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Wii Warm Up: New release nostalgia
All this talk about Metroid Prime 3 made us want nothing more than to get reacquainted with the original NES Metroid. Nothing against Prime, of course-- it's awesome, and we look forward to getting to play it for real-- but this happens a lot. Hype for a new game always instills in us the desire to play through the whole series, or at least our favorite entry. These feelings are often stronger than our desire to play the actual new game.Are you like us (in this one specific regard)? Do you ever get pulled towards the back catalog when you hear about a new game? Or is this just another case of this blogger's intractable retrogaming tendencies getting in the way of logical behavior?
Retro taking time off from Samus
According to an interview with Retro Studios' Mark Pacini, the developer of all three Metroid Prime games, Corruption will have to satisfy you for a while, because there won't be another Prime for a bit. Or, if there is, it won't be a Retro Studios game. According to Pacini, "We are taking a break from the Metroid series and from Samus. I think that there will be other titles created. But as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we'll take a break for a little bit."Does anyone else find it weird to have actual news in a softball mainstream-media interview like this one from Yahoo? Also, does anyone think this will be like all those times Hideo Kojima quit Metal Gear?[Via NeoGAF]
WRUP: The greatest mystery edition
OK, we're sure if we put our heads together, we can figure this out. Of all the releases this week, what could you possibly be playing? Before we can attempt to answer the question, we must look at the line-up.Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08? Nah, doesn't seem like your kind of game. Carnival Games? Maybe, but not likely as you're almost fed up with minigames on the Wii. Oh, maybe it's this game starring some kind of arm cannon-wielding person with a large green visor?Yeah, maybe you're playing that? We just have one question to ask: what is a Metroid Prime?
Wii Warm Up: Has Metroid set the standard?
We're willing to go on record stating the Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is about the best thing we've slipped into our Wii so far. Wii Sports was a great introduction to the console, and certainly made great use of the motion controls, but we have to go with the richer, fuller experience the latest Metroid has to offer. In fact, now that we've seen something so fantastic, our standards are likely to be a little higher. Are we alone in this? Fun is fun, certainly, so we'll still love anything that's a good time, but for anything that claims an epic experience, Corruption is setting the bar pretty high.
Retro Studios taking a Metroid break
We hope you forgive us for wondering aloud about this exact subject during the podcast going up today, we're going to seem positively out of the loop. Despite our pride, we wanted to tell you that Retro Studios, which just finished up the excellent Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, is taking a break from the series.As the game's director Mark Pacini told Yahoo in this video interview, "We are taking a break from the Metroid series and from Samus, I'm sure there will be other titles created, but, as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we're taking a break for a little bit." Listen Retro, we're sad to hear it, but you just made three games, we understand. In slightly more chuckle-inducing news, can you believe the team didn't know about the Wii control scheme until they were 9 months into development? Oh, what we would have given to be a fly on that wall.
Wii Warm Up: The best and the worst
Are you playing Metroid? If so, then by now, there's surely something you like about the game. We want to know what you think the very best part of the game is so far ... and if you have complaints, we want to hear those, too. Overall, we've found the controls to be amazingly smooth (though the way the actions were mapped to A and B at first seemed backwards) and easy to adapt to for lengthy play sessions. Our only complaint thus far feels like a nitpick: what's up with the doors? Sometimes we've already turned away when they decide to open. Maybe we're just impatient. It hasn't stopped us from getting our game on with ferocity, however.
Enjoy Metroid Prime 3; Iwata sacrificed his weight for it
We have yet to test this, but apparently Nintendo president Satoru Iwata left Metroid Prime 3: Corruption players a secret message, accessed through the cockpit of Samus's ship. A GoNintendo reader translated the message, and our kinda-okay Japanese language skills are sufficient to verify its accuracy."Hello, this is Iwata from Nintendo. You may not know from an outsider's point of view, but being a director is really hard! When things are really busy and stressful we (us directors) may look tired and sick, then people may feel sorry for us! But in my case, it's the opposite, I get fatter and fatter, so then people don't think I'm stressed at all!"We're pretty sure he's talking either about running Nintendo or about his sympathy for the Metroid Prime 3 director, because we don't think Iwata was personally involved with the creation of this particular game. Maybe felt so involved that he reached for the Hello Panda. We have a little giggle when we think about Iwata working on Kirby games and starting to look like Kirby.
