Posted Sep 22, 2007 at 05:42AM by Enrico S. Listed in: Interviews, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Games Tags: Retro Studios, Metroid
Ó

Retro Studios: pushing the Wii with Metroid Prime 3 - Image 1It's no secret that Retro Studios' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is one of the most popular games on the Wii with it selling over 200,000 copies to date. How does a developer go about designing such a game, considering the hardware limitations of the Wii and at the same time maximizing its innovative control scheme?

Mark Pacini, the guy who directed the game, pointed out that developing the title had to start with a concept. He said that they set out to retain the Metroid feel of the game and at the same time "prove the controller". The biggest problem they had was not motion control, but on maximizing the limited number of buttons on it. Fortunately, they were playing around with the idea of a system where everything stacked:

We were already talking about a system where everything stacked: your beam, your missiles, the grapple beam — all the additional abilities you get for those weapons stack so you don't have to switch between beams, for instance. We definitely kept that in mind going forward because with limited buttons, we didn't want to make this game overly complicated.


With regards to hardware limitations however, Art director Todd Keller stepped in and said that it wasn't much of a problem. He noted that the Wii is a "a fairly decently powerful game system as far as polygons go." He then added that while the console didn't have much in terms of depth shaders, it can render really good color palates. That's not all though, if you were impressed by Metroid Prime, Keller stated that people will eventually be able to "do more stuff that will be way beyond that."

All in all, Retro studios did an amazing job with this game. If you own a Wii and want a good FPS for it, then this is one game you should pick-up. Both directors gave quite a few more details about the game in the full interview, click on our Read Link if you want to see it.


Buy: [Metroid Prime 3: Corruption] Read Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

Bookmark / Find this article on:


1 Comments


Sort by:
   by Advertising -
   by JeimuzuWii - 2007-09-23
 » Mission Complete...for now!

It really is a fantastic game. I just finished it earlier this evening, and it did not disappoint.

The Metroid Prime series has been wrapped up exquisitely, and although the Prime name completed it's outstanding run, the quality and care the Prime has brought into the Metroid series is sure to carry on throughout upcoming Metroid titles. I'm really looking forward to seeing what exactly the 100% ending in Corruption is foreshadowing. I know what "it" was, I just wonder how big a role "it" will play in the future....definitely something to keep an ear out for.

All in all, a fantastic game. I'd give it a 10/10 for it's new FPS controls, stunning effects, and being a super satisfying conclusion to an epic trilogy.



The QJ.net Network RSS Feeds
QJ Forums
PC Gaming
Sony PSP
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
Blog of Blogs Feed / PDA
QJ.NET RSS / PDA
Gaming Consoles Feed / PDA
Nintendo DS RSS / PDA
PlayStation 3 RSS / PDA
PSP Updates RSS / PDA
Wii RSS / PDA
Xbox 360 RSS / PDA
PC Gaming Feed / PDA
MMORPG RSS / PDA
Personal Computer Games RSS / PDA
World of Warcraft RSS / PDA
Technology Feed / PDA
Apple RSS / PDA
iPhone - iPod Touch RSS / PDA
Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add  to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!