Wii Warm Up: Has Metroid set the standard?

by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 31st 2007 at 9:00AM }

We're willing to go on record stating the Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is about the best thing we've slipped into our Wii so far. Wii Sports was a great introduction to the console, and certainly made great use of the motion controls, but we have to go with the richer, fuller experience the latest Metroid has to offer.

In fact, now that we've seen something so fantastic, our standards are likely to be a little higher. Are we alone in this? Fun is fun, certainly, so we'll still love anything that's a good time, but for anything that claims an epic experience, Corruption is setting the bar pretty high.

Tags: best, Corruption, MetroidPrime3, metroidweek, standards

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

X @ Aug 31st 2007 9:23AM

Shouldn't the bar for epic experience be very high to begin with?

troy @ Aug 31st 2007 9:25AM

I entirely agree. I think that the level of depth and detail in this game make the PS2 ports look awful in comparison. We need graphics at least the level of 'Sonic & the Secret Rings' or better yet MP3:C if you are going to make a graphically-intensive game. The system is capable of some really nice stuff and I payed for it knowing that. But of course you weren't just talking about visuals. I am almost glad I've never played a 'Prime' title until I got 'Corruption' because it feels very fresh indeed to me. I can always go back and pick up the other ones, if I can stomach the dual analog controls. The gameplay and immersion are unbelievable.

troy @ Aug 31st 2007 9:26AM

Ha ha ha I 'paid' for it knowing that too, now I look awful.

Jeremy @ Aug 31st 2007 9:31AM

I have to agree with X on that. I really would like to see some epic online play though. I also have to say that Prime 3 has been a great play and it is a must for fans of shooters or the series.

Blue Sam @ Aug 31st 2007 9:44AM

to tell that I'm glad to know when compare on 4:3 and 16:9 appear no chop, but only visor that show stretch in widescreen while the world/scene isn't either chopped or stretch.

James @ Aug 31st 2007 9:55AM

I'd love to see nintendo share the code for the controls on Metroid Prime 3 with other FPS developers. Nintendo are the experts with this new motion controlled tech.. they should share their skills with 3rd parties to ensure consistently high quality throughout other titles.

David @ Aug 31st 2007 10:13AM

@James
Metroid Prime was developed by a 3rd party, Retro Studios. It was published by Nintendo. Wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid_Prime_3:_Corruption

I think the result should be that the other 3rd parties out there should get there skills on, because the bar has been raised.

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 31st 2007 10:19AM

@David
Wrongity wrong wrong. Retro Studios was second-party when it was founded and became first-party when it was given the Metroid property. To Nintendo's Wikipedia page and look at first-party developers.

Louis @ Aug 31st 2007 10:24AM

I hate to be the naysayer, and even though I'm only on the second stop on Byrro, I'm not yet sold.

The controls are great, and it is so much more natural to just point at the screen and fire, that is not my problem.

My problem is that up until now, the best graphics on the Wii have been achieved by NOT trying to set the graphical bar really high. Using cell shading, or clever animation. However, Metroid goes head to head with games like Halo in its setting, and it can barely even hold up against Halo 2 on XBox.

I know immediately people will say the graphics are great and the gameplay makes up for it, but I can't help think that everyone is saying, in comparison to Wii games, the graphics are great.

Also, as far as story goes, I know its standard Metroid, but it seems a bit tired at this point. Are we seriously still finding the map for the level before we go on? I just wish it was a little more open ended. I wish I could shoot the grapple at anything, not just when I see the grapple symbol. I don't care if "this is Metroid" it still seems stale.

I'm not saying it isn't a good game. I think that multiplayer would have been insanely awesome. Metroid Hunters had a really fun multiplayer.

But that isn't the point. As far as epic, it doesn't come close to Zelda TP.

David @ Aug 31st 2007 10:28AM

@hvnlysoldr
Didn't dig far enough on Wikipedia, thanks for pointing that out.

Dan @ Aug 31st 2007 10:43AM

HELL YEAH.

