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I'm a tad disappointed, to be honest. This looks to be an awesome game, most certainly....But really, is this what we've been waiting for? Is this the end-all of Metroid games we've been anticipating so strongly? Is this the final addition to one of the greatest video games trilogies thus far? No, I rather doubt it.
In its own right, it seems like a marvelous game, and I have no doubts that I'll enjoy it vastly. But really, this isn't the culminating masterpiece I've been anticipating so powerfully since I received Echoes.
Metroid Prime was an awesome game when I got it, and it still is. The storyline is solid, the enemies are brilliant, the weapons are wonderful, the music is suiting, and the graphics are superb. Could they really make a sequel that's as good as the original? No; they made a sequel even better than the original, and that's no small feat.
The storyline, though it could be written off as cliché, was given life by the masterminds of Nintendo. Dark+Light worlds are rarely good ideas, but Echoes pulled it off with ease.
The enemies were beautifully designed, and the Bosses were enjoyable to fight. Though many of them were variants of the Warrior Ing, their new powers were difficult to work around(The Boost Ball Ing is still near impossible for multitudes of fans).
The concept of weapons ammo is both realistic and sensible, as the idea of unlimited ammunition, though appealing, isn't really plausible. It made players think in new ways, to use their ammo wisely. People have been hoping for the Screw Ball ever since the sequel was announced, and Echoes delivered. Rather than the dizzying first person view we all expected, Nintendo went for the third person view, and it worked better that way.
The music of Echoes was excellent in nearly every place it surfaced. The Bosses had unique and suiting music, and the themes of Aerotroopers and Grenchlers were exciting to listen to while fighting them. The music was dark when it had to be, and thrilling when it had to be.
And lastly, the enemies. Even the most mundane enemies looked wonderful, and their attacks were amazingly detailed. The fight with Amorbis was horribly difficult, and not just because of the Dark Aether poison. Chykka displayed a very realistic metamorphisis, ignoring the speed at which it changed. Both Chykkas were a nuisance, but not in an annoying way. Quadraxis was also both challenging and enjoyable to fight, with its many different scans and weaknesses.
The Emperor Ing, though moderately easy, looked amazing, and attacked in such diverse and varied ways that a loss to a decidedly easy Boss could be excused.
And then there was the final fight with Dark Samus. That was the climax I was hoping for. A superpowered Boss with a simple yet brilliant design that needed to be defeated in an incredibly imaginative way. The death of Dark Samus was also marvelous. The creature, ablaze and fading in and out of reality, crawls up to a fearful and astounded Samus, dematerializing just as it was about to accomplish whatever it was that it was trying to do. Awesome, utterly awesome. Echoes took what MP1 had started and amplified it, making it better on nearly every level. It's an engaging and incredible game, and definitely deserving to be the successor of MP1's throne.
With this new information having been released, I really can't help but wonder if Corruption can really hold its own next to such an awe-inspiring game.
Space Pirates always make good enemies, but after the spiteful and bloodthirsty Ing of Dark Aether, are they really enough to make this game succeed? Dark Samus will undoubtedly be an extraordinary Boss, but is it really enough to hold the weight of such a highly anticipated game on its shoulders?
Nintendo has surprised me in the past. When I bought Hunters, I really wasn't expecting much. But here I am, two-odd months later still enjoying myself in Multiplayer Mode having completed the actual quest numerous times. Despite that success, I can't see Corruption as that insurmountable climax to what has been the best series I've played on any console.
I have no doubt that it will be a fine game; I wouldn't expect anything less of Retro Studios and Nintendo. But I really, really don't expect it to stand up and prove itself to be that gripping, engrossing climax I wanted it to be. If it does prove to be better than Echoes, or even as good, I'll be quite satisfied. But right now, I'm simply concerned, concerned that this incredible series won't end the way it was destined to =(
~*CB*~
The 8th Champion
- Retro Studios is here in Austin 