wraggster
May 17th, 2006, 14:12
Via CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=140156)
Us being the lucky sods that we are, we managed to spend almost the entire duration of E3 clamped around the Wii this year. Probably the most impressive game on display, in terms of intuitive control, insane action and graphical finesse though was Retro's Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - as you might have guessed from our gushing hands-on.
Speaking to website Nintendo Now, Retro's lifted the lid on some of the previously undisclosed features we can see when the game hits at the launch of Wii. First up, it seems that Samus' ever present ship will play a big part this time around, with the ability to control it remotely (not to be confused with Wiimotely) via your visor.
It appears that you'll be able to use the ship to launch bomb-runs, lift massive objects and position it to create temporary platforms. Not only that, but it'll play a vital part in interplanetary travel, although Retro seems keen to stress you won't actually have direct flying control.
There's also news of a new 'Hyper Mode', born out of Samus' corruption by the Phazon from the first two Prime games. Once in Hyper Mode, Retro game director Mark Pacini, explained "you'll become very powerful for a short period of time, but you'll also have a possibility of dying because you're using this ability.
"So the player has to learn how to balance this system, where you might want to go into Hyper Mode and use all your Phazon - your health switches to a different management system - and you might just use all your Phazon really quick and get through a tough area and then you're out of Hyper Mode.
"But because you can manage this bar by how much you shoot, and your shots take out a certain number of Phazon units, you can actually stay in Hyper Mode for a longer period of time and be powerful for a longer period of time, at the expense of possibly dying. So it's kind of a system where hardcore people who are really good at the game might kind of take advantage of that system at a high risk."
On top of that, there's also a new weapon stacking system, which applies to your beams, missiles and grapple beam. Essentially, this means that every new weapon you collect will boost your existing weapons, while still retaining the inherent properties of each. On the subject of weapons, Retro revealed that new additions this time around include a beam that shoots straight through materials and an X-ray visor, for solving puzzles and locating targets under surfaces.
On the subject of multiplayer, it seems that Retro has ditched the idea, following the largely lacklustre modes in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Senior producer Bryan Walker revealed, "We added [multiplayer] in Metroid Prime 2 and it was fun. It was an experiment for us. In Metroid Prime 3, we really wanted to go back to the roots of Metroid, a very immersive single player first-person adventure. But that said, we're also very excited about the Wii Connect24 functionality, and we're discussing a number of options for Metroid Prime 3 to take advantage of that, and add value to the overall experience." On this last point, Retro confirmed it's "discussing" the possibility of downloadable content, including weapons upgrades.
Last but not least, it appears Retro is keen to take onboard comments arising from E3, specifically addressing issues of controller sensitivity which, many people agreed, was a little too high on Nintendo's stand. "Since this is new technology", Pacini divulged, "we're always learning new ways that things do or don't work. As far as the sensitivity issue, that's something that there is a learning curve for with the Metroid Prime games.
"It is a little bit more complicated in the control scheme, but after, we're kind of estimating, fifteen or twenty minutes, [...] you come back again and are like "How did I ever play without this?" As far as tunable sensitivity, absolutely. That is something that we found that people want - more and less sensitivity. I don't think we're going to be able to come up with one control scheme that works for everybody."
Us being the lucky sods that we are, we managed to spend almost the entire duration of E3 clamped around the Wii this year. Probably the most impressive game on display, in terms of intuitive control, insane action and graphical finesse though was Retro's Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - as you might have guessed from our gushing hands-on.
Speaking to website Nintendo Now, Retro's lifted the lid on some of the previously undisclosed features we can see when the game hits at the launch of Wii. First up, it seems that Samus' ever present ship will play a big part this time around, with the ability to control it remotely (not to be confused with Wiimotely) via your visor.
It appears that you'll be able to use the ship to launch bomb-runs, lift massive objects and position it to create temporary platforms. Not only that, but it'll play a vital part in interplanetary travel, although Retro seems keen to stress you won't actually have direct flying control.
There's also news of a new 'Hyper Mode', born out of Samus' corruption by the Phazon from the first two Prime games. Once in Hyper Mode, Retro game director Mark Pacini, explained "you'll become very powerful for a short period of time, but you'll also have a possibility of dying because you're using this ability.
"So the player has to learn how to balance this system, where you might want to go into Hyper Mode and use all your Phazon - your health switches to a different management system - and you might just use all your Phazon really quick and get through a tough area and then you're out of Hyper Mode.
"But because you can manage this bar by how much you shoot, and your shots take out a certain number of Phazon units, you can actually stay in Hyper Mode for a longer period of time and be powerful for a longer period of time, at the expense of possibly dying. So it's kind of a system where hardcore people who are really good at the game might kind of take advantage of that system at a high risk."
On top of that, there's also a new weapon stacking system, which applies to your beams, missiles and grapple beam. Essentially, this means that every new weapon you collect will boost your existing weapons, while still retaining the inherent properties of each. On the subject of weapons, Retro revealed that new additions this time around include a beam that shoots straight through materials and an X-ray visor, for solving puzzles and locating targets under surfaces.
On the subject of multiplayer, it seems that Retro has ditched the idea, following the largely lacklustre modes in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Senior producer Bryan Walker revealed, "We added [multiplayer] in Metroid Prime 2 and it was fun. It was an experiment for us. In Metroid Prime 3, we really wanted to go back to the roots of Metroid, a very immersive single player first-person adventure. But that said, we're also very excited about the Wii Connect24 functionality, and we're discussing a number of options for Metroid Prime 3 to take advantage of that, and add value to the overall experience." On this last point, Retro confirmed it's "discussing" the possibility of downloadable content, including weapons upgrades.
Last but not least, it appears Retro is keen to take onboard comments arising from E3, specifically addressing issues of controller sensitivity which, many people agreed, was a little too high on Nintendo's stand. "Since this is new technology", Pacini divulged, "we're always learning new ways that things do or don't work. As far as the sensitivity issue, that's something that there is a learning curve for with the Metroid Prime games.
"It is a little bit more complicated in the control scheme, but after, we're kind of estimating, fifteen or twenty minutes, [...] you come back again and are like "How did I ever play without this?" As far as tunable sensitivity, absolutely. That is something that we found that people want - more and less sensitivity. I don't think we're going to be able to come up with one control scheme that works for everybody."