Metroid Prime 3 Impressions

You know, sometimes when you read a review or first impressions you get a bunch of info you either already know or couldn't care less about. So I'm going to try something different. But first, the something you couldn't care less about: my background.

In brief, I'm a PC, online FPS gamer. Quake 3, CoD / CoD:UO and now Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (come October 2nd). I say this to let you know what gets my crackling erm, crackling and understand that console gaming is quite a secondary pastime for me. Likewise, Metroid and I haven't had a cool relationship. I never picked up the SNES Super Metroid (although I might now hit it up on the VC), Prime and Echoes I got on budget and just never really got into them due to a combination of pacing, frustrating controls compared to the PC and well, I always got a strange hollow impression from them.

Enough of that, I just wanted you to know where I'm coming from. I don't think I can be honest with you unless you know that stuff. So, in lieu of a review I thought I'd just hammer down my impressions. The things that struck me hardest in my first few hours of play.

A Wii favorite: Graphics. I honestly have to say, I'm stunned by them. I expected a dull drab mess of blurry textures and the odd bit of glow. What I was presented with was vibrant contrasting colours, crisp textures and detailed models. Where the levels lack the polys to perhaps lavish on the current high-gen touches, the ones you'd be hard pressed to notice anyway. Here they've been put to good use, filling the world with more obvious objects and decoration. This is certainly not one of those games where every hallway looks alike.

You can see the care and attention Retro has paid to every map inch of the levels. If I have to sum up the style, I kind of got struck by the powerful colours to the point that I felt like I was playing a comic book. You could literally pause and snap a picture and just compile them into a comic (the snapping pictures part is an unlockable by the way). Before I go wash up, I'd also like to prove my Metroid "newbieness" by saying that, seeing Samus stare back in the visor while tracking the pointer is spookily fun, as are the neat visor touches like steam and rain. This is just what I call polish and it's what sets a good games apart from extraordinary ones.

Okay, so I'll cut out the lushing right there.


Controls are up second. Usually a sore point for me, but I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. The lock-on really makes the game, negating the annoying "my enemy is at the edge of the screen oh wait the screen is scrolling!" moments. Instead, you can now, like in Zelda, lock on and strafe around a target. You still need to aim at them, so this isn't a skill gimping feature, it just lets you focus on the shooting and avoiding while it handles a lot of the movement issues. No, the lock on is not without its faults. I've found at times that it's sometimes easy to lose the lock and you end up disorientated for a few moments, as your movements are no longer pivoting around an enemy. You then suffer the agonizing wait as the screen slowly rotates around as you try to find the guy shooting you in the back. All in all though, this is the best I've seen thus far and that niggling point aside, you'll have a huge amount of fun playing the game and not wrestling with the controller. Yes, Red Steel, I am looking at you!

Gameplay. So far, I've found myself playing through of more of it than I honestly expected. My recent gaming form I'm getting old I guess is that I'll play for a few hours, then take a break. With Metroid, I've found I take a break for a few minutes and then want to get back into it and do a bit more. Writing this has probably been the longest I've stayed away from the game all day!

I still, however, feel the pangs of emptiness as you invariably explore largely deserted levels picking off a few baddies as you go. It strikes me as funny that Zelda, which similarly throws you into dungeons doesn't feel this way. Perhaps it's the solemn orchestral musical score, but either way, I'm sure this is intentional to the series as a whole.


Other things that have struck me while playing, other than my wife: The title screen just smacks me with quality and a lust to navigate the menus. it works really well and more games should see about putting some effort into what is the welcoming face of their game. The achievements and unlockables are a nice motivator beyond just getting a completion percentage in the high 90s. Audio and acting is well done, although, I wish they had included the option to allow it to run on without pauses, which kind of breaks the immersion a little.

Ratings. I'll pass on those thank you! They're even more subjective than my opinions. So, I'll just say that on my scale, this is a must buy unless the very name "Metroid" turns you giddy with nausea. For Metroid fans, I expect you'll love it. For Wii gamers, this is hopefully the start of a quality crop of games for you to get into. For doubters, you now have proof that many failings of the Wii are a result of developers taking the easy path, much like all other poor quality games.

Now, where's my Wiimote?