Posted August 29, 2007 Variety Review: The Nintendo Wii has made a name for itself by appealing to casual videogame players, but "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" is the system's first decent title that isn't really for them. Gamers who have complained that the Wii is just for Grandma to go virtual bowling will finally find the kind of tightly constructed, flashy sci-fi adventure they love. That should generate some good will, but it will hardly draw the hardcore away from Sony and Microsoft. Ultimately, gamers looking for a well paced, thrill-a-minute shooter with a compelling narrative are going to be disappointed. "Halo" this ain't. Along with the Mario Bros. and Zelda, Metroid is one of Nintendo's trio of long-lasting franchises. Bounty hunter Samus Aran, "Metroid's" space traveling heroine, has starred in ten different games in the past 20 years and also had an unsuccessful flirtation with Hollywood after director John Woo optioned the rights. But in all that time and with all those sequels, the "Metroid" experience has stayed largely the same: a staccato shuffle of quick shoot-outs, methodical exploration, frantic battles, puzzles in which Samus turns into a rolling ball, and long stretches of wondering just what the heck you're supposed to do next. "Metroid Prime 3," the third installment since the franchise became a first person shooter for consoles, follows that formula to a tee. It's not a very coherent game, particularly to anyone who didn't closely study the last two. In pop culture parlance, "Metroid Prime" 1 and 2 were origin stories about the villain Dark Samus. Now "Corruption" presents the pay-off confrontation between "good" Samus and her dark counterpart. The villainess flits about, without introduction, messing up stuff. Giant disembodied brains offer instructions and terse hints. There's much ado about shield generators and phazon and chozos. In addition to being borderline nonsensical, "Metroid Prime 3" is also difficult. It has the audacity to say, "Welcome to this strange place. Now go figure it out." Much of the game consists of groping around strange places, puzzling out devices, and traveling back and forth to find new powers, which serve also as "keys" to get to previously unreachable areas. The locations fold in on themselves in ridiculous unlikely ways, like an alien funhouse, honeycombed with secret doors and shortcuts. It's two parts frustration and one part immensely satisfying "A-ha!" moments, having more in common with the "Myst" games than shooters like "Halo." The good news is how wonderfully "Metroid" has survived the jump to the Wii. Developer Retro Studios has created the first quality action game that was clearly built for the console's motion-sensitive interface, rather than just shoehorned onto it. Unsurprisingly, the Wii-mote serves as a weapon pointer, but there are plenty of Wii-specific gimmicks, such as yanking panels open, turning locks, and pressing buttons. With subtle but effective use of the first-person helmet interface (for instance, the character's breath fogs up the lower part of the screen), "Metroid Prime 3" does a splendid job with its "you-are-there" vibe. Gorgeous graphics help, even if they are conspicuously chopped into small rooms to be loaded and played one at a time. Too much of the time, though, "Metroid Prime 3" is more tedious than epic. This is particularly true of the boss battles, which are exhaustive affairs requiring dedication, patience, and most importantly, a familiarity with the vocabulary of videogames: double jumping, circle strafing, shooting weak points for massive damage, etc. Those who previously used the Wii only for party games will need a 13 year-old boy to explain it all. That last sentence is just insulting. Also this guys isn't as 'casual' as he's pretending to be as you can tell from the massive damage quote. Basically its a terribly written and poor review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 zomg! variety hates the wii! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 shooting weak points for massive damage, made me lol, hard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 What a shit review, really. Variety Review: In addition to being borderline nonsensical, "Metroid Prime 3" is also difficult. It has the audacity to say, "Welcome to this strange place. Now go figure it out." Much of the game consists of groping around strange places, puzzling out devices, and traveling back and forth to find new powers, which serve also as "keys" to get to previously unreachable areas. The locations fold in on themselves in ridiculous unlikely ways, like an alien funhouse, honeycombed with secret doors and shortcuts. It's two parts frustration and one part immensely satisfying "A-ha!" moments, having more in common with the "Myst" games than shooters like "Halo." What this guy calls non-sensical and ridiculous is the backbone of a Metroid game. I'm looking forward to it, as I know most of you are. shooting weak points for massive damage Classic. The only good point of that shitfest text. