Topic: I don't like metroid prime. Heres why:

[WhoDey]

I really agree with the topic of this thread. The graphics and music are top notch and the sense of discovery is good too. I also liked fighting the enemies. That being said, it seemed like there were many times I found myself playing it not because I was having a blast but because I felt like I needed to to beat it to justify my purchase. It's strange...the incentive to play was just not there for me. It took me a good 2 months to beat it because I could only play an hour or so at a time before getting tired of it...maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

I totally hated the scanning, well, not actually doing it but reading what I scanned. The futuristic/technological language that was used did not appeal to me at all. I'd read 2 lines and quickly become bored with it. I realize it goes with the setting but I'd much rather have had it voiced to me instead of having to read something I didn't want to. Or have plain common english used.  

[AJL221893]

I also feel the same way. For me, I scanned things, and I kept playing not because: "I can't wait to find out what happens next!", but more for a weird need inside me. I don't know if other people are like this, I just feel like I didn't use my money fully if I don't beat the game, or get a lot of extra features. I keep playing it just because I don't want to waste my money, I guess. I think it would be better to do what someone else said about having video tapes of events, not like actual movies with talking, but just small clips of things going on. I didn't like scanning at all, but I just felt like I 'needed' to scan everything for the art gallery. It felt stupid to me. I ran into a room, and just moved my visor around, and quickly scanned everything and kept going. I read enough to basically know what is going on, but I would like some motivation to keep playing. Otherwise, its a great game and everything, and everyone else is saying what they don't really like about MP, so I will too. Enough bragging about how its game of the year and stuff, its good to talk about some problems we think it has too.

[NickNiteQ93]

I have to agree with you somewhat.  I thoroughly enjoyed the game while I played it.  However, I enjoyed Eternal Darkness while I played it too, and yet both of these great games collect dust.  I really did like them, but I think both were too short for their own good.  MP took me 12 hours to beat with only minimal help.  Same way with ED, except it took about 5 hours each consecutive time to beat it with all colors.  And when they release the sequel for MP, and hopefully maybe one for ED, I hope that they're longer/harder then their predicessors.  That's the only beef I had with either game.  

[Moonwatcher]

There aren't enough people here berating you for not loving every single thing about MP so I'll have to pick up the slack.
Ok, so some of you were turned off by the game's lack of a very obvious story.  Have you played Metroid Fusion?  It does not feel like a metroid game because the story is constantly being shoved down your throat.  The motivation to move forward in a metroid game has always lied in the excitement of exploring giant alien worlds, discovering and subsequently destroying amazing creatures, and finding upgrades that make the exploring and fighting all that much more fun!  If you found yourself treating the game like a chore because you were not swept up in the story then I have a suggestion for you, don't play metroid.  The scanning system is a beatiful way of adding amazing depth to atmosphere of the game, and in Metroid, that is what is important.  I find it funny and somewhat sad that you cannot enjoy the game because in order to understand how events are tied together and what your purpose in the game is you are forced to "work" by scanning objects and then connecting the dots.  Use your friggin imagination! One of my biggest complaints with many current games is that they try so desperately to be very cinematic, but games are not movies!  Obviously some game genres are very dependant on story (RPGs most notably) but that has never been what the Metroid series is about.  I applaud Retro for bringing my favorite 2D game so perfectly into 3D, both in form and spirit.  

[WesDawg]

I was really driven to play MP. In fact, its one of the few games I own that I managed to plow through pretty quick. Not 12 hours or nothing, but quick. 12 is just about crazy fast. Anyways, I was always intrigued at what upgrades I could get next, and when I did get them, I really enjoyed going back to find places to use 'em. I liked the story too, but it wasn't driving. I don't think I've played anything because of a story ever though. I mean, I didn't beat FF7 because I wanted to save the world or kill Sephiroth, I just did it cause I wanted to prove to myself I could. Anyways, I like this game a lot. IMO, storylines are overrated. If you want a good story read a book. Games are for skillz.

