Metroid Prime 2 gets reviewed tonight at IGN

[DeathsHand]

Alls I know is in the beginning of the review, they said that Prime felt "Fresh and Groundbreaking", while Echoes does not... On account of it being more of the same... Which could be a good thing, or a bad thing, or both...

But my bet is that's what brought the score down a whole .3 from Prime's score...

[Xantar]

You know, I realize that 9.5 is an excellent score. And I respect that people may like Halo 2 or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas more than Metroid Prime 2. Heck, for all I know, I would probably like Halo 2 better.

But what's with Matt saying that Metroid Prime 2 is disappointing because it doesn't stray from the established formula? No, I suppose it doesn't really. It just adds a few refinements, some new weapons and a multiplayer mode. Nothing revolutionary. But I didn't expect any such thing from Halo 2 or San Andreas either. And neither of them did in fact offer a revolution in gameplay (all right, I guess you can make a case for Halo 2's online play, but multiplayer is at least as new to Metroid as online gaming is to Halo).

So why is it suddenly disappointing that Metroid Prime 2 doesn't offer the same overwhelming sense of freshness that the first game did? That's pretty nigh impossible for all three games anyway.

[Perfect Stu]

a "sense" of freshness is as subjective as something can be, Xantar. you know that. it doesnt just come down to "what specific aspect of the gameplay offers something you cant find somewhere else?"

An example. I thought GTA3 was a great game. I wasnt as fond of Vice City. The game didnt stray from the winning formula. In fact, it added new elements here and there.

San Andreas, on the other hand, is a different beast. Why? Well, it doesnt have a multiplayer mode (other than the 2 player rampages, which are probably about 0.000003% of the entire game). It doesnt offer a completely new type of gameplay mode. But the entire package...it feels fresh and unique. To myself, and I can assure you, to many other people.

Same thing can probably be said about Halo 2 by loads of other people. I havent played the game yet.

Nor have I played MP2 yet. But that's not the point.

[Xantar]

The problem is I get the feeling from the review that Matt Cassamassina expects Metroid Prime 2 to blow us all away and revolutionize gaming in the same ways that the first game did. Sure, he doesn't come right out and say it, but why else would he keep comparing the two games and talking about how new everything felt in Metroid Prime?

The review for San Andreas, on the other hand, says nothing about the game feeling new or like an entirely different beast. Fine by me, really. If the game is fun to play, then it's fun to play. Yeah, maybe the "sense" of freshness is a subjective thing, but I really think Matt holds Nintendo and Retro to a different standard than Rock Star or Bungie. There is a serious disconnect here when he spends half of the review talking about some drawback or another (the Dark World isn't so exciting, the Dark Gun looks ugly, there's a lack of a save point near one boss, it doesn't feel fresh etc.) and rates the game 9.5. In any case, if it really doesn't feel so fresh, then Matt could have simply stated so and left the score there as it is. When he starts calling that "disappointing," I really wonder what he was expecting Retro to do in order to top a game that was rated nearly perfect in the first place.

[Jonbo298]

Yeah, same here. When he mentioned MP2 was disappointing because it didnt stray away from a good/established formula, that just confused the living hell out of me. It's bad because its uses the same good formula and improves on it?

[Ginkasa]

GameSpot Gives MP2:E 9.1


*shrugs and walks away*

[DarkMaster]

You have to understand, that when you review a game for a website like IGN, you have to take into account the thoughts and expectations of all gamers, not just yourself. Because IGN and sites like it are read by pretty much every type of gamer, you have to give a score that everyone can reflect on, so it's not always a matter of straight up opinion. For instance, say you absolutely love a game to the point of a perfect 10, however the game itself has various drawbacks that a lot of gamers won't like, well you have to consider this when making a final score.

This is something I had to learn a while back when writing reviews for video games. I gave a game a really high score, and the text was nothing but pure opinion. However I was criticized about it, some people saying I should change it somewhat so as to include the thoughts and expectations of all gamers, and not just my own. So basically what I'm saying is, it's very likely Matt loved the game to a high extent, but he has to accept judging aspects such as how fresh and different it might be. Cause for me, it sounds like an aspect I would barely even mention in a game that I loved.

