This review will be done in a three-pronged attack. Three reviewers, three viewpoints.
LaughingTarget: Metroid has always been one of the old school favorites. And as with all old-school games, I am always skeptical when they are given a fully 3D overhaul. I was even more skeptical when Metroid Prime was given to the untested Retro Studios. A huge leap of faith for Nintendo with one of their most trusted franchises. There is a single question I must beg to ask: how the heck does Nintendo do it?
Metroid Prime takes place after the first Metroid, or at least I think as there are some conflicting viewpoints on the subject. Anyhow, you take the roll of Samas Aran, the most butt-kickingest bounty hunter in all the universe as she is sent to the planet Tallon IV, an ancient world that used to be populated by the Chozo until a strange meteorite bearing Phozon landed and mutated everything, effectively causing the extinction of the Chozo. It is your job to find out what is going on and why pirates are so interested in the planet.
Rock_On: Among the many games that Nintendo had announced awhile back, E3 2000 or 2001 I believe, Metroid Prime was probably one of the ones I was looking forward too the most. Sure the new Zelda got me excited, Mario, Eternal Darkness, and the Resident Evil exclusiveness, but none got me more excited than Metroid Prime. After the announcement, numerous movies and screenshots were released, and soon after, I knew I would definitely have to own this title. Well, now that Nintendo is starting to wade into the swimming pool, what greater game to jump right into the pool with than Metroid Prime, as Nintendo has outdone themselves once again, and has given us Gamecube owners even more faith and hope in Nintendo. For the past three years or so, Nintendo has always released a AAA game sometime in November, just before the Christmas rush, and now instead of a Zelda (which, sadly, got pushed back to February), we are presented with Metroid Prime. So how did Nintendo do? The answer awaits you.
starsoldier1: I waited 8 lonnggggg years for this but it's finally here! "Yes, it's back!" Here is Metroid Prime for the Nintendo GameCube. Bounty Hunter, Samus Aran returns to fight the evil Space Pirates of the galaxy again but now this Metroid game is completely 3D and the view is almost always First Person Shooter now like in other games a Halo, Quake, Goldeneye. Weird but true. Metroid Prime is filled with spectacular graphics, familiar sounds, and the same good old gameplay that made the originals such great games, but is this really the best GameCube out so far or is this game one big 3D disappointment?
Visually a GameCube Best
LaughingTarget: While the little Cube isn't the graphical top dog in the industry, a spot held by the mighty XBox, the most visually appealing games do appear on the Cube. Metroid Prime is a graphical masterpiece. Every single effect and creature model was created out of sure love of the game and the job. It is hard to find such an example of a complete title. Many games usually have a slapped together effect or model in the game, but Prime goes beyond and works its magic in every crevice of the game. Bosses are huge and well modeled, water and bug goop drips off your visor, and even the charge beam will distort the space-time continuum as it flies toward its target. Even ice builds up on your gun as you charge up the ice beam. Visor types are killer, especially the X-Ray one, where you can even see the bones in your own hand when you get nailed by a big hit or aim with your gun. Textures could have used a bit more work, but in comparison to all but the best of the XBox, they are still in a class of their own.
Rock_On: Using the Gamecube's highly powerful graphic capabilities, Retro Studios has really done a wonderful job in creating some of the most exhilarating graphics that I have ever seen in any game. Now I didn't say that they were the most realistic graphics, but they are truly the most colorful in any game. First of all, the world in Metroid Prime is basically one HUGE connecting landmass. Each of the different areas of the game will have at least one connection to one of the other game areas, and so you'll do much backtracking as you gain new abilities to open up previously unreachable areas (or unseen). Each room in the different areas are full of an amazing amount of detail, whether it be small little water effects or a rock formation, to the giganticness of the levels in Prime.
Speaking of giganticness, the bosses in Metroid Prime can reach up to massive heights, including a giant bull like creature, a huge flower, and other massive bosses that you'll have fun fighting. EVERYTHING in the game is also full of colors, whether it be the rocky caves of the Magmoor Caverns, to the wide-open spaces in Phendrana Drifts with lots of snow covering the ground, and also snow flakes falling to the ground.
