Ford Prefect
GAAAAAAAAY
This is my conclusion as of acquiring the
.
Am I the only one not thoroughly impressed with Echoes? Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent game (how could it not be, it's the sequel to the best game of the generation). But in comparison with its predecessor, I find it to be a letdown in many ways. For all the praise I've been reading about it surpassing MP, I find that in almost every aspect it's a slight step back.
The graphics, of course, are better (but it's no leap, by any means), but the art and environments have suffered. As cliche as the snow/lava/water/sand areas in the first game were, they impressed me a lot more than the lame sand/bog areas in Echoes. Granted, I haven't seen all the areas yet, so I can't accurately compare the two games in this... area, but Torvus Bog and Agon Wastes have got nothing on Phendrana Drifts or Chozo Ruins - atmospherically or in terms of lay-out. They seem uninspired, really. Kind of boring.
Nothing in the gameplay really comes out and says, "Hey, this is so much better than the first game!," in terms of difficulty, puzzles, etc. I don't really understand all the talk of increased difficulty; I haven't had much trouble at all. I don't enjoy the Dark/Light beams all that much, with limited ammo and no memorable qualities. The Dark/Light world system is interesting, but I don't feel that it adds much to the gameplay or is an improvement over the standard fare.
The music, and this is where I've not really heard any complaints at all, I feel is horrible. I loved the music in the first game, especially Phendrana Drifts and some other areas, notably. But even when the music wasn't anything special, it did a very nice job of just melding into the background and adding to the atmosphere. Echoes on the other hand, if I'm in one area for too long, I have to go and turn the music all the way down, lest I go insane. The best example for this is the music around the area of the downed Troopers ship: CLANG. Ring any bells? Every single measure: CLANG...CLANG...CLANG... it drives me insane.
The immersion and plot just aren't there, either. In the first, I was hypnotized by how awesome it was to infiltrate the Space Pirates' lab and find out all they were doing and thinking from their own computers; about to fall out of my chair by the escaped Metroids about to suck my life away; caring about the Chozos' plight; etc. I could care less about the Luminoth and the Ing. There's just nothing there to care about. I have no sympathy for the Luminoth. The Chozo actually have ties to Samus, and their cause is more dire. The Luminoth are just a species you barely found out existed, on a random planet. The Space Pirates have an ultimate and evil goal, and they are threatening opponents to Samus and the Galactic Federation. The Ing have only an effect on their planet, and who cares about the Luminoth? If it weren't for the fact that the Ing are obviously "evil," I wouldn't know whether to support them or the Luminoth.
Anyway, those are my feelings on Prime's superiority to it sequel. Echoes is still a great game, though. Who knows, maybe it's impossible to top the innovation and excellency of the original, much like Ocarina of Time.
Commence the flaming.
gravity boost (the boss shortly thereafter took me down, though 
)
)Am I the only one not thoroughly impressed with Echoes? Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent game (how could it not be, it's the sequel to the best game of the generation). But in comparison with its predecessor, I find it to be a letdown in many ways. For all the praise I've been reading about it surpassing MP, I find that in almost every aspect it's a slight step back.
The graphics, of course, are better (but it's no leap, by any means), but the art and environments have suffered. As cliche as the snow/lava/water/sand areas in the first game were, they impressed me a lot more than the lame sand/bog areas in Echoes. Granted, I haven't seen all the areas yet, so I can't accurately compare the two games in this... area, but Torvus Bog and Agon Wastes have got nothing on Phendrana Drifts or Chozo Ruins - atmospherically or in terms of lay-out. They seem uninspired, really. Kind of boring.
Nothing in the gameplay really comes out and says, "Hey, this is so much better than the first game!," in terms of difficulty, puzzles, etc. I don't really understand all the talk of increased difficulty; I haven't had much trouble at all. I don't enjoy the Dark/Light beams all that much, with limited ammo and no memorable qualities. The Dark/Light world system is interesting, but I don't feel that it adds much to the gameplay or is an improvement over the standard fare.
The music, and this is where I've not really heard any complaints at all, I feel is horrible. I loved the music in the first game, especially Phendrana Drifts and some other areas, notably. But even when the music wasn't anything special, it did a very nice job of just melding into the background and adding to the atmosphere. Echoes on the other hand, if I'm in one area for too long, I have to go and turn the music all the way down, lest I go insane. The best example for this is the music around the area of the downed Troopers ship: CLANG. Ring any bells? Every single measure: CLANG...CLANG...CLANG... it drives me insane.
The immersion and plot just aren't there, either. In the first, I was hypnotized by how awesome it was to infiltrate the Space Pirates' lab and find out all they were doing and thinking from their own computers; about to fall out of my chair by the escaped Metroids about to suck my life away; caring about the Chozos' plight; etc. I could care less about the Luminoth and the Ing. There's just nothing there to care about. I have no sympathy for the Luminoth. The Chozo actually have ties to Samus, and their cause is more dire. The Luminoth are just a species you barely found out existed, on a random planet. The Space Pirates have an ultimate and evil goal, and they are threatening opponents to Samus and the Galactic Federation. The Ing have only an effect on their planet, and who cares about the Luminoth? If it weren't for the fact that the Ing are obviously "evil," I wouldn't know whether to support them or the Luminoth.
Anyway, those are my feelings on Prime's superiority to it sequel. Echoes is still a great game, though. Who knows, maybe it's impossible to top the innovation and excellency of the original, much like Ocarina of Time.
Commence the flaming.
