Metroid Prime 3 controls seem to suck
Yes, it’s E3, the most wonderful time of the year—next to Christmas, at least. A flood of videos at the event are coming in, so get set for a viewing extravaganza. First up is a video walkthrough of a level in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The game is coming out next month, so soak yourself in the hype leading to it.
The most noticeable part of the video is how the controls work. I remember associating auto-aim and non-alcoholic beer, but after seeing how this feature works, I must say that from being totally against it, I’ve changed my stance to “undecided.”
Once Samus locks on to an opponent, the camera is focused on said enemy but you can still aim anywhere you want. If you move around while locked on, you strafe around the locked enemy.
But being the pessimist that I am, I’d like to focus my negative energy at the free-look controls that Metroid Prime 3 is using. I remember complaining that Retro Studios doesn’t look at other FPS games, and it looks like my rant was valid.
Metroid Prime 3 lets you move the camera around by pointing the Wiimote near the screen’s edges. Pointing Samus’ crosshairs at the upper edge of the screen will move the camera in a similar direction. While not pointing at the edges, the crosshairs move around normally onscreen.
What’s wrong with Metroid’s control scheme?
If you recall, this is different in “normal” FPS games because the crosshair is permanently situated at the middle of the screen, and moving it around moves the camera around as well. In Metroid, you still have to point the cursor at the screen’s edge to move the camera around. This may sound trivial on paper, but try doing that when surrounded by at least six steambots, which is a likely scenario.
Instead of just “pointing and shooting” as the developer said, you need to 1) point at the edge of the screen, and 2) wait for the camera to rotate 180 degrees, so that you can 3) shoot the enemies behind you. By this time, Samus would have taken more damage than she should have because you had to do a lot of things.
Did I mention what this could mean to the lock-on feature? Tell me, how are you going to dodge other enemy attacks when you’re locked on a target? As you recall, you can only strafe around the locked enemy. This means you have to disengage first before you can start dodging attacks from other enemies other than the one you originally locked on to.
So many questions, so little time before August 27. Here’s the rub: Retro Studios probably doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with Metroid Prime 3 because according to Retro CEO and president Michael Kelbaugh, they don’t:
Tags: console_games, first_person_shooter, fps, fps_games, games, metroid_prime_3, metroid_prime_3_corruption, nintendo, nintendo_wii, nintendo_wii_games, shooters, wii_games“Look at other games and make any comparisons.”
5 opinions for Metroid Prime 3 controls seem to suck
Xero
Jul 13, 2007 at 11:11 am
I think you’re a little off in your thinking as far as the aiming and waiting is concerned. You still move your guy with the nunchuck to turn him just like a normal FSP, you dont have to move it right and then wait for a 180 degree turn. what the new controles do is give you control over your characters arm movements so you can shot withing your entire field of view. So where as in the FSP of old you kinda walked around with your arm straight out, never moving, and rotated your torso left, right, and/or down now you also can move your shooting arm within your field of view. It is less like a mouse that moves the screen for you and more like real life. I’m sure this will actually improve the gameplay and revolutionize the way we look at FSP game play from here on out. This is the first significant jump in FSP immersion in a long time, I’m sure it will take some getting used to, but just like the dual analogs we all use today(thanks to Halo), we’ll swear by this system soon enough.
Mike
Jul 13, 2007 at 9:46 pm
It’s FPS, Xero. F-P-S. First-person shooter. I don’t know what acronym you’re referring to, but this is what we’re talking about here.
Judging by your response, I think you’re a console gamer. For one thing, you favor the dual analog control system. Second, you think the Metroid scheme will “revolutionize” FPS. Third, you credited Halo for the dual analog controls.
I’m afraid it’s you who is off the mark. Didn’t you WATCH the trailer? The developer moved the crosshairs to the edge of the screen to do a full 360-degree turn. Watch the trailer and pay attention to what the developer does, and how Samus reacts onscreen.
