Endgame Review: Metroid: Other M

Welcome to the second in a series of endgame reviews (don’t get too used to them because I probably won’t buy any more games until the 3DS comes out). The subject this time is Metroid: Other M. I beat the game, beat the epilogue with 73% item collection and went back for a 100%.

This is an awesome game, and if you’re wondering why I always give good reviews, it’s because these games actually cost me money. I actually have to research a game and see if it’s worth it before I go get it. I won’t buy a game if I’m not sure I’ll love it. So my reviews will normally be either "love it" or "slightly disappointed". Just in case one of you decided to post a comment and call me biased or anything.

What I liked the most about this game is how it went back to its roots (I know you’ve been getting that a lot from me lately) and brought some innovative concepts forward at the same time. This, my friends, is what I had in mind when I was a kid and I would daydream about the future of video games. It plays like a 16-bit masterpiece, and while it sure is prettier; none of the bells and whistles take away from that feeling. The story is good enough to keep me coming for more (and to motivate me to beat some tough bosses), the graphics are just beautiful and the sound is perfect. In conclusion, Metroid: Other M is an all-around great game. There were a few details here and there that sort of annoyed me, but ever so slightly, so when I point them out it’s not because they ruined the game for me, but you might want to be warned in case it’s the kind of thing that would ruin it for you.

The story was good but not great. At times I found myself seeing right through it. Then there was the voice acting, a first in the Metroid series. During an interview I heard they wanted the actress to speak as herself. The result is hard to explain, but it definitely works. Her speech is almost expressionless, paused and cold. Sometimes to an extent that you wonder if she was actually reading straight off the script. Some picky gamers might criticize this, as they usually expect Oscar-worthy acting. But this is a good thing, though. I mean, what else would you expect from a chick whose parents got hacked up in front of her and got her genes messed with by aliens as a kid and now commits genocide for a living? Nah, it was just fine, in fact the scenes in which things get more intense can feel a bit overacted simply because you don’t expect her to be so emotional. But then again, women, am I right, guys?

Speaking of femininity, another issue that came up during my first review was booty so I wanted to let you know what the rest of the game was like, booty-wise. Yes, on almost every scene in which she is in her zero suit the camera will slowly drift down and almost subliminally focus on her rear end. But these scenes are scarce; Nintendo didn’t want Samus taking off her armor just because. Besides, even when they did, it was all in good taste. I never felt uncomfortable playing with my daughters in the room. Normally she just "clears" the helmet’s visor to reveal her eyes and this gives her all the expression needed for the narrative.

Another issue that came up was Samus being submissive. I find this preposterous because people are seeing her following orders as some sort of weird Japanese sex slave fetish thing. You got this all wrong you sickos! First, the following of orders is just a very clever plot device to justify Samus not starting up with all the sweet power-ups she just got in Super Metroid. I’d rather have this than have all her cool stuff taken away like everyone else does in sequels. Second, Samus clearly states she sees the man giving the orders as a father-figure, and that she decides to stay because she cares for the security of the soldiers on board, one of them a close friend. She’s not trying to get into their pants, she just happens to care! SHEESH!

One thing I really appreciated was the attention to detail. In Iwata's interview Yosuke Hayashi mentioned how he coordinated the in-game sounds and graphics with the ones in the in-game and pre-rendered cut scenes. This creates a great sense of immersion. If a window breaks in a cut scene, next time you run by you’ll hear the glass crunching underneath your feet. Some scenes will play seamlessly during game play and in many cases the camera will even switch to a 1st person using the same HUD you’d see and hear when you’d point your Wiimote at the screen. You will see the Wiimote reticle scanning the characters on screen and the health bar will still display YOUR health and how many missiles you actually have at the moment. The only problem with this is that sometimes you have no idea that you’ve lost control, and then don’t know when you’ve regained it. This can be very frustrating when it’s done during a boss battle or very annoying when you’re left (or you think you are) in “scan mode” until you find the one clue. Again, I absolutely love the immersion this brings, but some sort of cue would be nice.

Speaking of frustration, the difficulty levels in this game are weird. Some times it feels too easy and sometimes it feels too hard. My hypothesis is that since they did such a great job at emulating the old-school controls and game play I was already good at in when I picked it up. My constant search for power-ups probably helped, too. Platforming and treasure finding were easy, but just enough not to be boring, and I only found some bosses difficult enough to make me smash my Wiimote through the TV. With these you have to be killed a few times over until you've had enough time to observe their behavior and their reaction to your different types of attacks. Only then, when you have a plan, they’re a piece of cake. The final (the penultimate if you consider the epilogue) boss had me so frustrated I had to take a two week break! But then after thinking about it for a while (and googling up some tips) it was pretty easy.

