Eten

I figure out why I like The Pirate Homeworld so much. Super Metroid Crateria theme! And the fact that the place is so overwhelmingly detailed and interesting. I wasn't much of a scanner in the previous games, but I can't help but flip to my scan visor every room just to see what things I could scan for neat information.

I feel like I've been playing forever. This game is epic. Much to do with the execution, Example (Spoiler):I needed the screw attack- but I had no idea where the screw attack was. On another planet?! So I go back to Bryyo, and it feels like old-school Super Metroid exploration. I stumble across the warp. What a trip! Blasting my way down through ice floors with the Plasma beam, giant statues and lore. The best part however, was the scrambled comm that you get. That detail just made it for me. Later, on the pirate homeworld, I'm on my toes. The atmosphere is soo well done, I really feel like I am in the heart of the enemy fortress, and it really holds a deep subterranean metroid feel from not just super metroid, but the dungeon labyrinth of original metroid. And then the comm comes over from the escaped GF soldier. Absolutely amazing- and seemed like just the right thing to make the situation even more intense. I fruiting love this game.

yeah, absolutely. I honestly can not think for them to have done that in a better way. It was all in a span of about 30 seconds. Spoiler:At that point there is a large sense of urgency built up already, and you just saw something crazy that you weren't expecting- a Galatic Federation Marine just owns 3 space pirates. You have a real sense of him defending the area- you are running right by your ship and Ridley flies RIGHT over head and just starts blasting away at something further down the way. And you think "Oh shit Ridley!? Now?!" And then just later when he lands on the pipes you're rolling in and starts owning you I knew this was going to be one amazing game.

I was making my way, thinking, oh, this stuff is pretty straightforward now, I got the hang of all this... run around here, get x item, fight x guy, blah blah. Then it is like WHAM KA-BIZG different direction! Cool new environments! The map layout is much more fun than previous prime games.

Areas are very not bland. Enemies are good. All have that Metroid enemy look to them. The least fun enemies out there are the Space Pirates, which are really good, so that should tell you something. I prefer the visor switch controls of Prime 3. After I knew what I was doing for a visor switch, it is faster than previous prime games and you can remain moving when you do it. Use of the command visor to use your Ship is pretty cool. So far, it appears the use of Hyper Mode is well done. With its cost, you don't use it all the time, but it is so powerful and very useful in some situations that it is still worth using. It provides a dynamic for surviving the alien worlds. I've seen quite a bit of stuff that will require me to return to later with new weaponry for. Music is good. There are some great use of the classic metroid musical themes throughout, sometimes very faint. For example, on the main menu title screen you get the same theme from the original Metroid theme, but I didn't notice it at first. You can also hear the same "item room" music in a few item room like rooms, but VERY quiet. Super Metroid escape music returns for some of the larger battles, the Space Pirate fight music from Metroid Prime is there too. Now I have to start this discussion. Control Scheme: Basic, Standard, or Advanced, and why? The basic setting is recommended for beginners, because the low sensitivity makes it easier to aim at enemies and move without becoming disoriented, and lock-on works like old lock-on, making shots home in on locked-on targets. Standard I assume is a bit more sensitive than Basic. Advanced has much higher sensitivity and Samus will turn with the gun sooner when aiming on the screen, and lock-on free aiming defaults to on, allowing you to shoot anywhere on the screen when locked on to a target. I read the manual just before playing and I saw it say "Players familiar with first-person games will likely prefer the high sensitivity of the advanced setting. So I set it to that before I even began playing, and have used it all the way through. I am very satisfied with the incredible responsiveness of the Advanced mode and the freedom to both look and aim. The fact that your gun arm moves to aim somewhere on the screen without actually turning your view like typical FPS is a great advantage, as is the simplicity of point and shoot over using a mouse for standard FPS controls. I'm actually a much faster/better shot in MP3 than I am with keyboard+mouse FPS! I have no idea what it is like without lock-on free aim turned on. For example, on a number of enemies they have a specific point which you should shoot, or smaller enemies or projectiles coming at you which you should shoot, or just hitting another enemy that is close but you aren't locked on to, lock-on free aim is seems very useful. When I'm locked on to a target, I'm locked on to the center, which I would guess make it impossible for me to hit weak points? I'm not sure. Lock-on free aiming can be turned off even in basic mode. I should point out something that I found rather great with the controls in general. When you turn, you can turn pretty fast, but it isn't instantaneous. This is almost refreshing from most FPS controls, as there was little disadvantage to have something come up behind you because of the rate you could spin. However, turning and aiming isn't nearly as limiting as it felt back in Prime and Prime 2. Secondly, Samus has a realistically limited y-axis rotation for looking, while having a larger but still limited y-axis rotation for her gun arm. No looking directly upwards, yet if you are shooting the top of your helmet HUD will fade away for your targeting reticule. Lastly, I swapped the A and B button controls just cause I'm a sucker for the trigger-button is your shooting button idea, even if I could probably tap A faster with my thumb and less controller movement. =P I'm just guessing at this, but maybe the control scheme makes the game play different for some than others. For me, running through a room and just blasting the enemies off the walls without any lock-on is ideal. When locked on, I like to be able to lead my target(second boss when he slides around fast) or shoot a weak spot(first boss, third boss). It may also make it require more work, and doesn't play as easy. I see a few people here say it seems to easy- I agree in one sense, when you get hit you don't take a lot of damage and energy recharges are plentiful. On another, it doesn't seem easy as there are often many targets on the screen and I can miss shots.

