metroid prime overhyped?

[Shard O'Glase]

I bought metroid prime this weekend, and um its good, but it aint the holy grail of games either that i keep hearing about.

Now I don't want spoilers, I'm fairly early in the game having landed on the planet, and gotten, beam weapon/missles/ morph ball back. But what did you like about the game that made it one fo the reasons to get the cube?(obviosuly directed at those who've said it rocks beyond belief etc)

I mean yeah I'm haing some fun, I run, jump, and shoot, and find things all cool. But the view seems wierd like your height is off somehow to me, you can't really look around, and the skill requirements seem kind of low. I'd liek to see if there's something gameplay wise I'm missing.

So anyways what made you like this game so much?

 

[Ristamar]

The Space Station and beginnings of the Chozo Ruins are a bit slow and forgiving, but once you get into the Phendrana Drifts, the 'hardcore' stuff starts kicking in...

But, anyway, just to give general reasons why Metroid Prime rocked:

- Superb presentation
- Great graphics
- Silky smooth 60 frames per second
- Gorgeous environments and atmosphere with no 'room cloning,' every room is unique in structure and design
- Superb level design
- Great implementation of visors and HUD
- Immersive -- it feels like you're actually playing the character, Samus, rather than the generic 'floating camera with a gun' approach
- Boss battles are second to none
- Excellent implementation of first-person platforming, which is usually a pain in the arse
- Plays like a Metroid game, not a FPS
- Excellent non-linear storytelling via scanning
- The Morph Ball
- The Grappling Beam (which should have been put to more use, IMO)

Basically, Prime plays like Super Metroid, except in a 3D environment. Retro Studios pulled off the transition flawlessly. Considering Super Metroid was often touted as one of the best games ever made by many critics, this is a good thing.

The game truly is a work of art, but like all works of art, it's not universally appreciated. If you never really liked Metroid games (or newer Castlevania games, since Konami basically ripped off the Metroid formula, like in Symphony of the Night), then Prime probably isn't the game for you. If it is your cup of tea, though, you're in for a real treat.

P.S. -- If you happen to get through it all and still feel unchallenged, you can unlock the Hard Mode once you beat the game.

 

[Ristamar]

Oh, one other thing... if you'd rather have to figure things out for yourself instead of being led around by the nose, turn the Help System off! I had that thing disabled within the first minute of the game. It spoils the exploration aspects and really smothers you, like a watchful mother that's afraid of letting her child take a step in the wrong direction. Total weak sauce. The astute gamer doesn't need that crap. Keeping it off forces you to be observant and thorough (and possibly even take notes of where you may need to backtrack).

 

[John Crichton]

For me, the game is flat-out fun.

The combats are fair but challenging. The graphics are awesome, imaginative and inspiring. And it feels like Metroid which was the key for me as I loved the NES & SNES versions. It has style not only visually but with the "story" as well. It's up to you how much of the story you want to know about.

Ristamar mentioned it but the best thing for me was the jumping. I hate first person type games in general (except Half-Life, that was great) mostly because the jumping is a pain. But the jumping in Prime works and doesn't cause unexpected deaths. Really help immersion.

And as for the challenging parts: I agree with the Drifts. When you get there things start to change...

 

[RyanL]

It's hard to say exactly what I loved about Metroid Prime. I'll just say that I did indeed like the game very much, and I hope that you enjoy it more as you work through it.

I will say this about the difficulty level: Some of the bosses later in the game are very challenging. Either that I just really suck at games.

-Ryan

 

[Ristamar]

I will say this about the difficulty level: Some of the bosses later in the game are very challenging. Either that I just really suck at games.

-Ryan

And it also depends on how many available missile/energy tank upgrades you scavenged.

 

[Granduke]

Shard-

I second what Ristamr says-

You'll like it. It gets better. This game captures what 2d Metroid was all about. It isnt a shooter, Metroid is all about exploration and figuring out the levels-which are fantastic. You will do alot of backtracking, which is part iof the fun. As you gain new stuff, new areas in levels you previously trekked thru will open up.

Also the game rewards your exploring everywhere and finding every powerup and energy tank and missile expansion. It really makes you think how to use your abilites of your suits and visors and apply it to the environment. Coolness

The button layout kinda irked me- I died against some baddies b/c of it but the trip is well worth it.

 

[RyanL]

I think that the game designers did an effective job of using a combination of visuals and music to evoke a certain atmosphere. For example, Phendrana Drifts felt lonely and remote to me. I didn't want to go there because it actually made me feel sad on some level.

-Ryan

 

[Shard O'Glase]

The game torked me off last night, though at no fault of the game. I just did the get the morph ball bomb section, and I was activating all the devices, and I did them all cause the countdown music stopped. I jump up to the platform, turn a corner and the game freezes on me.

1st time the cube ever did that to me.

 

[RyanL]

The game torked me off last night, though at no fault of the game. I just did the get the morph ball bomb section, and I was activating all the devices, and I did them all cause the countdown music stopped. I jump up to the platform, turn a corner and the game freezes on me.

1st time the cube ever did that to me.

That sucks. I've heard a lot of complaints about Metroid Prime freezing, though it never happened to me. It's unfortunate that it had to happen to a game that had you "on the fence", so to speak.

My understanding is that it's actually not a problem with the game, but rather with the cube hardware itself.

-Ryan