Now I've stated that Metroid Prime's visuals are simply amazing, whether it be the multiple colors of the wave beam as it's shot, to the vastness of the worlds and gigantic size of the bosses, but I've yet to get started on how great the graphics are. The best part that Retro did with Metroid Prime has to be the element effects that appear on Samus' visor. For example, when if you're standing at a certain angle and there's light behind you, you can actually SEE the reflection of Samus' face in her visor. Whenever you run through a hot vent, your visor will start to steam; run through a cold vent and the visor will freeze for a couple seconds; get splashed by water, and you'll see the splash effects all over your visor, and this includes in the rain where you can look up directly at the rain, and watch as rain particles gather on Samus' visor. These elemental effects are truly top-notch, and like the rain particles gather on Samus' visor when she looks into the rain, if you were to look up into the rain in real life, you'd also see the effects, especially if you have glasses and the rain collects on them.
Metroid Prime runs at a SOLID 60 frames per second, and not once did I ever notice any slowdown, not even during the most intense of alien fights, and not even when there were 10, 11, or even 12 enemies on the screen at once, was there any sign of a frame rate drop. Also, the transition from the standard first-person view of Samus to the third-person view of Samus in her morph ball is perfect, and truly captures the formation as she runs and balls up into the Morph Ball and as she unrolls herself and returns to the normal view.
starsoldier1: The graphics in Metroid Prime are nothing short of stunning! The First Person view thing may seem a little strange at first but it sure makes this still game look like a milion bucks! I love the way the screen ripples when your Charge shot blasts away at a target, plus the Scan effects also alter your view to change things up a bit, it's looks very realistic. Other noteworthy things are the many things that get in the way of Samus's vision like alien slime, mist, and water, words can't describe how impressive it is to get something right in your face like that. Not only is the game super detailed with very diverse landscapes (although some of trees and snow banks look a little blocky) but the framerate is really smooth too, I'm pretty sure this baby runs at 60frames per second. The action only slows down when there are too many baddies on the screen at once but that's fairly rare.
Speaking of your enemies, the world of Tallon IV is filled with lots of them. Remember those spiky wall climbers, or those pesky suicidal bugs that explode on impact from the other Metroid games? They're back in this game and they are beautifully detailed in 3D (most of them are still ugly though of course). I also love the attention given all the animations, it was really freaky seeing those bugs that pop out of the ground and caw their way towards you. Metroid Prime also has some killer looking bosses like a giant plant bug with razor sharp claws powered by ancient sun mirrors. Although you don't see Samus a lot in the game, you can view her sometimes during intermissions and when Saving your game, her suit looks amazing with a nice amount of glare and detail. The action switches into a third person perspective when Samus transforms into her Morphing Ball mode (X button) and there is even some cool lighting trail effects created simply by moving around.
Ragdoll Physics
LaughingTarget: The physics engine is actually what it says, physics. Most shooters think that when you fall off something, that is a physics engine. Prime goes a bit further. Shoot an enemy who is near the edge of a cliff, watch him crumple over the cliff realistically and plop on the floor below. Shoot that same enemy on a metallic ramp, his corpse will slide down and slow as it hits a horizontal surface. Water even restricts your movement realistically, that is until you grab the Grav Suit.
Sounds Great
LaughingTarget: The most overlooked and under developed part of a game, from my experience, is the audio. While I am not one of those 5.1 packing people, I do enjoy an atmospheric aural experience. Luckily, Metroid Prime does that just as well as pretty much the visual department. The music was particularly well done. First of all, a ton of classic Metroid tunes were re-mixed to take advantage of the GameCube's sound chip. Second, all the new tunes are just as good. Finally, the musical score doesn't get in the way of the game. Most titles with their music simply blast it along on top of what you are doing. Prime sets it up as the ultimate ambiance tune. The music is subtly there in the background that sometimes you may not notice and it slowly builds into a louder, quicker paced tune when enemies find your scent and the fight begins.
Then there are the sound effects. Again, subtlety is king as it simply adds to the atmosphere. Sounds are distorted underwater and you hear your footsteps on a variety of surfaces ranging from grass to metal. Some areas simply creak and you hear things breaking yet nothing is around, adding a bit to suspense. Of course, you do have your big sound effects. Super missiles, that special wave beam thing that looks a lot like the particle beams in Ghostbusters, super bombs, and even simple enemy deaths as they splatter their innards all over you.