It took FOREVER for Samus to make a sweeping look at her surroundings. FOREVER.
Granted, I know there’s an option to increase the sensitivity of the movement, but the root of the problem isn’t the control sensitivity. It’s the whole control scheme as a whole.
As a console gamer, you might look at it as “fine” (since looking around also takes forever with dual analog sticks) but that’s not how it works with PC games. Survival depends on how quick you respond and how quick you finish off your enemy.
You haven’t even countered my point on the lock-on feature, which remains to be counterintuitive because you can only strafe around your target–making you vulnerable to other enemy attacks.
I’m afraid Metroid Prime 3 will be anything but “revolutionary.” Perhaps the game will provide a new control scheme for console FPS gamers who have forever languished with the dual analog controls and auto-aim, but it won’t raise the entire FPS bar.
If this is what console gaming has to offer as regards to the control scheme, this means the keyboard and mouse combo remains to be the best scheme in FPS games, because sell-out features like auto-aim isn’t going to compensate for it.
Xero
Jul 14, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Mike, I guess first I would like to say that I am not a console gamer. I’ve been a PC gamer since I got my first blazing 286 when I was 7 years old. That having been said I guess I messed up on F-P-S, thats the last time I’ll take Tylenol PM before posting again. In either case I think it’s fair to say that compared to the dual analog sticks this will revolutionize console FPS. Sure the locking on isn’t ideal and seems to make the game play like Zelda OoT in some regards. Still that doesn’t mean that the concept of using motion sensative controls for aiming, changing weapons, and more can’t be perfected by other game developers. The last thing I am saying that this is perfect but lets not say “it sucks” till we try it ourselves.
Alex
Jul 16, 2007 at 7:29 pm
I’d just like to chime in and point to GoldenEye 007 on N64 if we want to talk about which game to thank for dual analog control on console FPS. Yeah you ended up having to use two controllers for it, and its existence is really obscure for most players, but dual analog *did* exist on consoles a good 5 years before the original Halo. And hot damn was it incredible. In fact, it still is. GE’s 2.X control schemes were the first of their kinds on consoles. Rare was years ahead of Bungie. And the ONLY reason we didn’t see fully realized dual analog with a single controller in GE was because Nintendo made a controller with a single joystick. I tell ya, if Nintendo had further refined that controller, added a second analog, and reduced the C-buttons down to a single face button…they would have downright raped that gaming generation.
And when it all comes down to it, N64 is the fucking king if we’re talking revolutionary console FPS. People love Halo, yeah. Halo 2 is the 2nd-most played game in the history of XBL, yeah. It’s used in high-level tourney play, yeah.
But there’s a reason why GE64 is the most-requested game for both the Wii Virtual Console *and* Xbox Live Arcade. Because deep down, everyone knows what console FPS is the granddaddy of them all: Rare’s GoldenEye 007.
Regarding the Metroid Prime vid, I’m with Mike on this one. It looks slow as hell. Though chances are the game wasn’t using the Expert control scheme, because from what I’ve read, Expert either has an almost miniscule scroll-box or center-locked crosshair.
All I know is the majority of my 7 reserves for Q4 is Xbox 360.
Mike
Jul 17, 2007 at 1:07 am
Thanks for the background, Alex. :) Halo (the original, at least) has always been overrated in my eyes, but that’s beside the point.
And yes, I’ll hand it to Xero–we haven’t tried the game yet, so it’s hard to make a decision based on the video alone. However, my observations were based on the trailer I posted, and I said that the controls “seemed” to suck because after all, the game isn’t out and I haven’t tried it. If the entry was a review, then I wouldn’t include that intransitive verb.
I read about the Advanced mode and found out that the crosshair is permanently locked in the middle of the screen, just like your standard FPS.
I would just like to add in that Retro should’ve used the Advanced mode instead because the Red-Steel-like controls mapped out in Standard mode is enough to compel any self-respecting gamer who knows his FPS into an angry fit.
Especially when the game is a beloved franchise.
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