Ok, so I'm disturbed that no one has yet mentioned the use of this game as a vessel for sexist hatred...
Just kidding. One thing that made me say "Hell, yeah!" to the plot of Other M was the realization that the Federation, ever presented in the series as a holy force for good (not unlike Star Trek's federation), was up to no good, was attempting to harvest Metroids for use as a bioweapon.
It may not be earth-shattering in its originality, but you had to figure that at some point someone other than "space pirates" would become the bad guy, and this did strike me as the best development possible for the evolution of Samus' place in her universe. Rest assured, more Metroid games will be made, and at some point players are going to want to do something other than obtain the grapple beam and fight Ridley a sixth time.
This opens up quite a few opportunities, for storytelling as well as gameplay. Zero Mission had stealth elements and I'd like to see some real espionage and sneakin' around added to the gameplay. We're always concerned that a new play mechanic may rob us of what is considered the essential Metroid experience: isolation, vulnerabily and mood coupled with exploration and a non-linear approach. But games new and old, from Splinter Cell to Megaman, have done a good job of getting around the limitations of their respective genres, and taking a queue from games like this would probably set the series in the right direction. The series cannot survive, outside of retro nostalgia, without evolving, so adding a few zero-suit stealth levels with branching paths and literary purpose would add to the feeling of vulnerability. Hell, they could take the isolation thing in a new direction - Samus can no longer depend on old allies since she no longer knows who to trust.
Bounty Hunters in general have always been presented in sci-fi as having questionable morality. Hell, most of the ones in Metroid Prime Hunters are driven by greed. But since they exist outside of the Federations purview, some of them may be the only people Samus can initially trust. This presents the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the other hunters to the metroid canon. It also allows for RPG elements and choices that affect the outcome of the game, as in Mass Effect 2.
The Chozo could also be re-introduced. Perhaps there are remaining Chozo who have settled very far away from Federation space, and they have sent an ambassador to the Federation (since the two have a history of being allies), and the rumors of illegal bioweapons are disturbing to the Chozo. The goal of the game could be for Samus to find out who's responsible for the Metroid engineering and expose them before the Chozo declare war on the Federation, and too shut down the operation entirely.
I'd also like to see a thorough re-vamping of the weapons in the game. I'd keep most of the morph ball abilities (spider ball and bombs especially), and the basic missiles, but I'd change the beams and all of the other equipment. It's time for something new.
As for location(s), I think that Prime: Corruption has had the best interface so far. 3 planets where 90% of the game takes place, and 3-4 other locations for smaller sections of the game, plus the ability to revisit any location the player's previously been to.
All of this allows for Federation, Chozo, Hunter and Pirate enemies, and perhaps all 4 as (grudging) allies as well.
What do you think? What changes would you make for the next Metroid?
And please, try to keep discussion of Samus' treatment in Other M to a minimum. There are plenty of threads for that
Just kidding. One thing that made me say "Hell, yeah!" to the plot of Other M was the realization that the Federation, ever presented in the series as a holy force for good (not unlike Star Trek's federation), was up to no good, was attempting to harvest Metroids for use as a bioweapon.
It may not be earth-shattering in its originality, but you had to figure that at some point someone other than "space pirates" would become the bad guy, and this did strike me as the best development possible for the evolution of Samus' place in her universe. Rest assured, more Metroid games will be made, and at some point players are going to want to do something other than obtain the grapple beam and fight Ridley a sixth time.
This opens up quite a few opportunities, for storytelling as well as gameplay. Zero Mission had stealth elements and I'd like to see some real espionage and sneakin' around added to the gameplay. We're always concerned that a new play mechanic may rob us of what is considered the essential Metroid experience: isolation, vulnerabily and mood coupled with exploration and a non-linear approach. But games new and old, from Splinter Cell to Megaman, have done a good job of getting around the limitations of their respective genres, and taking a queue from games like this would probably set the series in the right direction. The series cannot survive, outside of retro nostalgia, without evolving, so adding a few zero-suit stealth levels with branching paths and literary purpose would add to the feeling of vulnerability. Hell, they could take the isolation thing in a new direction - Samus can no longer depend on old allies since she no longer knows who to trust.
Bounty Hunters in general have always been presented in sci-fi as having questionable morality. Hell, most of the ones in Metroid Prime Hunters are driven by greed. But since they exist outside of the Federations purview, some of them may be the only people Samus can initially trust. This presents the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the other hunters to the metroid canon. It also allows for RPG elements and choices that affect the outcome of the game, as in Mass Effect 2.
The Chozo could also be re-introduced. Perhaps there are remaining Chozo who have settled very far away from Federation space, and they have sent an ambassador to the Federation (since the two have a history of being allies), and the rumors of illegal bioweapons are disturbing to the Chozo. The goal of the game could be for Samus to find out who's responsible for the Metroid engineering and expose them before the Chozo declare war on the Federation, and too shut down the operation entirely.
I'd also like to see a thorough re-vamping of the weapons in the game. I'd keep most of the morph ball abilities (spider ball and bombs especially), and the basic missiles, but I'd change the beams and all of the other equipment. It's time for something new.
As for location(s), I think that Prime: Corruption has had the best interface so far. 3 planets where 90% of the game takes place, and 3-4 other locations for smaller sections of the game, plus the ability to revisit any location the player's previously been to.
All of this allows for Federation, Chozo, Hunter and Pirate enemies, and perhaps all 4 as (grudging) allies as well.
What do you think? What changes would you make for the next Metroid?
And please, try to keep discussion of Samus' treatment in Other M to a minimum. There are plenty of threads for that
