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Metroid Prime
GameRatio Review
GC |
View Full Game Info
Published by
Nintendo
Released on
2002-11-18
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| 96% GameRatio |
100% GR% Review |
Shay
Reviewed on
2003-10-31
A quick note: if you want the full experience, play the game through on hard mode. It’s harder, more tactical, and overall more enjoyable compared to the normal mode.
So what kind of game is Metroid Prime? Is it a first person shooter, is it an adventure game, does it even play like previous Metroid games? Here is most accurate way I can describe this game: 50% Metroid, 25% System Shock 2, 25% first person shooter. The game is technically grouped together with other first person shooters, because it does fit the two criteria for being an FPS: shooting and first person view. However, both are altered to the extreme. Along with the fact that this plays and feels like Metroid, and shooting is not compromised of aiming and blasting but rather locking on to enemies like in Zelda, categorizing the game alongside games such as Doom almost doesn’t seem right.
The gameplay is almost exactly the same as previous games. You play as Samus, the bounty hunter with the Power Suit. You navigate her through a huge world of mazes and dungeons, blasting all the aliens, collecting new weapons and power-ups, and fighting big bosses. There is a great variety of wildlife to blast on Tallon IV, the planet where the game takes place. A few aliens make a comeback from past Metroid games, but the majority of enemies are totally new. There are the usual little ones that make good cannon-fodder and there are many that require a specific strategy to beat. The space pirates return, looking and acting similar to the Elites in Halo. Most of the enemies reappear when you leave a room and come back, just like in previous games. Why do people complain that this makes the game seem unrealistic? It is how Metroid has always been and is an essential aspect, because you need to restock your health and missiles almost constantly.
Prime takes place in a world that you would expect from a Metroid game: a giant, beautiful planet that lets you go anywhere you want and backtrack at will. Here’s another complaint people make: they don’t like the backtracking. That’s like complaining that you don’t like shooting in Halo. Metroid always has and always will have backtracking; it is what creates the exploration portion of the game. I do understand that constant backtracking might get tiresome, but on the whole it isn’t that bad. The levels are laid out like previous games, except totally in 3D. Different environments are separated by elevators. Areas include the Tallon over world, Chozo Ruins, ice and lava areas, and the Phazon mines. You explore the areas that you can access, defeating enemies and finding new items that allow you to explore more areas. There are areas that won’t open until you get specific items, which explains why you will have to backtrack to certain spots during the game.
Items that you find are basically the same as in Super Metroid: morph ball, bomb, super missile, varia suit, gravity suit, the various beam types, grapple beam, visors, and Chozo Artifacts, which are just quest items to collect to extend the game length. You will also find the spider ball from Metroid 2, but it can only attach to magnetic rails now (which turn out to be pretty cool). There is a boost ball, which lets you swing around on half-pipes. The suits you find in the game will improve your defense as well as allow you to explore new areas. As for beams, you get the power, ice, wave, and plasma beams, as well as the charge beam, which combines with the first four. The charge beam is also extremely handy in that it can pull in energy and missiles. The beams have infinite ammo and they can be switched by using the C-stick. You can also find a super missile upgrade for each one, enabling you to pump out serious damage. Missile expansions, energy tanks, and power bomb expansions are hidden throughout the planet. Since it’s such a huge world, some of them are very difficult to find. The game has a nice little feature that helps you out: the items emit a soft sound when you get close to them.
The visors are a very distinguishing aspect of this game. You start off with the combat visor and the scan visor. The combat visor displays vital stats, such as energy, missiles, and radar. As you explore, you use the scan visor to scan enemies, log books, objects, and other things. Scanning enemies and bosses gives you information on them, such as strategies to beat them. Although the game has a very minor story, using the scan visor on log books and ruins will expand the story as you move along, which is why I said the game is 25% System Shock 2. There is no talking, but the story unfolds as you progress farther. You will find out what happened on the planet, the invasion of the Space Pirates, what Phazon is, and the experiments the Pirates have been performing. The thermal and x-ray visors are not as important as the first two but are very cool. The thermal visor locates heat sources while the x-ray visor is used to find hollow walls and areas. Both are needed to locate and defeat some enemies, not to mention bosses. With a click of the control stick you can alternate between these four visors quickly, and often you will need to do just that.
Controls are very different for an FPS at the least. The left analog moves forward and backward and turns. A fires, and holding it charges up your beam. Y fires missiles, X changes you into the morph ball, Z displays the map, the C-stick changes your beam, and the control pad changes your visor. B jumps, which is pretty easy to do in this game. Holding R allows you to stand still and aim. Pressing the L button will lock-on to the nearest enemy. Holding the L button enables you to strafe left and right. Since you use L to strafe and not the C-stick, this means that you cannot do the typical circle-strafes from other FPSs. This was a problem for me at first. While it is not at all necessary in this game, it is annoying until you get comfortable with the controls. It makes fighting difficult when enemies jump behind you, since you can’t swerve and run at the same time. Jumping is easy in the game, but I always had the habit to try and look down when jumping. I eventually got the controls down and have had no problems with them anymore. I wondered why the game didn’t at least give you the option to change the controls, but I think Nintendo probably did try standard FPS controls and decided that they altered the gameplay too much and left them out in the end.
That wraps up an absolutely brilliant game. The only other game that I would stand Metroid Prime next to in terms of quality is Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The graphics are perfect, showing off a near-perfect framerate and awesome graphics. Everything is so clear and fresh, and the beam effects are beautiful. Samus actually looks like a professional killing machine in this game. The music is also perfect, mixing old music with new, giving each area a distinct, moody feeling. The sound effects fit perfectly, making the enemies come alive (and making the metroids creepier than ever). The game lasts about 20 hours the first time through, which is considerably longer than previous games. Not only that, but there is a hard mode and four image galleries to unlock. I concluded that Metroid Prime had great replay value for me after beating it four times. However, it is even better a second time through on hard mode. I can’t say it enough: you will enjoy the game so much more on hard mode. And one last thing: if you have Metroid Fusion, you can play the original Metroid on the Gamecube. Now how awesome is that?
Shay O'NeilGameRatio review by Shay
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