Rock_On: Ever since the Ocarina of Time, there's never really been a game with a soundtrack so killer where I'd actually look forward to playing the game just so I could hear the music. Once again, Nintendo (Retro Studios) has really delivered, and they must have used FedEX on the sound department, because the audio is simply put; AMAZING. The sound effects, whether it be the futuristic sounds of Samus' blasters shooting out plasma beams (or ice, etc.), or the effects of splashing into water or shooting different surfaces, have all been fine tuned to accommodate Metroid Prime's incredible gameplay.
I'm not really sure if there's a way to describe the various sound effects, only that they are very pleasing, and if you were a bounty hunter in space in a futuristic setting, then I'm sure that the effects in Metroid Prime are exactly what you'd think they'd be. The music in the game is EVEN BETTER than the sound effects, and the background music really pulls you into the game, and sometimes it can be even creepier than Resident Evil, which has some pretty freaky music in certain areas. There's nothing else left to say, except that Metroid Prime's audio is almost perfect, and whoever said they were nothing but midi-files from the 80's, they are WRONG.
starsoldier1: I was very surprised by the sounds in MP, not because it sounded cool and all but a lot music in here is from the past Metroid games. Fans should instantly recognize many of the remixed tracks from Metroid and Super Metroid (sadly no Metroid II music though). The sound effects were really impacting too with lots of cool loud shots from the various lasers, plus we can't forget about the tons screaming aliens on the other side. It also really helps if you actually hear a enemy making lots of noise especially if one of them decides to strike from behind like I pointed out earlier.
Gameplay
LaughingTarget: Shooter. GameCube. Two things that don't go together well due to that toothpick C-stick. Fortunately, Retro found a way around that. Since the Metroid series was mostly about exploration and puzzles, your classic shooter setup wouldn't work well as it removed three usable options. Instead, Retro created a puzzler-shooter method. The main stick is used for turning and moving, hold down L to strafe, R to aim, A shoots, B jumps, Y turns into a ball, and X fires off your missiles. The C stick is used to change weapons and the D-pad is used for visor types.
Movement like this takes a bit to get used to, but after the initial level, it becomes pretty much second nature. The game will sometimes give you a new ability, and it takes a bit to master, most notably the Grapple Beam (thanks Retro for bringing this back) takes about 10 minutes of practice to master. Jumping is remarkably natural and aiming is a breeze as the L button also locks onto enemies.
Now, navigation also takes a bit to get used to. I still get a tad disoriented when I first jump on, visor view and all. Luckily, there is a 3D map you can pull up with the stupid little purple Z button. It shows you where you are, you can rotate it, zoom, and move to different sectors. It also tells you where the doors are and what kind of beam is needed to open them. After a couple seconds of "where the heck am I", you are quickly back in the game.
The game is remarkably well balanced but still tough as nails (Omega Pirate kicked my butt about 6 times before I bested him). You kill Uber-smart enemies who hunt you as much as you hunt them. They will sometimes drop health orbs to recharge your batteries, and you continue on. Save locations are well placed as not to make the game too easy but not unreasonably hard either.
Then there are the puzzles. Ouch. There are a ton of these bastards that are hair pullers. Metroid has always been about backtracking. Going to places you have been before. Sometimes, you will look up and see a missile upgrade sitting on the top of a half-pipe looking thing. You try to jump up only to find it is too high even for your space jump. You see a nearby ledge, but it is just a tad too far and you also find the missile sitting in a small hole. Well, you just have to give up for now and find the power-up that fits. That is the hardest part of the puzzles, knowing when you are not capable of handling them yet.
Now, you may be thinking, "backtracking, that sucks". Don't worry, Metroid Prime comes with a help feature. I turned this off until about the 50% marker, but it is not a hand-holding walkthrough. What this does is it pulls up your map, and plops a question mark in a sector. It doesn't tell you how to get there, what you need, what to expect, or even what you get. It just tells you something is strange over there, check it out.
Game is also long. Good 25-30 hours depending on skill level. Plenty to see and do here. Plus, beat the game, get some extras with your Fusion game linked to the Cube as well as a harder difficulty mode.