Oh wow guys. Got it today(bought a Wii finally too), been playing for 3 hours. Just died.(game makes me feel like a noob like when I beat super metroid in 24 hours and many many deaths my first time!) Couldn't keep my hands from shaking, had to take a break. A TON to take in. Wow. It starts off slow for just a little bit, then BAM- Can't put the words together to describe it. At least I can say one thing which everyone has or should have said or known already- the controls are fantastic.

As a stand alone game, it is not something you'd want duplicated. Tedious fetch quests. Obnoxious Dark Aether. Frustrating control scheme- you move like a tank. Bland enemy. Poor level structure. Weak plot. MP2:Echoes defending sucks. The game was just not that good.

No, they are broke. Level design for Original Metroid was fantastic, and was part of what made the game to be considered such an awesome dungeon exploring nightmare. It didn't have any forced linearity NOR fetch-backtracking. It was simply a labyrinth you had freedom to explore. In addition, it had pretty amazing settings, musical themes, and a creepy awesome sci-fi atmosphere. Backtracking was limited to being lost. Comparing Prime you had the attempt of 3D realization of the 2D games. Much of the visuals were great in this regard, although it did lose some of it's subterranean/spacey sci-fi feel. What it suffered from was weak level structure, areas like "snow place" "lava place" "water place", with exploration limitations due to color coded doors. Backtracking was required to find hidden artifact locations. Direction was given by a hint system, your ship constantly detecting anomalies. Go back to Super Metroid. Not only was it amazing visually(and still is) for a 2d game with some truly fantastic environments, but it was simply the best in level structure. Much of it was open for exploration except for the limitations of transversing its locations- be it bombing your way through hidden passages, speed boosting past closing gates or through walls, power bombs to clear runways for speed boost momentum jumps, grappling over water or acid, or just a power bomb explosion of the Maridian tube. First time through, the discoveries to find your way through Zebes was exciting- such as the super missile side blocks on the top of the Norfair elevator to Kraid, or your way through the wrecked ship until you restore power. Play it again and you'll find the map flows fantastically(and thus makes full use of its speed-run and sequence break possibilities). Prime 2 was basically completion in sequence of three isolated zones, followed by fetch quests. Traveling a zone itself turned the item usage into something more like zelda, with a new weapon for each temple, and the requirement to travel the same areas in a dark version to make your way was more tedious than anything. Visually more appealing with even better sci-fi creepy environments than prime 1 in some places, it suffered from the monotony of the sickening dark aether. There is more, on Echoes. It even broke the metroid rule- Metroids are insanely powerful, the long running plot element of the entire Metroid series. Hence the name, Metroid. And the series is based on the fact that Samus has been the only person powerful enough to stop their threat. While, again, Space Pirates got an awesome visual upgrade and redesign from their prime counterparts in echoes, all the logs and behavoir of the Space Pirates changed them from an underlying and serious threat into a joke. "Do not keep Metroids as pets." Versus the Space Pirates constantly throwing new weapons and technology at you, up to the Phazon infused super space pirates, Omega Pirate, and the creation of Metroid Prime herself in prime 1. Add in an uninteresting and faceless enemy, the ing, the plight of a race that seems forced and bland and the two dimensional story of "light versus dark" and you have a grand disappointment. Even important pieces of the story, such as the Echo visor, feel unfinished, and Emporer Ing wasn't much of an exciting last boss. Thankfully the Dark Samus fights make up a bit for that. Lastly, the biggest flaw of both primes- the control scheme. In the previous games, Samus was agile. Jumping, shooting, and timing was of utmost important in the original if you simply wanted to survive. In Super Metroid, its use of momentum and improved maneuverability, along with an introduction of a number of new moves and items defined Samus's run and shoot style. Prime, lock on and jump sideways, blast away. It was the worst transition of all the metroid elements from 2d to 3d. Having Corruption similar to the last two primes would indeed produce another failure like echoes. It was broke and needed fixing. Thank god Prime 3 seems to be the launch of the ultimate FPS controls, I'm so excited.