Part of the Metroid tradition is finding items to upgrade your suit, some essential power-ups are revealed as the game progresses (like hidden behind a door you had to open to get to a new area) while the more optional items are hidden (none of the scientists on the Bottle Ship owned Chozo Power Suits to upgrade so it didn’t make sense for them to have these ancient artifacts taking up valuable shelf space). Some items give you visual clues (an open ventilation panel!), others appear as a dot on the map (and then you try to find access to it) and some are just hidden in ridiculous places you would never check under normal circumstances. When you beat the game you get to come back for a short epilogue, this time around the game will tell you the percentage of items you?ve collected, overall and within each area. All items will be revealed as dots on the map as well. It is kind of amusing backtracking and finding something in a weird place you absolutely overlooked. At the same time it can feel less rewarding since they’re practically given away, so make sure you?ve looked EVERYWHERE before you go for the final boss (you’ll know when you see it).

Previous Metroid games would offer better ending sequences based on how fast you beat the game or on how many items you collected. This time around the ending is always the same, only at the end of the epilogue a screen will show you your item collection percentage and a voiceover congratulates you accordingly. I got an enthusiastic "excellent!" with my 73% and a dull "Perfect… Congratulations" from my 100%. In my opinion, once you beat the game you've probably found all the "good" items. Anything you may have left behind is probably either missile tanks or energy tanks. You can recharge your missiles anytime with only one split second of regeneration, so the extra missiles are practically pointless. Regular monsters rarely only take away one full tank between save points and bosses either obliterate you before you know what’s going on or you figure them out fast enough to find a weak spot and an occasional opportunity to regenerate. So the replay value is there but only if that’s your kind of thing.

When you reach 100% you unlock "Hard mode". I tried it for a while and it looks like the little bugs loitering in the hallways could have killed me if I was not careful, but only because they did more damage. As soon as I realized all my power-ups were gone I turned it off… You know that sensation you get when there's a power failure and you have to start all over from your last save? In this game you have to slowly adjust your play style as you gain more powers, then when they're stripped off it feels like you're learning to play a new game. Besides, you also unlock "theater mode" when you beat the game so you can just watch it if you think you missed anything (like I did). I may try to play again when Sonic 4 gets old, if I don't trade it in first. There are a couple WiiWare games I've been wanting to try.

Also, a word of warning: There is a glitch in this game that may render your save unplayable by locking a door forever. I don’t know if Nintendo plans to recall the bad software or at least correct the glitch in disks burned from now on, so just in case be careful (it can be easily avoided). It happens when you backtrack to a save point after defeating a certain boss. I got used to finding timely save points so I never backtracked after any boss battles (especially since I could always regenerate) and never triggered the bug. I really hope Nintendo learned their lesson: either allow games to patch or hire better testers. Maybe they could launch a free WiiWare "app" that patches your save file.

This game is freaking awesome and I sure as hell hope Nintendo makes the next sequel using this format. I can only imagine the wonders they’d accomplish using this control scheme while not being limited by the game being a sequel and a prequel at the same time.

Review: Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

SONIC 4 IS HERE! I gotta tell you, man, I almost missed it! I came home after a long day of work, browsed through my RSS reader and lo and behold there was a review for Sonic 4! I was kind of shocked though, because it was the Joystiq review, probably one of the harshest critiques the game got. Anyway, I convinced my wife that it was a good investment (what would happen to my reputation if I didn’t provide my loyal readers with a timely review?), grabbed my debit card and rushed on to the living room to purchase 1000 points. Then I realized the game was worth 1500; a bit pricey if you ask me. I bought the 2000 points and kept the extra 500 for when episode 2 comes out.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed my game more if I hadn’t read that review (and that review only). As soon as I launched it I couldn't help looking for those faults they mentioned, and indeed I found them. Many of those defects, thought, were things that I probably wouldn’t have noticed or cared about.

Now, before I go into detail there’s one thing I want to clarify. Whether you love or hate this game is going to be directly linked to how much you liked the 16-bit iterations of the series, how much you liked the 3D versions, and how much you love Sonic the Hedgehog as a role model for humanity. Take, for example this Joystiq review: in essence their reaction was “dude, they got it all wrong!” I, myself am a total absolute Sonic the Hedgehog nerd. I know, in the bottom of my heart, that one day SEGA will rise from the ashes and obliterate Sony, Apple and Microsoft and leave Nintendo badly wounded (probably limiting themselves to release third party titles for SEGA consoles). I am POSITIVE beyond any doubt that Sonic would whoop Mario’s ass in a fight, in any setting, regardless of power-ups. That being cleared I’ll try to review the game from both points of view.

