I’ve been a video game junky this month. Just after Christmas I
went out and bought two new titles for the GameCube, Metroid
Prime and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. The former is a
first person shooter; you’re a bounty hunter in a really neat suit of
powered armor, and you’re up against the Space Pirates. No, really!
The latter is a Dungeon’s and Dragons (TM) game, the latest in the
Baldur’s Gate series. I’ve been playing them alternately.

Baldur’s Gate is a traditional hack-and-slash dungeon crawl
with really nifty graphics. Playing it was a lot like playing the
other D&D-style games I’ve been playing for years (notably Angband);
and if the graphics are better the game model is considerably less
sophisticated. But it was fun; I finished it this afternoon, killing
the last nasty monster with much less trouble than I expected.

Metroid Prime shows considerably more effort and
imagination, and it’s a lot of fun. In your powered suit you’ve got
(ultimately) four different kinds of ray gun, plus missiles. In
addition, you can turn yourself into a small metal ball and roll
through tight spaces. It’s a kick. There is but one thing I
really dislike about Metroid Prime–they don’t give you nearly
enough opportunities to save your game, which is annoying in several
different ways. I’ve been stuck in the same spot for almost a week;
every time I play I do a little better, and get a little bit
farther…and then die before getting to the next save station. Ugh.
Game designers, take note–if there’s more than twenty minutes of game
play between save stations, you’re doing something seriously
wrong.