I've been out of commission for the past week due to a hand injury. I'm fine now.

I recently (last weekend) finished playing through Metroid Zero Mission on Gameboy Advance. It's a rehash of the original Metroid that came out back in '86. Basically, they took the original map layout, added some stuff to it, added crouching and diagonal shooting, a few new obtainable abilities, a few new areas, a map system, and some random other new stuff. Playing through it, I'd say it's more than 50% new. And it completely kicks ass.

Here's what they didn't do to it: They didn't screw it up by telling you where you need to go. I don't know if you've played Metroid Fusion (or just about any game these days, but I'll use Metroid Fusion as an example), but in it, every move you make is told to you before you make it. You're not given a choice of what you want to do or where you want to go now. You have to do what the computer tells you to. Only then do you get to move on to the next point. It's not just that I have to do what the computer tells me that bothers me, it's also the fact that it's telling me where to go and what to do. Metroid Zero Mission has none of that. You've gotta figure out everything, just like in the original, only there's a hell of a lot more to figure out now.

Metroid is about exploration. The enemies aren't that tough, and they don't constantly barrage you, so I wouldn't even classify it as an action game, although it certainly has its share of action. It's all about discovering that new area, figuring out where you need to go and how to get there. Metroid Zero Mission has a new map system, which shows you where you've been, which is good, especially for those of us with bad memories. They also have map stations, where you can download a portion of the map, which is good because it aids you in your exploration, but bad because it kind of spoils an important part of the game. Another thing that's good and bad is that it shows you on the map where the upgrades are. While it cuts down your time searching vainly for that missile upgrade where it's not, it also pretty much takes the searching out of the equation, because once you know where it is, there's not much searching to be done.

The graphics in Zero Mission are, as expected, a hell of a lot better. With backgrounds and more unique blocks of terrain, you get a much better feel for where you are. This helps with the whole exploration thing without ruining anything. It also creates more of a feel of "I haven't been here before". There's also saving, which is invariably nice.

I beat the original Metroid I don't know how many times, but it's a lot. Still, very little was familiar to me. Ah, and if you don't buy my comparison, there's another extra in the game you should check out. After you beat it the first time, go into the options menu, and play the original Metroid.

According to this recent

I give up on this thing you humans call breakfast. I waste a whole 10 minutes in the morning eating, and it does nothing for me. I'm not hungry when I wake up, I eat breakfast so I won't get hungry later, but then I get hungry at the same time and with the same intensity as I would had I skipped breakfast. Also, it doesn't help me stay awake. I fall asleep just as often as when I skip breakfast. It doesn't give me energy, because I still gravitate towards the walls when walking down the hall in the AM.

I think my time in the morning is better spent sleeping. At least that helps with something. It's certainly warmer.