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dmacleod's Super Metroid (SNES)
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| [January 25, 2008 07:11:24 AM]
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/GAMEPLAY/ Entry #2 (Super Metroid)
I got stuck after fighting a giant cabbage looking alien that was swinging wildly like a ball & chain. At this point I had become less creeped out by the game and music and such, more than anything really I forgot that I was actually playing this for homework. I truly became lost in the game.
As I gained more power ups, the game became much harder to navigate through. I had to remember rooms that I had visited an hour before, across the planet, that I had previously been unable to do anything in. My new Hi-Jump boots and Speed Run ability essentially expanded the world to three times it's size, I started needing to check my map, revisiting rooms, retracing my steps... I was immersed! As I gathered these items i realized that I was becoming more addicted to the game, I wanted to keep playing and not write about it, I wanted to fight the next boss so I could open those orange doors I see all over the place.
/DESIGN/
I had to go play the game more, for a third time, before I could really write about it's design. The game is designed to become more challenging as it progresses, growing in depth as your repertoire of bounty hunter gadgets increases. When you begin the game, you are limited in what you can do; running, jumping, shooting, ducking. Once you gain your first item (morph ball), your world of control is changed, all of a sudden you can get into very small holes and the gameplay has taken on a new level of complexity.
This is the pattern that develops: with each item you obtain, you must spend more time searching in each area for a place where you can use that item. As you collect more equipment, the more tricks the game can play on you and the more complicated the puzzles can be, in fact most of rooms require the use of multiple items. This is a very good quality in a game; it's addictive to find those hidden areas and furthermore it requires the player to think and act tactically, forcing them to be engaged. If the player is not thinking and is not being smart, they will not be rewarded, it's a clever game design trick.
Being on an alien world and being an awesome bounty hunter is also a cool concept, it allows for a lot of freedom in creature design, weapon design, and level design. These things come together to set the tone for Super Metroid, and what is created is a very serious setting, a dark and curious and most of all foreign place.
It's hard to think up anything really negative to say about the design of this game.
This entry has been edited 5 times. It was last edited on Jan 25th, 2008 at 07:34:47.
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| [January 24, 2008 09:45:35 PM]
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/SUMMARY/
Super Metroid is a 2-D adventure game where the player controls the interstellar bounty hunter Samus Aran. The game is riddled with violent alien creatures, rich non-linear game play, and sometimes agonizing puzzles. The games primary focus is on the collection of equipment upgrades that allow Samus to explore the vast alien planet, fighting bosses and collecting secret items along the way. Although the game has a somewhat linear progression, the option to explore and hunt for secret items creates an open ended-ness feel.
/GAMEPLAY/
I was hesitant to choose SM for this logging entry simply because I remember it being difficult and quite creepy. For me, after an hour, this has not changed; even the title screen is ominous. The strange alien music, the weird bird statues that hold the special items (that sometimes come to life and attack you…), the mushrooms with twisted stalks… This game definitely has a “feel” to it, and it is still as compelling as it was when it was released in 1994.
It’s great because there is no explicit direction you have to go, you can explore the world as you please (even though you are limited if you don’t have a lot of special items). There are little secrets all over if you take the time to explore all the nooks and crannies. The reward system is very nice because generally you have to solve some difficult puzzle or defeat some boss alien to get the power ups needed. Further more, as the player, you know that once you have that item, you can unlock a whole new region of the planet which is exciting. So far it’s not too difficult and I am progressing at a solid pace.
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dmacleod's Super Metroid (SNES)
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Current Status: Finished playing
GameLog started on: Thursday 24 January, 2008
GameLog closed on: Friday 25 January, 2008 |
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