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Metroid Prime 2 Echoes 1UP review - 8.5

SantaC

Member
Nerevar said:
Considering your avatar, it's pretty obvious you have an agenda and just want to post flamebait (re: my earlier post in the thread). If you actually wanted to get in a serious discussion, you would've responded to the points I raised, but instead you overgeneralized my statement (another logical fallacy!) and failed to actually debate anything. It was nice while it lasted though, but I'm not going to waste my time with another metroid prime fanboy who worships at the twin phalluses of Nintendo and Retro.

worship? We don't have a right to like the game as it is now? wtf is wrong with this world...
 

Kon Tiki

Banned
Nerevar said:
Considering your avatar, it's pretty obvious you have an agenda and just want to post flamebait (re: my earlier post in the thread). If you actually wanted to get in a serious discussion, you would've responded to the points I raised, but instead you overgeneralized my statement (another logical fallacy!) and failed to actually debate anything. It was nice while it lasted though, but I'm not going to waste my time with another metroid prime fanboy who worships at the twin phalluses of Nintendo and Retro.

You are arguing that all games that have a point, i.e. a set ending, are linear. How am I to argue that? Other than to say your view of linear is (very, very) wrong.

I would never dare call you wrong, I do not want you to have me exiled from your land of bullshit. Now I shall beg forgiveness for wasting any more of your time.
 
I think some reviews will take the 1UP route and focus on things not improved from the previous game, as well as having similar gameplay mechanics to its predecessor. Others will appreciate the departure in mood and art from previous games in the series, and say that the control setup from the previous game was already pretty damn good.

Majora's Mask 2: Electric Boogaloo.
 
SantaCruZer said:
I don't see huge threads about halo getting critisized in here. But I do see it with metroid.


You've got to be shitting me. I probably should go and find some threads about Halo to show how unbelievably wrong you are but I imagine that everyone here at GAF already knows how ridiculous your statment is so I'll just leave it at that.
 

WarPig

Member
I think Bish decided at one point that it was Don't Fondle Salamanders.

This thread, incidentally, needs an emergency swass injection.

aisha3.jpg


DFS.
 
Nerevar said:
Considering your avatar, it's pretty obvious you have an agenda and just want to post flamebait (re: my earlier post in the thread). If you actually wanted to get in a serious discussion, you would've responded to the points I raised, but instead you overgeneralized my statement (another logical fallacy!) and failed to actually debate anything. It was nice while it lasted though, but I'm not going to waste my time with another metroid prime fanboy who worships at the twin phalluses of Nintendo and Retro.



Needs a mother's love....
 

WarPig

Member
snapty00 said:
What exactly is that "swass" crap, anyway?

"Bigger than big, badder than bad, smoother than smooth, and definitely deffer than def." Like Aisha Codante, for instance.

DFS.
 

snapty00

Banned
WarPig said:
"Bigger than big, badder than bad, smoother than smooth, and definitely deffer than def." Like Aisha Codante, for instance.

DFS.
Oh, geez, man. I can see why you got (partially or otherwise) banned for that crap. :p
 

Deg

Banned
Samus herself might be the one aspect of the game that doesn't look as cool or cooler than the original. The Phazon Suit from two years back is still much, much sharper than any of the suit designs in Echoes. The game's bestiary makes up for some repeating designs with top-notch original creations (from the hulking Ing shadow-beasts to clever concepts like the digital Rezbit baddies), but it's still a shame Samus hasn't got style to match the opposition.

They have no taste. Phazon suit was pretty ugly it was just the best suit on MP. In MP2 her design is nicer(much nicer helmet) and so is the dark suit. The light suit looks to be the best so far judging from the behind.
 
Mrbob said:
Well, saying there is no set path is a bit misleading. The entire world isn't open to you from the beginning. You have to find upgrades/items/weapons that let you traverse new areas. Which means you do have to follow a certain path to find these upgrades in a certain order to move around the map. Once you have all the upgrades then I would agree there is no set path. But you don't start the game with everything in tow.

