Topic: Good news everyone (Metroid Pinball first screens)

[joshnickerson]

Good news everyone (end Farnsworth voice)! I came upon a booklet for upcoming DS games at Blockbuster and it has screens of the Metroid Pinball game! And it actually doesn't look half bad!
http://www.rydia.net/joshnickerson/dp/metpin.jpg
But the bad news is that it's made by the same jerks who made Mario Pinball Land.
(awaits Ian's griping   )

[Renny]

Could you post the whole scan? I'm curious about the changes to Polarium. Thanks.

[Bill Aurion]

Well at least the rumor that Retro was handling the game has been put to rest...But I really can't tell if I'll want a pinball game just from screenies...I'll need to see what is included first...

(Oh, and I don't want Ian bitching...He already bitched out this game when it was first announced .)

[Noble~Feather]

I have an instinct.

An instinct that tells me this game is going to suck.

[Mario]

Good news? More like bad news, the game looks crap and it's going to turn out crap if it's by the same team who developed Mario Pinball. Which is a shame because Metroid Pinball has so much potential to be AWESOME.

[Arbok]

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
Oh, and I don't want Ian bitching...He already bitched out this game when it was first announced .

This game deserves a second round of bitching now that we have learned more, this sounds more like it should have been something fun to unlock in Metroid Hunters rather than something you pay for by itself.

[Bill Aurion]

No, because everyone already decided the game would suck in that first topic...

[nickmitch]

So do we bitch about the screens instead of just the game?

[Savior]

Meh so its not an April Fools joke?

[darknight06]

" Good news? More like bad news, the game looks crap and it's going to turn out crap if it's by the same team who developed Mario Pinball. Which is a shame because Metroid Pinball has so much potential to be AWESOME. "

Wow, two REALLY bad screen captures and you're up in arms?  C'mon now...

I remember playing Mario Pinball, and a lot of the problems seemed to stem from being on the GBA.  It's resolution was too low to do a vertical setup, so they opted for the psuedo 3D which didn't work because the game had no 3D engine to work with, which showed pratically everytime you used a flipper to hit the ball.  Game had some very iffy physics.  From what I've seen of the screen caps so far it seems to be a two screen tall vertical pinball environment instead of psuedo 3D which IMO is already a good sign.  As far as physics are concerned, I'm quite sure the DS is far more capable of crunching those numbers also.  Before I comment further I want to see some live footage, but as for right now it doesn't look bad.  

[Ian Sane]

"No, because everyone already decided the game would suck in that first topic..."

But now we have new evidence for potential suckiness with the Mario Pinball team on board.

Personally I don't see why Nintendo decided to make this considering all the various factors.

1. Why a pinball game?  Seriously where's the demand?  That's like the supreme lazy cash-in genre for when you're trying to squeeze that last dollar out of franchise.  Plus where's the logic in releasing another shallow game for the DS when there's clear need for something like a REAL Metroid game in the DS lineup?

2. Why does the company that made the first universally panned Mario title (that wasn't educational) get to work on another game using a major franchise?  If you can't make something as simple as Mario Pinball work you don't deserve to be working on a Metroid game.  And why are these guys working on ANOTHER pinball game?  If you f*cked up the first one maybe you should work on a different genre.  These guys proved that they suck at pinball games so it seems pretty silly to have them work another one.  This isn't like their expertise or anything.  If you hire me to paint your house and I screw it all up it doesn't make sense to hire me again.

The worst thing is that judging from the screens it's just a generic pinball game.  There was hopeful optimism that maybe this would be something like the morphball areas in Metroid Prime but it certainly doesn't look like it is.  This is clearly nothing more than a cash grab from a company that recently seems to think that whoring franchises is what their legacy is based on.  There's no artistic reason to make this game.  It's an unessential sequel from a company that became one of the most well respected developers ever because they never released a sequel unless it had a reason to exist.  As a fan that became a fan because of that very reason I find this sheer PRODUCT unacceptable.

[thepoga]

I had so much hope for Mario Pinball... until it came out. Maybe, just maybe, this will turn out well. But I wouldn't bet on it.

It looks kind of like the same concept with the timers and bosses. The guys who made it made Pro Pinball, which was a very good pinball game. Maybe Mario pinball was a fluke. I'm not gonna say whether the game is bad or not, because it only matters if it's fun. But the concept of using Metroid for pinball is really odd. Metroid shouldn't be made into a farce like this. It's one of the more serious games, and when a franchise character (mario, sonic, etc) is made into a pinball game, it's comical almost. But it's not even cool, like how Odama is cool. It makes you say "woah. What?" instead of just saying "what?".

[Deguello]

"first universally panned Mario title (that wasn't educational)"

Are we unfamiliar with Mario is Missi... oh nice qualification.  How about Hotel Mario?  Oh right, not made by Nintendo...  But But... alright.  Mario Paint.  Bam.  Most reviewers didn't like Mario Paint.  Most people didn't like Mario Clash on the VB either.

As to why in the world Fuse Games gets to make this,  A) Mario Pinball actually sold pretty well for a "universally panned Mario Title" (if by universally panned you mean "less than half of the reviewers gave it a 5 or lower" or something) and B) IIRC Mario Pinball was made by 2 people.  As in Two.  One person and another person.  Mario Pinball is very impressive with that fact.

