've got 5 of my 8 required books so far, but hopefully the others will come in next week. Doesn't seem like too much to ask, but OSU is not geared for us law students. I actually had to ask permission to go into the textbook section of Long's (one of two bookstores that carry law books) because they had it roped off "in preparation for the upcoming quarter." Undergrads don't start for another 4 weeks...so thanks for being so accomodating Long's. Speaking of slightly inconvenient changes, the construction following me around campus continues...the last part of the shell that was the Ohio Union came down 2 weeks ago. First the mechanical engineering building, then the main library and Oval, now the Union. At least the major points of campus will be nice to come back to :-)
I'll highlight some of the good and bad points from the past few weeks, but looking at the summer overall, it was a success. Went to two more Reds games, a third bobblehead night where we actually beat the Brewers and climbed out of the NL Central cellar, and of course the July 3 fireworks game for our anniversary. Diamond seats are more than amazing, and we're hoping to go at least once a year for that. Not only the best and most comfortable seats in the house right behind home plate, but also unlimited food/drinks (yes alcoholic) and service at your seat every inning. You also have a private lounge and bar underneath the seats as well. The seats are very expensive, but I think we definitely got our money's worth. Plus, we won the game against the Giants and saw Barry Bonds hit home run #752. Fireworks were very well done as well after the game. It's funny that Bonds has hit a home run in both the games I've seen him in and Griffey has yet to homer when I go see the Reds despite countless opportunities. Darn fate. If we settle there it will be nice to get Reds season tickets or a partial season.
Last time I wrote we were still in the middle of softball season and it was the day of the formal attorney-guest dinner. Well the formal dinner was dressy, but more like LBD instead of prom wear if you know what I mean. It's definitely a little intimidating speaking to people you work with when you still don't have a full-time offer from them and to other attorneys at the firm you have not worked with, but I'm sure it was worse for Kelley. The dinner was good and the conversation was OK. We sat at a table with Colin (a new associate), Kurt (undergrad co-op student for the summer), and Rich (a partner working half time on his way to retirement)...so lots of different views. Hopefully it will be a little better if we do it again next summer. Softball season ended on a high note as we won our last game in extra innings against the worst softball team I've ever seen. Of course I think that says something that we needed extra innings to beat them, but oh well at least we finished with our first win in over 2 years (they say). Everyone makes the playoffs and we lost our playoff game to a team we were very competitive with both times we played them. Still, it was a good end to the season.
The work itself became much more centered on patent applications. I got plenty of small research projects in all IP fields to fill some time when I got into a lull, but still there were days where I did not have much to do. I completed 8 or 9 patent applications wire to wire, so that's more than most summer clerks at most firms. Also did another office action, but only did 3 of those this summer. Of course the patent search online and at the USPTO was also good experience. One final thing I did work-wise was litigation discovery work and going to a Markman hearing. I couldn't ask for a better work experience for a first-time IP summer associate, and thankfully after being on this path of schooling for 6 years, I am confident this is what I want to do as a career.
The apartment drama never really ended. They finally moved us to the other building 2.5 weeks after they said they would, so I never again really felt unpacked at those apartments. Stephanie was really apologetic and sweet about the whole mess, and I figure Heather (who I subletted from) and her will probably not live together much longer. Too much displeasure between them. It happens even when you live with friends. I'll be looking forward to renting a house next year or a nicer apartment wherever we go. Speaking of friends, the shit hit the proverbial fan this summer at the Columbus apartment. Kelley was there only half the time and couldn't clean much, but Sarah did not help out hardly at all. It got so bad in the kitchen and living room that I wanted to freak out one of the last weekends I came home. Plus Sarah apparently brought her mom into the apartment without giving Kelley notice so the place wasn't picked up at all. That makes us look bad and that angers me a little. Plus Sarah doesn't realize what she says around Bruce (her new b/f) and us...things like "my co-workers cannot wait for me to move out of the slums" and "it only takes 5 minutes to empty the dishwasher, but I just want to relax when I get home from work." I never was particularly happy about wasting my spring break helping her move from Philadelphia into our spare room...but at least I was gone all summer. This arrangement was OK for three reasons: (1) it got Sarah to save up some money and get on her feet here in Columbus, (2) it saved us rent money we desperately needed while I had to sublet another apartment, and (3) it kept Kelley from having to be alone in Columbus this summer. Now Sarah is on her feet, the sublet is over, and I'm back full-time again...so thank God she is apartment hunting. Here's hoping she finds something soon. I'm happy to be a friend and all, but it's time to have my office, my closet space, and our storage space in the basement back. I'm not helping her move out either...that's for her and her family. C'est la vie.
