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Retro Studios Stepping Back From Metroid For A Bit
Retro Studios, the makers of the games in the Metroid Prime series, has announced they'll be stepping back from the games for a bit now that Corruption is in stores. Comments from project director Mark Pacini discuss that decision and their interaction with the Wiimote: "I'm sure that there will be other titles created but as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we're taking a break for a little bit. We started with the core ideas of the game ... but we did not receive the information about the Wii controller until well into development. So we got a big surprise, of, hey, this is what we're going to do for the next console. Many things had to be refactored, but actually many things fell right into place. The Wii remote enables us to do things that we hadn't previously done in other Metroid games."
"Whoa there, Samus, put the arm cannon down, we don't want any trouble..."
They where mad that they had to redo things but other things worked better than they thought? I'd rather them take a break and come back to make an even better game
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
Doing other games should be good for them. There is a finite limit to the number of sequels you can make without having new ideas in the game. Other games with different premise will challenge them to do different things some of which might be very good to bring to a future series of metroid games. The way I see it, them taking a break keeps metroid from getting stale. I wish them well with all their future endeavors, (unless they get sold to microsoft)
It's about time!
First of all, MP3C is a game made for gamers...it uses every button on the Wii-mote and Nunchuck AND uses motion sensitivity AND aiming. You already know that the play control is better than any console experience (my trusty mouse is still more accurate). I will NEVER play a FPS using a Xbox 360 or PS3 controller...those controllers SUCK for FPS. In a single-player first-person shooter/adventure I would rather be aiming at the screen with my arm-cannon than moving a mouse because I feel like I'm in the game AND it's sooo much fun!
Secondly, Super Mario Strikers Charged is also a deep and complex game that uses almost every button, function, and feature on the Wii-mote and Nunchuck. Play it online against some highly-ranked players and see how many ways there are to pass, shoot, score, and play defense.
The talk about Nintendo ignoring their hardcore gamer base is utter nonsense. I love both of these games as much as I love Zelda, Resident Evil 4, and Madden on my Wii. Everyone knows Wii Sports is still da bomb...I still box and play tennis and baseball when friends come over (right after the game of Strikers). Put one of those "casual gamers" up against me in Wii Sports tennis or boxing and I'll dispatch them faster than you can say "Nintendo wins the console war."
Prime 3: "Corruption on Wii"
What is that supposed to mean?
...seeing as how they've got that easter egg in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption about "Metroid Project 'Dread' completed."
d _Dread
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid_Dread#Metroi
I love Retro and everything they've done with the Metroid series. They brought the series into the third dimension near perfectly, and hammered out three stellar titles for it. Now, though, I'm interested to see just what they could do with something totally new... Go in any direction, instead of focusing only on the Metroid formula. I can only imagine what they could do if they planned an entire title around the Wii, instead of retrofitting an existing project onto it.
Gamertag: WyleType
I think I'LL step back from Metroid Prime 3 for a bit... the end boss clobbered me. Only had 1/3 of it's health down too. I figured out how you're supposed to kill it though, so next time I try I'll probably get it.
I'm also still missing some stuff, and I got some questions. I know this isn't GameFAQs or wherever but no-one seems to have written a good walkthrough or power-up guide yet and I don't have the $30 guide. Any help? (Warning: Minor spoilers below)
In return, here are some tips I've figured out that not everyone might know:
Seriously, since MP3:C got the controls right, and it does such a good job on the graphics, it seems like licensing the engine out is an obvious step. When you consider that Nintendo owns Retro, and Nintendo stands to benefit from the quality of games on the Wii going up (in both hardware sales to hardcore gamers and in software licensing revenue), not to mention that they can collect engine licensing fees, it seems like an obvious choice.
What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
It has been known for quite a while now that Metroid Prime 3 would be the last Metroid Prime title, and I don't think they would have done anything else.