Consider what you expect from any other WiiWare title: A short, simple game with limited production value intended for casual audiences. This game clearly surpasses this. The graphics are in compliance with current standards for top-tier downloadable games. The music is catchy and the sound effects are appropriate. You get different saves and a leaderboards function. Controls are d-pad based, therefore extremely responsive. Use of motion controls is integrated in special levels, tilting the remote like a steering wheel emulating an analog joystick (to stop movement you have to return the remote to a horizontal position). This may take a bit of getting used to. You can opt to use the d-pad as well but you’ll probably appreciate the subtlety of analog control in harder levels. Gameplay itself is textbook platformer, you move left until you reach a goal, jumping to avoid obstacles and destroying any enemies that get in your way. If you’ve never played a 2D Sonic game then this is the end of the review, I recommend you try this one and then check out the classics. Goodbye.

If you have played any of the classics, consider what you would expect from a game titled Sonic The Hedgehog 4: A mascot-grade game that promises to return to the formula that made 1, 2 and 3 famous and shun anything implemented in further iterations (mainly 3D gameplay). Now that you have a very specific standard, it’s easy to see where the game does or doesn’t deliver. In essence the game IS good: It is fun and it made me happy. From the traditional title screen to the catchy tunes and familiar graphics it really is a heartwarming experience. Upon closer inspection you start to see some cracks.

Level design, sound effects, items and enemies are nearly identical to the previous games, especially in the Splash Hill Zone. But if the first three iterations had very similar levels, why shouldn’t this one? The tradition is to have the more original, perhaps darker levels later in the game, so I expect the next episode to start deviating from the cookie-cutter levels. Besides, you’d expect for them to intentionally pick the most popular levels and try to revisit them; this is a fan service game after all. In the end I was pretty satisfied and even though I have not played the game to the finish I expect a few surprises.

Sonic himself was a big disappointment. I had already prepared myself to the fact that SEGA refused to use the classic design and opt for the more “rad” version of Sonic designed for the 3D games. You know, long legs, more serious look, less cute? They claim they have redesigned the character and can’t go back. I can dig that. I was only mildly annoyed by the use of cel-shading (in-game and not in the title screen). What I didn't expect was the animation to be so crappy. When you press forward on the d-pad Sonic begins… walking. Seriously, SEGA, not even a light jog? A power-walk even? Sure, he speeds up in eventually (the fast-running animation isn’t perfect either), but since when does Sonic walk? This kind of walk/jog/run mentality only works when you’re working on analog stick movement! Take Metroid: Other M, for example, you press forward and Samus just sprints like her life depends on it! They sure know how d-pad movement works! Sonic only has three speeds: Static (and looking bored), running fast and running helluva fast.

Beside the animations, I have to agree with Joystiq on the physics being screwed up. If you were to determine the one thing Sonic games are about it’d definitely be speed, acceleration and inertia. The original formula is that you need to get from A to B as soon as possible. You are vulnerable while running but not if you curl up into a ball so it’s good thing to build up some speed if you’re uncertain of what might pop up on the way. You also need to build momentum to get through some obstacles like steep hills, loop-de-loops and even running up high walls at times. This is why they implemented the spin-dash move in Sonic 2; sometimes you didn’t have enough space to build up the necessary speed or it would just be no fun walking back for another running start.

Why on earth, then, does Sonic suddenly have enough force to accelerate even while walking STRAIGHT UP A WALL? My experience in casino zones tells me any “room” with no apparent exit, a flat floor and rounded corners is to be approached like a half-pipe. You run back and forth, gaining momentum until you’re able to run all the way up a wall and then you proceed to treat the rest of the room like a pinball table. I found myself in such a room, and seeing there wasn’t enough room to the left to get a good running start, I ran right (I chose not to spin-dash to keep control of my movement, just in case). Imagine my surprise when the blue hedgehog just kept running up and over a wall about 4 stories high. That is not just messed up, in a way it defeats the need of almost every other game play mechanic. No need to negotiate the terrain, just press forward!

Speaking of defeating game play mechanics, how about that homing attack? They thought it would be neat to include this move implemented in 3D games to facilitate jumping on enemies when there’s no real depth perception. Having this on the 2D version just makes it completely unnecessary to measure your jumps at all. Just press 2!

If you thought these would make the game ridiculously easy, the game now has a “world map” that lets you select any zone, and any of the acts you’ve already reached, including the bonus levels. There are some places where the platforming gets ridiculously tricky. Maybe they could have a feature in which Tails appears and beats the level for you!

Anyway, all these details can be justifiable to SEGA trying to make the game more accessible to both non-gamers and young children (I’m pretty sure my kids will have a blast). And, with the exception of the increased force, all other features are actually optional (you don’t HAVE to use the homing attack, and you can just tap A after finishing an act to go straight to the next in order) So, really, unless you’re the ultimate Sonic Nazi (or you work for Joystiq), there should not be any real issues so far.

