Variety's Metroid Corruption review highlights message conflict

Strangely, I find this to be one of the best pieces of news with regards to MP3 yet. A game aimed at people who want to sit down with their Wii for more than an hour or two? Great stuff, Nintendo!

Now how about an encore or 20 to balance out Zelda against my 6 party games?

It's odd he calls it nonsensical.

To me this game makes the most sense out of any of the prime series. The puzzles and architecture of the worlds seems more real and organic. It feels like someone actually could have built this stuff. The puzzles are challenging, but logical.

As for being put on a planet and told "figure it out", that's innacurate. You are given mission objectives and map locations to go to. you have to figure out how to get there, but you know the general direction to head in.

This problem has nothing to do with the game/Wii/Nintendo and everything to do with the reviewer. Whatever... I bought the game yesterday and have enjoyed it thoroughly. The Wii controls feel really great for it.

All I can say is that Variety can kiss the fattest part of videogaming's ass. And mine.

Who the hell other than lame-brained Hollywood types and wannabe's read variety, anyway?! So. Damned. Dumb!

This article makes little to no sense in my mind. The reason being is this, ever other console system (PS3, Xbox360), which are targeting still more of the “hardcore” gamer has a handle full of casual games that are released every year out of dozens upon dozens of hardcore games. Not to mention that with Xbox live there is a plethora of what one would consider “casual” games as well.

There is nothing wrong with Nintendo making a few dozen casual games and coming out with a hand full of hardcore games. They are literally doing the opposite of what the other two console makers are doing. Couple this with the fact that the Nintendo has a Virtual Console system as well, who do you believe that is targeted to? Well of course, hardcore gamers, hardcore gamers who have been playing the Nintendo ever since they were a toddler. I know at least two dozen people who own a Wii and out of those people the only ones that have ever purchased a single VC are those people who have been playing games for years.

Whoever wrote this atrocity needs to stop ostracizing the hardcore gamer, just because Nintendo releases a selected few titles geared towards the hardcore market while release dozens of more casually oriented games, does not in any way mean that Nintendo is incorrectly marketing there product.

The writer really needs to step back and look at the big picture. It is almost like because Metriod came out everything prior to that game (almost a year of non-hardcore games) that has been released on the Wii is frivolous when in truth it culminates a solid fact that the Wii is still more of a casual system, period.

This article pisses me off not because of his opinions (albeit silly ones) but because of the potential for hypocrisy. I would guarantee that when Halo 3 launches no one is going to bitch about it "not being hardcore enough" or " not casual enough" or whatever the hell these terms mean. This is some silly bullshit right here.

Wii userbase = 50% casual gamers + 50% old-school gamers.

therefore metriod is aimed at the latter 50%.. the onese that bought the system for zelda and play the virtual console games..

and the ones that bought it to play with their kids will now have something to play after they go to bed.

I'm still mad this game doesn't have a multiplayer mode, especially after playing it. This is probably the only console shooter I'd actually be good at in multiplayer.

Crono 0
Joystiq broken comments 52

Like I'm gonna trust a review of Metroid from "Variety". Buncha dolts they are. "Halo this ain't" That's right, it's better than Halo cause Metroid Prime 3 has the best fucking controlls of any FPS EVAR. And WTF, how can they complain about the bosses? These bosses are kickass! Who do they think is making this game? It's METROID!

those fools complain how the wii gets no "hardecore" games.

then the wii gets one.

then they complain that it is not casual!!

someone needs a bullet through the nutsack!!!

Look at you people getting pissed off because Nintendo got exactly what they wanted: A reputation as the toy system for people who generally think videogames are geeky.

Wake up and realize that this is the reason the Wii is selling so many systems. Games like Metroid are only coming out because they've been in development for a long time. In a couple of years Nintendo will probably tell all of you "hardcore" Nintendo fans to fuck off, because soccer moms are where the money is at.

Fools.

There's no way I'm going to read all these 150 comments and it was probably already said, but I lolled at "shooting weak points for massive damage".