It's good they're taking a rest, because quite frankly, they've been losing direction since after the first game. Metroid Prime was a great transition to 3D. It felt right, the gameplay was solid, there was exploration, an interesting world, etc. But then something went horribly wrong.
It is my understanding that the original Metroid Prime was heavily influenced by Nintendo. It was they who told Retro to use a first-person view instead of a third-person one, for one thing. After that, they let Retro use their own ideas, which involved copying Metroid Fusion's X idea, light/dark worlds, and the result was Metroid Prime 2. The gameplay remained solid, and the bosses were good, but everything else that was good about the first title was gone.
No more interesting architecture, no more unique landscapes, Aether was a pretty barren planet with no defining flair. Dark Aether looked bland, and you weren't encouraged to explore because the environment hurts you. There was nothing Chozo on the planet either.
The game was also completely linear, you barely had any choice of where to go. This is reinforced with the amount of lock and key mechanism present in the game. Aside from the obvious 3 Temple Keys you have to collect in each area, there were all kinds of locks added. Light Beam doors, Dark Beam doors, Power Bomb doors, Multi-Missile doors, Annihilition Beam doors, Super Missile doors, and those light beams you access with the Light Suit.
And who had the brilliant idea of assigning AMMO to BEAMS?! Never before has it been done, and it doesn't work well.
Oh, and the Echoes subtitle? Doesn't mean much. You get the Echo Visor very late in the game, and it's only used for a couple puzzles and one boss. Whoop-de-doo.
The game's saving graces are the third area, the Sanctuary, and Dark Samus.
I haven't played Metroid Prime 3 yet, so I can only hope they've learned something. Seeing how Metroid Prime 2 was widely praised, though, it's not likely. Reactions have been mixed about the new game, so far.
I love Metroid like any other fan of the series, but my serious gripes with it are that the strategies are usually too repetitive. Hit something three times, open up a weak spot, attack; rinse lather, repeat two more times. And then there's ALWAYS the something in the game that just annoys the living daylights out of me. Some enemy that's just got an extremely annoying attack or movement designed to frustrate me. I think this is why Nintendo builds such excellent hardware, because they know someone is intentionally going to put a Wiimote through a television screen because of some enemy or boss.
In my case, it's the Tiamat AA Guns on that whatchamacallit planet near the beginning, specifically the one with the Aero Troopers. I've done tossed the Wiimote into the wall twice over it, and quite likely am just going to put the game up for several months now. Amazingly, the Wiimote still functions. A PS2 controller would've died long before now.
Honestly I have no idea. My hope is that the Wiimote + Nunchuck combo will meet its' potential and be superior to the Keyboard + Mouse set up. Quite simply WASD is inferior to Analog control, however in FPS games precision aiming is the more important function which the mouse trumps an analog stick.
In a perfect world we'd have the precision aiming of the Wiimote to at least match mouse pointer control and we'd have a good analog stick controlling movement so you can Run/Walk/Sneak appropriately, based on how you use the stick.
So Far Metroid Prime 3 is the closest to achieving this, however I've read good things about the controls in Medal of Honor Heroes 2 as well.
Metroid Prime 3 is the best game on the Wii right now and the control rocks. Simple as that.
I hope the next Metroid game that comes out is as different from Metroid Prime as Metroid Prime was from Super Metroid. Three games in the series is enough. I would hate for Metroid Prime to become like Zelda, which has been the same game over and over since Ocarina. (To Wind Waker's credit, it had a lot of water).
Anyway the point of this rant is MP3 is the best game right now because it was designed for the Wii, even if the Wii controls came in a later stage in the development. Zelda games haven't changed since N64, and the Wii controls are neat but obviously a port from Game Cube mechanics. It doesn't help that the game is routine and bland in comparison to something like MP3. Sequels are fine and all, but Metroid Prime has peaked. Zelda peaked at Ocarina, and has taken various steps forward and backward and is essentially walking in circles.
so it would be a nice full-circle for Kid Icarus Prime to use the Metroid Prime engine.
What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.