Oh, and by the way, there is a flamethrower in MP isn't there? Anyways, I think the claim that Super Metroid involved less searching is a little bit of a stretch. You had to spend a lot of time in that game setting off bombs on random walls exploring, and hoping there might be something around, unless you had them X-ray goggles. They took forever to use though.

Anyways, to finish, I would be happy if there were more games made with no/little cinema in them. I just about can't stand Skies of Aracdia, simply because I know everytime I accomplish something I have to sit through an hour of people talking about it. TimeSplitters has probably been my favorite cinema's made to date IMO, and they have little to do with the story.

[nolimit19]

anyone who says metroid prime sucks is stupid period........not liking it is one thing, but u have to acknolege that it is a good game. i feel the same way about metal gear....not for me, but it is a well executed game. metroid prime is viewed by many big sites and magazines to be one of the best games of all time, and not one major site or magazine said it sucks. the guy wo started his thread has an opinion i can respect, but some of these other flamers are down right dumb. its a good game.....maybe even great, just not for everyone. its similar to the movie chicago......its a freaking musical, and a lot of people dont like that, but its still a good movie no matter anyone says.

[rpglover]

metroid prime definately was a great game- one of the best ever
of course you have to be a fan of the type of game it really is
a lot of people came into the game just expecting a fps where you go through level and shoot
metroid is very ceribral in that you must search for everything and you must earn it all
that is something i know people usually do not like
also the lack of cinemas and voices turns off some people

but the game was made like that because samus is a bounty hunter and the only human there
there is no one else to talk to, so why should she talk ever
probably why most people who didnt like it didnt was because of the combat
once you learned the trick to beating the enemies, the game gets easier
the bosses were great though

i loved metroid prime- it was probably the best rookie game by a rookie studio ever

[Duriez]

Quote
Originally posted by: Reverse_GeckoAlso there no emotion. Some games I get really into and I really hate the bad guy, and i go " im gonna beat the living sh*t out of this motherf*cking son *!# of a@#$$ ADJ33@@!# stupid 214#!@@! $!#@@head!" then im motiovated to beat the game. OR some games are soo intruiging i can't wait to find out what happens next. But with metroid prime, theres no motivation.

I think the emotion and feeling in Metriod Prime is in the enviorments you see.  Metroid Prime has emotion that is much more subtle.  You have to find emotion in your surroundings.  For example, the Chozo Ruins give me a feeling of abandon, but I find beauty in the abandon.  In the Magmoor caverns I get a busy feeling.  There are lots of monsters in this area, lava is flowing everywhere, and there is lots of machinery that is doing stuff.  In the Phendra Drifts I get a feeling of peace and sereness, excpet when I am blowing the f**k out of icey monsters of course.  I guess I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  Thats my 2 cents.

[Reverse_Gecko]

Don't get me wrong. I love metroid prime(ok i lied a little in the thread name). I think it is an excelent game in almost every way, but I think it has a major flaw. I really love metroid games all together, but I just hard a hard time fnishing metroid prime, and now im trying to beat it in hard mode but I'm at 10% and I dont feel like playing it anymore. But don't tell me its because I don't like the type of game it is because I abosolutly love metroid fusion, metroid 1, and super metroid.

Quote
Originally posted by: Moonwatcher
There aren't enough people here berating you for not loving every single thing about MP so I'll have to pick up the slack.
Ok, so some of you were turned off by the game's lack of a very obvious story.  Have you played Metroid Fusion?  It does not feel like a metroid game because the story is constantly being shoved down your throat.  The motivation to move forward in a metroid game has always lied in the excitement of exploring giant alien worlds, discovering and subsequently destroying amazing creatures, and finding upgrades that make the exploring and fighting all that much more fun!  If you found yourself treating the game like a chore because you were not swept up in the story then I have a suggestion for you, don't play metroid.  The scanning system is a beatiful way of adding amazing depth to atmosphere of the game, and in Metroid, that is what is important.  I find it funny and somewhat sad that you cannot enjoy the game because in order to understand how events are tied together and what your purpose in the game is you are forced to "work" by scanning objects and then connecting the dots.  Use your friggin imagination! One of my biggest complaints with many current games is that they try so desperately to be very cinematic, but games are not movies!  Obviously some game genres are very dependant on story (RPGs most notably) but that has never been what the Metroid series is about.  I applaud Retro for bringing my favorite 2D game so perfectly into 3D, both in form and spirit.