Not quite. Yoshi always had awesome distance and height on his second jump but compare it to the likes of Samus or Peach or Jigglypuff, and there are plenty of other characters out there with great recovery that would still be just as good or better as Yoshi's recovery. But what hurt worse was the fact that he was so predictable and that, despite being heavier, you knock yoshi one time and he's got nothing. Any other character with a third jump gets to jump again after being hit. That was the problem.

Characters bend their knees and sorta crouch in a wavedash like they are landing... it looks like a wavelanding to me in every way. I wouldn't call this proof either, but that looks very much like a waveland. Either way, if movement like that is possible(be it a waveland or something else), it is still a very exciting prospect.

Yeah, no, I love how they are keeping it to tournament style stages. Look by example: Infinite Glacier got old within a couple days of Melee, and Poke Floats was never popular. Then you get some more decent stages that just became cheese after a while- the stages where you could walk off the edge of the screen. People would hang out on the edge where you can't see them except for the obscuring bubble, grab you and toss you a forced minimum distance off the edge. Didn't really fit the style of SSB, you've got to have ledges. Check out Venom. Now you think... okay, should be good. Except it isn't, and is one of the most frustrating stages of the whole bunch. Fighting on slopes in melee is just a mess. Back up and let us look at a *great* stage. Fountain of Dreams(ignoring 2v2 frame rate problems). It was visually appealing, simple in design with a good middle distance from the blastline, a variation on the ledges and under the stage compared to the standard "battlefield"(FoD is very "deep", fun chances at spike recovery), and variable height platforms(really cool since different heights change alot of different options for characters to do platform related stuff). Tournament stages have more to them than just different themes applied to battlefield. And they make for great gameplay. But oh, yeah, nothing wrong with a bit of Asymmetry(I <3 windmill stage on Pokemon Stadium. Pokemon stadium was like 3 good stages in one.)

Yeah see I play time matches all the time... Cause I forget to switch it to stock. Time matches are all right if you are doing a FFA and you set the Self-destruct to -2. It makes boring people more aggressive, and since you'll never be out of the game until the timer ends, it can be more exciting all around. But otherwise stock is better than time.

This... daily weekday updates is just a way to generate hype. And it is working. I'm starting to get really excited about Brawl. o_o

5k-10k pricetag + designed for general use(zomg computer coffeetable), not specific = failure. Won't become widespread.

Shields are related to art style. Bulky tanks with treads, or sleek tanks that hover? It's all just style. It is a different look. The zealots aren't too bad.

