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GC

Metroid a FPA, not a FPS

by Billy Berghammer - February 23, 2001, 6:19 pm EST
Source: The cube that's IGN

After people were having fits of rage last week with the report of Metroid becoming a FPS. The story deepens...

Reports from IGN Cube say that Metroid is not a first person shooter, but a first person adventure.

What does this mean per say?

Metroid isn't exactly what many readers think. It's not a shooter so much, say sources, as it is an adventure in first-person view -- an FPA if you will -- and not entirely at that either. Retro Studios is working to retain the true feeling of the Metroid license in first-person 3D. That means that the main character will still have the abilities that Samus remains famous for -- everything from the option to upgrade armor and weaponry to special attacks, spins, rolls, grappling hook features, and more. The game's design allows for an optional third-person view to take advantage of these features when the situation calls for it. It is believed that the third-person view is not something that can be toggled by the player, but rather is executed automatically depending on the area and task in the game.

Retro has allegedly been devoting a good amount of its programming resources to creating a balanced level of primary first-person adventure play and third-person camera mechanics where necessary. It is an ambitious endeavor, the possible upstart of a branched out genre, and if it's a successful attempt it's bound to be copied by others in the future.

"I think [the Metroid team] has a good chance of skipping by some of the pitfalls of the FPS genre," a source told us under the condition of anonymity. "They've got some really innovative ideas for jumping, targeting, movement, and camera."

Personally, I think this is really good news. It's an interesting way of looking at bringing Metroid to the next level. At least we'll get 3rd person view, even if it's automatic. I think it's time to wait and see what Retro can cook up without commiting Hari Kari. Metroid's coming...that's good enough for me.

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