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Dojo update: Hang out at Ridley's place
Another day on the dojo and another stage is unveiled. The seventeenth in all. This time it's Norfair, the place called "home" by chief Space Pirate Ridley (already confirmed as a playable character, you may recall, but with the Ice Climbers returning, who knows if this is still the case) from the Metroid games.Once again, there's almost a game within a game here, with fights periodically interrupted by gushing tidal waves of lava that can come from any direction. These wash over the entire level, with only a single safe spot (complete with hatches that close at the sign of danger) remaining untouched. Problem is, there's not exactly a lot of room on your anti-lava platform, so you'll have to scrap it out for a space. A bit like musical chairs then, only with the added risk of getting horrifically burned alive in molten hot goo. We like!%Gallery-6869%
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 10/25/07 aftermath [update]
Personally, we had a blast playing The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass last night. Many of you were late in arriving to the chat, throwing down in some Metroid Prime Hunters, Overall, it was a pretty good night, but we're sure that most of you regulars could've managed to make it. We understand things come up, but you better be there next week.Oh, you better ... or else.Update: Due to popular demand, we've added Worms: Open Warfare 2 to the poll. If you want other games added in the future (or ... right now), let us know in the comments here or feel free to email me at david at dsfanboy dawt com.%Poll-4779%
September NPD: It finally happened
Turns out, one man's prediction was correct, as the Wii was finally knocked off its throne in September, thanks to Halo 3. We know, if you need to take a moment, we understand. We are shocked and saddened here at Wii Fanboy Estates, as we lay in the fetal position in a puddle of our own tears, only breaking away to make the occasional blog post. Without further ado, let's look at the hardware figures: Microsoft Xbox 360: 527.8K (6.8 million total) Nintendo Wii: 501K (4.5 million total) Nintendo DS: 495.8K (13.2 million total) Sony PlayStation 2: 215K (39.3 million total) Sony PSP: 284.5K (8.6 million total) Sony PlayStation 3: 119.4K (1.87 million total) Be sure to hit the break for the list of top-selling software titles.
Wii Warm Up: Is it this Metroid image you're looking for?
Every time I go back through Metroid-related posts while looking for background material on a new post, I stop in my tracks when I get to this post from our Metroid Week event. Eric's Samus/Lionel Richie image is so hilariously out-of-nowhere that it short circuits my thought process and I have to stop and appreciate it before I can even remember what I was doing. I laugh out loud pretty much every time I see it. And then I imagine the "Hello" video with a fully-armored Samus Aran in place of Ola Ray and I can't breathe,I'm laughing so hard.Something this good deserves not only to be re-run, but to be celebrated in its own post. So I'm taking the Saturday discussion topic to do just that. I'm celebrating our friend Eric and his brilliantly weird post image. Feel free to chat about Metroid or Lionel Richie or how "Hello" makes you cry.
We mourn the passing of Metroid Dread (kinda)
During an interview with Mark Pacini and Todd Keller, Stepehen Totilo over at MTV grilled them about this whole Metroid Dread business. And, in award-winning fashion, the duo did little to sway our hopes for the project to see the light of day. Instead, they said it wasn't going to happen, but not exactly.In response to the question regarding Metroid Dread's existence, Pacini said "It's not what you think it means... it was something that was overlooked and wasn't in any way indicating anything about the handheld game. We know no information about the handheld games." Once Totilo grills him more, he further adds "We actually had a fictional element of something else in the game that by a large coincidence could be read that we were giving a hint about "Metroid Dread" which was not the case. It's a complete and utter coincidence."Then, interestingly enough, Pacini comments "That's all I can say on it." This, of course, lends more fuel to your hopeful fire, as it does ours, but considering that Hunters were referenced in the first Metroid Prime title, which then became a handheld game, we're willing to believe.What do you think?
Metroid Wii mod is cooler than a blast from an Ice Beam
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/Metroid_Wii_mod_is_cooler_than_a_blast_from_an_Ice_Beam '; We love Metroid Prime 3 and all, but perhaps the best thing about the game is that it inspired this jaw-dropping Wii mod from the guy responsible for the equally jaw-dropping Zelda DS Lite and the astounding Zelda Wii case mod. Basically, we've developed TMJ from looking at Ramon's mods.This one is the coolest one yet. In addition to the awesome backlit, custom-made Samus Aran emblem, the case mod integrates a Wiimote charger in its illuminated stand. The Wii disc slot glows green in imitation of Samus's visor; even the Wiimote and Nunchuk are painted the metallic green of Samus's arm cannon.Like the others, this modded Wii is being auctioned off on eBay, and 15% of the selling price will go to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity. In return, 100% of the awesome modded Wii will go to the buyer. Check after the break for a couple of choice closeups! And then check your wallet for the hundreds of dollars required to buy this.[Via Gizmodo; thanks, Jeremy!]
Gamers respect Samus too much to picture her naked?