Rock_On: Now before we get started, I'm going to lay out the facts, Metroid Prime is absolutely amazing. I had never played the first three Metroids, however after messing around with a couple ROMs of the games, I started to realize what all the fuss was about Metroid. So lets get to business. Metroid Prime is hands down, the best first-person shooter I have ever played. When Retro Games was given the Metroid Prime project, a lot of gamers were kind of skeptical about what was going to happen to the series, and then when it was announced that Metroid Prime would be a first-person shooter, nearly EVERY retro gamer who had played the original Metroids grew wary of what was going to happen to Samus Aran and her adventures.
Now, Metroid Prime is in fact a first-person shooter. However, before Prime's release, Nintendo was stating that it wouldn't be a traditional first-person shooter, but would include a new aspect of first-person shooting, which Nintendo called a first-person Adventure. Lots of gamers thought this was crap, and especially Halo fanboys, who didn't think this could be done. Well, of course Nintendo has pulled through with all promised, and I was very surprised when I first booted up Metroid Prime. Now that you're actually seeing the action through the eyes of Samus Aran, you'll actually see on her visor what she's seeing. On the screen, you'll see your gun sticking out in front of Samus like a normal first-person shooter, and the top, bottom, and sides of the screen are lined with different gizmos and numbers which are part of Samus' visor. First of all, at the top of the screen is your health meter which goes up to 99, and above the health meter are the extra energy blocks. As you explore the planet Tallon IV, you'll find energy capsules that will up your health meter by another 99 points, and so you can have well more than 99 points worth of health. On the right side shows how many missiles you have left, and on the left side is the danger meter, which will rise as you approach environmental dangers, and when you're actually attaining damage, then the meter will be flashing different colors.
Unlike other first-person shooters, you don't find other weapons that you can equip, however you do have multiple versions of Samus' blaster cannon which is fused onto her right arm. You can find more variations of blasters to add to Samus' blaster, like the Ice Beam or Wave Beam, and you can switch between the different Beams by pushing the C-Stick (yellow analog stick on the right hand side of the controller) in the respective directions to pull up the different beams. I like how this is worked in, as it's easy to switch to a different beam on the fly, because when you're fighting different aliens, you'll have to learn which weapon is best to use against them. Another weapon that you'll always have includes the missiles, which you use by pressing the "Y" button to activate the missile cannon (the front end of whatever beam you're using will kind of peel out like an orange), and then press "Y" again to shoot the missiles out. Each weapon's power varies as you fight different aliens, and finding which weapon is best to use can be a vigorous task. Aside from having a main beam type, each blaster also has a secondary weapon which is firing a charged shot by pressing and holding the fire button ("A") and then once the charge has completed, let go of the button to send it flying. As does the blaster types, the charged shot will differ in strength and what it looks like, depending on which beam you're using (Ice Beam, Wave Beam, etc.).
Using the different weapons is a vital part of Metroid Prime, and even the different puzzles require you to use different weapons in order to solve, and also like in the previous Metroids, you'll have to fire your weapon at the doors in order for them to open. Some doors will open after being shot or blown by any kind of beam or bomb, while others will require you to use one of the different beams in order to open it. Aside from the whole first-person shooter view in general, the real question I had was how well the game was going to handle. To ease things up a bit in the game, instead of having the general double-analog stick first-person shooter set-up, you only control Samus with the main analog stick, since the C-Stick is used to choose the different beams to equip. Being a big fan of double-analog first-person shooters because of the freedom of where you look and all, which basically gave you total control over your player, I was real skeptical about how the controls would play out. After playing Metroid Prime, I think I could probably kick myself for even having doubt in the control scheme, because Nintendo has once again came through on their part. Like I said, you'll only control Samus' using the main analog stick, however kind of like the "Z" targeting system in the 64' Zelda's, if you press the "L" button, you'll lock Samus' look in that place and be able to side-step. I do have to admit that when first starting the game, that it will take many people maybe an hour or so to figure out the weird first-person control setting, however after playing the game longer, you'll soon grow greatly accustomed to the way Nintendo set-up these controls. Anyway, when you use the targeting system, like in the 64' Zelda's, you'll lock-on to the closest enemy, and if you keep holding it, you can move and strafe around that enemy all while pumping it full of...plasmic charges? The targeting system was worked well, and so fighting multiple enemies at once can now be done without losing a ton of health.