Downloaded and watched the gameplay video off of starcraft2.com Then found a guy who summed up what I thought for me. Gameplay, however, just up the speed and add the balance and it looks like fun. I like alot of the ideas, especially the mobile pylon thing and the ability to teleport in units there. A+

We aren't going to try to convince you otherwise... so why insert your opinion into the thread? Phew... watching the cinematic movie for the 100th time. I wish it were longer! It's so ridiculously good I wish it were a movie... Speculation is a funny thing(mostly that it is pointless and futile), but combining two observations... any footage of gameplay looks rather much just like the static versions of Starcraft in 3d form, especially on the larger ships. However, the FAQ says that they are using Havoc physics and there are a few scenes where the movements are particularly fluid(and look awesome because of it.) I hope either it will be more fluid in action than it appeared to me, or I hope that there won't be a believability disconnect where all the larger vehicles and aircraft simply hover very static like.

To be honest, I'm quite ready for the Terrans to kick some serious ass. Terrans are so much the opposite of the perfect species that those whatcha-ma-callit have been trying to do all this time with the Protoss, then the Zerg, and then finally the Xel'naga. It's only fitting that a bunch of human marines come in and blow things up into small chunks. The cinematic trailer... on http://www.starcraft2.com/ is... perfect.

Bland, uninspired, boring. Had to force myself to listen through it after the first two listens. Not what I expected.

If we're playing the "bet your monies on the blizzard game" I'm hoping for an RTS such as Starcraft 2. To "blizzard" quality of course, but I'm sure everybody hopes that. Then again it's not the Blizzard or Starcraft or any other names that makes something good, it's the developers that make the game that make it good. So here's me hoping they get good developers!

I play a warrior on the Akama realm. Yes, before this latest 2.0.10 patch, I'd have to say Bear form Druids were too much and Warriors needed some help. Just having any Druid stand toe to toe with me and bring me down 100 to 0 without a single shift was wrong. Since bear form is supposed to mimic warriors in a relative sense, so even though as a warrior, whenever I just stand toe to toe with people and trade blows I should be winning, it makes sense for a Bear form druid to be able to stand there against me. But what wasn't right was how it was simply stronger than I was when it was just a single form of the druid class. So it did deserve a nerf. Since the patch, I haven't seen how Druids perform since either: They were nub druids and always will be nub druids and continue to to attempt to take everything from 100 to 0 in bear form. Or they respecced OOmkin... which I continue to think needs to be buffed, as even as counter-warrior Moonkins are supposed to be they are enjoyably easy. Or I just don't see them altogether, not many Druids. However, I can not make sense of how my warrior changed so dramatically. Yes, we got a rage buff... however, anyone with experience as the warrior class should know that rage acted as a line. If you had enough rage, you used your abilities as fast as the cooldowns let you. Essientally, you were limited by cooldowns, not rage. If you did not have the gear to meet this line, you were gimp and needed to upgrade your gear. Now this line wasn't very hard to meet, and I knew I was already past that line. The 15-20% rage buff, while visible to any warrior, only real effect was lowering that line. Rage still plays a more crucial role in tanking than PvP and added uniqueness by being unlimited like energy, and only started at 0 instead of 100. With that being said, I am concerned about actually being overpowered. It's crazy to think I could go from such extremes so quickly. How could it have happened? 1% chance to crit buff? Now, my performance in PvP is something that I'd expect... if I were in epics. I'm not in epics. I'm in largely outdated gear w/ a level 66 green weapon I bought from a vendor in Halaa. Look up Eten in the Armory if you're interested. At this point, I fully expect a coming of a second "Arcanite Reaper glory days" for warriors. Only the weapons are the BS crafted epic weapons.

