a Metamor Jupiter review

[ccovell]

Hi, folks,  I've written up a review of the CD game Metamor Jupiter.  If you're interested, you can check it out here: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/MetamorReview/

[Necromancer]

Thanks for the review - I must see the astounding "Judder-O-Vision". 

I see that you've recently added an progress report on Tongueman's Logic.  That's a nice circuit board background - Hudson Bee for the win!

[Tatsujin]

very nice. thx a lot

[runinruder]

Cool review, Chris.  I want to play Metamor, but I've been holding off on buying it because the ~$30 it costs seems a little expensive for a game that is (according to all reports) merely above average. 

[termis]

I like how developers somehow had to put in some kind of scaling and rotation effects in the game around that era to make it cool. 

[nat]

I like how developers somehow had to put in some kind of scaling and rotation effects in the game around that era to make it cool. 

But 1 frame/sec is far from cool. I really hope that was an exaggeration.

[esteban]

Hi, folks,  I've written up a review of the CD game Metamor Jupiter.  If you're interested, you can check it out here: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/MetamorReview/

Nice. I like that you took the time to capture some interesting screenshots . From what I recall, the intro is pretty long... I don't know if I ever sat through the entire thing.

I've played MJ briefly a few years ago and I'll have to revisit it. I witnessed the Mode 7 scaling effect for the early boss and I didn't know how to respond. Unlike most folks here, I don't hate this effect. That said, I would have preferred if the programmers created drama the good old-fashioned way (i.e. by dimmming the screen, using lightning, sound effects and new music, etc. to mark the entrance of an enemy vessel!). Then again, my suggestion is pretty generic.

So, actually, it is kinda neat that MJ has this goofy "special effect."  It doesn't detract from the gameplay (I've yet to play the scaling meteor stage, though!).

There, I've said it. Now, will I still feel this way after revisiting MJ?

[grahf]

I own this game, and kinda like it. I had no idea you could change the ship speed! I havnt played it in a while because the ship was too slow Gonna give it a play tonight.

Also, the mode7 style zoom-in isnt so bad. The ship zooms in, the framerate drops for a few moments, and then the battle starts. It doesnt detract from anything, just makes you cringe that they would leave it in. Its been done much better on many PCE games.

[Keranu]

Those screenshots you took look great. I would hope the game plays as good as it looks, but it doesn't seem to be.

[grahf]

Its not a bad game, its just not busting with originality. I enjoy it.

[esteban]

Its not a bad game, its just not busting with originality. I enjoy it.

Same here. I like it, but it will never be on anyone's top 20 lists .

[Black Tiger]

I've always wanted to play through this game just to see all the special effects. Even if they aren't the best examples for PC Engine, its still cool to see them in a commercial release.

Mainly, I wanted to see the spinning tunnel effect. I don't know why a developer would ever attempt to rotate or scale large sprites in real time in a CD game, especially when its not part of real gameplay, since it could just be done better through 'prerendered' animation.

Thanks for the great review, particularly the nice screenshots with descriptions of the special effects.