Metroid Prime: Federation Force released last Friday to very mixed reviews. On one hand we have a strangely large divide in the professional reviews, and an even larger divide in user reviews. Let’s have a look at both and see if we can figure out why there is such a divide surrounding this title.
But first, Federation Force is a First Person Shooter on the Nintendo 3DS console set in the Metroid universe. Players take control of large Mechs and are tasked with missions on three distinct worlds. Players will see characters and environments that they are familiar with from the Metroid series, and will command an impressive arsenal of weapons including some classics (hello, super missile!) and some new favourites.
What do you mean I’m not playing as Samus?!
User Reviews
On MetaCritic, Federation Force currently has an aggerate user rating of 4.9/10. Scores this low are generally reserved for titles in the ‘My Princess Dream Castle’ series, not for what amounts to a AAA handheld title. Why such vitriol and so many 0 scores?
Looking through the low end reviews is very interesting, most of them have the same general theme:‘This game is stupid and shouldn’t have the Metroid name attached to it’ which tells us nothing about it game. At all. If you are going out on a limb and giving a major game a score of zero I expect you to back it up with your experiences from the game. Is it unplayable due to major bugs and over sights? Is it the worst game experience that you have ever had, and you can back that up with examples? Then yes, that game may deserve a zero. But if you are giving a game a Zero because it does not fit with your vision of a beloved franchise then you need to seriously reconsider what you are doing. There is more to a game then its name.
This does not speak to the gameplay, graphics, story, or controls.
Critical Reviews
On a 100 point scale we see everything from the low 40s to the high 90s for Federation Force’s scores in the professional realm which is really strange. Generally, we see a median score emerge. There will always be outliers, who either hate or love a game, but generally most sites will agree with a 10-15 point range, but this is not the case with Federation Force.
The reviewer for IGN even went as far as to call the mecha suit’s arm cannon ‘impotent’. Honestly, why did he have to go there? Why couldn’t he have just said that the arm cannon is weak or under powered?
My point stands; this is just negativity for the point of negativity. Constructive criticism is always a good thing; we rely on reviewers, especially from big sites, to help us make an informed purchasing decision. Calling a feature in a game ‘impotent’ does not help, nor does it provide any real information. Instead this is showing a reviewer who is bent out of shape because this is not the game that he wanted.
I don’t care if this is the game you wanted, this is the game that we received. I expect a review on the game, and not on the pie-in-the-sky expectations that people have when they walk into a new game. Whatever happened to entering a review with a truly open mind?
Metroid Other M, another game that suffered the wrath of critics because of the ‘Metroid’ name
This is the power and the curse with the name like ‘Metroid’ being attached to a game. On one hand when a Metroid game comes out it is guaranteed to generate a buzz, but on the other hand if it does not exactly replicate an existing formula it is going to offend diehard fans who have been demanding another replication of Super Metroid or Metroid Prime.
Because Federation Force did not fit with many critic’s expectations they looked for any reason to call it is poor game. It really makes me wonder what would have happened if ‘Metroid’ was not in the title. Would we have been privy to more serious reviews? Or would major reviewers still call the game boring with very little to no back up?
A little blocky on the computer monitor, but on the 3DS with the 3D slider engaged it is a great looking experience
I guess that we will never know, but all I can say at this point is that Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a great game and you should pick it up. Is it perfect? No. But it is easily the best mobile FPS that I have ever played, and one of the most visually appealing ones as well. Maybe I came to this opinion because I am not a huge Metroid fan so I was able to look at it a little more objectively than someone who has been waiting years for their favourite series to return.
I expect more from both professional critics and gamers alike. We need to give the 4-5/10s to games that truly deserve them, and not punish a game because of its pedigree. As for all the members of the general public giving Federation Force a score of 0? You need to grow up; in no world is this game a zero. If we do not even try to support our favourite franchises how can we expect them to survive?