The GHZ Forum

GamePro -------------- 4.25/5
Yahoo! Video Games - 5/5
GameTap -------------- 9/10
GameSpy.com -------- 4.5/5
IGN.com --------------- 9.5/10
GameSpot ------------- 8.5/10
1UP.com --------------- 9/10
GameDaily ------------- 4.5/5
GameTrailers ---------- 9.6/10
Nintendo Power ------- 10/10

My only excuse is that I got stuck at work too late to pick it up when I had planned to.

I fully intend to buy it today.

I am playing.

Jerk!

It's great. It only took about 15 minutes to completely sell my on the controls... they work outstandingly well. It is hard to convey just how good the pointing and aiming feels. I love it! My only beef is that I wish Samus turned a little faster... it's no worse than other console shooters, but it still doesn't hold a candle to the quick turns you can pull off with a mouse.

Everything looks and sounds great. Visually, the art direction is outstanding, and the technical execution is pretty decent for a Wii title. The music is as great as ever, and the voice acting has been well done.

What I am still wrapping my head around is the game's tone, which thus far has been very different from past Metroid titles. Walking around a populated space station, attending mission briefings and interacting with other hunters and troops... it's a huge 180 from the loneliness and isolation of the first two Prime's. It all fits in perfectly with the mythology of the series, but it's not the part of Samus' story we traditionally get to play. Usually the games don't start until after scenes like these have "already happened" off camera.

But keep in mind I'm only about an hour into the game! I do get the impression that I will be going off on my own and exploring planets solo later. If that's the case I have no complaints... I really like how this early segment is expanding the game's universe, and it's made for a really awesome action set piece or two to boot. I just wouldn't want the entire game to be this way, you know?

I'm a big Metroid fan and I loved Metroid Prime 1 and to a lesser extent Prime 2, but for some reason I'm having incredible difficulty mustering the will to play this. Prime 2 was uncomfortably close to Prime 1 for me anyway, and this just looks like more of the same. Plus it's hard not to find it graphically underwhelming.

In a lot of ways, Metroid Prime 2 almost felt like a mod of the original game, especially with it's religious adherence to keeping the exact same numbers of beams and visors. (Even though they weren't all nearly as useful as the ones in the original.)

3, on the other hand, definitely feels like a full sequel, with a lot of substantial changes to the formula. Operating and upgrading the ship, visiting multiple planets, interacting with other humans and hunters, stacking beams, the corruption mode, and of course the controls. And the grapple hook. The grapple hook is awesome.

The tech behind it is hardly cutting edge, but it still looks pretty great largely because of the art direction. I'm not sure why Nintendo had so much trouble scraping together nice looking videos or screenshots, but they sure did and it was incredibly depressing. But now that the press embargo has finally been lifted (on Monday), game sites are allowed to rip their own videos and screenshots and now the internet is flooded with stuff that makes the game look a lot better. If you haven't looked at any of the game's media since last week, definitely hit up gametrailers.com and check it out.

Because they haven't released it the UK yet. They haven't even released Super Paper Mario over here yet!

Metroid Prime 3 does look pretty awesome though. I was pretty disappointed in Metroid Prime 2 but MP3 sounds like quite an improvement.

Same reason as Gaz...

I love the previous ones, but I liked MP2 a lot more than MP1, specially for it's difficulty. About MP3 I only hope it is not extremely easy as some reviews say...

It's not as hard as Metroid Prime 2. But for the first time in the series right off the bat they give you a "Veteran" difficulty mode option that you can choose instead of "Normal".

This is just a guess, but since there is still a "hard" difficulty that you unlock later, I personally suspect that "Veteran" mode was actually the game's original planned difficulty, while "Normal" is actually a slightly eased-up version they created afterwards. Otherwise I'm not really sure why the Veteran setting would even exist!

Esrever wrote:But keep in mind I'm only about an hour into the game! I do get the impression that I will be going off on my own and exploring planets solo later.

Sort of. I'm about two hours in, where you move on to the second planet (not really a spoiler; Nintendo's gone out of its way to let you know that you visit multiple planets), and you're definitely on your own in the new locale... but you still have the Federation giving you objectives to complete.

