Metroid Prime hat trick coming for North American Wiis
I’ve been watching New Play Control!: Metroid Prime like a space pirate commander dragon who makes really bad decisions on who to orphan for some time now. The New Play Control! series has been bringing Gamecube games to Wii with certain current-gen enhancements, like widescreen modes and pointer/motion controls where appropriate. Standouts so far include Pikmin… and, uh… yeah, Pikmin. NPC Prime came out a little while ago in Japan, and that made me antsy. You see, Metroid‘s way hotter in the west than it is over in Japan, but we didn’t get a release date.
Now we know why. Retro’s busily compiling all three Metroid Prime console games into a single Wii disc, adding Wii Remote controls to Prime 1 and 2 as expected, and even including the entirety of 2007′s Metroid Prime 3 as well. All this for a mere fifty smackers? Where do I preorder? Oh right, anywhere.
What makes this so sweet is I was ready to pay another $30 each for NPC Prime and NPC Prime 2, and instead I’m getting the lot of three for ten dollars less. Of course, I already have Prime 3, so my question now is, can I use my game save from the original release of 3 with the new one?
Don’t sell your copies of Prime 1 and 2 for Gamecube yet though. There will be some omissions from the collection, such as the bonus features in the original Prime, like the ability to unlock the original NES Metroid. Additions include the aforementioned widescreen mode, the great pointer controls from Corruption, and the medals system we were introduced to in Corruption as well, which work like trophies or achievements. A handful of other integrations between the three games exist as well, making the deal even sweeter and very un-nintendo-like.
This comes out in August.
Tags: metroid prime, metroid prime 2 echoes, metroid prime 3, metroid prime trilogy, new play control, wiimake
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When I first bought my Wii, I picked up the first two Metroid Prime games (since I never owned a GameCube), but they didn't grab me like they did others. I'm really thinking about picking this up because, even if I don't end up liking it with the new controls, it's still a really good freakin' deal. A very enticing offer.
Prime 1's a stellar game, but it's impossible for me to see the 2002 game through 2009 eyes. I always see it with the amazement I felt when I bought it at launch. Prime 2 didn't have anything specific “wrong” with it but it lacked something of the soul the first one had. I've played through the first game numerous times but only once played the second. I'm looking forward to looking at it with the new controls for a second play through.
Now why couldn't they have done this with Pikmin 1 & 2. Nertz.
I know, right? I suppose that shows why Nintendo doesn't tend to do this. Because then we'd expect it all the time. I imagine this is only because Prime's sales have been less than blockbuster level over the years. Maybe they doubt these games' ability to sell on their own.
Yeah… this is a test case. The drastically declining sales of Prime 1 -> 2 -> 3 shows no reason whatsoever for a 4. I'd wager that, this re-release aside, the Metroid franchise is going back into the vault for another eight years.
Problem is that they're going to add new controls, but still lack that story element that really makes them playable.
From a FPS standpoint, there's a lot going on in the games with interaction in the environment and what not, but without a better, deeper story to push me through the game, it just became tedious after about the 3rd planet. Almost, like Wolf3D with good graphics and control, just no story to make you ask yourself why you're walking down another similar corridor, again.
They're adding new controls to Prime 1 and 2, not 3. It's going to be the same Prime 3 it was two years ago. I thought the story elements in the first 2 games were fine. I do find myself bored with Corruption's story as well though. I'm playing on veteran difficulty level, which isn't helping. Having to fight bosses over and over and not really looking forward to beating them isn't working for me.
Yeah… this is a test case. The drastically declining sales of Prime 1 -> 2 -> 3 shows no reason whatsoever for a 4. I'd wager that, this re-release aside, the Metroid franchise is going back into the vault for another eight years.
Problem is that they're going to add new controls, but still lack that story element that really makes them playable.
From a FPS standpoint, there's a lot going on in the games with interaction in the environment and what not, but without a better, deeper story to push me through the game, it just became tedious after about the 3rd planet. Almost, like Wolf3D with good graphics and control, just no story to make you ask yourself why you're walking down another similar corridor, again.
They're adding new controls to Prime 1 and 2, not 3. It's going to be the same Prime 3 it was two years ago. I thought the story elements in the first 2 games were fine. I do find myself bored with Corruption's story as well though. I'm playing on veteran difficulty level, which isn't helping. Having to fight bosses over and over and not really looking forward to beating them isn't working for me.