Metroid vs. Halo and Metroid gets no respect

[Calico_Jack]

I KNOW I'm going to get bashed for this. Just as a note, I haven't read all the replies here. I skimmed them, and I feel like I'm the only one who likes Halo.

Yep. LOVED Halo since day one. The deep, intricate story, the environments, the books, they're phenomenal, I love it all. I'm about 4 hours into Halo 3 and I must say it lives up to every single ounce of hype, which is MUCH more than can be said for Halo 2. The thing I love most is that it really expresses a lot of things that only the books did. The sheer scale of the environments, the horror of the flood, the hopelessness of Humanity's situation. It grasps it all.

Don't get me wrong I love Metroid. However, gamers need to learn that they're two different sub-genres. Maybe not apples and oranges, but definitely granny smiths and red delicious'.

That being said, Metroid has had an impact on my FPS gaming. I can think of a few times during Halo 3, especially when the flood show up, when I've seen a new enemy and thought "ZOMFG ENEMY! SCAN IT! oh wait..."

[AMetroidGuy]

Gabe at Penny Arcade said the series has a really good story - it’s just impossible to discern from the gamepaly. That is actually the impression I got from skimming the Halo-related articles on Wikipedia a while ago. He linked a summary which I intend to read soon. I will likely never play any of the games, as I find FPSs, even acclaimed ones like Goldeneye, intensely boring. Of traditional FPSs, only Perfect Dark ever stirred my imagination and interest - and not enough to even come close to finishing it. But I do love me a good story - so I think it is a terrible shame when one is overlooked. That should be the most important aspect of an epic game, not the most neglected. That is what the Prime series does right - and Prime 2, which failed somewhat in that regard, really suffered for it.

On Halo hype, all I will say is that the Sci-Fi channel has a special about it, and despite withstanding all the other stuff, that made me sick. Oh, and the Game Fuel commercial is dumb.

As for Nintendo. Whatever. Whatever you want to say about them and their “disrespect for gamers”, they have sold over 3/4 as many Wiis as MS has sold 360s, in half the time( and that is reckoning for a million sales just in the past week due to Halo). Game companies have radically shifted their focus to embrace the new market. EA acquired several small studios early this year, just to compensate for being caught unawares by the Wii’s success and PSP’s failure to overtake DS. Even when Nintendo has seen its market share decline, they still always turn a profit. They have survived when other gaming-only companies like Commodore, Atari and Sega are either gone or barely recognizable.

I don't see anything wrong with the Prime 3 commercial. Why do so many people hate this? It's not targeted at the 'hardcore gamer'. It's targeted at a wider audience - the 'we' of the Wii. I don't see how portraying Metroid as something that anybody can pick up and play is treating us like 'children'. Of course, I don't know how effective the commercial was, as I don't think the average 'non-gamer' would be terribly interested in this type of game anyway... But I don't see why everything has to be super-testosterone or else it's 'kiddy'.

This reminds me of the other thread about Super Paper Mario, where people were complaining that it wasn’t hardcore and the cute story and presentation turned them off without even giving it a chance.( Which is not to say that everyone who gave it a chance liked it, but that is a whole different matter.)

[Infinity's End]

I KNOW I'm going to get bashed for this.

Actually no, you probably won't get bashed or flamed in any way. Most of the people on this board are pretty level-headed and mature enough to carry on proper conversations.

I've never liked Halo, (just seemed like your usual FPS with a diverse Multiplayer system) so they're really not my type of game. I sure as hell wouldn't dish out $450+ to play Halo 3.

[Redwing]

I don't see anything wrong with the Prime 3 commercial. Why do so many people hate this? It's not targeted at the 'hardcore gamer'. It's targeted at a wider audience - the 'we' of the Wii. I don't see how portraying Metroid as something that anybody can pick up and play is treating us like 'children'. Of course, I don't know how effective the commercial was, as I don't think the average 'non-gamer' would be terribly interested in this type of game anyway...

The thing is, I don't think Nintendo's "Casual Gamer" audience would enjoy playing or really understand the Metroid series. So why are we advertising to them? I'm sure Nintendo could have used the same gameplay footage, put in some interesting, dramatic music, and cut down on the smiling people with bright clothes and they would've hooked more of the audience that will actually enjoy the game. I mean, Metroid's got a rather dark story, why not have ads to match? Does having to kill off three allies after they fell victim to a biohazardous, sentient element really make these people smile and laugh? What about the Valhalla? Ads should reflect the game.