Instead of buying it, I've just been replaying it on the SNES. And god, is it a good game. And one of the best parts of the game, easily, is the music. What makes the Opera House such a defining part of the game? The music.(common, the pit orchestra even plays for you as you wallop Ultros on stage.) And strangely, compared to other old games I used to play when I was young, the translation doesn't stick out as bad to me. As far as I'm concerned, FFVI was the last of the old FF art style... now, instead of a port to GBA, FFVI is easily a game I could buy if it were redone and transitioned into a modern, graphical three dimensional game done in the same art style with real orchestrated music, even good voice actors, with heavily padded dialog to go(in comparison, all old RPG conversations were just too short). Sorry I had to share that. If I were to make this portable, I'd much rather emulate it on a PSP than buy the remake for GBA. The renaming of so many spells, the music, and little changes actually detracts a lot from the game.

Just earlier I remembered a little meeting in pikmin 2 with the spider/robot gun turrent thing. 100 pikmin cruely punished by a surprise attack of a biomechanical weapon of doom. My first instinct was -CHARGE- But as I watched ranks of pikmin get slaughtered in groups to that gun I quickly changed my mind and it turned into -FLEE!-. But even as I was running away it was shooting down the slower pikmin. Between its gun, its feet, and its aggressive chase after my split up groups of clueless pikmin, I lost all 100 of my pikmin. After retrying about 15 times, I finally managed to defeat it, but not without severe casualties.

Yay another warrior(if your valor hints and whatnot didn't make it obvious.) Horde or Alliance? I recommend priest/shaman/rogue/mage/warrior as your group. Elemental shaman will be stronger than most other shamans in this situation, but it isn't required- he just has to have the mana pool to alternate as the backup healer while dropping windfury totem. If it is alliance I assume pally for... whatever a pally does. Lot's of undead so it must work ok. The 45 min baron is all about very smart/fast pulling and extremely high DPS. And I mean EXTREMELY high DPS. The goal is to be able to kill mobs so quickly that you hardly take any damage and can drop one pull after another pull almost instantly. It is possible without insane gear- my first time everybody was in their blues and .5. Have the shaman or mage pull casters with counterspell/earthshock if it wasn't obvious. As a warrior, you get to DPS tank! Use a two-hander and put on most of your DPS gear. Just don't gimp your health so too much. Why do this? The goal is to maximize DPS- you want both the mage and the rogue to just be able to just unload without you threat limit as a restraint along with doing enough damage. When a warrior tanks in DPS gear, two-hander, and w/ windfury, you get to be in happy fun rage land. Just don't forget that even when tanking through DPS, you should still use defensive stance. The only person who doesn't DPS is the priest. The priest should be all about mana conservation to be able to keep moving with almost zero downtime. It isn't difficult. The mage and shaman should have level 55 water and be prepared to get a few seconds of water every small chance they get. My first attempt was with a group that worked like this and we completed it in 38 minutes. It was probably the most fun I've ever had in WoW- I specifically suggest being 31/20 as a build for a warrior(or you can't go wrong with tanking the whole thing traditionally with sword/shield and deep into protection). It just works better. Wear a shield and your tanking gear on the spider boss, and against all the bile spewers and vile belchers, ramstien, the event mobs, and Baron. Everything else should be done with a two-hander and DPS gear. The hardest part is getting past the baronnes- you've got a team of complete DPS freaks, you might get to watch yourself get mindcontrolled and then two-shot the poor mage. Use consumables for that extra edge and you'll have a fun time! Oh, and sell that skullflame shield on the AH for money. You are summoning the bat boss in scholo for the boots right? That is the only place I know that they drop. You have to do the .5 quests upgrades in order. I'm stuck on trying to get my legplates of valor, have everything else and can't get my hands on those awesome boots of heroism because of that. Oh, and as a warrior, I highly suggest you get a priest friend NOW to tag along with you for all these quests. Most of the .5 quest specific bosses drop Ironweave- and PvP is insane if you have a priest in plate to watch your back.

Teh warrior was dumb. His auto-attack with a two-hander over sword n' board is a pretty crappy trade-off for the increase of incoming damage. All he had to do was switch to battle stance and spam execute. He'd probably out-DPS YOU spamming execute while tanking, and execute damage is not effected by AP/weapon at all. OMG yay on the tunderfury binding! Good luck on getting the rest of thunderfury.