Topic: Wrong about Metroid?

[kennyb27]

I was browsing the Internet a while ago, jumping around to gaming websites that are both new and old to me.  I came across one, namely stratosgroup.com, and I was interested in the layout, so I decided to poke around some.  I ran into the review of Metroid Prime (oh, in case I have to remind any of you, just won GOTY from the Game Developers Conference).  To say the least, I was mortified.  (Link, just for you guys)  To quote some of the more salient points of the article (if you have a certain disorder that, upon reading some quite discomforting, causes you to pass out or die in some way, please refrain from reading further):

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The game really can't compare with the best and brightest titles on the Xbox or the PC (compare this game's thermal vision with that of Splinter Cell), but for a system that costs 150 bucks, the Gamecube does a decent job of making a pretty game run smoothly at 60 frames per second.

 Um...ouch.  I don't know how to read that.  Is the GameCube inferior to the XBox and PS2 because of the lower price?  Well, excuse me, but the GCN is just as powerful as the XBox and more powerful than the PS2 (oh yeah, both of which cost um...more, yeah thats it).  Also, Nintendo is the only company that does not lose money on the systems they sell and they can still afford to sell their systems at a lower price.  

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The color schemes of the various levels don't help much: the ice level is predominantly white, the lava stage is all red, and so on. A bit of variety would've broken up the monotony on these levels.

 Here's a made up dialogue between Nintendo and Retro: Retro-"Oh, come on, can we please make the snow and ice purple??"  Nintendo-"Um...I believe that snow is white."  Retro-"But it will be sooo much more realistic!"  

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Sound: 3.0

By the way, thats out of five.  Of course, thats not an excuse.  Giving one of the most impressive sounding games a 60% in the sound department is just plain wrong.  I have a ProLogic receiver and even not in PL2, this game is simply the best sounding game I have played.  The soundtrack, fit for a movie, is memorable and fits the mood very well.  The sound effects are quite impressive.  

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As it is, Metroid Prime is like a huge lake that you marvel at as you walk up to it, only to dive in and find that the water only comes up to your knees; it's pretty to look at, but there's not much depth.

 Of course not, not much depth at all.  Wait...do they mean besides the fact that the game is on average a 25-30 hour game?  Or how about some of the most extensive backgrounds to the Metroid series.  Simple things, such as the 3-dimensional holigraphic map in the Phendrana Drifts.
Then again, maybe I'm wrong about all this.  Maybe Metroid should not have won Game of the Year...Or maybe, just maybe this site could be wr...ah, forget it.

PS-I acknowledge that the site has their right to their own opinions.  However, I have the right to comment on their opinions with my own.

[One Wanged Angel]

Wow! that was horrible, especially about the cube being inferior to the other systems. Thanks for making me angry.

[Taco]

that man is an ass.

[AceRazer]

Maybe blue lava and green snow would break the "monotony" that they were feeling.

[One Wanged Angel]

I would like to see blue lava in a game.  

[Smadte]

Well ... whatever. It's the guy's opinion. He obviously wasn't paid to give it a good score (like many). I do agree with the 3/5 for music, though. Some of the music was just plain bad, and annoying (lava area). Some of it was good (snow area, main title screen). I wouldn't say it's up to movie score quality.

The game's not perfect. It's probably as close as it's gonna' get for now, but it's definately not perfect.

[Hostile Creation]

People like that piss me off. . . besides the fact that they were obviously biased and have no sense of what little art there is to video gaming.  Out of all the systems, Nintendo makes the most innovative, least cliche ridden games there are, no argument.  Splinter Cell is great, but it's just a new version of fifty other games.  Metroid Prime is unique, and the storyline actually requires effort and observation to unfold. . . unlike an RPG, which smacks it right in your face in a very unrealistic way. . . Prime is just staying true to its roots.

[The Omen]

  The graphics are beautiful(ecspecially the drifts) and this guys a jackass-that about sums it up....

[The_Gannondork]

Lava could of been blue, i guess. I mean, When something is really really really hot, it turns blue right? so yea blue lava should work

seriously though, what a stupid comment it was for him to say that it graphic wise was inferior to the xbox. The most realistic xbox game is arguebly (spl?) Splinter Cell. And what does gamecube have an IMPROVED version coming to cube. The creators said so themselves. I got an idea.


how about we kill him. Ill get the my axe in the shed. Lets go.

[Hostile Creation]

Okay, but first we send a virus and crash his computer, ruining any sort of life he thought he might have had.