1. The reviewer is Tom Chick. Google him. He's a gamer and a long time reviewer. And a curmudgeon.

2. This was not a negative review. It was a negative review for casual gamers. To Wit: "immensely satisfying "A-ha!" moments", "created the first quality action game that was clearly built for the console", "splendid job with its "you-are-there" vibe", and "Gorgeous graphics".

3. Bioshock had an effect on his review. From his website: "That part's going to be really awesome for all those Joe Six-Packs and Wii-Sporting Grandmas. I guess I'm glad to see Nintendo is letting Retro Studio design for gamers even more core than me, but fuck if it isn't frustrating after the awesome smooth sailing that was BioShock's nearly immaculate narrative."

Odd that they've got him reviewing console games, since I was under the impression he was always a PC gamer. I frequently disagree with Chick, who tends to come off as an elitist and provaceteur, but I wouldn't call him ignorant. He's just writing for his audience here. That he doesn't think much of them is separate from his review for them.

That his review has several factual mistakes in them is also another matter. (Dark Samus being in Metroid Prime 1, no guidance given, etc.).

Thats great. Doesn't change the fact wii needs an online FPS, and after playing Metroid, it would have been perfect. Oh well. At least I can hold out for Hunters 2 or something like that coming wii-ward.

The Wii was never made under the claim that it markets exclusively to the casual market. If I'm not mistaken, they pretty much said its for everybody.

it's SDF reviewing Bioshock all over again!!

Hey guys,

First of all, hope you don't mind me jumping into the conversation. I know a lot of folks just want to vent, and that's certainly cool. But I do want to clear up what I think are a couple of misconceptions, at which point you're all welcome to go back calling me a retard and exhorting each other to kill me with fire hammers. :)

I'd mostly like to point out that I ACTUALLY LIKED METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION. I've played all the Metroid Primes and my share of the 2D Metroids. Corruption is easily the best of the Prime series. If Variety gave ratings (I'm glad they don't, but that's a whole other can of worms), I would have given Corruption a thumbs up.

I think there are two problems, and I'm glad to see a couple of you have already pointed these out:

1) Variety is intended for an audience wider than just us gamers. Many of the people in that wider audience don't know what a Metroid game is because they don't have an easy frame of reference for it. Metroid isn't Doom, or World of Warcraft, or The Sims, or Myst. Metroids have always been their own thing, almost their own genre. And I have to say many people who aren't gamers would be frustrated by that genre. That's a big part of the review's message and, I feel, an important point to make.

2) The bigger problem, and perhaps this is my fault, is that many of you are assuming that descriptive comments are intended to be derogatory. I had no such intention. In fact, some of the comments in the review are intended to give Corruption a sort of begrudging respect for refusing to conform. "Halo this ain't" isn't a slam! Talking about the game having the audacity to drop you into a strange alien world of puzzles is something I *respect* about the Metroid games. That isn't a slam either. The 13-year-old boy comment isn't a criticism so much as an attempt at a joke about how kids these days seem to have the "vocabulary of videogames" ingrained in them from birth.

Anyway, I feel those are two important points that are lost on a lot of folks upset about the review. I'm happy to continue the discussion to clear up any misconceptions or answer any questions, either here or at www.quartertothree.com, where I'm active on the forums.

-Tom Chick (the writer of the Variety review)

Variety: A good source for ?????? since ??/???/????

Finally, someone makes a comparison between another FPS and Halo! Which, as we all know, is new and exciting.

Wow. First game review written in *ATTENTION* plain human words. And heck, the description fits more or less all Metroid games: "do backtracking after the backtracking to the place you backtracked before because you can now open the door." *BORING*

What they are saying - is the same thing I was saying all the time: console games are retarded. Console franchise games - are even more so. Most of the play time you struggle not to achieve something in game - but you struggle with controls to do what linear story of game requires. *BORING*^2

And the reaction here on joystiq just confirms that: demographics of joystiq is mainly made of schooler who have too much spare time and excess of hormones in blood.

So for good shooting game nothing beats PC's Doom3. Still true - sadly - after so many years. It may be too linear, but it provides you with essence: shooting, shooting and then even more shooting. With no backtracking at all! Can you imaging?!

