Gameplay Journal #1 -Metroid Prime
This is the first game journal entry in a series of journal entries to come in the course of the next few months. This week’s entry is about Metroid Prime for the Nintendo Gamecube and later, the Nintendo Wii. This game was developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo in the year of 2002. Here is a let’s play video of a Youtuber, FlitTration playing the first 13 minutes of the game. Link Below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8U7qO7n2IU&list=PLB6C53DE4D354F1D7
The mechanics involve the use of the typical the first person shooter genre’s aiming convention but, with extra twists added on to the typical mechanics. These do include: the use of the scan visor to allow for understanding enemy weak spots and to activate mechanical devices in the environmental landscapes that are in this game’s environment. The use of lock-on in combination with the strafing ability allows for the game to be played much quicker and for that, more fast faced. The use of the normal beam cannon’s fire rate indicated by how fast the player can tap the button adds to more immersion and change to most fps weapons in games. It even includes a charge shot for more damage. This doesn’t even count for the morph ball’s inclusion, which adds a lot of puzzle aspects and exploration options to the game as a whole. It makes 3D work really well for this franchise, which used to only be 2D until this game’s release.
However, where this game excels the most is the environmental story telling. The aesthetics for the game allows for an immersion that I have had a hard time finding in recent games, and this was back in 2002. The inclusion of wildlife on the planet Talon is a nice touch, and makes the experience more believable. With vibrant colors all over the planet, it allows for some wonderful scenery while in the process of traveling through the different areas of the world built. Each area gives a different atmosphere to it, as well as a shift in music, based on each area exploring at the current time. The special effect are an added cherry on top.
The way the game flows puts the player in the mind-set that danger lurks around every corner, and thus, should prepare themselves for what might happen. Turning corners can lead to some startling surprises. That can also relate to the movement feel. The jumping in this game has a poof of air feel to it, like you are using air to jet yourself up a little in space, which is great because you are bounty hunter in space. Speaking of which, many games back during the early 3D era of game development did not have a lot of female representation. Lora croft from tomb raider was one of these examples. Samus’s inclusion to the 3D scene put other female protagonist into the spotlight, which I find pretty neat. There is a quote from the book, Game cultures computer games as new media by Jon Dovey, Helen W. Kennedy that states, “We argue that these meanings also produce an ‘ideal’ subject that is naturalized as ‘white’, ‘male’ and ‘heterosexual’ ”. I think that is very different now a days where we see many players of different gender, and identification seeing representation in modern media and games. And either you enjoy Metroid Prime for the reasons listed here, or other’s not listed; all can agree, that we can enjoy the Metroid Prime experience for what it is, a game.
Jon Dovey, Helen W. Kennedy (2006). Game cultures computer games as new media, ch.4, p.74
