ver time, we've learned that a game can easily rise or fall on the strength of its user interface. The same quality that's allowed the Ace Combat franchise to shine for more than a decade — that snappy and precise control scheme — has been the downfall of lesser arcade flight games like Ubisoft's Blazing Angels. It would make sense, then, that we'd tend to see particularly successful interfaces become common within a particular genre: twin-stick movement and look controls for console-based shooters; a consistent menu flow that's shared by most Japanese role-playing games; an understanding that the right trigger will almost always make things explode, go faster or otherwise become . . . awesome.
One may wonder, then, how a controller as puzzling as the GameCube's could ever birth a commendable user interface. When Metroid Prime was announced by Nintendo and Retro Studios, old school fans couldn't help but cringe — not only was this a first-person adventure title, but it was being released on a console that seemed to make that perspective nigh impossible. As my colleague Curtis Mettler pointed out in today's retro review, however: Retro didn't just succeed, they triumphed. Eschewing a standard FPS feel, they designed a control scheme that placed exploration ahead of shooting — a gesture that was just as appreciated in DICE's Mirror's Edge. Both Retro and DICE had that epiphany that seems to elude most developers in the genre: just because it's in the first person doesn't mean that it has to be a "shooter."
Nintendo's addition of motion controls made an old classic new again.It's amazing that Metroid Prime can be just as compelling a title today as it was back in 2002. The last seven years have treated this game well, and Nintendo's decision to add Wiimote controls and widescreen presentation to Retro's classic is a move of pure genius. As I moved through Prime's first level this past weekend in the recent Wii re-release, I was doubly impressed: not only had Retro's seven-year-old masterwork withstood the test of time, but Nintendo's addition of motion controls had made an old classic new again. With my right hand, I looked, peered and explored the beautiful environments that surrounded me. True, textures were limited to a mere 480 lines of resolution, but in the grand scheme of things, who cares? Prime is still fresh. For a mere $50, Metroid Prime Trilogy combines all three titles in the series (both the GameCube originals with part three on Wii) and shows a whole new audience what made the adventures of Samus so compelling in the first place.
I'll be honest: as a "core" gamer, I spend most of my time playing multiplayer shooters on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Oddly enough, the vast majority of the "wow" moments I've had in the last three years have been on Nintendo's decidedly casual-friendly Wii. In the same way that Super Mario Galaxy made that franchise fresh again, Metroid Prime Trilogy improves upon an already great concept with what is inarguably the best control scheme to grace gaming in over two decades. Say what you will about the Wii — its back-to-basics approach to console gaming is the kick in the pants that "core" gamers like you and I have been waiting for. Let the good times roll, Nintendo.