Bruce is an interesting cat. He's quite a bit older than the rest of us and works at COSI with Sarah. Perfectly nice guy, but definitely has a strange streak. Beats me in the geeky department which is hard to do! The only problem is he never seems to treat Kelley and I with much respect, as if we're too young to be smart and mature. He actually opened up to me more when he found out I was an engineering student who went to law school, not some random law student (he was an engineer himself). You can get the picture. I wish them the best, just in a different apartment because I feel like our hospitality is not appreciated as much as it was in April and May.
For free time this summer I spent a lot of time working on ebaying and sorting my Magic collection to sell at Origins. I also read the entire Harry Potter series mostly on lunch breaks at work and of course went to see a good number of popcorn flicks. Best of that bunch was a tie between Knocked Up and Order of the Phoenix, but Ocean's 13 was enjoyable also. The Harry Potter series is the first series I've read that did not have a disappointing ending. While I still recommend the Left Behind series, the Mission Earth decaology, and the Dark Tower books...Harry Potter is the only series strong from start to finish. I could nitpick how slow the first half of book 7 was, but it gave Rowling enough time to wrap up every major loose end and character from the past 6 books (there were a lot). I was also disappointed that there were no more deaths in the main characters, but the primary thing I cared about was Snape and that turned out how I wanted. Anybody who wants to talk Harry Potter can certainly msg me, but I'm looking forward to seeing Movies 6 and 7. Should be a banner holiday movie season for Christmas 2008 with Harry Potter 6 and Star Trek 11.
Best week of the summer was our anniversary and Origins. Kelley and I went out to a very nice dinner at Melting Pot for our anniversary and of course she got her lovely three-stone diamond ring for the right hand. Then we did the Diamond seats Reds game as explained above and that was a good experience. Origins was back to being a blast this year after a year off. Thursday I offed the bulk of my collection for a hair less than I wanted (like $10 less but that's OK as I made about $3000 off the whole collection over the past year), and I played in the Settlers of Catan World Qualifier. You play 4 games against very good Settlers opponents and top scores counting wins and then points moves on to semifinals and finals on Sunday. I got one win and three second-place finishes, so I just missed the semifinals. Still a lot of fun playing a bunch of Settlers because I cannot get people to play much around here. Friday I branched out and tried a couple new things I've been itching to do for years. First was a LARP called Terrorwerks, which was an awesome experience. It was like playing Halo in real life, with Marines and air-soft rifles and alien creatures causing havoc. Also puzzles to figure out along the way. LARPS (live-action role playing games) are definitely a full-on experience, but I really enjoyed my first foray into one and will be trying to recruit my buddies into one next year. I also did one of the National Strategic Decision Making games (NSDM), which is a role-playing game where the controllers set up a scenario involving 3-4 countries and then certain conflicts arise while the players (which are assigned government or media or other leadership positions at the beginning and each having their own personal agendas) try to make deals and further the interest of their country. Our scenario involved Austrailia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. There were lots of people there who have done tons of these (in a room of 60 players, I bet there were 60% that had played 8-10 or more times all the way up to 50+ times...and these games last 4 or 8 hours apiece!). It was very awkward being the rookie and I ended up getting assigned Prime Minister of Vietnam, #2 in command over there. The geo-political knowledge and discussions of my fellow Vietnam players was way over my head...these guys know their geo-politics. Nevertheless, I just did what I could to make deals and not look like a fool. At the end of the game the controllers pick the top 9 individual players in order and recognize them for their great play. I think our group of core leaders clearly did the best for Vietnam and did better than Indonesia and Austrailia, but the shocker was that I was named #1 overall and the winner of the NSDM. This is no small deal to these people, and the rest of the weekend I kept running into people who played the game and congratulated me on my performance. I was kind of shell-shocked, but hey I guess I beat 60 other guys at a game using the lovely beginner's luck. I don't think I'll do that again despite my win because it was a little too over my head, but good times. Friday night Kelley came down and we tried Palabra but nobody else signed up to play. Bummer. Saturday we skipped Killer Bunnies and tried out a bunch of games in the Exhibit Hall (we brought home tons of new games this year and a mega-bagful of dice for Kelley since that's her thing). We played in the Apples to Apples National Championship and Kelley made the final table. I just missed the final table but won a copy of the game in a consolation game. That's a great party game if you have not tried it. Sunday I did some final shopping at the Exhibit Hall and watched the Settlers tournament final, which was for a trip to the World Championships in Germany. Looking forward to going next year and maybe actually getting the gang to go, as it was kind of lonely this year with Tom not going and Shep not coming up.