Metareview: Metroid Prime 3
Finally, the game we've all been waiting for has arrived and boy has it been well-received. Seriously, just about every review of the title lauds it for its control scheme and graphics. But, you probably already know the control scheme and graphics are great. Anyway, let's get to the scores: Nintendo Power (100/100) says it's perfect: "The stunning visuals and immersive gameplay of the finale to the Prime series proves that the Wii is ready for the mainstream gamer." [Oct 2007, p.86] IGN (95/100) finds the title to be a melting pot of excellence: "Not only do the new controls respond quicker and with more precision than any dual-analog-helmed FPS ever created, but the gesture system works brilliantly, too. Meanwhile, the title delivers everything a Metroid fan could hope for, including spectacular environmental puzzles, epic boss fights and intense combat, all wrapped up in a package that spans multiple worlds and is filled with re-traversal exploration." Game Informer (95/100) says it's the best Prime to date: "Corruption isn't just the best-looking Wii game to date; it's the best Metroid Prime game period. This is due in large part to the fluid controls. The highly debated, stubborn lock-on aiming system has been replaced with something far better. You can finally look around while moving by aiming the Wii remote." 1UP (90/100) found the game to play up the Wii's strengths and play down its weaknesses: " On the whole, Corruption takes advantage of the Wii's biggest strength (with its unique controls), and minimizes its greatest weakness (through astounding art direction), while otherwise maintaining or improving upon the high standards and overall polish the series is known for." GameSpot (85/100) found fault only in the lack of multiplayer: "It's got exactly what you would expect from the last in an acclaimed trilogy of titles: great boss battles, involved environmental puzzles, and a smooth control scheme that cements exactly how FPS controls should work on the platform...While the lack of multiplayer is disappointing, the single-player campaign won't leave you wanting." %Gallery-3355%
Samus gets a secret call from Iwata
Of the things you were wondering about today, the size of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's waistline was probably not high on your list. Now, imagine if you had to worry about getting killed by Metroids and piloting a starship. Pretty much falls off the list all together, doesn't it?But did that stop Iwata from calling and leaving that exact information on Samus' answering machine? Of course it didn't. According to Go Nintendo's translation, he says "Hello, this is Iwata from Nintendo. You may not know from an outsiders point of view, but being a director is really hard! When things are really busy and stressful we (us directors) may look tired and sick, then people may feel sorry for us! But in my case, it's the opposite, I get fatter and fatter, so then people don't think I'm stressed at all!" That's great, boss. Can we get back to saving the world now?
Wii Warm Up: How many hours have you sunk in so far?
The game released yesterday. You picked it up. We picked it up. Everyone is happy.But, without stating any spoilers, we'd like to know how far along you are. How many hours have you put into the game already? How much fun have you had with it so far?
Amazon delays shipping copies of Metroid Prime 3
If you were one of the folks who pre-ordered their copy of Metroid Prime 3 from Amazon, then you've likely already received an email telling you that the game will not be arriving on your doorstep on time. Pushed back to September 2nd, it looks like you Amazon users are left up a creek lacking a paddle. That, we must say, really bites.So, have any of you chosen a refund and decided to go and track it down out in the real world, at a brick and mortar retail location? Or will you wait around for Amazon to ship your copy to you?[Thanks, Eric!]
I just bought Metroid and now they want it back?
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/I_just_bought_Metroid_and_now_they_want_it_back'; In walking out of the local GameStop and removing my copy of Metroid Prime 3 from its plastic bag prison, we noticed it felt kind of off when picking it up. That was because there is the large slip of paper you see above on the back. It's not enough that GameStop calls you during dinner asking for the game you bought from them back and even ruins the story to games while you're in the store, but now they're giving us trash to throw away when we buy games from them?Maybe we're making too big a deal about a small slip of paper, but considering they have a monopoly in this town as far as release day games go, we're often forced to choke down their practices.
Wii Warm Up: Are you in or are you out?
Not long ago, we asked you if you were picking up Metroid Prime 3: Corruption; this was not long after the clarification came down about the lack of online multiplayer, and a lot of feathers were ruffled. But a month has passed, we've seen more from the game, and the hype train has left the station. If you were planning on simply renting or borrowing the latest Metroid -- or even skipping it altogether! -- have you changed your mind? If you were already planning on picking up the game, are you getting it today, or waiting a while?
Nintendo World Store Metroid Prime 3 goodies
The lucky first 100 people to pick up Metroid Prime 3 Corruption were given a few goodies. Aside from this completely awesome shirt you see above, there is also some kind of pin that was given. If we weren't so (how do we say it?) large, we'd hit up some kind of online auction site to acquire.