Of course, Samus isn't invincible, and so you'll most likely receive damage while you fight the game's multiple Space Pirates and Metroids. Once defeating enemies, most of them will either leave health orbs or missile orbs, which will restore your health and missiles, respectively. Now for the first-person ADVENTURE part of the game, which includes the ability to jump, and also having to jump multiple platforms. Straying away from normal first-person shooter formulas where you're basically on the ground the whole time, 90% of Metroid Prime has you going through multiple levels of platform jumping, which is why Nintendo was classifying Metroid Prime as a first-person ADVENTURE, and no ordinary first-person shooter. All though the game's mechanics have been worked to perfection, there are a few problems that clash when it comes to jumping in a first-person view. The first problem is that since you don't have the other analog stick to be able to look up, down, and all around, it's kind of hard to jump the platforms and know whether or not you've made it. Near the beginning of the game, the platform jumping is a piece of cake, because you don't have to fall maybe 40 stories to the bottom, however once you delve deeper into Metroid Prime, the platform jumping scenarios get increasingly difficult, with multiple hazards that make it even more difficult.
Among Samus' different blasters (or beams, whatever you want to call em'), Samus' different visors will take a big role in the game. The battle visor is default visor that you're looking through right through the beginning of this game, and this visor includes all the information that I've all ready told you like missiles, health, blaster choices, etc. Other visors include the Thermal and X-Ray visor, which are found in different parts of the Metroid Prime world, and each one will need to be used to continue farther into the game. Later in the game, enemies start to become invisible, and also some hidden passages aren't seeable by the naked eye (or would it be naked visor?), and so you'll have to switch between the four visors effectively in order to succeed.
Now that we've covered the adrenaline rushing battle aspects of the game, now's time for the second reason why Metroid Prime can be considered more adventure than anything, and that's the multiple puzzles that you'll have to solve in order to move on. Puzzles range from extremely easy, to moderately challenging, all though there is usually always an easy solution to each puzzle, however it depends on how difficult you make it out to be. Returning from the previous Metroids, the Morph Ball has made its appearance, and many puzzles will have you using the morph ball to complete, and also there are many unreachable places that can only be reachable by the morph ball. The world in Metroid Prime is so huge, and many of the puzzles include a simple adventurous trek against the numerous elemental environments in Prime. Metroid Prime isn't really divided up into individual levels, but is one huge level that is connected through portals and elevators, and much of the adventure part of the game includes back tracking through places that you've explored before, now that you've gotten the right ability or weapon to be able to proceed. So basically, the main goal of Metroid Prime is to seek out different power-ups like combo-missiles and other interesting abilities, while a couple of new abilities added to Metroid Prime, the Spider Ball, which allows you to roll up sticky tracks in Samus' morph ball form, so you can reach places that were unreachable before. So as you explore the world of Metroid Prime, don't be expecting to never see certain places again, because most likely you will, as everything is connected, and you could be like 88% complete with the game, but until you've acquired a certain power-up that you maybe have just now achieved, you might have to go back to the very first area you ever visited in the game to use it.
Whenever a game that's as massive as Metroid Prime comes out, I expect there to be some sort of mapping system that will keep me from getting totally lost, which is fun for awhile, but when you're in the same place for hours on end trying to figure out where to go, it gets very annoying. So, I was very pleased at how the mapping system was made in Metroid Prime. First, in the top right corner of the screen (or visor), a small 3-D model of the area you're in will be there, and your location will be noted by a green arrow with a red tip. If you want to look at the entire map, press "Z" to bring up the 3-D map of the entire complex that you're presently in, and you can do different things like zooming in and out, switching to different areas, etc. Oh and by the way, the Map is made up of entirely 3-D models of the areas that you're in, so you can use the control stick to rotate up, down, and all around, or you can just make the map a 2-D top view interface if the 3-D models get you confused or you get motion sickness, however the 2-D view isn't that useful because there are multiple levels in all the places you'll explore, and so if you're looking at the top view 2-D format, it'll be hard to tell whether there is more than one floor or not.