My problem with it is not neccesarily that it doesnt tie together evens or sweep you up in a story. I just dislike the fact that the only reason you want to play is the exitement of exploring huge alien enviroments and destroying amazing creatures. Thats alot of fun, but when your packing 30 hours of gameplay with just that, it will get tedious. You gotta have more than that. Something dynamic. At every point in the game you are either exploring or killing monsters just for the sake of exploring and killing monsters. You get bored of that and then your only reason for playing the game becomes to justify purchasing it. I dont want hundreds of fellow gamecube owners to be playing games just to justify their purchase.

I'm not saying that there has to be an amazing plot or anything, im just saying there needs to be something there besides exploring and killing. If you havbe a plot, at every point in a game you are at a different point in the plot, and thus have iddferent things to do, it makes variety so you don't get bored. I'm not saying there needs to be a plot or cenimatics or anything, I'm just saying thats one way, whether it fits the metroid style or not, its one way that should be considered, perhaps not the best way, but metroid prime wouldof been better with it. Look at super metroid, it didn't have the most intruiging plot or cenimatics, it focused on exploring and killing stuff just like metroid prime, but there was something else there, which metroid prime lacked, that kept people playing. Thats what metroid prime needs.

You make some good points. I also applaud retro for moving metroid to 3d with such awesomeness, and still keeping it metroid. I also like the scanning feature, it is a good way to make more depth to the game for those who want to know moer, but I dislike it being a main way to keep interest in the game. Why? Because it seems like not only me, but many people just found it too boring, and it becomes tedious.

I also disagree with you about metroid fusion. Perosonally I think not only is it the best metroid in the series(even better than the amazing super metroid) but it totally recreates and augments the metroid experience, so did mp, but for some reason I loved fusion, and I could not put it down till I had beaten it twice.

I guess one of the points im trying to make is that I want retro to look at what makes metroid fusion and super metroid so addicting and enticing that you can't stop playing it,  then add that element to all of the awesome things about metroid prime and put all those in metroid prime 2.

Don't just go think "big deal, this guy has an opinion." I think my opinion matters because many people share it with me. I want gamecube to be great. I want to brag about how sweet metroid prime is and convince more people to buy cubes, but how can I tell people that mp is the best game ever when so many people who bought it were a little dissapointed? I also hope retro reads this thread(ya right) and reads this discussion, so they can make metroid prime 2 as fantastic as its going to be.

Anyone agree with this? disagree?  

EDIT: Wow, I didn't realize how long this was. I just kept typing. Sorry about the length!

[theaveng]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackGriffen
That's because you don't have "tha skillz." I would run through rooms all the time in MP, you only need to explore them once (taking mental note of anything that stands out, mind you). You probably missed a lot in Super Metroid, too, because those rooms required exploration at least once..... You people who didn't like the story have no imagination.

Ignoring your poor debate tactic of ad hominem (personal) attacks, I will maintain my original opinion: The 2D Metroid/Super Metroid was faster-paced and more fun than the 3D Metroid Prime.  I think Nintendo should have either (a) kept the side-scrolling adventure like Castlevania SOTN or (b) tried a third-person adventure like Resident Evil or Zelda.  Either option would have kept the same rapid pace of the original games, instead of wasting hours scanning (yawn).  Just thinking about it makes me want to turn off Metroid Prime and grab a more exciting piece of entertainment... like a book.

[The best part of MP?  The ball levels.  Rolling around and jumping over obstacles... that was classic Metroid goodness!]

[kennyb27]

This thread got me thinking about why I liked Metroid Prime.  Was it because of the amazing detail to level design?  The Metroid story?  Or something else?  And the answer would probably because of the magnitude and details of the game and levels.  I can't honestly say that the reason i kept playing this game was because I was soo immersed in the feeling of having to go to the next room.  It was more along the lines of, I have to see how cool the next room looks.  I thoroughly enjoyed the game though, and not enough praise can be passed along to Retro and Nintendo for their efforts.