*Just so someone doesn't start arguing semantics with me, I'm talking about when the real game starts after you leave the space station!*


I agree with this discussion but I just wanted to point out one thing. The game that MP is closest to in terms of play structure is something like LOZ. The item collection.. say weapons/beams is the same as collecting a hammer/mallet in LOZ so you can advance. Fact that said weapon can also open paths... is a bonus. = FACT

Woke up and checked out this thread and its obvious.

a) GAF is in full swing
b) Damage control is in full swing (Santacruzer gets an award)
c) Hater crowd is all over.


Read the review at 1up and I really have to say that I found his review to be rather negative. Nothing good; looking for faults.

1) samus isn't shinier/nicer. I don't think that's even a valid coment to make. 1 fucking paragraph. Nothing on the plot or how he thought the story in Echoes works. Nothing about the new weapons and how the visuals look when you use them. I've heard all about the Dark Beams "cel-shadedness" but nothing here about them. Just knock it back on the basis of her looking the same.
Samus herself might be the one aspect of the game that doesn't look as cool or cooler than the original. The Phazon Suit from two years back is still much, much sharper than any of the suit designs in Echoes. The game's bestiary makes up for some repeating designs with top-notch original creations (from the hulking Ing shadow-beasts to clever concepts like the digital Rezbit baddies), but it's still a shame Samus hasn't got style to match the opposition.

2) I'd ignore his difficulty comment myself. Hard = better. :D

3) The Multiplater sucks. I knew it. :lol Doesn't matter to me. I wonder how many other places will knock it for multi.

popcorn indeed.
 

WarPig

Member
Matlock said:
Dave just likes quoting Sir Mix-A-Lot.

You can blame Chris Carle back at IGN Guides. He had "Posse on Broadway" running pretty much non-stop when we were at TGS two years ago.

DFS.
 
Mrbob said:
I think it's time for Ninendo to let Retro evolve this series. I really dislike the fact that you gotta back track again for a decent portion of MP2. It's fine to have some old school elements to the game, but it doesn't need to be the focus. Metroid Prime 3 needs to be done away with most of the backtracking. Metroid Prime gets a free pass because it was so awesome to see the universe to be recreated in full 3D. It's ok to respect the past but it doesn't mean you have to mimic it.

What your not understanding is, MP was created because the Metroid fans wanted it. Naturally including most things from the original 2d series on the NES was very important. It doesn't matter what title it is, Halo, MGS, there's things in the original some believe should be in the sequel.

The fans come before the casuals, these are the gamers you know will pick up the game. I say leave the Metroid series alone, there isn't need for change. All Nintendo need to do is not, pin Retro to just one franchise. Retro can create their on seperate franchise.

I don't see it as old school, its apart of the series. Mario Bros. didn't have backtracking and its the oldest franchise, compared the Metroid series.
 

snapty00

Banned
I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, but I still hated the few parts of backtracking. I don't see that as an "ingredient" for the game or whatever. If anything, it's one of Zero Mission's weaknesses. To me, insisting that backtracking adds to the game somehow is similar to someone insisting that fans of Sonic Adventure games expect and desire a shitty camera in new Sonic Adventure games, since the old versions had it.
 

Deg

Banned
snapty00 said:
I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, but I still hated the few parts of backtracking. I don't see that as an "ingredient" for the game or whatever. If anything, it's one of Zero Mission's weaknesses. To me, insisting that backtracking adds to the game somehow is similar to someone insisting that fans of Sonic Adventure games expect and desire a shitty camera in new Sonic Adventure games, since the old versions had it.

ban +1 ;)
 

Do The Mario

Unconfirmed Member
snapty00 said:
I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, but I still hated the few parts of backtracking. I don't see that as an "ingredient" for the game or whatever. If anything, it's one of Zero Mission's weaknesses. To me, insisting that backtracking adds to the game somehow is similar to someone insisting that fans of Sonic Adventure games expect and desire a shitty camera in new Sonic Adventure games, since the old versions had it.

Nail has been hit on the head

IAWTP
 

Kiriku

SWEDISH PERFECTION
OG_Original Gamer said:
What your not understanding is, MP was created because the Metroid fans wanted it.