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 What the hell is variety anyway? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 What the hell is variety anyway? Says it all mate:heh: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 Too much of the time, though, "Metroid Prime 3" is more tedious than epic. This is particularly true of the boss battles, which are exhaustive affairs requiring dedication, patience, and most importantly, a familiarity with the vocabulary of videogames: double jumping, circle strafing, shooting weak points for massive damage, etc. Those who previously used the Wii only for party games will need a 13 year-old boy to explain it all. OMG you have to do something to achieve stuff! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 29, 2007 Secret message from Miyamoto! Can you hear me? This is Miyamoto. All you playing Metroid, can you hear me? Isn’t it fun? It’s been many years since I was involved in Metroid but this Metroid is the best, right? Make sure you play it all the way to the end. Hello, this is Iwata from Nintendo. You may not know from an outsiders point of view, but being a director is really hard! When things are really busy and stressful we (us directors) may look tired and sick, then people may feel sorry for us! But in my case, it's the opposite, I get fatter and fatter, so then people don't think I'm stressed at all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Secret message from Miyamoto! Can you hear me? This is Miyamoto. All you playing Metroid, can you hear me? Isn’t it fun? It’s been many years since I was involved in Metroid but this Metroid is the best, right? Make sure you play it all the way to the end. Hello, this is Iwata from Nintendo. You may not know from an outsiders point of view, but being a director is really hard! When things are really busy and stressful we (us directors) may look tired and sick, then people may feel sorry for us! But in my case, it's the opposite, I get fatter and fatter, so then people don't think I'm stressed at all! They're damn awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 It's funny when these non gaming mags review games, I bet these people will be the first to give Wii-Fit 10 out of 10, but shove a copy of Metroid under their nose and they look confused, bewildered and frustrated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Impressions: (spoiler-free) + ridiculously detailed environments! Im amazed at what Retro achieved with the hardware limitations + basic aiming/shooting is fun and handled well by the Wii remote + tinkering around with the ship controls is a nice touch + voice acting, while sometimes repetetive, is done well and often, particularly the soft feminine voice of the 'network' + with a few exceptions, the music is superb and sometimes nostalgic to past Metroid games -some of the controls such as lock-on strafing is hard to get a handle on and is sometimes downright disorienting. -Scanning is love/hate. Its a cool idea but gets old real quick and it disrupts the fluidity of the game and complicates the controls. I may be in the minority here but i would prefer Samus automatically scan necessary objects with the A button -im not happy with where the Missle button is but then again i cant think of another alternative In short, this game is worth every penny and the amount of effort put in makes the rest of the Wii library seem lazy and negligible Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 According to Peer on IGN, this game looks great even when played on a 100-inch screen...how have they kept it looking that good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 According to Peer on IGN, this game looks great even when played on a 100-inch screen...how have they kept it looking that good! Perhaps Retro's perspective for designing the graphics helped. They looked at what the machine can do (when compared to the GameCube) rather than what the machine can't do (when compared to PS3/360). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Variety Review: That's really terrible. He doesn't have any idea what the game's about. Impressions: (spoiler-free) Thanks for the impressions, still 1 1/2 months to go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Impressions: (spoiler-free) + ridiculously detailed environments! Im amazed at what Retro achieved with the hardware limitations + basic aiming/shooting is fun and handled well by the Wii remote + tinkering around with the ship controls is a nice touch + voice acting, while sometimes repetetive, is done well and often, particularly the soft feminine voice of the 'network' + with a few exceptions, the music is superb and sometimes nostalgic to past Metroid games -some of the controls such as lock-on strafing is hard to get a handle on and is sometimes downright disorienting. -Scanning is love/hate. Its a cool idea but gets old real quick and it disrupts the fluidity of the game and complicates the controls. I may be in the minority here but i would prefer Samus automatically scan necessary objects with the A button -im not happy with where the Missle button is but then again i cant think of another alternative In short, this game is worth every penny and the amount of effort put in makes the rest of the Wii library seem lazy and negligible You're so lucky! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Video Interview with Mark Pacini, Director of MP3:C. The interview contains infomation that no more Metriod games by Retro Studios for awhile. Mark Pacini: "We are taking a break from Metroid Series and from Samus. So, I think there will be sure other titles created. But as far as Retro Studos is concerned, we'll take a break for a little bit." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Video Interview with Mark Pacini, Director of MP3:C. The interview contains infomation that no more Metriod games by Retro Studios for awhile. Mark Pacini: "We are taking a break from Metroid Series and from Samus. So, I think there will be sure other titles created. But as far as Retro Studos is concerned, we'll take a break for a little bit." And by some strange coincidence, the Wii is just perfect for their main canned-for-Metroid game, Raven Blade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 I agree with everything Pit-Jr said! Exactly actually, i had the same niggles without reading his impressions! By far the best Wii game after Zelda, i could tell in the first 10 minutes. Graphically so far amazing, and every bit as detailed as the GC versions. and unlocking doors by turning the wii-mote is enough to buy the game alone. Seriously, if you love the other two metroid games and your slightly worried about the controls or anything else etc..just forget all your worry's now. It's sensational. Actually it could be the most action-packed game i've ever played, it's literally non-stop from the start and cool as ****. I hope to god it sells the amount it deserves too in all territories, it's one heck of a polished game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 I've returned! Since the bullshit of Nintendo PT (a forum of Portugal) i decide it to return here, and be more happy with a more decent and bigger community!^_^ Anyway, enough of off-topic. Did anyone played this game already? If so, can you please tell me if you agree with the note that gamespot gave it to the game? XD... I just wanna laugh a little bit :P P.S: My nick in the NPT forum was Shadow. Just for the portuguese members to recognize me. ^_^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 Europe Teaser Site Trailer, a few small spoilers (If you've watched all the channel vids you've probably seen everything in it). But awesome music. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 30, 2007 I agree with everything Pit-Jr said! Exactly actually, i had the same niggles without reading his impressions! By far the best Wii game after Zelda, i could tell in the first 10 minutes. Graphically so far amazing, and every bit as detailed as the GC versions. and unlocking doors by turning the wii-mote is enough to buy the game alone. Seriously, if you love the other two metroid games and your slightly worried about the controls or anything else etc..just forget all your worry's now. It's sensational. Actually it could be the most action-packed game i've ever played, it's literally non-stop from the start and cool as ****. I hope to god it sells the amount it deserves too in all territories, it's one heck of a polished game. About opening doors, how is it compared to Eledees/Elebits? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 31, 2007 I've returned! Since the bullshit of Nintendo PT (a forum of Portugal) i decide it to return here, and be more happy with a more decent and bigger community!^_^Anyway, enough of off-topic. Did anyone played this game already? If so, can you please tell me if you agree with the note that gamespot gave it to the game? XD... I just wanna laugh a little bit :P P.S: My nick in the NPT forum was Shadow. Just for the portuguese members to recognize me. ^_^ Yo Shadow! Didn't I speak with you on MSN the other day? lol OK, sorry to be offtopic. Another one for the Mafia! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 31, 2007 o i am enjoying this game so much!! it is awesome really awesome!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 31, 2007 About opening doors, how is it compared to Eledees/Elebits? It's better, much better. Actually it works perfectly everytime you have to do it. You hold 'A' to grab the handle/lever, pull the handle/lever back, turn the lock and then push the handle/lever forwards to unlock the door. Your literally opening a door , the feeling you get when you do it for the first time is worth the £40 alone. *ahem*, so yeah, i'm extremely excited about opening doors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 31, 2007 http://gonintendo.com/?p=23976 this isn't very good. has anyone experienced these problems? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
