west.logan
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 608
Registered: 03-09-2011
IP: Logged
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Re: MetDROiD Prime (+2)
I've been waiting a long time to review this hold.
I started playing it months ago but just took it a little bit at a time, savouring it. I am a big fan of the Metroid Series and Metroid Prime is definitely one of my favourite games of all time, and the DROD version doesn't disappoint.
The atmosphere created was perfect, from the Chozo Ruins to the Phazon mines, the level of detail worked into each room, the floor, the walls, it was all just perfect. Scripting was done well and the code system works nicely, far better than the gates in Metroid AE.
Using the Secret Rooms to house bonus material was a stroke of genius and the secret rooms were not repetitive or boring.
Boss battles were exceptionally well-done, there was a sense of urgency and I could almost hear the battle music in my head.
The rooms were actually recognizable as rooms from Metroid Prime and a huge amount of effort was put into recreating the story. That alone makes it outstanding.
Now for my quibbles (and why it didn't rate a perfect 10 from me):
The numbering system for the codes was odd. I understand running clockwise but it seems like it would have been far nicer to map it to the num pad. I don't know how many times I got to a statue and managed to start off with the wrong sequence just because I was thinking "1" was in the lower left instead of the upper right.
Checkpoints. Man, I know that save stations are in certain locations in Metroid Prime but I would have gladly given up that bit of replication. There are certain things that work well in a console game that don't in DROD.
Rooms. Some of the rooms were too big. The disadvantage in DROD is that each room must be the same size, whereas in Metroid Prime, the room could be enormous or small. Combining several normal rooms into one DROD room might have made things seem a little less sprawling.
Map/Names. When hunting down the artifacts I was thankful I'd found most of them before beginning the hunt because the hints, while they work well in the game where the rooms are named accordingly, don't work well in DROD, where it only says "once west". I had to look a couple up online to see which region the artifact was supposed to be in.
But all in all, excellent, excellent hold. Probably my favourite user-made hold to date. It's not hard but it is long. Some parts are tedious but manageable, but the replication of actual game to DROD elements is impressive. Well done sir, well done.
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-Logan
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