Heh, the fans wanted a Metroid game played from a first-person perspective? If anything, it was the fans who didn't "approve" of this (at first).
 

Kon Tiki

Banned
snapty00 said:
I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, but I still hated the few parts of backtracking. I don't see that as an "ingredient" for the game or whatever. If anything, it's one of Zero Mission's weaknesses. To me, insisting that backtracking adds to the game somehow is similar to someone insisting that fans of Sonic Adventure games expect and desire a shitty camera in new Sonic Adventure games, since the old versions had it.
Revisiting old areas with new strength and powers? I do not see how a perceptive compares to backtracking. The goal of MP was to make a 2d metroid in 3d, that includes everything the 2d ones had. If there had been another metroid after III that did not have backtracking, maybe they would of had something else to work with. You have a point with MP2 tho, seeing as the 2d in 3d version was already completed.
 

paul777

Banned
snapty00 said:
I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, but I still hated the few parts of backtracking. I don't see that as an "ingredient" for the game or whatever. If anything, it's one of Zero Mission's weaknesses. To me, insisting that backtracking adds to the game somehow is similar to someone insisting that fans of Sonic Adventure games expect and desire a shitty camera in new Sonic Adventure games, since the old versions had it.


Backtracking is inevitable in hub world-based games. It happens in GTA, it happens in Zelda. The only way to get rid of it is to completely change that characteristic of the game into level-based. Problem is, Metroid is not a level-based game. Never has been, never will be.
 

Do The Mario

Unconfirmed Member
People are getting a bit too technical, yes there Is back tracking in almost every game, however I have never ever back tracked in a game as much as in MP. It gets tedious having to clear out the same room of the same enemies 10 times or do the same platforming section several times. There is just no fun in it imo.

What makes the game great is the boss battles!

Next metroid game should be a collection of boss battles!
 
snapty00 said:
I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, but I still hated the few parts of backtracking. I don't see that as an "ingredient" for the game or whatever. If anything, it's one of Zero Mission's weaknesses. To me, insisting that backtracking adds to the game somehow is similar to someone insisting that fans of Sonic Adventure games expect and desire a shitty camera in new Sonic Adventure games, since the old versions had it.

the 2 aren't even comparable comparisions. Fact that in Metroid games, your power ups allow you to gain access to new area + get additional power up makes it more than backtracking. If you view this as a problem than stay away from MP2E. Seriously, nothings stopping you from not buying the game. It does sound like Retro balanced it out a bit funny although that could just be the reviewers bents. I quite enjoyed running around MP's universe again to collect the power ups. :O
 

Do The Mario

Unconfirmed Member
mumu said:
Is playing the same levels up to 7 times in SM64 considered backtracking?
Each time you are exploring a different part of the world, so there is little back tracking plus it more fun!
 

SomeDude

Banned
Story in Metroid? I think just about every Metroid fan in existence disliked Metroid Fusion for this reason. Shit, I bet that is why they remade the original game, isntead of making Metroid Fusion 2.
 

rastex

Banned
Obviously the issue isn't backtracking itself, but how it's implemented. In previous Metroids backtracking was implemented well, and this reviewer seems to think the backtracking in MP2 isn't implemented well. Done. You probably won't agree.
 

Floyd

Member
rastex said:
Obviously the issue isn't backtracking itself, but how it's implemented. In previous Metroids backtracking was implemented well, and this reviewer seems to think the backtracking in MP2 isn't implemented well. Done. You probably won't agree.

No he just pointed out there was a lot of it, much like Prime. And he didn't appreciate that they brought back another artifact fetch quest that Prime had. But did say there were less to collect this time. He also said the puzzles involved to get all the artifacts were very smart.

I respect his complaint even though its not a complaint for me, but he didn't say back tracking was implemented badly. Good review over all.
 

cybamerc

Will start substantiating his hate
I won't be complaining about David's score because I don't know how he rated the original. Not to mention that I haven't played the game. But certainly I'm curious about some of his comments.

