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Metroid Prime: Federation Force


Kenji Yamamoto has worked on a bunch of Metroid games – both 2D and 3D. So hopefully the classic Metroid music can be preserved in this entry!

This information comes from Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe…

– Use the New 3DS’ second stick to look around
– Also runs on regular 3DS
– Tanabe feels Blast Ball could serve as a replacement for a traditional tutorial in terms of getting players accustomed to classic Metroid Prime controls

On the game’s premise…

Tanabe: I’m sure once you play the actual game you’ll be able to get a feel of it and a better understanding of what the game is. As you mentioned, when you experience Blast Ball, you can probably feel that the controls are exactly the same as the Metroid Prime series. And on top of the control scheme being the same as the Metroid Prime series, you can also tell that the whole environment is still in the Metroid Prime universe, including the background music as well.

On how it doesn’t seem like a Metroid game, and how it came to be…

Tanabe: Originally, since 10 years ago, I’ve been thinking about the concept for this game. Back then I was working on the three main Prime games…

So Metroid Prime Hunters [on DS] was one title that I wanted to shift the focus a little bit by introducing some new bounty hunters. One thing I wanted to do since back then was focusing on the galactic federation members, focusing on them and having a fight with the space pirates. It’s sort of like a different perspective that I’m taking with this game to create sort of an opportunity to expand, to broaden the universe.

This information comes from Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe…

“Well, first I would say that the focus on the battle between the Federation Forces and the Space Pirates was an idea I had since I was involved in Metroid Prime 3. It’s similar to with Metroid Prime Hunters, how we relied on NST [Nintendo Software Technology] to do that. Hunters deals with the relationships between the bounty hunters besides Samus in the world of Metroid. We wanted to make something that would show the fight between the Federation and the Space Pirates, but there was no company that would make that for us.”

“In making this game we initially intended it to launch alongside the New Nintendo 3DS, but we were a bit late in doing that. The team who’s schedule was free at the time was Next Level Games, and so we turned to them.”

Source

– Blast Ball is a part of Metroid Prime: Federation Force
– Teams of 3
– Go into Metroid-style mechs
– Use a first-person perspective and a massive arm-mounted cannon
– Try to knock an enormous, electrified orb into the opposing team’s goal
– Much like first-person soccer
– Keep the ball at bay with your blaster rather than your foot
– If you’re hit with the ball, your suit takes damage
– Taking too much damage means you need to wait to respawn
– Can also take damage from enemy fire
– Circle Pad: movement
– B button: jump
– A button: fire your cannon
– Fire the cannon in rapid bursts with quick presses, or a charged shot if held down
– Hold down “R” to strafe with the Circle Pad or fine-tune your aim with the gyroscope
– L button: lock onto the ball, keeping it front and center in your visor’s Prime-style display.
– While locked on to the ball, your mech’s lateral movement is much slower than you’d expect
– HUD cracks when you take too much damage
– Smooth frame rate

Source

– 4-player co-op first-person shooter
– Takes place in the Metroid Prime universe
– Local and online multiplayer
– Need 4-player squads to complete different kinds of missions
– Different mission objectives
– Ex: try to capture certain kinds of creatures
– Before going into a mission, you’ll sit through a briefing
– As part of your mission prep, you can select different kinds of items and weapons to take into combat
– These range from Repair Capsules to Shield Generators to Missiles to Slow Beams
– Items/weapons have different purposes
– Depending on what kind of weapons you carry, it will change your role in the party
– You’ll then hop into a mech and tackle your mission
– Aim with the 3DS’ gyroscope
– Blast Ball comes in addition to co-op
– Blast Ball: 3-on-3 sci-fi sport mode
– In Blast Ball, players shoot a ball into the opponent’s goal to score
– Throughout the match, players can gain a competitive edge by collecting and using a variety of individual power-ups, such as barriers, or power-ups that speed you up, or let you eject opponents out of their mechs
– Blast Ball matches end after a team scores 3 goals
– Blast Ball supports 3DS Download Play.
– Out sometime next year

Source


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