The most controversial Metroid has become the black sheep.
What better way to start off the blog than to review one of the games that has been causing quite a stir in the gaming media! Now, I'm a big Metroid fan, in fact, it's my favorite Nintendo franchise. I've played every game in the series (except Metroid II: Return of Samus) and I just love the gameplay design in every one, even if... it's a bit familiar.
Before I get to the issue that everyone is talking about, let's just talk about the game. This Metroid reminded me a lot of Metroid Fusion, I would go as far as to say that this game is the 3-D version of it, because well... it copies a lot of things from that previous installment. Is that bad? Not really, borrowing concepts from a game in the same series that was released 8 years prior isn't really a problem.
The problem is, the level design. The environments are much too familiar, and nothing really jumps out at you. With the Metroid Prime games, the level design was brilliant, but for this... it's just... meh. BUT, with that said, I did enjoy the enemy/boss design. One problem with the level design in the game is the irritating issue of not knowing what to do kept coming up for me. It may just be me though, because others have breezed through the game without any trouble.
Now let's briefly talk about the elephant in the room: Samus. (I hope she doesn't think I'm implying she's fat.) She now has a voice and a bit more character development. Metroid fans went ballistic. I didn't really mind much of what they made Samus to be, but some fans are exaggerating the issue, saying that Samus has been turned into a whiny, emotional bimbo who can't function without the help of a man. All I hear is: "How dare they give Samus emotion! She should have a cold, robotic personality forever!" Now I may be exaggerating, but fans just aren't getting the point: Samus is human. We only knew some details about her history before, and now we get a better understanding of her character. Personally, I think it's a step in the right direction for Metroid's story, but it wasn't handled quite as delicately as everyone wanted.
The Verdict:
What I liked:
Enemy/Boss Design
Classic Metroid Gameplay
Throwbacks to prior games
What I didn't like:
Some of the level design
Only able to use missles while in visor mode
Who did what now? (Convoluted subplot)