Metroid Prime Review
This is by far the best game on the newest Nintendo system, GameCube. It is also worth buying a GameCube for. It is easily one of the best games of all time, has the best graphics and sound of any videogame ever, has challenging game play with brilliant puzzles, and much more. I could go on for practically forever, but I’ll stop with this and go on to what you really want to hear. This is the best game I have played since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it is a good thing!
The gameplay in Metroid Prime is an absolute blast. It achieves a fun factor I have yet to see in any next-generation console game. The puzzles, which compose a lot of the play time, are all fun, unique, and challenging. The visors add a lot of spark to the game, changing the ways in which you interact with objects and enemies. Each one has its unique vision (read: the way you see things on screen) and setup. The Combat visor is the basic one that you will be using throughout. It’s plain vision, or in simple words: the way you see in real life. Just with the setup of your health and energy tanks on top, your missile number and scale on the left, and the danger (poison, fire, phazon) levels on the left. Your visor control system (using the D-PAD) is on the left bottom, and Beam control system on the right.
The game has a claustrophobic feel like those before it in the Metroid series. Each area is distinctly different with its own enemies (or variations of enemies- evolved or in same species family) so the gameplay never grows stale. The various (not to mention creatively designed) areas add to the intricacy and detail of each gorgeous overworld.
Uncovering the upgrades, unlockables, as well as the diffrent difficulty, adds more replay value. The different suits, visors, beams, and beam upgrades you can uncover means that you’ll be playing a solid week well after you’ve beat it.
Although the beginning of the story (the spaceship in need of help) is not very well explained, the rest of the story is well thought out and carefully planned. Huge amounts of back story have been inputted into this classic including stories you can collect written by the Chozo (Telling of what has happened during their last years of time on Tallon IV, something you’ll find interesting, and more). Pirate Data is really fun to read (Fall of Zebes is my favorite) and gives you more to learn of the ever-troublesome Space Pirates, not to mention the excellent Creatures section (Has information about all the enemies in the game). Those are just the best sections, with a few more. Another part of the back story is not needed, but still excellent, which is little data you can scan about the things you’d find in computers data storage or in a script. The main story is also put together very, with information on all the Space Pirates fortresses (in Phendrena mainly), and original. It’s not just some rehashed Super Metroid (#1 on EGM’s Top 100), it’s much more. As you go deeper and deeper into the game you’ll find more and more to find.
The controls are easy and fluid, the control stick is for movement (duh), with the D-Pad switching between visors and the C-Stick between beam weapons. The A button is fire, B for jump, Y for missiles, and X for morph-ball. Morph-ball controls are: A for bomb, B for boost ball use, and Y for super-bomb. R is for looking up and down and L for targeting. All of this is issued easily and don’t ever mess with you by not working.
This game is pretty original, Why? For one it’s a sci-fi game and it’s invented a new game category. This game is not a FPS (First person shooter) it’s much different- it is FPA(First Person Adventure). Filled with some very awesome arrears (Phazon mines my favorite) that are fun to explore just to get new things and are filled with sime of the sweetest enemies ever. Every upgrade is ingenious and adds that much more fun to this excellent game, such as the WaveBuster. It tracks enemies like electricity flowing through the electric wires. Oh, and the visors and each unique and add different ways to get through the game.
One sentence can sum this category up: The best graphics of all time. And that ones by a long stretch, no questions asked. Beautiful textures surround your every movement from the snowy landscapes of Phendrana Drifts to the lave-ridden caves of Magmoor Caves. Each weapon has it own sweet effect, shooting and on enemies. Each area seems alive and well, teeming with adventure and things to destroy. If you do something that affects the area (destroy a tower for example), it won’t just disappear the next time you visit. It will be there in the same destroyed form as before. This also adds realism to the game, and I’d like to mention- that’s a graphical effect. Changing environments are sometimes not present in games, and that makes the graphics fresh. The character models are absolutely awesome, with each enemy looking crisp and unique. The animations are perfect too, if you fire a Super Missile at a enemy and it’s thrown back against a high ramp or something- it will hang. Well only if it dead, as you have guessed already. The sun glare in Chozo Ruins proves how much time Retro and Nintendo really spent on this title. Even the most minor of all the details are carefully added to this brilliant title. Such minor details included are little birds flying in the sky that you can shoot. They aren’t a movie, and you can tell by the feathers that fall down from the sky.
with some of the best music scores of any game ever, I’d like to ask you to boast the sound on your TV system. Thank you, for your cooperation and kind attitude. Like I said about the scores (music) in this game they’re brilliant and compelling. They are not only just part of the background; they’re part of the game. They interact with you and set the mood for every environment or battle you step into. Now, let’s get on with paragraph! In areas with shafts, when Space Pirates jump on to them, a noise is made. Not to mention it’s a very realistic noise. The roars of enemies add to the environment and the electric fizzes of broken computers are a nice touch. The screams and roars of bosses thunder through the air as you attempt to defeat them. No sound in any videogame is better then in Metroid Prime, period.
Categories you just can’t rate….
Your Campaign against the Space Pirates!(the only mode, single player)
The single player mode (the only mode, not including harder difficulties) is spectacular. It’s a mix between linear and non linear brilliance. Now, I shall explain that confusing little bit of info I just said there.
The parts that are linear are just as involving as in any other game (linear or not). You can’t do just anything whenever you want, the actually main story must be done in somewhat order. The only not ordered part of the main story is collection of artifacts. Each area can only be unlocked by beating a boss, accessing an elevator, or getting new upgrades to breach these areas. One such would be unlocking the wave beam, where in Phendrena it is needed to unlock a door. I could go on and on but I wouldn’t want to spoil that much for you.
And the non-linear!
Non-linear parts of these games involve the collect of various upgrades. Upgrades such as add-ons to beams (Super Missile you have to get though), missiles (adds 5 each time), and more as open to do in order, or just don’t collect them. Exploring the vast areas of this game to collect data for Log-Book is non-linear, and not needed. But the information is great fun to read and to brag to your friends about. You could also say backtracking to get to the new necessary (read: needed to progress) areas.
Final Sum: It’s a good blend of linear and non linear
The reviews
The 2nd highest ranking game at www.gamerankings.com with around 97% overall ratio. This game has been critically praised by almost all reviewers.
PGC: 10/10, best graphics ever
EGM: 10/10, best graphics and sound ever
IGN: 9.8/10, some of the best graphics ever
Gamepsy: 96/100
As you can see, I choose 4 major sources,. Who all praised the game
Unlockables
Skip through this section if you wish to not read spoilers…
Image Galleries- Full of spectacular concept art and renders, the Image Galleries are unlocked by completing certain percentages of the Log Book.
Metroid (NES)
One of the great side scrolling action games of it’s time, the original Metroid was state of the art for it’s time and a classic
Metroid Fusion Suit
It isn’t a huge bonus, but hey its cool and sexy at the same time!
Harder Difficulties
It makes the game harder and more compelling, hey good enough for me!
And those Final Thoughts you just have to do…
Metroid Prime is the most fun I’ve had out of any video game in a long time. Now, it’s a classic, and a sci-fi masterpiece. I hope it ushers in another generation of classic games, and loads of sci-fi games! With the best graphics and sound I’ve ever seen in any videogame ever created ands woven by the hands of man-kind. Some of the greatest hours of gameplay and puzzles I have ever witnessed and experienced and much, much more. For the sake of yourself, God, and humanity in a whole-please buy this game. If you don’t you are missing out on one of the best games of all time.
Visuals: 10
Sound: 10
Originality: 10
Replay: 10
Overall: 10
Gallery
