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.