Been out of town for a few days and in regards to Metroid: Other M discussion that was rather poor timing. So this post is kind of a scattershot of stuff relating to the last three days of posts.
Some people were making a big deal about unskippable cutscenes. I have never understood that. If you skip the cutscenes the first time you encounter them how the hell do you have any idea what is going on? Sometimes specific gameplay related information is revealed, informing you of your next objective. What I don't like is if I've already seen the cutscene and can't skip it. The worst is when you get a little scene before a boss, you die on the boss, load up your save and have to go through the whole scene again and again every time you die on the boss. That's inexusable crap design and if you're complaining about that I support it. But if I was a dev I wouldn't let you skip the cutscene the first time through.
Wall jumping in Super Metroid does suck though it seems mostly optional to progress through the game so I cut it some slack. The part where you learn the wall jump from those little dudes is the only time I recall having to use it - you have to get out of the pit. What I like about Super Metroid is that it is me having the adventure. I'm not watching Samus, *I* am Samus. The experience is what I am thinking and what conclusion I am coming to. I figure out the solution, I explore. I don't watch. That's what almost every game gets wrong these days. The player is a bystander who gets to control at parts. Super Metroid is very much your experience and that's what make it brilliant. That's why every new Metroid game gets compared to it because every new Metroid game fucks that up. I think Metroid Prime is an absolute classic but it still doesn't quite get it as right as Super Metroid. Blantant hints that hit you over the head with the answer, cutscenes that tell you what you are supposed to be thinking, and perfectly choreographed set piece bosses take the gameplay from the player. Modern Metroid gets that wrong, modern Zelda gets that wrong, practically every modern game gets that wrong. The problem is doing it right will make the game harder and will take away a lot of superficial pizzazz and that's not as mainstream friendly so no one has the balls to do it.
For Other M there have been three things that I, and practically everyone, has been concerned about: **** story, iffy controls, linear non-Metroid gameplay. Now the reviews are out and the issues? **** story, iffy controls, linear non-Metroid gameplay. So everything I was concerned about was exactly what they fucked up? I expected them to get everything else right. So this makes me a lot less enthusiastic about this game, which is a bummer because my brother and I were talking about it this last weekend and got ourselves pumped for Tuesday's release. I'm still going to get it but I'm iffy about it.
Normally a game that gets mostly positive reviews is a success. But this is Metroid. If it's not a GOTY contender then it's a failure. I think that Metroid has that kind of reputation (as does Zelda).
Topic: Metroid Other M (Read 526948 times)