[The_Gannondork]

Why an axe when we could use say, a spoon? the edge is dull and causes more pain. We can also lock him in his own basement and starve him a little, so that he will plead mercy mercy. And we will say no, i am sorry Mr, but you made fun of Metroid Prime, you are going to die in the most painful and embarressing way possible.

He is obviously one of Bill gates personal "rent a Friend" so who cares, whats done is done, it doesnt matter really what they say i mean Metroid Prime has sold the bulk of what it will sell in the long run so it isn't exactly going to hurt sales from just this one guy saying this one thing.  

[FFantasyFX]

Please be advised that there are people out there that genuinely don't like Metroid Prime (including some true die-hard Nintendo fans, horror of horrors).  I myself have only played the game for thirty minutes, which I found rather lackluster (since that time I've been too busy to pick up the game for another go-around, but I promise to get back to it eventually so I can make a more accurate judgment about the game).  In the end, it just boils down to a matter of taste.  There are some people out there that think Turok 2 for the Nintendo 64 is just ace (*cough*, *cough*, Jonny, *cough*), while I personally believe the game is the most terrible thing I've played since the NES tragedy that is Hydlide.

Having said all that, I will admit that some of the stuff the guy says in the review is really hilarious.  My favorite part:

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Documentation / Support: 4.0

Included in the package are no fewer than four separate documents: a 30-page game manual that covers the basics of the game well, even if it reveals much of the tech that you won't find until later in the game; instructions on how to hook up your GBA w/ Metroid Fusion to your Gamecube, which allows you to play the original Metroid; an exhortation to buy a subscription to Nintendo Power; and a set of safety precautions for the Gamecube, none of which are Metroid Prime specific. Nintendo obviously suspected this would be the first title people will buy for their new Gamecubes this past holiday season.

First of all, I've never even seen anybody rate the supplemental materials that come with the game.  Good stuff indeed.  The guy is thorough to say the least.   Second, the guy must not have bought very many Gamecube games if he doesn't realize that the **** safety precautions come with every title.  Funny, funny.  

[mouse_clicker]

"Please be advised that there are people out there that genuinely don't like Metroid Prime"

I can understand how one might not *enjoy* the game, but to say it was "poorly made" is just stupid. It's like a book- the story and characters may not interest you, may not capture your imagination. but there's some books that are just written well, head and shoulders above the rest. I realize this is a subjective argument, but there's times when it's *obvious* that one is better than the other, and Metroid Prime is one of those games.

The reviewer is talking out of his ass- its sad that some people actually BELIEVE what they write in cases like this. He's just another fanboy except in a higher position. He makes the mistake of comparing it to Splinter Cell, which isn't even in the same GENRE as Metroid Prime. I think anyone will agree that this guy just had a VERY poorly written review. Now if he had provided legitimate reasons for disliking the game, I could respect his opinion. But when he says the lava is too RED or the snow is too WHITE, it becomes blatant that he was dropped on his head as a child. He went into the game with the preconcieved notion that it would be horrible so he came OUT of the game with the same conclusion (I have no idea how much of it he actually played). His only problem was he didn't have any legitimate excuses for saying it was bad and went with the next best thing- he bashed ANYTHING that he saw that had the slightest bit of a flaw in. I understand that this review is his opinion, but it's MY opinion that he's a jackass.

[joeyjojo]

oooooooo. he sounded a little bitter.  

[nolimit19]

"I can understand how one might not *enjoy* the game, but to say it was "poorly made" is just stupid."

well said as usual.....i for 1 am not a big fan of metal gear, but thats just cuz i dont like the style of play as much as others. u have to give it its dues though. this "review" is crap because uf have to acknowlege that its a good game. once u say stupid stuff like the sound sucked or the lava shouldnt be red(WHAT THE  FOCK WAS THAT ABOUT??)....then the review loses all credability.

[Razex]

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Some of the music was just plain bad, and annoying (lava area).

Man that music was great. I guess you didn't play Super Metroid. Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion with regards to the music. But the sound definitely deserved at least a 4. Personally, I think the music is great, especially the status menu screen(best damn menu screen ever), the Meta-Ridley boss battle, and Magmoor Caverns. The sound effects were amazing, too. One night I was playing and I realized the lightning in the Tallon Overworld. I looked up and saw the lightning cracking. Then I turned up the sound effects and turned down the music, so I could hear the lightning better. I don't know why...but it was just so sick.