[Luciferschild]

I thought metroid prime was a pretty average game with great graphics. Turning it into a fps shooter was a big mistake in my opinion. It would have been so much cooler in 3rd person or even 2d would have been better. Plus I hated the scanning stuff all the time and the fact that they tried to turn it into somekind of zelda wannabe. Metriod should be an action oriented game with emphasis on blasting crap and jumping like the original formula. But this game definitely didn't live up to the hype for me. I liked the last two games I rented (two towers, dead to rights) a lot more than metriod prime. It seems like half the people in this post didn't think mp was that great so why is it being hyped so much.  

[kennyb27]

Quote
It seems like half the people in this post didn't think mp was that great so why is it being hyped so much.

umm...Because that is less than 20 people.  Obviously there are more people who didn't like the game.  But that is a small minority.  The game was worth the hype in my opinion.  

[thecubedcanuck]

Well I treid to play Metroid again this weekend.  
I sat down and dedicated 2 hours to it, and I was thrilled when the time was finally up.
This is the most boring game I have ever played, I honestly cant stand it.

Quote
anyone who says metroid prime sucks is stupid period........not liking it is one thing, but u have to acknolege that it is a good game.

I disagree, I dont think its a good game. I didnt find the graphics impressive at all, and the cut scenes, especially the opening one were down right cheesy and ugly. I found the game play to be tedius and extremely repetitive, the scanning drove me nuts, the story was just plain predictable. and the damn control scheme had me looking at the controller more than the TV.
The only thing I really liked about the game was the sound, it truly kicked ass.

I did however end up played ED for nearly 5 solid hours that night, although it is graphically quite sad the game itself is brilliant. I also spent most of sunday on OoT, I cant believe how well nintendo dolled this up for the pre order, what a treat.

[kennyb27]

Quote
I didnt find the graphics impressive at all

I don't see how you can say this.  Just the subtle things are impressive.  Such as the raindrops splashing against the helmet as you look up to the skys in the Overworld.  Or the condensation formed on Samus's visor when you pass under a mist or through a hot area.  What about the water "rolling" off Samus's visor when you exit from underwater?  All the worlds are distinctly different and every bit as impressive as the next or previous.  There is the lush, green Overworld, the abandoned desert-like Chozo Ruins, the snow-covered Phendrana Drifts, and the lava-filled Magmoor Caverns.  Each world requires its own type of environments, a feat impressive in itself.
I can understand if you were to complain about the gameplay and that the game doesn't fit your style, but to jump on the graphics, I'm sorry, but I consider that ridiculous.

[Moonwatcher]

Reverse_Gecko,

Hmm... Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion are both much shorter games than MP.  Perhaps that is why you so easily got burnt out on MP, it is definately the most epic of the series.  MP is much slower paced also.  I have played through Metroid Prime twice since I got it, once on normal and then on hard.  Both times were increadibly fun.  I couldn't believe all of the stuff I missed on my first run through and greatly appreciated the extra challenge provided in the boss battles on hard mode.  Which brings me to my only complaint, I found the game a little bit too easy, even on hard mode.  I didn't rush through the game by any means, it took me over twenty hours my first time but there are points where I just glided through too easily.  I just expected the enemies to be more aggresive.  In the end I think that our differences over this game are purely a matter of taste.  I simply cannot relate to your complaint that there was little motivation to move on.  About Metroid Fusion, I love the game, it just dosn't feel very... Metroid to me.  More like a hi-tech Castlevania.

[thecubedcanuck]

kenny

Let me be a little more clear.

There were indeed parts of the game where the graphics did some cool things, the water on the visor being one of them.
I just didnt find the overall look of the game very appealing. Everything had a plasticy fake look about it to me, I just didnt find anything that jumped out at me and made me say wow. A good example is on the 1st level when you are running/rolling back to the ship. The critters that bunch together near the tunnels looks like blobs of sawdust as you approach. I found there to be way to many instances where things just looked poor to me. Maybe I expected to much, either way I just didnt like it. I much prefer the pre rendered graphics of RE.  