So you're about as "alone" as you are in <i>Metroid Fusion</i> then, I guess. At least there aren't mandatory map stations prior to starting the level.

I only just recently got a Wii, damnit!

I could never finish the first Metroid Prime. My file got corrupted during my first attempt and my asshole brother deleted my file during my second attempt. I just gave up and traded it in, which I now regret. I never tried Metroid Prime 2. Someone on Gamefaqs who I respect once said that he vomited in frustration while trying to defeat a sub-boss in that game. Don't know if I want try it if it's that frustrating.

Gamefaqs guy sounds like he was a pussy.

MP2 could be frustrating (what with the ridiculous amount of backtracking and all) but never was it vomit-inducingly difficult.

Anyhow, I'd be up for MP3 but I still lack a Wii and I've already spent far too much on BioShock and Persona 3 (both worth the purchase, by the by).

Esrever in the NiGHTS thread wrote:But I can't imagine trying to play it standing up, though! I'm assuming that's the only way you'd be able to play at a demo unit. I'd never be able to use the pointer comfortably if I couldn't rest my hand on my legs (like I would while using any other console controller.)

Yep, I figured that was one reason. The other being some numbnut cranking the sensitivity on the system up too high. It'll be a good while before I can find out the difference for myself.

Prime 2's backtracking felt fine to me, in fact I think it almost as good as 1; the undulating difficulty is the major malfunction, and no denial from me that it feels more rushed (because it was). It does happen to have one of Nintendo Power's best-written strategy guides ever to go along with it. If any of you see their Prime 3 guide someplace, could you check the credits in the front and see if Alan Averill and Steven Grimm are among the writers?

Popcorn wrote:for some reason I'm having incredible difficulty mustering the will to play this.

Is it because you <i>sold your Wii</i>?!

G.Silver wrote:

Popcorn wrote:for some reason I'm having incredible difficulty mustering the will to play this.

Is it because you <i>sold your Wii</i>?! :twisted:

Best minor profit I ever made.

I refuse to use an acronym for this title for reasons that if you haven't figured out yet, you really need to get out <strike>more</strike> less.

The other problem with Metroid Prime three was there were too many freaking kinds of doors! Too many doors and too much key collecting. Not exactly the kind of organic or unobtrusive ways of steering your progress that I like to see in this franchise! It made it feel too... video-gamey.

Esrever wrote:The other problem with Metroid Prime three was there were too many freaking kinds of doors!

Esrever wrote:other problem with Metroid Prime three was

Esrever wrote:Metroid Prime three

Esrever wrote:three

I'd really like to pick this game up, but unfortunately I can only afford one game this year, with not being able to afford my tuition at the moment, just starting to work again (after a 7 month "vacation"... thank you very much poor Michigan economy...), and planning to move to Japan next semester. And that's probably going to be Smash Bros. Brawl.

I'd probably rent it, but I'm working most of this weekend and then school starts, so I really don't have time. I do plan on picking it up eventually though.

It's too bad there weren't any major titles out for Wii during that long period of doing nothing in particular called summer.

Aw balls. I meant two. TWO!

three

I don't like Metroid. Never have and never will.

Yeah, well you liked Monkey Ball Adventure.

Also, that shirt looks terrible on you.

It's not out in PAL countries until November :(

I liked Metroid II and the first half of Metroid Fusion, but Samus' world seems so empty and bleak that I get bored with it easily. I play videogames so I can pretend I have friends, not pretend I'm alone.

I'd kill to play this game just now but fuck PAL release dates. I will have to give them credit though, it's only 2 months of a gap this time and Galaxy is being released in Europe in November as well, so we're not getting that badly screwed, or at least not in comparison to say Animal Crossing GC or Warioware Twisted (still not out, still pops up on NoE release schedules).

Apparently there's a scan log at one point of the game which hints that a sidescrollimg Metroid title is still in development for DS, which I hope and pray is true.

Ah, yes! The scan says that says the 'metroid dread' project is nearly complete. But I guess there's no telling if it's confirming the old Metroid Dread DS rumour, or just making fun of it.