starsoldier1: First let's start off with what developer Retro Studios did with this new Metroid here. The new First Person view sure takes some getting use to especially if you are used the classic 2Dgameplay of the original Metroids, thankfully these controls are fairly simple to learn. The basics to the newer controls is the Aiming (R button) of Samus's hand canon and the Lock on (L button) feature to focus on a object or enemy, once you learn those two buttons you'll be ready for action. I only wish that Nintendo gave me the option to change my control set up around, but you can't even edit the controller in the options menu so you're stuck with them. The reason I bring this up is because the 'Jump' button is used by 'B' red button to the left of the giant A button used to shot, some may notice that those buttons are actually in reverse from the NES Metroid. "I can't tell you how many times I hit the 'X' button (the Morphing ball) by mistake, just because I wanted to jump!" Moving on to the subject of 'Jumping', the only problem with the First Person view is the difficulty of judging your jumps and if miss an important jump could really frustrate you in a hurry. You can also forget about doing flips and Screw attacks in Metroid Prime, it's one of the major problems with this new view here. Another thing to get use to while in this view is fighting some trickier enemies from that attack from behind or something, it's really annoying when you get hit by a enemy that you can't even see. Still Metroid Prime is very easy to get into despite the 3D look and you won't have to mess around with a camera all the time either unlike in Super Mario Sunshine.
The view and controls are not the only things new here. Samus can now open a cool new Scan window to exam various things for clues and info or to activate devices. Most of the orange items that are scannable are pretty pointless so I recommend only scanning the red square for anything important. As you get deeper into the game there are upgrades for your Visor that can help you see attackers in the dark or find some hidden area too. Don't worry Metroid freaks, Metroid Prime also has a lot of classic gameplay that made the other three Metroid games such cult favorites. Samus starts off the game with many of the power ups from the past games like the Morphing ball (in Third Person view of course), the grabbling gun, varia suit, and more but don't too attached because she is gonna lose em after some trouble near the beginning. The fun thing about a good Metroid game is to find a new item or ability that helps unlock new areas and Metroid Prime has that here too.
Story
LaughingTarget: The story in Metroid Prime is remarkably fleshed out for a shooter type game, or even for all the previous titles. The story is done in a unique manner. You don't talk to people or watch boring-arsed cutscenes, but you use your scan visor. When you use your scan visor, you can pass over computer terminals, Chozo lore tablets and other things to gain information on them. Many times, they push the story along. What happened, what is going on, and even how to beat some bosses are subtly hidden on little blue computer terminals.
Rock_On: At one point in time, the Chozo were a very successful and striving race of creatures, utilizing the most recent technology through their everyday life. Once they had reached their society peak, they feared of the evil fighting going on in the Universe. As years passed, a huge meteor crashed into their planet called Tallon IV, which sent a massive amount of poisonous materials in the atmosphere, and the land was immediately injected with a cancerous element known as Phazon. Plants died, most creatures died, and only a few surviving plants and creatures lived, however they had mutated in to different types of hideous forms. Because of this, the Chozo left their known way of in hopes that a savior would return to the planet and save it.
Now we come to Samus Aran, who was an orphaned young girl who had been raised among the Chozo. She sliced through the Space Pirate's operation at hand defeating all the Metroids and ultimately the Mother Brain, however the Space Pirates not all being loss, fled to find a planet that was full of resources, thus stumbling upon Tallon IV. After finding the Phazon and learning to harvest it, and their newly learned ability to morph and create massive monsters, they started diving deep into the mine shafts trying to find more and more Phazon. After tracking a distress call from Tallon IV, Samus comes upon the planet Tallon IV, ready to take the Space Pirates out once and for all.
The story in a nutshell? Samus is sent to kick Space Pirate butt and eliminate the threat on Tallon IV so the Chozo can return to their old lifestyle.