I think there's still a market for casual games, don't get me wrong. I don't think grandma will ever get into Metroid. But I think Nintendo needs at least FOUR big titles of this quality and scale starting in 2008.

Why? Because PS3 is going to have its Metal Gears and Final Fantasies, and 360 is gonna have its Halos and Gears of Wars. And they're both gonna have Grand Theft Autos. I know Nintendo's 10 million buyers are different from Xbox's 10 million buyers, but Nintendo can't last if they ignore core gamers. They don't need to outdo Xbox or PSX, but they do need to remain in competition on their traditional terms, even as they redefine it elsewhere. They need to keep people keen enough to participate in a site called "Wii Fan Boy" happy.

I just hope No More Heros and Red Steel 2 pay off. Disaster and Fire Emblem could both be big payoffs too, with a little extra investment.

ima747 @ Aug 31st 2007 10:52AM

I own a 360 and Wii. I could care less about graphics as long as they get the job done honestly. I want things to look believable in their context. By that measure I think Katamari games are just as good as Halo visualy. Not because the graphics compare directly (not even close) but because they get across the feeling and the mood the developer's intended. In that vein MP3's graphics are perfect. They're believable in their setting and I don't fault them for not having an extra polygon here or there because the controls work with the environment to create a believable and engaging experience (bare in mind it IS metroid, not halo). To me it feels like Super Metroid (praise jeebus for the VC) kicked into 3D. I never liked prime on the cube because the cube controller was so bad it totally ruined the experience for me. This feels as tight as Super Metroid, just modernized (and not crapily re-imagined in 3D like most modernizations, which tend to have terrible controls and try to make up for it with graphics that fall short too)

If you really do care about graphics so much that they bother you get a 360, you won't miss the controls or exclusives of the wii (the purpose of the wii) and you'll be happy with your pretty pictures. If you'd rather have a new and fun gaming experience then keep your wii (and maybe get a 360 too, there's nothing wrong with standard dual analog stick gaming, they just have to work that much harder to make it interesting because we seen so much already)

Jonathan Tran @ Aug 31st 2007 10:56AM

According to IGN's playtest, Medal of Honor: Heroes is already better than MP3C for controls

It actually sounds friggin amazing:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/817/817116p1.html

Louis @ Aug 31st 2007 11:04AM

@ima747

But Halo3 and MP3 do compete directly. Alien environment, check. Aliens, check. Super suit warrior, check.

FragMagnet @ Aug 31st 2007 11:14AM

@ima747
I have to agree with you, however you make it sound a little too much as if the Wii has an enormous advantage with regards playability over the xbox. Although the Wii has a truckload of original titles over the xbox's, you have to consider that quite a number of said titles don't offer much beyond the usual quickfire, simplistic style games that have little to no depth. I've found that these hardly ever keep my attention for longer than a few minutes any more. It worked for Wario Ware... but now it's getting tiring.

And on that note, I'd say that MP3:C doesn't so much "raise the bar" as it does bring attention to the dire lack of games with real substance on the Wii. I personally get a little annoyed at how I still can't justify buying a Wii when I spent several months impatiently waiting for its release. Hopefully the lineup of good games due for release won't be followed immediately by another dry spell.

Patrick @ Aug 31st 2007 11:19AM

@Louis

I have to disagree with you there. Halo and Metroid Prime games are completely different. Why? Because the priorities in the games are different. Just because you have "aliens" and you have "alien" environments doesn't make the games completely similar. The priorities in Halo are this: Multiplayer and destroy. The priorities in the Metroid series is this: Exploration and atmosphere.

The things you complain about Metroid have been around IN Metroid since it's conception. It just sounds like Metroid isn't your type of game, simple as that. And again, I'll say this. Multiplayer doesn't belong in Metroid, the only reason it worked in Hunters is because it was on the DS. That would never work on a console, never.

