Ah, Samus-sama! (Metroid Prime Review)
As a slight preface, I'll say that reading the FAQs to something that you're logged on to is a very good thing: the LiveJournal FAQ has enabled me to no longer take as much space on my friends' Friends pages, which might be met with much acclamation. That, however, shall remain to be seen.
Ever since Wayne first purchased Metroid Prime for the GameCube, it's fallen squarely on my shoulders to try to whip the game. I've risen to that challenge, spending more time and energy on the game than I have for any for some time now (considering that I've still not beaten KotOR, the second stage of TimeSplitters 2, or Ogre Battle, that's some achievement.) However, I think it's the frustration/pride factor ("I'll not let some first-person action/puzzle game get the best of me, no matter what pain it inflicts!") that keeps me going, not any real enjoyment. Since I've gotten about half-way through this game, I think it's time that I post my first status update, as well as recording my thoughts on the game so far.
Don't get me wrong: the action/fighting sequences in Metroid Prime are very good. I enjoy almost every encounter with Space Pirates or Metroids, utilizing cover and toasting them with whatever weapon grabs my fancy (my current favorite being the fully-charged Wave Gun). There are quite a few harrowing bits, and while the difficulty's been pretty tough, I've generally managed to pull through (not the least because I'm a fairly good FPS-er, with quite a bit of experience in that regard) with my life intact. Some of the boss fights are very satisfactory, and the overall tone in that regard is positive.
It's the other aspects of the game that I dislike. Now, since I've never played a Metroid game before this one, I don't have any point of reference as to how it compares with its ancestors, but Metroid Prime's biggest point of dislike for me is the sheer amount of time that you must spend going back and forth, back and forth, back and... you get the idea. Going through the Lake of Lava the first time is harrowing and satisfactory: the fifth time much less so. This is compounded by the constant barrage of "You can't go through here until you get this piece of equipment/weapon/item/etc." It wouldn't be so bad if every single room didn't have something like that.
The other downside is that, while I appreciate the backstory of the Chozon being tainted by Phazan and slowly succumbing to madness, I don't see how the people that rejected their technology still have ruins that can only be activated by the precise combination of Morph Ball and Ball Bombs and Spider Climbing and Charged Shots and Missiles and... the list goes on and on. It just doesn't make sense, and it's even worse for the Pirates, who have accessed all of these areas without any of the technology that Samus is required to utilize.
To summarize... I would say that, in a perfect world, Metroid Prime would utilize slightly more puzzles, a moderate increase in larger battles, and infinately less back-tracking. :-/ The sad fact of the matter is that I still give Metroid pretty good marks, simply because the action and puzzles still make up for most of the bad elements.
Ever since Wayne first purchased Metroid Prime for the GameCube, it's fallen squarely on my shoulders to try to whip the game. I've risen to that challenge, spending more time and energy on the game than I have for any for some time now (considering that I've still not beaten KotOR, the second stage of TimeSplitters 2, or Ogre Battle, that's some achievement.) However, I think it's the frustration/pride factor ("I'll not let some first-person action/puzzle game get the best of me, no matter what pain it inflicts!") that keeps me going, not any real enjoyment. Since I've gotten about half-way through this game, I think it's time that I post my first status update, as well as recording my thoughts on the game so far.
Don't get me wrong: the action/fighting sequences in Metroid Prime are very good. I enjoy almost every encounter with Space Pirates or Metroids, utilizing cover and toasting them with whatever weapon grabs my fancy (my current favorite being the fully-charged Wave Gun). There are quite a few harrowing bits, and while the difficulty's been pretty tough, I've generally managed to pull through (not the least because I'm a fairly good FPS-er, with quite a bit of experience in that regard) with my life intact. Some of the boss fights are very satisfactory, and the overall tone in that regard is positive.
It's the other aspects of the game that I dislike. Now, since I've never played a Metroid game before this one, I don't have any point of reference as to how it compares with its ancestors, but Metroid Prime's biggest point of dislike for me is the sheer amount of time that you must spend going back and forth, back and forth, back and... you get the idea. Going through the Lake of Lava the first time is harrowing and satisfactory: the fifth time much less so. This is compounded by the constant barrage of "You can't go through here until you get this piece of equipment/weapon/item/etc." It wouldn't be so bad if every single room didn't have something like that.
The other downside is that, while I appreciate the backstory of the Chozon being tainted by Phazan and slowly succumbing to madness, I don't see how the people that rejected their technology still have ruins that can only be activated by the precise combination of Morph Ball and Ball Bombs and Spider Climbing and Charged Shots and Missiles and... the list goes on and on. It just doesn't make sense, and it's even worse for the Pirates, who have accessed all of these areas without any of the technology that Samus is required to utilize.
To summarize... I would say that, in a perfect world, Metroid Prime would utilize slightly more puzzles, a moderate increase in larger battles, and infinately less back-tracking. :-/ The sad fact of the matter is that I still give Metroid pretty good marks, simply because the action and puzzles still make up for most of the bad elements.