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Moon

Also known as: Project M

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An initially impressive FPS that fails to live up to its promises

Words: Brett Elston, GamesRadar US

23 Comments

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Below is a video detailing the typical gameplay experience for both games. Metroid first, then Moon.

Despite being significantly older, Metroid packs a lot more punch. Better architecture, more interesting sound effects, more intense enemies, just about any measure you want to use, Metroid wins. We could forgive Moon’s overall slowness if the atmosphere were suitably unsettling or the storyline engrossing, but neither are the case; so-so gameplay and so-so plot bring down the otherwise admirable work done here.

Above: Psshh, they’re still using the TRU-8927 models in this station? How embarrassing…

We desperately want to sprint into the streets, tossing confetti in the air, singing Renegade Kid’s praises for daring to dream up a moody FPS on a system best known for preteen wish fulfillment. Instead we recommend it as a positive example to other developers, that better things are possible if you merely put in the effort. So please Renegade Kid, don’t be discouraged. Fine tuning the gameplay for a sequel (or follow-up project) could result in something really worth getting excited about.

Jan 23, 2009

You'll love

Ultra-smooth aiming and firing
A few really well-designed rooms
Very ambitious, almost gets it right

You'll hate

Gets repetitive after two hours
Boring enemy design
They were so close!

23 Comments

Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First

revrock - 10 months 10 days ago

Great to see more of this on DS... but I am still holding out 'till Chinatown Wars.

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revrock - 10 months 10 days ago

BTW Brett, best review style ever!!!

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CorpHicks - 10 months 10 days ago

A 6?! Do not listen to this review. I love this game. Renegade Kid took the lessons learned with Dementium and turned it into a very well layed out story-driven FPS.
Unlike MPH, Moon runs at 60 FPS and MPH does not. Also MPH's boss battles blew ass. Can't fly Samus' ship in MPH but you can drive a vehicle in Moon. 36 months of what you were saying...?

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Winnar - 10 months 10 days ago

Hm, I disagree Brett. I have completed the game twice, once on normal and once on hard (Veteran) mode. I would give this game at least a 7 - probably 8 out of 10.

To say "You’re getting a lesser experience despite 36 months of possible improvements." is a little unfair. From what I've read in interviews with the Renegade Kid team, they had something like 6 people and 10 months in which to make the game. Metroid had the art, audio, and design assets of Metroid Prime (Gamecube) to utilize and the Nintendo army to develop the title.

I was expecting Moon to be a fun FPS adventure with some balls, and that's what I got. ;)

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CorpHicks - 10 months 10 days ago

Sorry for the back to back coments, but I should also mention that the controls in Moon are far superior to that of MPH.

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Winnar - 10 months 10 days ago

Good point CorpHicks: Moon's LOLA vehicle is excellent, and the boss fights are really cool.

Even though one boss is revisited in Moon a couple of times, the gameplay in each encounter is totally different. Plus, the 3 Guardians exist because of story elements that I won't mention as to not include spoliers.

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KidKobun - 10 months 10 days ago

Woah, a 6?! Can't say I saw that one coming. Keep in mind this is the DS. And personally I prefer the absence of a multiplayer mode in favor of a professionally written story on a handheld device. If I want multiplayer I'll play Halo or CoD.

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GamesRadarBrettElston - 10 months 10 days ago

Believe me, I really wanted to rate it higher, but the bosses bored me and the whole experience is very slow. Moon does indeed look 60fps, but Hunters has a lot more going on in each level, and a locked 30 is still great.

Granted, Nintendo has a bigger team, but again, it was built on tech three years ago. That's a long time in the tech world. Keep in mind I'm far from the lowest score out there - 6 means "DECENT" in our template.

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infestedandy - 10 months 10 days ago

You guys are pointing out one or two things that Moon has over Metroid and then expecting a much greater score out of it. Scores always stir the pot and Brett did state how much he wanted the game to succeed.

Fact of the matter is if a game is created with more quality then it's going to be a better experience. You can tell just from a 30s segment what Brett was talking about. The sound quality is much lower, the enemies are animated stiffly, nothing seems as robust and aesthetically appealing as Metroid, the list goes on. Both games are in the same genre so it's the norm that they're going to be compared.

I understand that Renegade Kid had an ambitious vision and it definitely shows. But when compared to Nintendo, a low-scale developer like these guys are going to have a hard time competing. Put aside your personal bias, congratulate them, and then move on. Here's to hoping they learned some valuable lessons.

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Winnar - 10 months 10 days ago

infestedandy, you miss the point.

I don't have a personal bias towards Renegade Kid. I love Nintendo, and their first-party games. Metroid DS bored me. I couldn't force myself to complete it. Moon is a far more interesting and accessible game.

You can't base your opinion on a 30s video clip. You could just as easily create a 30s video that demonstrated completely different positive and negative aspects of both games.

A game should be valued on the sum of its parts, and the sum of Moon deserves more that 6/10.

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Winnar - 10 months 10 days ago

Ha, I just noticed that Brett reviewed Metroid too. It all makes sense now. Brett was expecting Metroid Hunters 2 and was surprised to find an adventure game set in space that actually had a good story and great gunplay. Talk about personal bias! :P

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sniper430 - 10 months 10 days ago

What we really need is another Metroid Prime Hunters- i still deathmatch with my friends time to time...

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somthing42 - 10 months 10 days ago

I'm going to check it out to see for myself. the new format is very helpful.

reCAPTCHA: assorted lamb

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smallberry - 10 months 9 days ago

MMmmm Tom Selleck....

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key0blade - 10 months 9 days ago

Hmmm

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ssj4raditz - 10 months 9 days ago

A little disappointing, but I got the game and still am glad I did. It's nice to see a dev simply trying to push a system to see what it can do. Hopefully Renegade Kid can knock their next one out of the park.

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lava_lamp - 10 months 9 days ago

metriod prime:hunters suck
the multiplayer was pretty good but the singleplayer was boring so im evening bothering with this one

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EvilNinjaSquibidyflop - 10 months 9 days ago

So, Brett, ended up not liking it? I admit, the scrrenshots do look at little bad from where I'm sitting, but then again, the DS screen is much smaller than this. I hate to say it, but you may be wrong. MPH was basically a port of the GC games but with different levels and dialogue. Moon was built from the groun up with specific ideas in mind, and a much smaller budget. I'm not saying that you should judge games based on their funding, or the Wii would be getting perfect 10s. I'm just asking to keep in mind, and I'm sure you have, that this is a new IP, from an independent studio, who is doing this out of their own money.
Tip of the hat to Renegade Kid, on what I'm sure is a fine game.

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