Now for those wondering where in the Metroid storyline that Metroid Prime fits in, after doing a little research (I've never played any of the previous Metroid's by the way), in chronological order the story goes Metroid (NES), Metroid Prime (GC), Metroid II (GB), Super Metroid (SNES), and finally Metroid Fusion (GBA). For all the Metroid junkies out there, I'm sure you have memorized the whole Metroid story, and so I'm sure that when you play Metroid Prime, you'll automatically lock-in to the story as it continues from the original Metroid on the NES.
starsoldier1: After the last known Metroid was killed off in her previous adventure, Samus Aran was searching for the final batch of Space Pirates that escaped from the now destroyed planet of Zebes. We now know that Samus's reason for hunting these evil aliens is because she was orphaned as a child after an devastating raid by the Pirates on her homeworld. Samus uses her advance techniques and famous powersuit originally from the peaceful Chozo race to protect anyone from the deadly menace of the Pirates. The few remaining Space Pirates flead to the planet of Tallon IV to rebuild their once fearsome empire and unfortunately for you, Tallon IV had more that enough natural resources to get Samus's enemies off their feet again.
Minor Stuff Worth Mentioning
LaughingTarget: There are two bugs in the game. Two minor ones that are more a minor annoyance than a real problem. The first one is a crash bug. It happened to me twice over the course of the 30 hours it took me to beat this thing. It was on the elevator from the Tallon Overworld to the Chozo Ruins. Crashed before the cutscene finished. The second one is if you are too far away from a door when you shoot it, it won't open for you and you need to kinda bob back and forth before it will open up.
starsoldier1: I don't know if you hear yet, but there is a little glitch in some of the earlier copies of Metroid Prime. I experienced it too when Samus was riding one of the Chozo Ruins elevators, the game just freezed up on me before she reached the top and I was forced to turn the system off. In fairness to Nintendo, it only happened to me once but it's better to be safe then sorry when or if you buy this game that it's not one of the defected copies. Ask the sales rep just to be sure.
Metroid Prime is also compatible with that kinda useless Gameboy Advance to GameCube link adapter too. With this little gizmo you can download some of your Metroid Fusion data to a Metroid Prime game to unlock some special features like new suits and if you finished Metroid Fusion you get to play the NES Metroid on your GameCube. The only problem with that is you gotta spend a extra 20bucks for a link cable that only works on a weak hand full of games, the thing is really just a dust collector but that's for another review.
Bottom Line
LaughingTarget: Metroid Prime is a rare example of a complete game. Most titles lack in one aspect or another, but Prime pulls its weight in just about every part of a game you can imagine. This title is a definite must buy for any GameCube owners and is even worth buying the little Cube just to play. Don't worry, it won't be purple, you can get a platinum Cube now.
Rock_On: Metroid Prime is EASILY the best game of 2002, and for some people the best game ever. Right now Metroid Prime is my second favorite game ever, as Zelda: Ocarina of Time still takes that number one slot, however Prime could soon close in on that number one spot in many gamers favorite game of all time list. Nintendo did a wonderful job of blending three of the most difficult elements in a game into one; Adventure, first-person shooter, and puzzles, and Prime will be a game that many people will talk about, even 10 years later. Much like Ocarina of Time, Metroid Prime is one of the most epic games I have ever played, and any Gamecube owner NEEDS to buy this game and add it to their collection.
starsoldier1: Metroid Prime is not like most First Person shooters you played before, this game involves a lot of searching, jumping, and even some puzzle solving besides the usual shooting. Although it's weird that Retro Studios didn't go all the way with the First Person craze and do the first ever Metroid multi-player (or even Metroid Online, eh?) but you can't win them all I guess? There better be a GameCube sequel though so people could really get excited by Metroid again and add the features I just mentioned, eh? "None of this wait a decade crap Nintendo."
If you hate First Person Shooters then I recommend renting this game before you invest your cash right away but chances are if you are a hardcore Metroid fan, you will love it anyways. New comer Retro Studios still did an absolutely fantastic job with their game here and if you don't fall in love with the liquid smooth graphics or heart pounding sounds, then maybe the addictive gameplay will lure ya in. Like the past Metroids, I couldn't stop playing it until I did everything possible there is to try out and believe me it's gonna take awhile to beat this one. It's not really better or worse then the awesome Super Metroid but I'm glad there is finally another Metroid, it's not fair that we should have to wait 8years to play one, especially when the games are this good. "Don't miss it!"
