Metroid Prime (GC) 12.30.02

[Curtis]

Metroid Prime (GC) 12.30.02

March of 1994 saw the release of a game that is looked upon by many as one of the greatest pieces of software ever created, even to this day some eight years later. Crafted by a man whose genius played as much of a role in making Nintendo what is today as Miyamoto himself, Super Metroid was the third installment of a series highly regarded by gamers old and young alike.

Beautiful graphics framed a sprawling experience where exploration was king (or queen, for the sake of the game in question), and strategy and thought were the keys to survival in what could have easily been just another run-and-gun adventure. To top it all off, the atmosphere brought about by the aforementioned graphics, and the sound that stood beside them was (and some might say still is) unreachable by all but the most seasoned and talented minds this industry has to offer. Dark, brooding and full of mystery, the feel of the game was one of isolation; a you against the world experience that many games before and after have tried, unsuccessfully, to create.

In late 1997, (three years and a departure for the company he helped put on the map later) the man behind the series, Gunpei Yokoi, was killed in a traffic accident, and with him died any hope gamers had for new Metroid… Or so one would have thought.

Flash forward a few years, and Nintendo acquires a newly founded, untested company by name of Retro Studios. After much flip flopping, project jumping and personnel changing, the Texas based group was given an assignment that few saw coming – To create and develop a new Metroid, all while under the eye of Miyamoto. And the punch line? It would be a first person shooter.

A wave of ritual suicide swept the gaming community, and as a result many a hardcore isn’t here to see this day… Which is a shame, really, as Retro has done what very few thought they could. Brushing aside the challenges presented to any studio taking an established 2-D series in to that mysterious third dimension, Retro have made a true Metroid game. Something no veteran to the series should overlook, and that any PSone bred gamers should definitely play; if only to see how Lara Croft and those tombs she raided should have been handled.

In typical Metroid fashion, your adventure starts high above a planet, in a deserted ship you’re sent to inspect. From the second our heroin, Samus Aran, steps off from her ship, the game grabs you by the neck and just does not let go. The graphics are impeccable; light reflecting off her shiny, metallic suit, gorgeous textures that manage to keep from suffering the age old Nintendo curse of turning into an ugly mass of pixels when you get too close, and beautiful, well though out touches such as water flowing down your face mask when you reemerge from a pond, waterfalls covering the mask with a mist of condensation and by far the eeriest of them all, a reflection of Samus’ face on the glass when a firefight and the resulting flashes of light get especially intense.

Such touches, while merely eye candy, add greatly to the experience as a whole, and do much to draw you in to the game’s world. The amount of work that went into the visuals is astounding, and Retro deserves any and all praise they get as a result.

The sound is top notch as well. Effects such as rain falling on the plant life of the planet’s overworld, the digging of underground enemies and even your own footsteps are perfectly understated. Remixed tunes from Metroids past, and even some new tunes as well, round things out. Of note are the remixed overworld theme, and the Magmoor theme. Other snippets of music, such as the little riff that plays when you receive weapon or suit upgrades, are ripped straight from Metroid games of old. Touches like this do much to add the feeling that you are, in fact, playing a true evolution in the Metroid series, rather than some FPS with the Metroid logo shoddily slapped onto the box.

All of this brings us to the meat and potatoes of the game; the gameplay itself, and my God, does this one shine.

Allow me to start off by saying that I do not like FPS games; period. Just something about the genre does not appeal to me, and I avoid them at all cost. With that said my being a fan of all previous titles in this series led to a rental, a rental which led to a hefty late fee and a hefty late fee which led to my switching over from Blockbuster to Hollywood Video. Along with the standard, action oriented FPS fare there are puzzles to solve, additions to weapons and suits that serve a true purpose, rather than just being more powerful. Strategy, kids. There’s some gosh darned strategy involved, and I’m not talking about ducking behind wreckage during a fire fight, either.

The action itself can go from hectic as Halo to as serene as a walk through the overworld in Ocarina of Time (in broad daylight) at the drop of a hat. Clearing a room gives you time to think and examine, which is time to either find the way to progress, or just get your hands on the extra missile tank. The enemies themselves are varied, and mixed up well; the mix always leaving a wide variety of ways for you to approach, in spite of their rather limited pattern. The boss fights are huge, tough as nails affairs that grow more and more elaborate as you proceed through the game.

Visors you acquire actually have a point. X-Ray will allow you to see previously invisible enemies; infrared allows you to see in the dark, etc. The level design figured well into the gameplay experience also. At any given moment you could be in a room that seems like a straightforward, run, shoot and jump environment, but coming back after the acquisition of new equipment could open up a huge, new area above.

You’ll find yourself using the spider addition to your morph ball to ride from metal track to metal track high up on the walls and even the ceiling, and your grappling hook to swing you to the plates that led you to those tracks to begin with. At the end of the road, there could be a new weapon of godly proportions, or just another super bomb. In any event, it’s the feeling of accomplishment that comes from getting from point a, to the previously unseen point z that makes this game what it is. The aspect of exploration is what sets this title apart from other games in the genre: it’s what makes it Metroid.

The game, however beautiful, does have some drawbacks. There is only one, set control scheme, with no hope of change or customization. This scheme also doesn’t carry the ability to strafe, which may just drive FPS junkies mad. The final boss fight could have been better, and there are a few other issues with the game’s final events that I won’t delve into here for fear of giving too much away. In the end, though, the pros definitely outweigh the cons, and make this title a must buy for both fans and newcomers alike.

And, hey, not a cute, saccharine covered character in sight.

Bah... Too many errors up in there.

*kicks a puppy*

[Jeremy]

Fantastic review there, Orochi. Might want to change the comma to a period in your topic title though.

[Curtis]

Haha! Oh, man... I think you can tell how much sleep I've had as of late. Thanks for the heads up.

[Jeremy]

No problem. I guess Prime's so good that it causes gamers to lose sleep. Almost makes me want to buy the game.

[Nick]

Nice. Your review made me laugh out loud, and only once was it unintentional on your part. (So, Samus is smuggling our heroin?) Like the game, your article starts out good, gets better, and kind of levels out at the end.

I think this is an excellent draft, and with a bit of tightening, could be published in EGM or Gamespot. Of course, if you wanted it in EGM, you'd have to either include a references to a cancelled cartoon/sit-com or use the word "balls."

Hell, this rivals TNL's Metroid review. ;)

[Curtis]

*nod* It is just a draft, and done half at one time, half days later. I would have cleaned it up, had I gotten to it before 2:45 and just said "Funk dat, it's going up as is."

Eh, two reviews in, and I can see it's a job I wouldn't want, though. I'll leave this stuff to Jay.

Oh... And TNL has a Prime review?




... Don't hit me, sir.