Metroid Prime for Wii "should be your most anticipated New Play Control game," says Wired's Chris Kohler, in his brief impressions of the Japanese version of the game. But calling this an enhanced remake is a bit of stretch, he admits.
By Blake Snow | Last updated March 11, 2009 11:06 AM CT
Game|Life got its hands on a Japanese copy of the "New Play Control" remake of Metroid Prime for Wii and came away impressed. Not "Holy crap this is awesome" impressed, but a solid two thumbs up, of sorts.
"It plays pretty much exactly like Metroid Prime 3," writes Wired's Chris Kohler. "If you've played that game, the odds are excellent that this is all you need to hear."
For those out of the loop, "New Play Control" games, like the recently released Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis, are GameCube classics refitted with motion controls. In addition to widescreen and "enhanced definition" support, Metroid Prime Wii features trophy achievements and the ability to send in-game screenshots to your Wii buddies. But it might not be enough to hold the attention of those who already played the game to completion, Kohler says.
"I doubt I'll actually jump back in and play through all of Metroid Prime again, but something about the little bit that I played makes me want to give it another couple hours, just to remember how much fun the game was and how much better it plays now with the new controls," he writes. "Going back to the GameCube version, no matter how well the controls worked back then, felt strange and limiting."
Though hardly the original content traditional Wii owners may crave, New Play Control games are a great way for non-GameCube owners (and there's a lot of them) to experience proven Nintendo classics with more precise control. Though expected, a US release date for Metroid Prime Wii has yet to be announced.
By Chris KohlerMarch 10, 2009 | 1:03:00 PMCategories: Console Games
Metroid Prime, which should be your most anticipated of Nintendo's "New Play Control" series of Wii games, shipped last month in Japan.
After digging myself out from a pile of other work, I played a bit of it last night. The 2002 GameCube first-person shooter has been totally refitted with Wii motion controls, so it plays pretty much exactly like Metroid Prime 3. If you've played that game, the odds are excellent that this is all you need to hear. Wii's paucity of excellent hard-core games runs contrary to what we were led to believe when the controller was first unveiled -- that it would be a fertile breeding ground for first-person shooters because of the Wiimote's direct-pointing ability. This didn't quite happen, so it's nice to have another one, even if it's a straight port of an old game.
An old, brilliant game. Metroid Prime somehow managed to bring the classic exploration-based action series into the first person not only without ruining it, but making a fantastic game in the process that blended the FPS genre with 3-D platforming and puzzle solving that surpassed... well, basically anything. What other first-person game, in 2002, did jumping so well? That alone was a minor miracle.
The Wii version features widescreen display* and point-and-shoot controls. The original did not have any such thing -- you held a button to automagically lock on to any nearby enemy. You can still lock on, but as with Prime 3, you can choose two different control settings. One locks your aim on to the enemy, and the other (which you should use) locks your view onto the enemy, but lets you aim freely.
You turn around by moving the aiming reticule towards the edge of the screen -- also as in Prime 3, you can adjust how sensitive this is. Selecting visors and beams is done by holding the plus and minus buttons to bring up a menu, then selecting the one you want -- much more elegant and faster than having to drop your hands down to the D-pad and C-stick.
From what I've played so far, the gameplay hasn't been changed. There was one new addition that I've seen -- like in the Wii sequel, you can earn badges for completing certain tasks, like defeating the Parasite Queen or escaping the first level. These can be redeemed for bonus content in the game's main menu -- art galleries, music, etc.
There is, for some reason, voice acting -- not a lot of it, but there's a little bit of narration during the opening sequence that introduces the character of Samus Aran. And when you load up a game and it displays the name of the area you're in, that also has narration over it. Not sure if that was necessary.
Apparently you can also redeem these to use the "Fusion Suit," a new costume for Samus that originally had to be unlocked by connecting the original Prime to the Game Boy game Metroid Fusion.
Finally, there's a "Game Screenshot Tool" in the bonus content options, which lets you take screenshots of the game and save them on your Wii. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be anything you can do with them other than mail them to your Wii friends.
I doubt I'll actually jump back in and play through all of Metroid Prime again, but something about the little bit that I played makes me want to give it another couple hours, just to remember how much fun the game was and how much better it plays now with the new controls. Going back to the GameCube version, no matter how well the controls worked back then, felt strange and limiting.
This week, Nintendo released similarly upgraded versions of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis for Wii in the U.S., and will follow with Donkey Kong Jungle Beat in May. Metroid Prime is, of course, a shoo-in for a U.S. release, but Nintendo has not yet announced a date.
Other upcoming games in the series include Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Chibi-Robo, and Pikmin 2.
*Which the original also apparently had, now that I look in the GameCube version's instruction booklet. Fancy that.
Regardless of me already having it on the Cube, I will get the new play control version because of the controls and obviously the game it self is epic win. Along with other new play control games, metroid prime should be hard to topple. Oh by the way that picture is from Metroid prime 2: Echoes not metroid prime 1.
So, since the game was already awesome, is this version awesome awesome?
Random game thought : Why is Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 getting so much hate? We finally get a real game and they're not even satisfied... I'm starting to hate the gaming community so f****** much...
SHMUPGurus said: Wow! The new updates look awesome.
So, since the game was already awesome, is this version awesome awesome?
Yes. Like RE4: Wii, this is the definitive version of one of the best games of this century. That's all you should need to know.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing *Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
SHMUPGurus said: Wow! The new updates look awesome.
So, since the game was already awesome, is this version awesome awesome?
Yes. Like RE4: Wii, this is the definitive version of one of the best games of this century. That's all you should need to know.
If only it had a US release date. I'm going crazy waiting for it. Never played original (never had any console that gen) but the fact that everyone considers it better than Prime 3 which would make my top three favourite games ever makes me want to play so bad.
