In an interview to GameInformer, ex-Retro Studios member Mark Pancini, currently working at Armature on Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, expressed his distaste for the Metroid Prime games. Here’s what he had to say:

Even though you don’t want to be seen as the ex-Metroid Prime guys,  fans are going to be excited when they know ex-Metroid Prime guys are going to be making a Super Metroid-style game.

I hope so. I hope we don’t disappoint them. That’s always my fear, because I think everything we do sucks. But that’s just me because I thought all the Prime games suck. At the end of the day all I see are all the bad things. Prime 2 was a blur to me. It was so quick, it was so fast. That thing just went out the door and it was a very divisive game. People either liked it or thought it sucked, and I can completely agree because I couldn’t tell you what that game was because it happened so quickly. Prime 1 was the best designed game. Prime 3 I feel is the most fun one to play. Prime 2 is divisive. You either like it or you don’t. That’s kind of the way I look at it.

Source: GameInformer

As a developer, it’s not easy to look back on your own work. The faults will always stand out to you and remembering your involvement in all of it might turn out to be difficult. I can respect how he feels, but think it’s unfortunate that he does so. He participated in three fantastic games that so many people enjoy and love, not many game developers can say that! With a portfolio rocking Prime, Echoes and Corruption, it’s a real shame that he isn’t as proud of it as the games’ fans are.

Shinesparkers founder and webmaster Darren Kerwin asked me to emphasize that he disagrees with Pancini. Metroid Prime is his favorite game of all time.

I’m a Zero Mission guy, but I love the Prime trilogy and believe it to be the greatest in all of gaming.

Naner.

Warner Bros. Games has announced Batman: Arkham Origins for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U as well as Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. Arkham Origins Blackgate is being developed by Armature Studio, a team including several lead members from the Metroid Prime Trilogy team: Mark Pacini, Todd Keller and Jack Mathews, former Game Director, Art Director and Principal Technology Engineer, respectively. It will be a 2.5D game focusing on action and exploration, which means it could be an excellent game for Metroid fans. Expect to hear more about both games at E3 in June.

Source: GameInformer

Also revealed today was that Armature had started working with Capcom on a Mega Man reboot, called Maverick Hunter, a few years ago. The game would have been a first-person shooter and feature a more dark and gritty look. It was canceled by Capcom in 2010.

Source: Polygon

In an interview to EL33TONLINE, Nicolas Robin, associate producer for Ubisoft’s Wii U survival horror ZombiU, said that their game’s world structure was inspired by Metroid.

And regarding the structure of the world we were really inspired by Metroid. So basically you will gain some abilities or new tools that you will discover in the game. There are very open areas that we show but you are not able to go there.

Exploration limited to the player’s skills and tools are very much a Metroid mechanic, and it’s nice to see it used in other games.

ZombiU will be released on November 18th in North America and November 30th in Europe, along with Nintendo’s new console Wii U. A limited edition bundle including the console and ZombiU will also be available in Europe.

Source: EL33TONLINE

Metroid Headquarters will be hosting a live event once again to raise money for Child’s Play. Last year they raised over $500 for the charity, and this year they hope to do the same again. Here’s a press release from Metroid HQ:

Metroid Headquarters will also be celebrating their 8th year as a Metroid fan website during the Marathon, which as i’m sure you will agree, is a huge achievement. We wish them the best of luck and urge you to tune in and donate to a worthy cause. Additionally, i’d like to ask our members who have Facebook to check out the MHQthon event page.

For more information, check out the Metroid Headquarters website.

Metroid: Encounter at Ceres Colony is a fan made Metroid movie parody created by six friends on a budget of $200. It features our galactic Bounty Hunter Samus Aran and focuses on the events where she discovers the Metroid hatchling on SR388 through to handing it over to the scientists at the Ceres Space Colony. There are lots of references to Samus’s previous adventures too.

Be sure to check it out!

Metroid Headquarters have announced their Second Annual MHQthon, which will start off on Friday, July 13 2012. Unlike last year, they’ll focus on beating the games quickly, as opposed to trying to get 100% on each game’s hardest difficulty setting. The goal is to raise donations for the Child’s Play charity, an organization dedicated to bring fun to children in hospitals through video games.

Stay tuned to Shinesparkers and Metroid Headquarters for more information on the marathon.

Samus & Joey is a three-volume, non-canon manga published in 2003 about Joey, a kid who becomes a self-nominated disciple of Samus after being saved by her. It brings a more comedic approach to Samus’ story. Metroid Database has been working on translating the story and has recently released chapter 9 in English.

You can check out the first chapter of Samus & Joey here or the recently-translated ninth chapter here.