I pity you, console fans, for you live in denial.

OK What if nintendo decided to not make metroid prime and instead made it a casual game that makes you stroke ponies with laser beams wont the gaming media eat them like grilled fish? It just goes to prove that no matter how good things are people will talk and find something wrong, nintendo is trying to reach all market variations and this variety review makes it sound like nintendo releasing metroid is detremental to that. It just doesnt make sense!

The game is called Metroid Prime 3... I think the name alone would imply who should be buying the game... or which game to buy if you think you might want to try.

It was made for the people that played the first 2.. Though I don't know what all the complaint about.. but I'm one of the few who are in between casual gamers and hardcore gamers. I guess I'm a hardcore gamer that play games casually :).. But I got one of the games I wanted from the Wii.. so that's pretty much all I care about.

Please tell me somebody else sees the irony of Variety having a problem with there being a variety of game types on the Wii.

Not sure about others, but for me, the Metroid demo on the DS got me interested in Nintendo. I then bough a very reasonably priced gamecube for 99 bucks. Great deal. Picked up and played MPrime all the way through, something that I normally don't do for any game as I get bored with the single player action and just go onto multi-gamer (PC side).

Anyway, I've collected many of the better gamecube games before they all disappeared. Some new, some used. All still useful in the GC and the Wii.

Got the Wii because it was different, relatively cheap as compared to the others, and it had METROID PRIME 3 coming out for it. That game to me is a system seller.

Not for everyone, but I liked the scan, explore, boss, backtrack and powerup gameplay.

Now if we could just get a good 2d metroid game for the DS (rumors, rumors).

I completely agree with the review. This isn't halo, and it's not casual. That's not a bad thing. I've played every Metroid game I could get my hands on. I love the exploration. I love to get a new upgrade, backtrack and open a new hallway. I love the boss battles and feel the games have always seemed to have. MP3, for me at least, completely dissolves the "Nintendo is forgetting about hardcore gamers".

How can you even argue that Nintendo if forgetting hardcore gamers in the first place? Zelda is hardcore gaming at it's finest, Metroid has the controls and feel that will make a classic Metroid fan grin from ear to ear, and there's so much more coming out. Nintendo's games are generally if not always hardcore, so why are people flipping out that 3rd party devs are releasing casual games on the system?

Casual games are great for the market. The casual games are whats moving the Wii right now, and that's great to see because publishers think that if they make a great game on it they'll get rewarded with tons of money. If only the hardcore gamers were into the Wii, it would be flailing out there next to 360 which is really getting it's share of great titles now, and PS3 which is the Lamborghini of the gaming systems.

More importantly, Metroid did something that I personally thought the system truly needed. A full scale game that says "this would be only half as fun if you weren't using a wii-mote". Zelda was great don't get me wrong, but it's lack of 1:1 swordplay didn't make me say that this wouldn't have been as good on GC. So it's about time that hardcore gamers kindly stfu about the lack of hardcore games on Wii. At least Wait for SSBB, Mario Galaxy, and the plethora of 3rd party titles that are shaping up to look great (NiGHTs) to start running your elitist mouth again.

Saying a challenging game like Metroid shouldn't be on the system is the same as saying Madden shouldn't. Madden isn't exactly cartoony like Ravin' Rabbids, and it certainly isn't Diner Dash simple pick up and play. There's room for all, and the fact that this reviewer doesn't get that shouldn't come as any suprise for anyone thats followed the mainstream press' reporting of games period. For the most part, they don't understand them at any level for any machine, and they don't want to. All they care about is selling copy (and anyone who understands the news business should never be suprised when news is negative, thats where all the money is).

The system was marketed as a console for casual gamers... so why all the uproar about a review saying it's shocking to have such a hardcore game on the Wii?

All of you know that if you're not familiar with Metroid, MP3 will be way over your head.

Hell the only reason I played MP1 was because I liked Super Metroid on SNES.

It can't be both ways; either it is or it isn't.

Friend codes are sooooo gay.