[theaveng]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldShadow1
I was thinking, what would be an interesting compromise between the log book storyline and cut scenes / dialog would be audio/video data that you can download.  It could have, for example, a surveillance video of a recent attack by Chozo ghosts or something, and then have it black out at the last minute.  Or it could have a surreal telepathic vision of a Chozo prophecy.  It'd still retain the feeling of being alone on a mission, but I think it'd help strengthen the plot quite a bit.

I agree!  Many games have been enhanced with video logs found laying around in storage.  I remember that one Star Trek episode where the crew finds a derelict ship full of dessicated corpses, and they immediately pull the video logs.  There, on the screen, was the living face of the 1000-yr-old corpse lying next to you.  Metroid Prime could have used similar dramatic videos to enhance its format with grainy videos of pirates experimenting on insects and Chozos recording the death of their planet.

That's the problem with GameCube's 1.5 gigabyte format.  There simply isn't enough room to add audio/video files to Metroid Prime.  If GameCube used standard-size, double-layer DVD with 8.5 gigabytes of space, then Nintendo could give us *video* logs of pirates and Chozos instead of just plain text.

[kennyb27]

The video logs is a great idea, and hopefully Factor 5's new DivX technology can help with this for GCN.

[bamf226]

Quote
Originally posted by: Reverse_Gecko
Don't get me wrong. I love metroid prime(ok i lied a little in the thread name). I think it is an excelent game in almost every way, but I think it has a major flaw. I really love metroid games all together, but I just hard a hard time fnishing metroid prime, and now im trying to beat it in hard mode but I'm at 10% and I dont feel like playing it anymore. But don't tell me its because I don't like the type of game it is because I abosolutly love metroid fusion, metroid 1, and super metroid.


It sounds to me that you find little to no replay value in the game and that is causing you much heartache, especially when you didn't enjoy it much the first time you played it.  Playing a game over after making it harder isn't going to help you like the game when it was an emotional struggle the first time..  

[BlackGriffen]

Quote
Originally posted by: theaveng
Ignoring your poor debate tactic of ad hominem (personal) attacks, I will maintain my original opinion: The 2D Metroid/Super Metroid was faster-paced and more fun than the 3D Metroid Prime.  I think Nintendo should have either (a) kept the side-scrolling adventure like Castlevania SOTN or (b) tried a third-person adventure like Resident Evil or Zelda.  Either option would have kept the same rapid pace of the original games, instead of wasting hours scanning (yawn).  Just thinking about it makes me want to turn off Metroid Prime and grab a more exciting piece of entertainment... like a book.

[The best part of MP?  The ball levels.  Rolling around and jumping over obstacles... that was classic Metroid goodness!]

Damn, you mean this is a debate? I didn't realize that you had set yourself up as my adversary in a serious contest of intellectual capacity and wit. If you want the formal and adverserial approach to this discussion, then so be it. For starters, you're generalizing your experience to the whole population too readily. Rooms were too slow for you because of the time you spent exploring them. Just from my own experience, I can say that this is not true in general, and judging from the success of the game, not even for the majority of the population. There are three possible reasons I can think of for this: one, you don't have a quick eye for detail necessary to take in a room at a glance; two, you're excessively hyper (i.e. require constant stiumulus to keep your attemntion), at least more so than the population ar large; three, you're excessively paranoid about getting shot (possibly due to rapid deaths in PC based FPSs where you could look around rapidly, and it takes fewer hits to kill you). You'll note that I addressed all of these concerns in my original post in a far more informal, and frankly friendly, manner.