Honestly, I've nothing against casual gamers. I just wish Nintendo would pull a Jekyl/Hyde and advertise to both of us. They could then rule the market: a dark side to combat Microsoft and Sony, and a light side for the kid in all of us. I enjoy Wii sports, but I don't want Metroid ads to seem like you could change the in-game shots and it'd be the same ad. I mean, consider the trailer I made here-
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qW652hNEHKs& ... ed&search=
even though I'm terrible at mixing video and cutting stuff (I'm using Windows Movie Maker, for goodness' sake), I think I did a better job of portraying what the game was about (I'm not trying to sound arrogant).

[Jesse D]

But middle-aged business people waiting in airport terminals are totally the demographic that would play a game like Metroid.

...All sarcasm aside, I totally agree. Prime 3 was never designed to appeal to anybody but us fanboys, and because they did such a poor job of doing even that, the game will silently fall into obscurity. Some time during the undoubtedly extended peak of Halo 3's popularity.

Good job, Nintendo.

[Redwing]

But middle-aged business people waiting in airport terminals are totally the demographic that would play a game like Metroid.

...All sarcasm aside, I totally agree. Prime 3 was never designed to appeal to anybody but us fanboys, and because they did such a poor job of doing even that, the game will silently fall into obscurity. Some time during the undoubtedly extended peak of Halo 3's popularity.

Good job, Nintendo.

Someone agrees with me! Oh boy!

I just hope they shape up in time for Disaster: Day of Crisis. I want to see some dramatic commercials for such a cool-looking game.

[Calico_Jack]

I KNOW I'm going to get bashed for this.

Actually no, you probably won't get bashed or flamed in any way. Most of the people on this board are pretty level-headed and mature enough to carry on proper conversations.

I've never liked Halo, (just seemed like your usual FPS with a diverse Multiplayer system) so they're really not my type of game. I sure as hell wouldn't dish out $450+ to play Halo 3.

Yea, maybe I'm just used to 4chan. Anywho, I was planning on getting a 360 soon anyways. They're really useful, and I'm looking forward to playing music on my computer through the living room stereo.

As for it being a typical FPS, it's really not if you get into it. I haven't heard anyone make a direct comparison between halo and something else. Sure, it's similar to some things, but I haven't heard any comparisons to the point of it not being unique.

[Redwing]

As for it being a typical FPS, it's really not if you get into it. I haven't heard anyone make a direct comparison between halo and something else. Sure, it's similar to some things, but I haven't heard any comparisons to the point of it not being unique.

Yeah, I'm going to play it for myself. It sounds FUN enough, but I'm sure it can't live up to the hype.

That said, I wish Metroid ads were as impacting, meaningful and character revealing as this one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nrOJJCEUJow
from Halo, which aired during Monday Night Football. Now that's good advertising, through and through.

[AMetroidGuy]

But middle-aged business people waiting in airport terminals are totally the demographic that would play a game like Metroid.

...All sarcasm aside, I totally agree. Prime 3 was never designed to appeal to anybody but us fanboys, and because they did such a poor job of doing even that, the game will silently fall into obscurity. Some time during the undoubtedly extended peak of Halo 3's popularity.

Good job, Nintendo.

Frankly, Metroid has almost always been rather obscure, released too late in a console’s life cycle, or overshadowed by other releases.

And for the record, I smiled and laughed a lot playing Corruption. Yelled and sweated a lot too, of course.

[Redwing]

But middle-aged business people waiting in airport terminals are totally the demographic that would play a game like Metroid.

...All sarcasm aside, I totally agree. Prime 3 was never designed to appeal to anybody but us fanboys, and because they did such a poor job of doing even that, the game will silently fall into obscurity. Some time during the undoubtedly extended peak of Halo 3's popularity.

Good job, Nintendo.

Frankly, Metroid has almost always been rather obscure, released too late in a console’s life cycle, or overshadowed by other releases.

And for the record, I smiled and laughed a lot playing Corruption. Yelled and sweated a lot too, of course.

Yeah, Corruption = Good times. I wish more people could appreciate it.

That said, I think I like Halo's advertising more than the actual games

[Redwing]

4.) Btw, MC dies at the end.

This just in- MC... doesn't die?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFOICtYykxA&NR=1

I just laugh at all the Halo fanboys who didn't have the attention span to WAIT PAST THE CREDITS

[VGMStudios]

Totally agree with most of you here. Totally sick of all the Gaylo hyping that goes on around here. Even my barber is like, "So you play the new Halo yet?" I just smile and say no!

You guys remember the 1st MP commercial? Ya that one was cool. If Big N did something like that again then maybe they get more sales and ppl would actually NOTICE how good of a game this one is?!?

