Metroid Prime

The Good
well... Coming at this game from liking lots of various types of games ranging from platform, RPG, shoot em ups etc.. I didn't quite know what to expect from this game, or the GAMECUBE itself for that matter!! I had this game free with my Cube console and always wondered exactly what the whole METROID thing is about (being a Sega mega-drive/genesis owner, I didn't play super metroid on the Nintendo.. or even care about it!)

YOU MUST CARE! OK, If you want your game time to be graced with amazing gameplay then yeah, you care! There are lots of games out there, LOTS of which are just mindless (if you have ever played Men in Black 2 then you'll understand) shooting games too! The thing is, If you like shooting things, but, also like exploring and to have your game push your consoles power then your looking at the right choice.

I didn't quite know what to expect about this game. Mostly I thought this would of been just another first-person blaster. I was wrong.. again! Playing the first hour of it was just a simple way of getting you into the style of the game, then, you have to earn all your attributes to proceed through the vast world it has for you. The whole game is very well presented, very, very smooth and THE MOST AMAZING PART is that there is minimal loading times (you DO NOT get a loading bar or fancy loading screen or OPENING RESIDENT EVIL DOOR LOADING SCREEN! which is fantastic because you are constantly enveloped in its atmosphere) This game is a brilliant first-person shooter, always constantly giving you something new to achieve.

The Bad
There are a few disappointments.. Although, I never really complained until I completed it. Its nothing like the other metroid games (I personally don't think its better than or worse than, its a new type of game with the metroid name) The soundtrack is fun and atmospheric to start off, but then.. once you have played the same area for about an hour (being stuck) then it can get a bit annoying. But I actually quite liked the overall sound of it! Combining old style metroid soundtrack to a new metroid is an iffy subject because you can create a whole new atmosphere with new music (but i think the developers wanted to please fans of metroid as much as they can by sticking the other parts of this to its original form) Apart from that though the ONLY other bad point is that once you have completed it, the best extra bits you earn can only be earned if you have metroid fusion and a Gameboy Advance! Which costs alot if you add them up. And alot of money for just an old port over of the first metroid and a new outfit!

The Bottom Line
This game will probably take up a wonderful 17 hours of your life trying to achieve 100% glory and seeing the different endings and its a very well made product! Really smooth and the engine is spot on! Ever wondered what metroid is like in 3D? then you are in for a treat here. Also, if you want to own one of THE best games that has ever been developed then please, trust me, and get this on there!! This game is out on PLAYERS CHOICE now, which means its, like, HALF the price it used to be! Pick it up pre-owned somewhere and your in for the bargain of the year by far!

The Good
Metroid Prime sure is a Metroid game, just a different kind of one. It definitely helped me to understand the series as a whole. I'd definitely recommend this game as everyone's first Metroid game to try - it isn't as hard as the previous games and is interesting all the way.

The controls are great. Even if, in FPSes, I can't really hit anything without a mouse and keyboard, the controls were never a problem for me. The controls emphasize strategy rather than reflexes - the point is to know how to blast the creatures away, to try to hit things.

The graphics are some of the best I've ever seen. Everything looks great. Lots of attention to details. I especially liked the various weather effects and visor effects (the face reflection spooked the heck out of me the first time I saw it).

The music is also pretty good. I didn't like it at first, but after you get to the planet and do some major moves, the music in general changes to something indescribably great.

There's some great pacing. As I say below, only the bosses were demotivating, every other challenge in the game seems just right.

I also found the game pretty good plot/narration-wise - the approach of collecting scraps of information on what really happened is a good idea.

The Bad
There was just one thing that I really didn't like about: The boss fights were, shall we say, demotivating. They weren't impossible, but they were just, at first, humiliatingly difficult. And by "humiliating", I mean "embarrassing enough not to make me touch the thing for weeks". Of course, once I did beat, say, Flaahgra and Thardus, and even the last boss without getting completely clobbered in the first phase... well, let's just say that the joy of victory was even higher then.

A smaller point I didn't like was that 100% scan completion requires some extremely sharp wits - If you miss some enemies at certain point of game, you can say goodbye to the 100% scan rate. Okay, it isn't really relevant, since it only gives you certain off-game bonuses, but still...

And this is probably the first game ever where I've had moral or ethical problems (as in "I can't kill that, it's too cute!")...

The Bottom Line
I don't really like first-person shooters, but I do love it when people grab their first-person shooter engines and do something completely different with them. I loved mysteriously creative Quake mods. I loved Deus Ex.

So, it wasn't really unexpected that I liked Metroid Prime. The one big thing about FPSes that I dislike is that you've always got to be either running or sneaking or dying. Metroid Prime, then, is sometimes about running and sneaking. It isn't that often about dying, though that tends to happen too.

Metroid Prime is about exploration. I hate to throw cliches around, but I think the appropriate one here is "the journey is more important than the destination".

It's about gathering items. It's also about gathering information. It's about seeing great places. It's about finding out what happened. It's about getting things done. It's about, I think, being a hero.

It is an adventure. It works beautifully as an adventure.

I used to think Metroid series was too complex for me, but now, I think I have learned to understand it. And that wasn't easy at first. Now, I think, I do know what this all is about.

Of all games I've bought for GameCube, I thought this was the one I'd least likely to beat - but somehow, I did, and I'm definitely one great experience richer now that I have beaten it. And excuse me, now, I'll get back playing Metroid Prime 2...

The Good
Very seldom can you trust superlatives in a game review. Surely, you can't believe that Metroid Prime is so incredibly good that it's possibly the finest game ever made for any system. I was skeptical, too. Well, believe it, because Metroid Prime is quite simply a modern-day masterpiece. The graphics are astounding, and the level design is pure genius. There are a great deal of clever tricks to be performed, and a nice array of secret areas. And for those (like me) who were skeptical of the transition to 3D, be assured that the game doesn't lose any of that classic Metroid gameplay, and in fact gains something in the addition of the third dimension. After playing Prime, you'll swear the series was born to be in 3D. Topping off all the goodness is the polish of the game. Retro Studios went the extra mile to add a bunch of subtle effects that add to the atmosphere, making this one of the most immersive games ever.

The Bad
There's not much to dislike, but if I had to really stretch, I'd say two things are kind of downers: 1) it's sometimes difficult to aim at enemies way above or below you, and 2) there is a lot of backtracking. These complaints are minor as 1) the battles are easy and 2) there is so much eye candy and new areas to explore that backtracking hardly seems like a chore.

The Bottom Line
This is classic 2D Metroid brought into the third dimension. It's amazing, it's detailed, it's exciting, and it's a very lengthy adventure. This is an absolute must-have.