I wasn't a huge fan of the first game because I'm generally not into shooters, particularly those of the first person variation. For the most part however I enjoyed the game up until the point where you reach the Phazon Mines which looked and played too much like a traditonal FPS for my liking (if you look past the control scheme - which I haven't a problem with). The great thing about Metroid Prime was the emphasis on exploration which, at least to me, wasn't tedious because of the brilliant level designs and overall art direction. The genious of Metroid Prime really is the way this enormous would ties together and to remove that aspect from the game would only serve to make Metroid Prime more like any other FPS on the market. I think it's important to keep in mind that Metroid Prime while played from a first person perspective does not play like a traditional FPS and isn't meant to. If you're expecting a game of Halo or Doom get those games. Metroid is Metroid and that's the way it should be.

Another thing I've thought about is what it takes, or should take, for a game like MP2 that is a sequel to another game on the same platform to get the same score as the original. MP2 seems like a very traditional sequel. The game follows the same basic structure as MP1 but adds improved visuals, all new art, an interesting twist on the traditional backtracking through level design and mission structure, new abilities and so forth. Plus a multiplayer mode which was the most requested feature in a poll on Nintendo.com but doesn't seem to garner much interest with gaming publications and hardcore fans. So all in all a solid if somewhat traditional update. Now one could argue that Retro has done everything possible to provide a fresh experience within the confinements of the franchise and the system it's on. I'm almost certain that had MP2 not been a GameCube title but instead a launch title for the Revolution with the kind of graphics you can expect from a next gen platform the anticipation would be greater and people would be a little more forgiving concerning the lack of gameplay evolution.

It's interesting how reviewers apply different standards to different games. Sports games that realistically offer few improvements from year to year (and usually mess up something that used to work so there's something to fix later on) tend to get very consistent scores. So do many other franchises where perhaps the expectations are different. So is it fair to deduct points from the MP2 score for something which most games are guilty of - not offering the same freshness as the original? Hypothetically of course. I don't know if that happened in this case and I obviously don't know how MP2 will be rated by other publications.
 
I always thought that people thought of 1up as 'just another videogame publication... that sucks.'

Like GameInformer....

That's GMR nevermind....
 

GSG Flash

Nobody ruins my family vacation but me...and maybe the boy!
This is the first 1up score I actually looked into. I really don't care what 1up gives it, they could've gave it 1.0 for all I care, i'm just waiting for the IGN and GS score.
 
"David Smith, the biggest whining jackass to ever review a video game.

8.5 is probably the highest score he's ever given a game."

Is this true?
 

skip

Member
Lemurnator said:
I always thought that people thought of 1up as 'just another videogame publication... that sucks.'

Like GameInformer....

That's GMR nevermind....

actually, lots of people like us, including my mom.
 

WarPig

Member
FnordChan said:
And who doesn't, really? By the way, the DFS stands for:

"Don't you wish your boyFriend was Swass like me?"

No, this would imply that I am swass, which I am not. Dougulus Kaien is swass, not me.

DFS.
 

etiolate

Banned
Samus is a bounty hunter. I'd love to see a Metroid game that puts her on a galactic adventure of sorts where she is going to a ton of different places.

Yeah, I've wanted a Metroid where you can fly her ship to different planets. The only drawback is may take away from the feeling of isolation the games employ.

PS: I just want to know from the media guys, why certain issues are selectively challenged?

As this thread shows for exmaple, saying the control scheme might not work for everybody and it may present problems in the game. (Boss battles I guess?)

Meanwhile the control and gameplay in the GTA games is flawed as well and does cause problems with missions.

Usually this is stated with a score-qualifying statement like "but it does not detract from the overall game' or 'the sum outweights its parts' Yet, these issues have detracted from the GTA games for me and others. Whether it be the poor aiming making me die in a shootout, average combat and camera getting me turned around ont he street or odd driving physics leading to funky turns on a motorbike during a mission. It is a silenced minority as opposed to the loud minority that complains about MP. It still exists though. On what perception does one matter and the other not?
 
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