Moving on to the point about a lack of imagination. I meant what I said and I stand behind it, though I admit that I may have overlooked the possibility that your imagination is adequate and you just refuse or don't know how to engage it. I suppose TVs are the culprite, but people are far too ready to assumed that information and stories should be fed to them in quick little sound bites and dramatic scenes. With books and oral tales, people had to supply the imagery for themselves, and thus the act of following a tale was a mental exercise in and of itself. It was also far more common for people to actively engage in creating their own entertainment, because there was not the ready supply of mind numbing distraction a button push away. This, too, is a mental exercise that is healthy and encourages the imagination. The ability to paint a picture well that critics will like is not by itself proof of imagination, at least not of the kind that is necessary to get in to a character. Yes, what I described was a kind of acting (writ small) combined with improvisation. With no one else to please but myself, it isn't hard.

Honestly, I prefer the more colloquial form of communication. It's less time consuming for me (I can say more with fewer words because I don't need to elaborate so much), and I find more people are comfortable with it. So if you don't mind, Mr. high and mighty only halfway understands the meaning of "ad hominem," I think I'll stick with it.

BlackGriffen

[theblindtree]

See, I suppose I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum here.  Super Metroid was just "okay/pretty good" for me, whereas Metroid Prime feels like complete idea.  Super Metroid probably would have been a better experience for me, if it weren't for all the times where I just had NO idea what to do next.  Everything felt too "assumed" to me, and I really don't like when games keep a habit of doing that.  I definitely like it, and I get why other people would as well, but it just doesn't work for me on the same level as Metroid Prime.  *shrug*

[theaveng]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackGriffen
Damn, you mean this is a debate? I didn't realize that you had set yourself up as my adversary...

No I was merely objecting to you CHILDISH personal attacks on everyone on this forum.  Telling people "you're stoopid and lack imaginashun" is how 5-yr-olds act, not adults.  Try acting like the latter, not the former.

[Duriez]

Quote
Originally posted by: thecubedcanuck
kenny

Let me be a little more clear.

There were indeed parts of the game where the graphics did some cool things, the water on the visor being one of them.
I just didnt find the overall look of the game very appealing. Everything had a plasticy fake look about it to me, I just didnt find anything that jumped out at me and made me say wow. A good example is on the 1st level when you are running/rolling back to the ship. The critters that bunch together near the tunnels looks like blobs of sawdust as you approach. I found there to be way to many instances where things just looked poor to me. Maybe I expected to much, either way I just didnt like it. I much prefer the pre rendered graphics of RE.

I've been playing video and computer games for a long time, and I was very impressed with MP's graphics.  I am not trying to brag about how I've been playing video and PC games for a long time, I am just saying that I am good at noticing if a game has good graphics.  As a package deal, the geometry, attention to detal, and art direction in MP is second to none on any console game if you ask me.  There are so many polygons and there is so much attention to detail that it blows my mind everytime I play MP.  And I don't buy that fake plasticy look thing you said.  Did you like the grapchis in Halo?  Becuase I say Halo has more of a fake plasticy look than MP but that's just my opinion.  All video games have a fake plasticy look I think.  Name me a video game that doesn't.    

[BlackGriffen]

Quote
Originally posted by: theaveng

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackGriffen
Damn, you mean this is a debate? I didn't realize that you had set yourself up as my adversary...

No I was merely objecting to you CHILDISH personal attacks on everyone on this forum.  Telling people "you're stoopid and lack imaginashun" is how 5-yr-olds act, not adults.  Try acting like the latter, not the former.

Let's see, first of all I didn't attack everyone, or even anyone, really. This discussion is about people's perceptions of a video game. Every point I brought up was a valid question that would effect a persons ability to enjoy Metroid Prime. Granted, the tone I took was far from oblique, but none of what I said was an argumentum ad hominem. You see, in a discussion about perceptions, qualities that would cloud a person's perception are valid points of discussion, whether or not the person finds them offensive. The actual argumentum ad hominems came in response to my post when people made comments about me that are irrelevent even if they were true ("sign of maturity," "weak," "CHILDISH"). In fact the only real off topic attack I made was an oblique criticism of your taking on the role of "rules lawyer" and not even knowing the rules. I admit that I took an overly adverserial/mocking/playful tone, but none of what I said was an attack. I'll willingly apologize for that (my normal hangout has become rather rough and tumble over the last couple years, and I shouldn't have assumed that the people here would be used to it).

BlackGriffen