What I can't stand is that you ascertain all these supposed ills and troubles that Metroid Pinball has from a group of blurry scans.  You know absolutely bupkis about this game other than it's title.  Please wait until more is known about it before you start plagueing in the internet with your mock rage.

PS Edit.  I don't remember Metroid Pinball being the sequel to anything.  And finally, Ian, this game deserves to exist more than that redundant franchise sequel Castlevania DS which clearly does not need to exist from an artistic standpoint.

[Robotor]

I'd rather have a generic pinball game.  Or some sort of Sequel to Revenge of the Gator.  If they try to make this an adventure pinball game I will not buy it.  If it contained several metroid themed pinball boards I'd like it a little better.  In fact why not make a Nintendo pinball thet has a couple of different boards for each franchise, much like the Sega pinball game on GBA.

[Pale]

I never played Mario pinball but absolutely love both pokemon pinballs.  Are the makers of those related in any way?

[wushupants]

Pathetic... simply pathetic. Reducing an intergalactic, incredibly respected and feared bounty hunter, to a mere... pinBALL... that's the kind of thing some like to call "running out of ideas." I mean seriously, what is this? some sort of marketing gimmick to introduce the Metroid series to kids? It's utter crap!! I mean, knowing Nintendo, the professionalism of the game is bound to be flawless but, the concept itself is just pathetic. Not to bash on Nintendo, being that I'm a die-hard fan, and I would dare say the DS is my new-found love but, why sink this low? I'll pass on this one.

[Mario]

Quote
Originally posted by: wushupants
Pathetic... simply pathetic. Reducing an intergalactic, incredibly respected and feared bounty hunter, to a mere... pinBALL... that's the kind of thing some like to call "running out of ideas." I mean seriously, what is this? some sort of marketing gimmick to introduce the Metroid series to kids? It's utter crap!! I mean, knowing Nintendo, the professionalism of the game is bound to be flawless but, the concept itself is just pathetic. Not to bash on Nintendo, being that I'm a die-hard fan, and I would dare say the DS is my new-found love but, why sink this low? I'll pass on this one.

Whoa... ahaha. Firstly, pinball is awesome, and how on earth is pinball for kids? The concept is not pathetic, the concept is brilliant, Samus in morph ball mode can add a crap load of things to a game of pinball, the franchise is probably the best one to use in a pinball game. What I am worried about, though, is that the developers won't let this game reach it's full potential, the potential is HUGE, and I hope it turns out awesome.

[wushupants]

Quote
Whoa... ahaha. Firstly, pinball is awesome, and how on earth is pinball for kids? The concept is not pathetic, the concept is brilliant, Samus in morph ball mode can add a crap load of things to a game of pinball, the franchise is probably the best one to use in a pinball game. What I am worried about, though, is that the developers won't let this game reach it's full potential, the potential is HUGE, and I hope it turns out awesome.

Man, that's some misunderstanding. I'm talking about reducing someone with such a reputation as a violent and stylish bounty hunter... into a PINBALL! And as much potential as it seems this game has, it would've just been better to use some other character, or even maybe some completely new one, as opposed to Samus! And what I meant about the kids comment is that, knowing Nintendo, they won't make it a pinball game in where you kill space-pirates somehow. They'll make it more appealing for every age... as usual. And yes... let's indeed hope it turns out better than people think... including me. One thing's for sure... with so many new and creative additions to the DS library, I'm certainly not speding money on this game unless it has like a 10 out of 10 rating and the replayability level is ever-lasting.

[nemo_83]

i will speak my distaste with Metroid Pinball by not even considering buying it

[Mario]

Ignorance noted.

[KnowsNothing]

I'm more likely to buy a Metroid-themed pinball game than the same game starring a boring metal ball.  That's the dilema.  They're both the same gameplay-wise, but the Metroid motif may give me the extra push into buying it.  It's sorta shallow, but it's true, and that's where Nintendo's thought-process lies.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Well you never know since those are 2 screenshots of a promo flier which is like soooooo revealing.....(sarcasm). Anyways who knows because we all know samus has some cool morph ball moves and maybe this game can expand on them. Also I didn't hear alot of people bitching about sonic pinball or pokemon pinball because those were fun games. And maybe GASP metroid pinball can be actually fun and neat.  But I agree that this game kinda feels like a mini game rather than a full game, hopefully they can make this a deep game that involves Samus's morphball powers and/or expanding stages which would hopefully negate the "shallow game that feels like a minigame" attitude.

[Mr. Segali]

Hah, funny you mention Sonic Spinball... when I was younger, my friend and I burnt his copy AND my copy of the game in his backyard. Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan. I will admit Pokemon Pinball was alot of fun, but Mario Pinball sucked ass and if the same team is behind Metroid Pinball, then I can't help but have little hope for the game.

Chances are, it'll suck too...

If I were Nintendo and I wanted to make a pinball game, I would make an updated version of "Pinball" for the NES (the one with the seals and penguins). It's still my favorite pinball videogame.

[altf4]

It has potential. But pinball games are never as good as REAL games.

[Spak-Spang]

I think the biggest problem with Mario Pinball was the speed, and the control of the game.  It just didn't have the right feel to it.

This game seems to be correcting those mistakes.  It looks like a pinball game one, and it should be able to handle the graphics and speed for a Pinball game.  

I hope its good.  There are demands for good pinball games now that the arcade scene is dead for pinball.