Jump to content

Home

Expanding the Metroid universe

Lynk Former

By Lynk Former
in Absent Without Leave

Recommended Posts

Lynk Former Newbie

Lynk Former

Posted
Posted

(NOTE: I originally wrote this for a Metroid forum. This is my effort to give this place some more life...)

 

 

We all know that the Metroid series has a lot of potential and a large and expansive universe, so why not expand into other spin-off series? We all love following Samus on her adventures against the Space Pirates and her ongoing battles involving the Metroids... but there is more to the universe than just Samus. Don’t get me wrong, I love Samus, she’s the best heroine ever in any video game IMO, I just want to be able to see the Metroid universe through a new perspective.

 

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes will be released in a few days and we all already know of the Galactic Federation Troopers that will be in the game. I've been around the net and have seen people posting up ideas about how a Federation Trooper game would be a great spin-off idea. What we need to see is a look at the Metroid universe through the perspective of another party, whether that's from the Federation or from the Pirates themselves there are so many stories to be told and so much to be experienced.

 

After thinking about this for a little while, it would be pretty cool to have a First Person Shooter that involves the Galactic Federation Troopers. But this doesn’t have to be like any traditional FPS. It’d have to have some of that Metroid charm in it while still being distinguishable from the series that it’s spinning off from.

 

For example, you’re behind a visor of a Trooper just as if you were behind the visor of Samus’s Power Suit. Like Metroid you only have one weapon but can have different modes for that one weapon. I’ll explain. The standard weapon would be a type of energy beam based Machinegun. This Machinegun would have a high rate of fire and would inflict a moderate amount of damage since it is your main gun. Then you could have Sniper mode which allows you to use a Sniper scope and has a low rate of fire but with a high power level than the standard machinegun. Another mode would be a Grenade Launcher, nice for taking out a group of Space Pirates at once and other ground based targets. And finally the Rocket Launcher which would be great for vehicles, both ground based and aerial.

 

All of those weapons mentioned would be available on the get go. You start off with them and you finish with them. The Grenade Launcher and Rocket Launcher would require ammunition but the Machinegun and Sniper will not require ammunition. Now I know what you’re gonna say now, “an FPS where the guns have no ammunition WTF?” Well they may not require ammunition but they do need to recharge if they are fired continuously. Look at Robotech Battlecry. You get unlimited ammunition but you can’t fire your gun continuously forever without stopping so it can automatically recharge itself. It could work in this case too.

 

Vehicles would be a nice thing to have too, and yes I know, this is drifting towards the Halo series but just listen anywayz. While some of my ideas may drift towards Halo, that doesn’t mean it’d suck. Just look at Halo itself, it really is just a standard FPS with some nice graphics and (almost) everyone loves it while not bothering to think back to the past and realise that it’s all been done before. Anywayz, back to what I was saying before lol. Hoppers and All Terrain vehicles would be nice to pilot. The ability to man huge turrets and such is a great idea too and we all know it. Diehard Halo fanboys will definitely scream “rip-off” so what else can be added to distinguish it from other games and make it more a Metroid universe game?

 

Well for one thing, just because it’s a First Person Shooter doesn’t mean we have to resort to the oldskool method of restricting players to set “levels”. As Metroid fans we love the “world” setup that every Metroid game has. At any time you can go back to the very start of the game if you want and you can go back to areas where you had already been to an hour before. Sounds like this FPS is leading into another adventure type layout that we see with Samus? Guess again.

 

Metroid Fusion... Most of us hated how we were always ordered around and told where to go and what to do. Well think of it this way. What if the Space Pirates were taking over a strategic planet within the Galactic Federation? Your squad is sent to the planet to retake it from the Pirates, you land on the planet and set up operations in a remote area. Your first mission briefing orders you and your squad to scout the surroundings, everything seems quiet, you encounter a few of the hostile wild life on the planet until you end up finding a squad of Pirate Troopers and yada, yada. You take out the pirates and report back to the base, you’re then ordered to help defend the base since the Pirates have mobilised and are on their way to destroy the base with an initial strike team. Again, you get another mission briefing about this before the actual mission occurs. Next you and your squad are ordered to infiltrate the Pirates mining operation and destroy whatever it is you have to destroy there and so on and so on...

 

When you complete your mission you don’t suddenly get a “Mission Complete” message or some crap like that. When your primary objective is complete it’s up to you to get out of there and get back to the base or go explore some more or aggravate the pirates by attacking one of their outposts. You can basically go wherever you want, whenever you want, with some restrictions of course.

 

By now some of you are probably wondering, “Well then how will I be able to replay missions?” I’ve already thought up a solution. After every mission you complete it will be available in the holographic simulation room in your base. Any mission you complete you can replay there while outside in “the real world” whatever part you’re up to in the game will stay the way it is. If you’ve destroyed a bridge, the bridge will remain destroyed, if you’ve captured a key outpost, that outpost will still be yours.

 

Also, you wouldn’t necessarily have to go straight back to the base every time you complete a mission, you could get updated orders fed directly to you through a communications link. After taking over an outpost you could be ordered to meet up with another squad where your suit is repaired and your weapons replenished before you go into another mission against the Pirates. Another nice thing to have would be to include boss battles. I’m sure if, say Retro Studios, were to make this Federation Trooper FPS games they’d be able to make some very nice FPS style boss battles.