But, uh, yeah 9.5 is a great score. Can't wait to play.

[Professor S]

Does anyone know if they added a story to the sequel? I own the first and I quickly became tired of playing as I didn't know WHY I was playing. Sure it was gorgeous, had good gameplay controls and was a wonderful mix of next gen and retro design, but without a real story I didn't feel compelled to solve the puzzles, backtrack constantly and shoot the aliens. The lack of the ability to save the game when I wanted also added to my frustration with the lack of story.

I'm going to give this one a rent before I buy it.

[DarkMaster]

Originally Posted by The Strangler

Does anyone know if they added a story to the sequel? I own the first and I quickly became tired of playing as I didn't know WHY I was playing. Sure it was gorgeous, had good gameplay controls and was a wonderful mix of next gen and retro design, but without a real story I didn't feel compelled to solve the puzzles, backtrack constantly and shoot the aliens. The lack of the ability to save the game when I wanted also added to my frustration with the lack of story.

I'm going to give this one a rent before I buy it.

Yeah, you had to scan those shiney walls for story info. Some computers and stuff had info too if you scanned them. It was something like, aliens invaded this planet which was inhabited by some race, called the Chozo I think. Uh, the aliens found metroids on the planet, and began to try and control them to use their strength, or something. Somehow they created or found a giant metroid, called prime.

Basically Retros way of allowing you to go throughout the whole game without any story interuption, However I would like to see SOME relevant story segments during cutscenes or something.

[Ginkasa]

Did you scan objects often? Its not that MP doesn't have a story, its just kind of hidden; more of a discovery of what has previously happened and why the present is like it is rather than a continuous flow of events...

Although I could see how one wouldn't like the presentation, anyway...

MP2 is supposed to have more cutscenes and stuff, though. I wouldn't expect a movie type presentation or grand dramatic story, however. I doubt you'll be able to get through MP2 if you disliked MP's story.

Metroid's more of a gameplay focused series. The story has been pretty much nil since the very first game.


*shrugs and walks away*

[Professor S]

I did try and follow the story from the scans in the original, but whether it was my ADD or that FF7 ruined me for non-cutscene driven storylines, the scans just didn't do it for me.

I think for me I have to identify with one or more of the characters to enjoy a game. Its sort of like my love of film and gaming have combined to screw up what I like in games. I remember spending hours playing Donkey Kong, Metroid and other gameplay driven games back when thats all there was. Now that intricate stories have become so commonplace, I don't fell entertained by a game unless it has one. Honestly, thats my loss.

[BreakABone]

I think the problem with putting a grand story into Metroid is really the type of game it is. She is a solo bounty hunter, usually on an alien planet where most of the people want her dead or vice versa. there are hardly any, if any at all NPCs for her to interact with. I mean they could try and force people into the story, but I will think it would take away from the whole isolation, You vs Them type deal.

With that said, I would suspect that Samus would have more interactions with the Luminoths, maybe some of the Federation Troopers and even Dark Samus in this game, but it's all my assumption.

[KillerGremlin]

I think if you pushed all biases to the side and got a review from someone that wanted something totally new and revolutionary, the scores for the last few games would be a lot different:

Doom 3 - 5.4/10
Grand Theft Auto 3: Part 3 (AKA GTA5) - 6.3/10
Halo 2 - 6/10
Metroid Prime 2 - 4.6/10


But you know..........you have to take into account the greatness of the original game, so it's like playing that great game all over again with a few minor tweaks. Lack of originality has been prevalent in the gaming industry since the N64 came out, if you haven't noticed.

[bobcat]

Woo hoo, can't wait to pick this one up

[Stonecutter]

What a load of garbage. IGN STILL doesn't have the MP2 video review up. You know, I'm definatly buying this game, it's not going to make a difference, but wtf?