Despite the revealing outfits we've seen Nintendo parade Samus Aran in, those of you who've ever searched for it know that there's a distinct lack of fan-made pornography featuring the Metroid protagonist. It seems natural to assume that deviants would have produced thousands of doujinshi and other works depicting her engaged obscene acts by now, but aside from a few comics and several dozen crudely-drawn JPGs, there really isn't much of a "Metroid porn" scene to speak of. Meanwhile, characters with much lesser followings, Street Fighter's Cammy or Darkstalkers' Morrigan for instance, have accumulated enough indecent material to their names to stock a small bookstore. What is it about Samus that has for the most part kept her out of the scenes that often sodomize and dehumanize our favorite female video game characters?GameSetWatch's Leigh Alexander believes that it's our respect for the bounty hunter that keeps artists from debauching her image as a strong, self-reliant woman of good repute. Do you agree? Or are you the perv who sketched that comic of Samus being violated by Ridley's dual-manhood? Shame on you.
Metroid Prime 3: Corrupted
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/Metroid_Prime_3_glitch_could_ruin_one_of_the_best_boss_fights_in_the_game'; Reader fatherb sent in this video of his sad encounter with one of the bosses in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Apparently, he isn't the only one experiencing this horrible glitch in the game, which we won't go into detail about for those of you who have yet to come into contact with this boss. In fact, since this is chock full of spoilers, we've gone ahead and tucked the video past the break.Watch at your own risk.
Nintendo says Metroid Dread is dead, at least as 2D
Remember those in-game references from Metroid Prime 3 hinting at the rumored 2D Metroid Dread's near-completion status? Turns out the joke's on us.Speaking to CVG, Nintendo has confirmed that the company "is not making the 2D Metroid at this point in time." Metroid Dread for DS showed up on a Nintendo pre-E3 list in 2005 but never materialized after that. The wording does leave room for a three-dimensional title, but instead of getting our hopes up, we're just going to call this one dead.
Nintendo: "Hey, remember Zelda?"
Nintendo's latest advertising effort for Metroid Prime 3 attempts to make a connection to another beloved franchise in the minds of Nintendo fans. And make no mistake, this ad is aimed at Nintendo fans: it's being mailed out to My Nintendo members.In order to promote their newest "hardcore" game, Nintendo is banking on happy memories of the last one, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. They're hoping that gamers who love adventure games on Nintendo but somehow haven't decided to go pick up Metroid will do so. Is it even possible for someone to be enough of a Nintendo fan to have registered online, but not have heard about Metroid Prime 3? E-mails don't cost anything, we guess.
Taking a stroll through Retro Studios
Oh, how lucky some are.We wish we could be strolling around the halls of Retro Studios, trusty camera in hand to capture all of the wonderful things that happen within its walls. But, no, we have to settle for watching GameSpot's video tour instead.[Via Infendo]
Wii Warm Up: All things Metroid
And so Metroid Week comes to an end. For those of you who picked it up, how far along are you now? How are the controls treating you? The difficulty? For us, exploring has really been the only thing we've had a little trouble with -- sometimes it takes a bit to find what we're looking for -- but we haven't found anything difficult otherwise. This is both good and bad.For those who don't have it yet, did you see anything this week that colored your opinion of the title? If nothing else, at least you get to read everyone's reviews first.
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?
Metroid Week: Judge a Metroid by its cover (part two)
Continuing our romp through the Metroid series's boxart history, we're ending today with a look at covers from Samus's prime installments on both handhelds and consoles. We've also thrown in the packaging designs from the NES Classics releases which we neglected to include yesterday, though none of you noticed. As for music pairings, the boxarts past the post break go best with The Commodores's "Three Times a Lady." Seriously, try it.
Friday Video: Oh no you're not
This is it. This is why odd little events like Metroid week are so great. Not only do we get to wallow in all things Metroid, but as the week winds down, we get to celebrate with a great little song and video from Uncle Monsterface about one of gaming's biggest revelations. Let's take a little trip back in time -- and behind the break -- to see what it's all about.
Metroid Week: Judge a Metroid by its cover
You know how much we love to discuss boxart here at Wii Fanboy, so it seemed obvious to us that we should take a look back at past Metroid covers during our commemorative week. We've gathered up all the packaging art we could find from Samus's tenderfoot days on the NES to her later outings on the Game Boy Advance, and have posted them all past the post break for you to scroll through. Feel free to queue up Kenny Rogers's "Through The Years" for maximum enjoyment.
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.
Metroid Week: A browser game mash-up
The culture of gaming (and especially comics) is chock full of hypothetical battles, often ending in heated geek debate. And this browser game is no different. But, seeing as how we're celebrating something here this week, we felt compelled to share this game with you.The controls aren't the best and you actually control Mega Man the entire time, but it's still got enemies and areas from the original Metroid title.
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%
DS Daily: Let's talk FPS
When we saw the Call of Duty 4 video, we immediately thought about the possibilities for FPS titles on the DS. Sure, we've received a Quake-style title in Metroid Prime Hunters, but the controls cause our hand to cramp up pretty quickly. We never got a chance to check out Brothers in Arms, but other than that, what is there?Do you think the system can't possibly expect to see a quality FPS title in its future? Do you think Call of Duty 4 could pave the way for future entries in the genre on the handheld?