 

So that’s some of the basics of what an FPS spin-off Metroid game would be like... but there’s still more to think about, like multiplayer. And while MP2:E does have its own multiplayer option, it seems that most people think it’s a waste of time and I happen to agree with them. MP2:E’s multiplayer may be different and more Metroid themed than any other, but it definitely won’t be as popular as what Halo has or what GoldenEye and Perfect Dark had.

 

So let’s think about what could be done with a Galactic Federation Trooper FPS. Well first of all let’s pretend this game will be coming out on the Nintendo Revolution and by that time Nintendo has accepted the fact that people like to play online. Online gaming would definitely make it a more tempting game but it it’s an idea that’s been used many times before… So what else can you do to make the Multiplayer experience more enjoyable?

 

2 player Co-op has been done before but that doesn’t make it any less fun, but why not up the stakes? 3 player and even 4 player Co-op would be nice. If your squad had 4 Troopers in it, in one player you would have you and three AI controlled troops. In 2 player co-op you would have two humans and two AI controlled troops, in 3 player co-op you get three human players and one AI controlled troop and in 4 player co-op the whole squad is human controlled.

 

With each human player added the difficulty is raised and the game is modified slightly to accommodate the extra players. This could be done by adding more elements that require teamwork in it such as defending an outpost from 4 different sides or having 2 players manning turrets to take out aerial targets and enemy vehicles and the other two players taking out enemy troops trying to get into the base.

 

Of course a split screen setup for this would be pretty uncomfortable, it would be possible to do a 2, 3 and 4 player split screen co-op but you could also have the option of hooking up 4 Revolutions together with 4 TVs or even better, if Nintendo has the ability of playing a multiplayer game on 4 TVs using the one system, that would so rock! They did it with some GBA games and are gonna do it with DS games but it’d absolutely rock if they did it with an actual home console. Online co-op would be great too, the ability to play an online game with someone miles away would be so fun, you could co-operate with someone you’ve met on the net and have the time of your life.

 

Going on with the multiplayer aspects, the more traditional deathmatch and capture the flag modes would also be present with 16 player LAN and online play is what makes Halo so popular and it should be something Nintendo should be utilising themselves. Nintendo needs to start doing what the others do while adding their own unique qualities to the mix. If they do that with the support of third party developers they’ll find that slowly but surely they’ll end up being on top of the gaming world once again.

 

So what do you guys think? I know it’s all a case of “what if” and “wouldn’t it be great” but still… this is a forum, so let’s start discussing. Have you guys got any ideas that you would like to see become reality?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ZBomber Newbie

ZBomber

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by Lynk Former

Level 2? There are no levels in Metroid games.

 

Well, techinally no, but they can be pretty much divided. I got past the ship, and to the "boss" of the Chozo Ruins... I think it had like bees that shot at me or something. Been awhile since I played. I may have gotten to a plant type of boss....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jokemaster Newbie

jokemaster

Posted
Posted

That'd be awesome, in fact, how about you can save in two ways: Report in through the communications link, which would be a most basic save, or report back to base, which would include more details, but take a bit longer. Oooh, and to load another game, what you do is go back to base and it's like you're checking the progress another team is making on another planet, and as your character looks on the screen.....it changes to that game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lynk Former Newbie

Lynk Former

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Originally posted by JediMasterDude

Ive always supported Shigeru Miyamotos games, this game is done by Shigeru Miyamoto right?

It's made by Retro Studios, a developer owned by Nintendo. But like most other Nintendo games, Shiggy has a say in what goes on with it.

 

 

Originally posted by Mike Windu

Those ideas sound cool, but as long as they don't end up making a copycat Samus...

It's all one idea and it's all very different from Samus's adventure setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ZBomber Newbie

ZBomber

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by Lynk Former

Echoes is a DIRECT sequal to Prime. I suggest you go and finish Prime (100% completion) before you play Echoes if you want to get the most enjoyment out of it.

 

How long would it take someone who sucks at it? :\ Because I got awhile, I'm not getting it til Christmas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lynk Former Newbie

Lynk Former

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Originally posted by ZBomber

How long would it take someone who sucks at it? :\ Because I got awhile, I'm not getting it til Christmas.

 

The original US version is 4 times as easy as the Australian version. :XD: I'd think you'd be able to speed through it pretty damn fast, plus the hint system is there so if you're stuck you'll be told where to go next.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ZBomber Newbie

ZBomber

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by Lynk Former

The original US version is 4 times as easy as the Australian version. :XD: I'd think you'd be able to speed through it pretty damn fast, plus the hint system is there so if you're stuck you'll be told where to go next.

 

Ah, good, I don't want to feel all confused and left out when I play Echoes. ;)

 

I can't beat Mother Brain on Metroid Zero though. :( The game was so easy, then it got hard at the very end of the game, I didn't die ONCE before Mother Brain. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jokemaster Newbie

jokemaster

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by ZBomber

Ah, good, I don't want to feel all confused and left out when I play Echoes. ;)

 

I can't beat Mother Brain on Metroid Zero though. :( The game was so easy, then it got hard at the very end of the game, I didn't die ONCE before Mother Brain. :(

HAW-HAW!

 

Seriously, compared to fusion, zero is piece o' cake. Except for the sneaking parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ZBomber Newbie

ZBomber

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by jokemaster

HAW-HAW!

 

Seriously, compared to fusion, zero is piece o' cake. Except for the sneaking parts.

 

I beat Fusion though, that game is my favorite Gameboy Game of all time. :)

 

Super Metroid.... Played it before, but don't own it, so I never beat it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...