[oohhboy]

No spoons. Use a Klobb! You know with this, you can't kill him!

Sorry for the out burst.

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though I retain hopes that they'll license the Doom III engine for the next Mario game

Question, would the"DOOM" engine even be suitable or bussines smart to use for a Mario game?

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The primary concern is the lack of a separate stick for moving the viewpoint; the same analog stick is used both for movement and targeting

That is the whole point. This is not a "Traditional" FPS. Never concieved as such and never has been.

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I should note, however, that the color-coded enemies made me feel, well, a little patronized, as if I were the autistic kid that everyone talks to verrryyyy sloowwwly

Maybe you should be patronized. How else are you going to tell what weapon they are vulnerable to? Scan them every time? Then you will complain even more that yo have to scan them every time to see what will kill them.

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Samus to switch to a dedicated scanning view in order to download data, could've been used to much greater effect, had the developers wanted to include an actual backstory to the game

Errrr, the pirate data was the backstory. Along with the Choze scripts. Along with the fact that this is the Second metroid game in the story line, most of the story has yet to play out.

This guy so deserves to be Klobbed.

[Perfect Cell]

He might be entitles to his opinion, but it stinks of biass. The constant comparison to Halo, is unfounded and unwarranted, This isnt a FPS and i wish guys like him would realize this

[Sir Daniel Fortesque]

I'd like to express my gratitude to all of the people here that made me laugh with their comments about that guy's review of MP, I've been feeling very depresed lately so reading here has cheer me up with lots of laughs.

As for the review, forget it. Metroid Prime is undoubtedly the best game of 2002, and my favorite game of this generation of consoles. That guy can die of envy and bias against Retro for doing such an excellent work for all I care. GDC named it GoTY! I'd love too see this guy's face when he read about it. Ha! Ha!

[Segnit BGS]

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There are some people out there that think Turok 2 for the Nintendo 64 is just ace (*cough*, *cough*, Jonny, *cough*)...

Really? You know what? I need to talk to this Jonny person as he's got great taste for games. I mean sure, if it were Christmas 1998 and if someone were to say "Turok 2 is an ace game" then you would immediately dismiss the persons claims with the defence that he is talking out of hype (I know I would). However it's not Christmas 1998 and all matter of hype has long since diminished. Let me put it this way: Turok 2 is OFFICIALLY an ACE game (with sometimes unacceptable fluidity issues). And before you make comments on the preceding sentence, understand thoroughly why it’s OFFICIALLY ACE. As for Metroid, well… I am 39% into the US version and so far I have to agree with Famitsu’s score rather then western review scores for this game. However, I consider my opinion to be entirely invalid until at least I finish it. Then maybe I’ll write something about the game

Apologies for the off-topic nature of my thoughts.

[mouse_clicker]

"Samus to switch to a dedicated scanning view in order to download data, could've been used to much greater effect, had the developers wanted to include an actual backstory to the game"

I agree with oohboy- that comment right there PROVES this man has no clue what he's talking about. There are literally HUNDREDS of things to scan, and the Pirate Logs and the Chozo Lore provided a VERY detailed and engrossing backstory to the game- definetly the best since Eternal Darkness. It makes you wonder how much of the game this guy actually played.

[kennyb27]

As I foolishly glanced over his review one more time, a single phrase jumped out at me.  This phrase was simply one of the stupidest points I have ever heard describing Prime.

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Metroid Prime is the single greatest key-hunting game ever made for a console.

I mean...wow.  To describe MP as a key-hunting game (What the heck is a "key-hunting" game anyway?  Maybe this is the same way that some foolish people declared of Super Mario 64, "It's just a game where you hunt for stars!  It's a star-hunting game!  Nothing more!"  I can think of a million ways to disprove that argument...but back to my subject.)  was just pure torture to me as an informed gamer/reader.  Is this a new genre?? Yes! Can we now begin to call FPS's "enemy-hunting games"??  Or should we just generalize and call every game "end-hunting games"?  Ah, yes, I like the sound of that one.  Ok, sorry for that outburst, just a bit excited I guess.  Upon re-reading this review of Prime, I popped in my game to see if it was him or me who was wrong about the game...Well, I can honestly say, he is the biggest fool ever.
PS-I would also like to thank every one of you who made my day by posting some of the funniest remarks that I have ever read on a forum.

[RickPowers]

I think I've let this BILE-FEST continue long enough ...