All of a sudden it was time for the Loyola patent interview program. My insistent bugging and pleading with the career services office (and Jon getting 15 interviews last year while I had 13) finally got some results and OSU sent twice as many as they ever have to the program, 17 people! I got to hang out with some 2L's and a couple 3L's as well as Jim from WHE while I was there. Ended up with 12 interviews when it was all said and done, and they all were easy conversations as you lose a lot of the pressure when you think you have an offer in the pocket. Plus a couple firms were repeats of last year and my experience/resume have only gotten better than last year so those went really well. Highlights were a Charlotte GP firm, a St. Louis branch of a Washington boutique, a laid-back California boutique, and a couple of really solid Indy firms. The NYC firm, Chicago firms, Texas firm, and Michigan firm all would have to woo me pretty well after what I saw in the initial interview. I doubled or tripled my nice clothes wardrobe the week before Loyola and bought new shoes, which messed up my feet badly on Friday. I'm still dealing with it over 2 weeks later, and I think it was a case of sesamoiditis. Essentially I cannot jog or play tennis or go bowling or anything because it was too painful and hard enough to walk without limping. It's finally getting better though, so that's good news. Much more painful than that ingrown toenail on the same toe from last year around this time.
Then it was time for JDR Orientation and the only 2 on-campus interviews I'm doing. Orientation was a long 4 days of hard work, but I think it all came off well and I did not get any complaints from the new staffers. They will be handing in their first Acc-check Monday and then we start the process with the managing editors and then the authors before coming back for a second go-round. I'm so happy to be done with Orientation, but with gimping around in pain and having to run around and stand all the time...it certainly did not help my foot heal. Exec Editor is going to be a lot of work from time to time, but thankfully Orientation is one of the biggest jobs and it's over. Now I have to manage the staff and play the double role for a while as my note is going through the editing process now as well. I probably should have added more substance to it, but I also don't want to stretch it out too long. Maybe I'll attack it this week, maybe not. No big deal either way as I think it's in a good spot even if it is shorter than the other notes we are publishing.
Kelley and I have decided to go on a cruise for fall break, and we chose the one that we took for our first cruise 3 years ago. That one ended a day early and sucked because of hurricane Francis, so hopefully no repeat performance of that. I went back to Wood Herron for two more weeks of 3 days of work leading up to the partner's meeting on August 15, so I could know if I had an offer before I left the firm (and also so I could earn some more money before school). These weeks I stayed in cheap motels at night, but Kelley stayed with me the second week since she had all week off. On Wednesday I got the good news that I indeed do have an offer for full-time work next year. The offer is six figures in Cincinnati which is very exciting given cost of living and full benefits as well (free health insurance for entire family, 7.5% of salary paid into 401K by the firm with no matching required, moving/bar exam expenses, death and disability insurance, etc.). This offer is so good that Kelley and I wished we could accept on the spot, but I do want to see if my better resume opened more doors this year at loyola. I am done with first interviews and sent letters out, but I really only am tracking the 14 interviews. I've already got 4 responses, three no's and one callback with Leydig in Chicago (who I called back with last year). Plus now with the offer I can push the timetable a little bit, so we should have a fuller picture in 2 weeks I'd think. All early indications are pointing toward WHE, but let's not count out the important Charlotte, St. Louis, and Indy firms I mentioned above; as well as any others such as Leydig. Still, it's comforting to know you have a good full-time job at a great firm waiting for you. The only two law school friends I've talked to so far (PS and DE) also got offers and are accepting them straightaway. So hopefully I'll hear lots of good news from friends this week. The other two summers at WHE also got offers, and I know Jim will accept his. Steve is only a 2L this year so he may look elsewhere for his second summer before hopefully coming back. He is our best softball player...we need him!
I'll also be going back to WHE for part-time work on Thursdays and Fridays if I accept the offer. That's good because I'll keep touch with the firm and also make better money than grading engineering papers. I'll also get to do a little bit of what I love as opposed to the likely boring coursework I'm taking as a 3L. Yay to bar exam prep. Also going down to the firm for the quarterly associate-partner dinner Wednesday because they are eating at the Club in Great American Ball Park and going to the Braves-Reds game afterwards. It's the fourth and final bobblehead night, so we'll have a complete set from the summer of 2007 as well. Should be a fun time. Also doing a fantasy football league with others at the firm, so I'll let you know how that goes if I remember. I tried a few different draft strategies in my 3 public leagues and this firm league...see if any of them work.
Also I'll be in charge of the NFL football pickem pool this season. Please email me if you want details, but it will be $20 buy-in for the entire season with payout only to first place unless we get ten or more people. We've only had 4-8 in the past three seasons, so hopefully we get more this season.
Between sportswriting, JDR exec ed duties, National Moot Court this semester, and classes...I'll be lucky to regularly update the blog. But I'm hopeful to keep my usual pace of the past 2 years of law school, at least once a week or so. We'll see you around.
PS - Went to The Beach waterpark Thursday. Why would anybody go there instead of King's Island? The Beach = lame. At least IMHO.
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