Metroid Dread 'nearing completion', hidden Metroid Prime 3 message teases
Despite being unofficially canned in November 2005, Metroid Dread, the rumored 2D-throwback project for DS, is back on the radar. New evidence has been uncovered by IGN (and other privileged Metroid Prime 3 reviewers) while scanning a certain panel found mid-game in this week's Wii release. Using Samus's scan visor, the message reads: "Experiment status report update: Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion."Is Dread back from the dead? Maybe -- or perhaps MP3 developer Retro is just pulling an insider's gag. It's time for Nintendo to fess up.
Wii releases for the week of August 27th
There are plenty of games to choose from on the Wii this week (even one that was supposed to release last week), but there's only one that we here at Wii Fanboy care about. Yup, that's none other than Metroid Prime 3. While we sadly live on the eastern coast of the U.S. and must wait until tomorrow before we can play it, those of you on the western side of the states ... well, just don't rub it in that you're probably going to be playing the game in a few hours.This week's releases include: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Brunswick Pro Bowling Carnival Games Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 So, how do you plan on getting your game on? Did you take off work or ditch any other responsibilities for the releases of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption? Hey, don't act like you didn't think about it!%Gallery-3355%
Wii Warm Up: Was it enough?
Prior to "Metroid month" (and perhaps even after), some people were complaining that Nintendo wasn't spending enough time or money hyping and advertising MP3: Corruption. Of course, after that, Nintendo showed up with the videos and commercials -- but was it enough? Do you feel that the latest Metroid received the attention that it deserves? Will it sell well? The title has made a fair showing on Amazon so far, which is not bad, considering that Bioshock's release and Halo 3 preorders are competing for the shooting spotlight. Our thoughts were best summed up in this recent Penny Arcade news post: most of the people muttering about a lack of hype on Metroid not only knew about the game, but whether or not they would buy it. But hey, we're only one opinion in a sea of Nintendo fans. What's yours?
New games this week: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption edition
We've knocked on every single piece of wood we could find, and we now feel relatively confident about proclaiming the game drought officially over. And it's not just the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, though this drought has hit Wii owners the hardest. Xbox 360 owners are getting Stuntman Ignition and Blue Dragon this week, and your PS3 will be able to download Warhawk or you could buy it at a store, if you still remember where your local game store is. Check out the full list after the jump.%Gallery-3353%
PAX 07 hands-on: Metroid Prime 3
I spent a few delightful minutes at the Nintendo booth playing Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and displaying my poor sense of direction to a crowd of onlookers. I got just enough playtime to test out the controls (I didn't need to beat the game or anything!) I can safely say that after about five seconds of fantastically awkward movement, I felt not only comfortable playing the game, but, like with Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, I was enjoying just messing around.The controls are exactly the same in normal or expert mode, with the exception of Wiimote sensitivity. Expert mode is way more sensitive, and requires much subtler movements. It also enables quicker motion. Looking around and turning with the Wiimote was awkward at first, but it immediately clicked and I was ready to run and jump around. Shooting, of course, is mapped to A, and jumping to B, so there was no problem there. Z on the Nunchuk locks on, and C activates the morph ball. Down on the D-pad shoots missiles. All of these worked well and intuitively. The only exception is scanning: I never quite got it, but it basically involved holding Z, moving the Wiimote to point at an area in the corner of the screen, then holding Z again. It's the only part that I can honestly say takes getting used to.The best part of the controls is easily the grapple beam, which involves targeting a grapple point and making a lasso motion with the Nunchuk, then pulling back. Once I started doing that unconsciously, I felt pretty cool (I wasn't.) It seems that Nintendo has finally found a "hardcore" equivalent to Wii Sports: if not in popularity, at least in deriving actual enjoyment from the basic control scheme.Oh, and, in case you were wondering, the game looks hot, especially on those big fancy screens Nintendo was using at their demo stations. We should all get some of those.
New Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ad seems dangerous
We know that you're dying to play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption right now, and who can blame you? The thing looks great. And if you're stranded in airport and two kindly Japanese men offered you the chance to play the game early, we wouldn't be mad at you for being tempted. What better way to pass the hours? We've got a better way: Not getting arrested.We're not Homeland Security experts, but we're pretty sure that swinging an unusual wand connected via a cord to another device in an airport is a bad idea. And we're positive that pretending to fire this contraption would ... well, let's just say you'd miss your flight. That said, the game looks good enough that we're wondering if we'd be able to resist. Click the read link for a higher quality version.