And the MP3 website was out b4 the game, but come on. Its so pathetic! Everytime I go there to see if its changed I get disapointed!!
I dont think N cares about Metroid as much as they did b4.

Its just a shame really!

VGM out...

[Irondog666]

I don't see anything wrong with the Prime 3 commercial. Why do so many people hate this? It's not targeted at the 'hardcore gamer'. It's targeted at a wider audience - the 'we' of the Wii. I don't see how portraying Metroid as something that anybody can pick up and play is treating us like 'children'. Of course, I don't know how effective the commercial was, as I don't think the average 'non-gamer' would be terribly interested in this type of game anyway... But I don't see why everything has to be super-testosterone or else it's 'kiddy'.

Its because of the hardcore gaming audience. Metroid has always been targeted at the gamer who wants to play an in depth adventure kind of game. Therefore the Wii Would Like To Play commercials won't help sell it like a good old fashioned hyped up commercial would. Nintendo did it in the past with their big releases they would hype them. Never like with what Halo 3 did I seen them do some marketing campaigns for Mario in the past. I don't see why they have to stick to the casual gamer commercials when casuals would hate this kind of game.

[Calico_Jack]

Metroid gets no respect? Do you guys read your own posts? Seriously.

HALO IS POPULAR. GET OVER IT. I'm sick of every other cocky motherfucker bashing Halo just because everyone likes it. Obviously they're doing SOMETHING right if everyone is playing the damn thing.

Yea, I love Halo, the books the game, all of it. I got Halo 3 on release day. I cried when MC got re-united with Cortana, when Lord Hood and the Arbiter thought he was dead, and during the ending cryo scene. Story wise, I'm a much bigger Halo fan than Metroid. People don't like Halo because it tends to attract 12-year olds, which is why I don't frequent any Halo boards.

Gameplay wise, I love Metroid. I've probably played Super Metroid start-to-finish 50 times, probably more. However, I must say that Master Cheif is a much more unique and fleshed-out character than Samus. What do we know about her? She was raised by aliens, and now fights other aliens. HOSHIT, DEEP. I don't really play Metroid for the story. It's not all that great. Master Chief, on the other hand, was stolen from his parents and sent to a hardcore training camp at six, augmented and nearly killed at seventeen, and almost died MULTIPLE occasions. He's seen more shit than Samus will ever see, especially because she keeps running into the same shit over and over.

I'm sorry if you guys can't see the fun in Halo, but if you haven't played it then do us all a favor and kindly shut the fuck up. If you have, then give a legitimate reason why it's terrible. If you've played it, you know it's not a horrible game. Some might not see how it's unique, but that doesn't mean it's bad.

[Conq]

Someone hit a cord...

Halo's not a bad game by any means, but on a 10 point scale I'd give it a 7. I'm biased in that my genre really isn't FPS (I'm a strategy kind of guy, especially turn-based strategy), but I can appreciate the cream of the FPS crop. Doom was good (for its time). Goldeneye was good. Half Life was good. Half Life 2 was great. Unreal Tournament is good. Bioshock looks like it'll be great. System Shock 2 was great. Halo doesn't match up to any of these except for Doom and that's ancient. There simply isn't much that sets Halo apart from any of them. I can see where people would enjoy the series, but I can't comprehend why it gets the critical acclaim that it does. I just chalk it up to different tastes (although even the FPS junkies I know really don't like it, but I think they're put off as much by the fanbase as anything in the game itself).

With that said, the Prime games really aren't comparable--I consider them different genres and thus any comparisons are like apples vs. oranges in my eyes. I don't think I'd call any of the Prime games great but they certainly fit in the good category (with Prime 2 being toward the bottom of the good games--I hate Dark Aether with a passion). Perhaps when I finish MP3 I'll think more highly of it (I consider it the best of the Primes so far). Even so, I'd much rather play any of the Primes than any Halo game. That's just my taste. Others think differently and that's certainly their right.

The thing that really bothers me about Halo, though, is the community around it. They strike me as rabid fanboys who I'd rather not deal with ever, especially when they talk about all the great things Halo does/did that have already been done years earlier on the PC (LAN gaming, anyone?). I "know" a guy (friend of a friend) who bought Halo 3. He doesn't own a 360 and as far as any of us knows he doesn't know anyone who does. We can't fathom the thought process that led to such a purchase. I should be able to separate the community from the game, but it's really hard when one of the major features of the game is interacting with that community in online deathmatch (and I've never cared for online play in anything much, anyway).

Well, I suppose that's enough for now. I have work I really ought to be doing.