John @ Aug 31st 2007 11:27AM

I'm about 90 minutes in, and not blown away by the controls or graphics... seems to be an okay, somewhat linear story. Never played a console FPS before, so my reaction isn't clouded by older dual analog controls:

I played Half-Life 2 years ago, and Call of Duty on the PC before that, and they look and control much better than MP3- AND I can interact with the world a bit more.

I feel like I'm playing the next version of Zelda here... not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't seem like the title is set apart from Zelda controls all that much.

I'll give the title 7/10 so far.

bean @ Aug 31st 2007 11:55AM

@patrick

while I agree that metroid hasn't really meshed well with multiplayer, I am curious about how it would have done with this title. For me, the controls for this game are exactly what I have been hoping for for forever (I used to dream of the N64 controller with a light gun attachment where the rumble went, that way you could walk with the analog and aim with the light gun, same as this game setup...kinda) and I think MP3 would make for an interesting FPS multiplayer because of the somewhat actual aiming that you have to do, requires a bit more skill.

As far as the halo discussion goes, halo and metroid are in direct competition. Just because the goals, intents, or priorities are different doesn't mean they're not competing with each other. Mario and Sonic were in direct competition even though one was about mushrooms and italians while the other was about rodents and speed...

beans @ Aug 31st 2007 11:58AM

oh yeah, for those who aren't liking the controls, I know that I wasn't too happy with them either until I switch the sensitivity to advanced...completely made my day/week

pmasterfunk @ Aug 31st 2007 12:05PM

this game is amazing i bought it the day it came out.

the only thing i would want is a button you press to do a quick 180 degrees turn.

Eric @ Aug 31st 2007 3:05PM

what about Twilight Princess?

vidGuy @ Aug 31st 2007 3:11PM

MP3:C shows what the Wii is capable of, but we've got to be careful setting the bar that high. Really, how many games on the GC lived up to the quality of the Prime games or the Zelda games? How many on the XBOX or PS2 lived up to the 'standards' set by their best-sellers? Very few.

So while I was impressed by what I saw with MP3 in my few minutes with the game, I won't be expecting that quality from more than a dozen or so games throughout the Wii's life. Anything else will be a surprise. As Jonathan said, MoH already looks to be improving things up, and the visuals look to actually use the Wii's hardware, so that may be surprise number one.

vidGuy @ Aug 31st 2007 3:16PM

@John (#17), I'm not really surprised by your opinion. I'm not much of a PC gamer but it sounds like most of them aren't impressed by MP3:C because it's still slower than PC controls. BUT most console gamers agree that MP3:C is great compared to console dual-analog. Plus we've got to remember that Prime games have had a slow turn-around speed anyway - a fact that results from the gameplay being centered around exploring rather than shooting.

So while MP3:C may not be convincing PC gamers, it's a definitely step in the right direction for console gaming. Plus, I'll take an analog stick over a keyboard any day! ;)

NeuroMan42 @ Aug 31st 2007 3:31PM

Damn straight!!!

doogles @ Aug 31st 2007 3:33PM

Metroid Prime 3 is awesome. All games from this point should be nothing less.

I mean, with the exception of Galaxy and Brawl and maybe Fire Emblem, et al., they will be. But they shouldn't.

Genome4824 @ Aug 31st 2007 5:41PM

it's def a start

but WHAT a start it is!

flo @ Aug 31st 2007 9:26PM

i gotta agree with louis. I'm not sayin i hate the wii because of the low quality graphics its just that great graphics just abt perfect and it will shut ps3 n 360 fanboys out there. It would also stop those pesky lil "for next gen consoles only" quotes with games. It jus feels like a slap in the face when i read it. The graphics are a lil important (not as much as gameply though.)For example i play madden 08 on the ps3 n the on the wii but wen i first looked @ it on the wii i wuz disgusted and disappointed but after playin it was great.

flo @ Aug 31st 2007 9:27PM

oo and i can also use girls as an example. Men usually prefer looks (graphics) over personality (gameplay.) you noe its wrong but you still don it. Don't u?