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Tuesday 15 January, 2008
GAMEPLAY:
This game has done a really good job of keeping me addicted in the 2+ hours I've played it. I have really enjoyed the rewards that this game never ceases to reap. I have literally dedicated my time to fully exploring each sector searching for anything that looks out of the ordinary, this could be a differently colored block, a crack on the floor, or two areas on a screen blocked off by a center wall. There have been times that I didn't have the right suit upgrade to get through, so I took note and returned to find my upgrade later when I had the right upgrade for it. Most of these upgrades have been for the missile carrying capacity, and an occasional life capacity enhancer. I don't believe this is a necessary in any way shape or form to finish the game, but it has made battling bosses and room monsters much, much easier. Maybe too easy, since my first real boss battle only took one try to beat.
The one thing that I have disliked about this game is the story. There doesn't seem to be one aside from the first 10 minutes of gameplay. Since then I have not run across any references to the main story. Had I not sat through that introduction the first day, I could very easily think this is a treasure hunt. Where searching for upgrades is the reason Samus went to planet Zebes.
So far this game has been really fun to play. I have yet to become fully stuck in any area. There have been times that I entered an area, and a door closes behind me, and I realize I must just continue forward and search for an exit elsewhere. This has been especially satisfying because I literally stopped playing Kingdom Hearts because I got stuck in one area for two days straight and decided to stop playing it all together. So I am especially pleased with this game for that factor where getting lost is not really an issue, an exit is usually a bomb ball, missile, or jump away. The player just has to learn to look for areas where to bomb stuff.
DESIGN:
I especially enjoyed the design of the levels. There is always a way out of anywhere as long as you look for it. This could be a very deep expedition into an area, or just searching for something out of the ordinary to blast. I also like that enemies keep re-appearing after exiting and re-entering a room, so if the player is low on health, he or she could very easily enter and exit a room to kill enemies and collect health regenerators. It does add some difficulty if the current weapon that Samus has doesn't do much for a certain enemy. So avoiding rooms has also become my practice until I can find weapon upgrades, or if I really need to enter it.
As I have mentioned, I really love the rewards system. I love searching high and low for weapon upgrades, life upgrades, any upgrade. It makes feel a sense of satisfaction when my hard work spelunking through innards of Planet Zebes leads me to a higher missile carrying capacity or a new suit upgrade. In fact, this aspect of the game has replaced my initial desire to play it which was to see what a metroid was. This reward system also helps to deal with the harder enemies as the game has progressed which makes me feel not so overwhelmed in certain chambers.
There is something I don't care much for in this game. More specifically the story line as I have mentioned before. I would have preferred a story where the Metroid Larva has been discovered to be somehow crucial to the survival of the universe. So when it is stolen by the Evil-Purple dragon, Samus gives chase only to be shot down in Planet Zebes where she crash lands, and everything but her basic suit is scattered around Planet Zebes upon impact. She must at once locate all her missing suit pieces in order to recover the Metroid Larva and save the universe. This would also give way for an introductory level where Samus must use all her weapons to get through the Space Colony. Although this introductory level would remove all sense of surprise I have encountered at locating certain weapons. Although this would also eliminate the initial frustration I felt when playing this game, which was the controls.
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