(Re)Discovering Metroid Prime - ten years later

[F0X]

Gamerace said:

F0X said:

Gamerace said:

Quick story:

Back in 2002 my son had Metroid Prime for his GC, but never played it much.  I tried it 2-3 times, could never get into it.  Found all the scanning boring and gameplay slow.  I also hated dual analog for aiming - was a long time PC gamer.

Metroid Prime doesn't use dual-analog controls.

That's right... It had a lock-on feature - which I hated.  At the time as a PC FPS fan, the need for 'lock-on' or nowadays the more descrete 'aim assist' always made me sneer at console FPS.  I felt it was like cheating or a kiddie version of a real FPS.  That's partly how Wii drew me in - real aiming, especially in sandbox games like Godfather and Scarface where it was a liberation from necessary lock-on.  Shame GTA never got ported.

I've accepted the lock-on as an extentsion of its usage in the Zelda series (adventure games unite!). I think it really allowed Retro to focus on creating encounters focused on strategy and dodging, not pure skill.