Another aspect that was heavily bashed is the graphics. Allegedly the high-definition computer-generated graphics lack artistry and personality. I don’t know what they’re talking about, tough. I’m playing the Wii version on an old CRT TV. On a low-resolution screen the graphics look just as lovely as the classics: bright colors, 16-bit-ish parallax scrolling, dancing flowers and a sparkling ocean in the horizon. I remember reading some of the old school interviews with Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic The Hedgehog. He said when he came up with Sonic the idea was to make players happy. This game’s graphics made me happy. I say they got them right. If you ask me, classic games are just like porn, so I can imagine how too much detail could possibly ruin it to those unfortunate enough to own a big screen high-definition TV.

The sound effects are very loyal to the series and that made me happy too, but the music… I don’t now about the music. I feel just like with the music in New Super Mario Bros Wii, it’s good but not memorable. Maybe it’s because I already associate certain tunes to the brand. One thing I hated was the Dr. Robotnik Eggman (blegh) theme; it might have worked for a bonus stage or an ice cream truck, but it made me lose what little respect I had left for the good doctor.

I really liked the game and I know in my heart SEGA will iron out those little wrinkles by the time Episode 2 comes out.

Endgame Review: Monster Hunter Tri (3)

Welcome to the first in a series of endgame reviews. What I want to achieve with these is to give some deeper insight of different games I’ve played as soon as I am entirely done with them, either because I “finish” them, get tired of them or something happens to them.

I’d like to start with Monster Hunter Tri (click for the original article) . This one I traded in for Metroid: Other M. In story mode I never really beat it but I got pretty far. In online mode I got to the exact middle of the “ranking” spectrum.

I really liked this game, and I still recommend it. Sometimes I think I traded it in out of impulse, only because I was REALLY hyped about Other M. It was fun to play and I still had a lot I could do.

The only issue I had was with online matchmaking. It was truly frustrating at times. I simply don’t know what the hell they were thinking when they set the servers up like that. I can think of a thousand ways they could have made finding a good group to play with a lot easier, especially when they already had a ranking system.

You literally have to log in to one “server”, log in to a “gate” and look through all of the “cities” for a suitable group that is close to your ranking and not in the middle of a quest. Then you have to convince them to go hunting whatever it is you’re hunting. Sure, there were “recruiting” servers that allowed you to specify, in a city you opened, what your immediate goal was; but each “gate” within was entirely separate so you still had to do the in-out search, and of course, most players were in the regular servers anyway.

The connection to a server and then a gate is done via the game’s main menu, but from that point forward you have to navigate the gate as your avatar which adds the game’s loading to the wait. There is no point really to being in a “gate” except that you could chat there or use the in-game messaging, which is done via menus, anyway.

There is a “friend roster” function but it is a pain in the butt. The navigating through menus and asking for permission… You could only send messages to your friends if they were standing by, not when hunting (basically barely ever). Then, when you finally get a hold of them you can’t join them because there are already 3 more people in their “city”, or they’re busy doing a specific quest. There was no offline messaging, either, even though the Wii supports an in-console inbox. That was just stupid.

This system would have worked if this were another kind of game, but not for a game in which groups of no more than 4 players go on an epic battle that could last about an hour and requires some minutes of getting ready. That’s a lot of waiting.

Part of the blame for this actually goes to the game community (or to the game designers relying too much on player cooperation). You see, in this kind of game there are no experience points, you earn the experience yourself, and you can share it with new players. Even when you’ve reaching the “endgame” content where you have the best weapons and armor, the first monsters are still fun to hunt and, while not terrifyingly challenging, they can still kill you in a few hits if you don’t apply the same strategy you learned as a newbie. Also, there are usually sub quests and sometimes even (tougher) monsters not involved in the mission running wild that you could hunt for fun and profit.

What I’m trying to say is that if experienced players didn’t mind playing with newbies, everybody would always have a group to play with. But the old players are too selfish, only hunting creatures that would give them decent rewards or even concentrating in one specific monster for the parts they need for an upgrade. It takes a good deal of begging to have them join your hunt. On the other hand, some newbies will literally go gather herbs and mushrooms and let the experienced players do the killing, only to show up at the last minute to carve parts out of the cold carcass. Too bad you can’t PK them.

Maybe Japanese players have figured this out over the course of many iterations of the franchise, therefore not needing a more complex matchmaking system, but a more refined matchmaking system would’ve been of benefit to hardcore players or newcomers from across the pacific. When I applied the mantra I just mentioned I’d always find a party. I’d always make an amount of cash relative to the amount of effort (I could always sell the parts I didn’t need) and it was fun showing off in front of the newbies, especially when a tougher monster showed up and I was all like “We’ll keep the Rathian busy while you n00bs hunt the Qurupeco!” It was also fun when tougher players joined us n00bs and showed us how it was done. Players like these I’d add to my roster, and they’d often add me, we were among the few that really got it. But one cannot play like this all the time. Eventually we all want to rise through the rankings and to get the best weapons and armor, and it’s really frustrating when you’re the only one cooperating.