Can I b**** about Metroid Prime?

[burgundy]

How so? I made an over-the-top example illustrating how silly the "Prime isn't about shooting" is.

[Doug Branches]

I like video games.

me too

[Tracer]

I take offence to Quake III Arena being called a First-Person-Shooter because I only play Gauntlet DM's... therefore I, or my opponets do not shoot at all.

Metroid Prime is a first person shooter.

ºTracer

[Kbu Chan]

Metroid Prime = First Person Adventure. Play it first dudes. Metroid Prime = Best. Game. Ever.

[StriderKyo]

There are only two answers to everyone complaining about the control scheme:

1. You haven't played the game enough. You pick it up fairly easily after a while, and for the pace of the game, it's all quite intuitive once you wrap your brain around the fact that you're not playing Halo.

-Or-

2. You suck. I'm sorry, you're not unique, not special, Miyamoto hasn't failed you. You just lack the motor coordination necessary to play it. Track and Field awaits. Have fun.

And to anyone saying they should have used the triggers for firing - are you nuts?? Can you imagine the backlash if they'd done away with the old Metroid style completely? At least this way they keep the old face button layout. And they have a game that isn't derided as being "just like every other fps".

Originally posted by TracerBullet

Metroid Prime is a first person shooter.

Then Super Metroid is a 2D shooter.

[Cafeman]

I haven't enjoyed the FPS genre all that much either. The only ones I played to completion were Doom and Powerslave.

Speaking of Powerslave though -- for whatever reasons I connected with that excellent game, it seems it would be the same reasons I enjoy Metroid Prime.

The atmosphere is one -- I guess I like the sci-fi storyline of Egyptian Alien Gods , and I also like the Metroid world. So many FPS games seem to be military-based or spy-based, or are simply deathmatches. Personally I like 1-player adventure games, even when they are FPS 1-player adventure games.

Something about Powerslave's fusion of platforming, adventuring, puzzle solving, and shooting grabbed me. Metroid has these same elements. The one thing I really like about Metroid though -- you don't run out of ammo, and alien creatures regenerate as you revisit places. This keeps the action level high, a good thing. You can never shoot enough War Wasps.

[Hero]

Originally posted by Clash_Master
I like video games.

Me too ^_^

[SonofdonCD]

Originally posted by StriderKyo
There are only two answers to everyone complaining about the control scheme:

1. You haven't played the game enough.

-Or-

2. You suck.

Neither answer really applies to me. I've played enough to get used to the controls. I only died once so far. I never said the controls were unmanageable or that they even sucked. They work for that they were trying to do. But I still don't feel they are perfect.

Honestly, I don't blame Retro. I blame Nintendo for designing their controller for nothing but their own games. No one can convince me that it's a good controller. The only good thing to me is that it's confortable. The button layout, c-stick, d-pad and the triggers are horrible (IMHO, of course ). I could think of so many ways to change the controls if it were to use say the X-Box S-controller, with it's two extra buttons.

I still just wished they had at least the extra option of changing the controls manually (as I think all games should, period. That's definitely one thing PC gaming has up on consoles: control configurability) to use dual-analog. Hell, I'd even switch mid-battle if I felt one was feeling inadequate for a certain situation.

This is the difference for me in giving this game the jizzing-on-yourself glowing esteem 95% of this board has toward this game. I don't even wish to play this way so it plays more like Halo. Moreso cause it's basically becoming the standard way to control first person, and even some third person games where being able to see and know your environment is key. It just feels soooooo intuitive to me, at least, to be able to look and move at the same time. You can't expect me to go backwards and just like it. Hell, I'd even have opted for a combination of the two and have to ability to lock on manually while at the same time being able to look freely w/ the C-stick. Actually, I think this would have been the best way to play.

Call me crazy (as I'm sure you all will ANYWAY...), but this is how I'd arrange the controls:

L Analog Pad - Forward/Backward movement, Left/Right strafing (regular Up/Down/Left/Right controls in Morph Ball mode)
C-Stick - Look Around
D-pad - Change Visor
R-trigger - Jump
L-trigger - Lock-on
Z-button - Morph ball
A-button - Shoot
B-button - Missiles
X-button - Beam Select (Cycle forward)
Y-button - Beam Select (Cycle backward)
Start button - Map/Inventory/Game Options/Etc.

By just moving the map to the start screen, this still maintains all of the functions of the game, with the only real compromise being the changing of weapons. But since there's only four, cycling through them should be quick and relatively painless (I can't say with 100% accuracy, as I don't have all four beams yet. Let me know if this is impossible for later battles, without spoiling them of course. ) If this were in the option screen as a secondary configuration, I'd think it to be superior.

Okay, I think I'm done arguing my case. If anyone refutes my statements maybe I'll reply, but I'd like to get back to more playing, once I can get back to my friend's house to continue my game. I'll just leave off by saying: There is nothing wrong with the controls, but it could be better.....

[JM]

Originally posted by SonofdonCD

L Analog Pad - Forward/Backward movement, Left/Right strafing (regular Up/Down/Left/Right controls in Morph Ball mode)
C-Stick - Look Around
D-pad - Change Visor
R-trigger - Jump
L-trigger - Lock-on
Z-button - Morph ball
A-button - Shoot
B-button - Missiles
X-button - Beam Select (Cycle forward)
Y-button - Beam Select (Cycle backward)
Start button - Map/Inventory/Game Options/Etc.

You would have us taking our finger off of the C stick to shoot, which would kind of ruin that whole aming thing. How could you shoot while looking upwards, even with the lock on for enemies, you would have to do some fancy stuff just to shoot those doors on the ceiling.

JM

[Clash!]

Those controls are a million times worse. The Controls for Prime right now are as good as they get for what you do in Metroid Prime. Its not like Retro (the team members had made such games as Half-Life and the first Turok) are not familiar with FPS at all, they are well aware of common FPS controls and I bet they found they just won't work.

Like StriderKyo said, if you can't manage these simple controls you lack skill. Its not hard to control at all, infact its easier. Why would you want controls to be more difficult? It would do nothing to improve the game.