Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime was a big gamble that Nintendo took when it gave the responsibility of this franchise to a small known "TEXAS" based developer. The end result is nothing short of spectacular. People who "bash" this game for having no story or "cut scenes" are just the few (or many?) that are accustomed to having their stories played out for them "FINAL FANTASY" like and who are too lazy to read. The story isn't something that is playing out as you progress, but rather a history of the inhabitants of the planet and how it may tie to your character. The game layout is magnificent and the sound of the surrounding ambiance is a treat for the ears. The developers even threw in little details into the graphics that make you get a sense that the programmers really do care and they put a lot of effort into this game. I bought the game and had it sitting in my closet for over a year without ever playing it (I bought it because it was giving to me REALLY cheap). Once I picked it up, I smacked myself silly and asked myself over and over why I had waited so long to take a dive into this future classic. 9.5 out of 10.

I'm absolutely in love. This game has knocked me off my feet. Having read all the early reviews and seeing it being touted as one of the greatest games of all time, I honestly did not know just how good it would be, were they overhyping it? Not at all -- this is perfection. Getting out of the water and seeing it stream down your helmet's faceguard is just such an amazing little touch that adds so much. Metroid Prime has things such as this in spades.

The controls were easy for me to pick up and after you've mastered them are a dream. The music, the graphics, the atmosphere -- it's all here, it screams Metroid goodness and the transition from 2D to 3D is absolutely flawless. Coming into the research facility, seeing the Metroids in the test tubes just sends shockwaves up and down your spine. Soon after that the lights of the whole place going out and you have no ice beam to freeze them... hearing the glass breaking all around you -- it's just pure and utter gaming bliss.

It is easily the finest effort on any system since The Ocarina of Time, which is without a doubt one of the 10 greatest ever. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Ocarina of Time and Skies of Arcadia are the only 16+ bit titles in my all-time top 10, but by the time I'm done with it, I'm guessing Prime will be assured a spot.

Prime is not actually a FPS, despite how it looks. It's not Halo, it's not even Half Life. It shares more with Zelda 64, in fact. What I mean is that most all fighting is done via a lock on system. The game is far more based on adventure, strategy, and tactics. It's not based at all on aim, and very little on reflexes. It feels exactly like the Metroid series should.

The graphics are incredible, the best on the Gamecube to date. It's hard not to be amazed when you jump out of a lake and water streams down the front of Samus's visor. The first time you try the Thermal visor or the X-ray visor, you'll be thrown for a loop. It's simply stunning. The bosses are incredible looking, and the game never skips a beat. Loading is done seamlessly as you move through the map, so you'll never see a loading bar even once.

Samus has some new abilities that both help the story along, and make perfect sense for a bounty hunter of her skill and experience. Using your visor, you can scan computers or other electronics and the power suit will hack any security in no time flat. This is used for everything from opening force fields, and shutting down turret guns. Best of all is hacking computers to read messages and files and figure out what the heck is going on. The visor scans other items in the same fashion. It will translate carvings in walls, scan weaknesses in structures, scan enemies for weaknesses, and just about anything else you come across.

All in all, this game in unmatched on the Gamecube. It's by far the best Gamecube game today, and possibly the best Metroid game to date. You'll be amazed. The game is roughly 20 some game hours, which translates into 30 some real world hours. A dedicated player can beat it in a week, but a casual gamer could play for a month. If you replayed the old Metroids, you'll probably replay this. If not, you probably won't reply this one either. But either way you'll have one amazing trip from the title screen to the ending sequence.

• Rirath_com

Metroid Prime is Retro Studio's freshman release, a promising American developer from Texas. With its release, Prime has garnered much critical acclaim, including 'Best Game of the Year' awards from such videogame websites like gamespot.com and gameforms.com, and even print magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly, to name a few.

Metroid Prime is the second game chronologically in the long running Metroid series, starting back on Nintendo's first major console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicon in Japan). It is also the first Metroid game to leap into the third dimension, making the transition gracefully.

Graphically, Prime is a gem. Prime sports detailed textures, an unwavering 60 fps of animation, and outstanding use of color and lighting. Aesthetic touches like lens flare (probably the best lens flare for a console game ever), heat distortion, and reflections add to the overall atmosphere of the game. The sound design accomplishment is on par with the rest of the game's high design value. The music, like Super Metroid, is an inspired accomplishment, so very fitting for the areas, for the situations, not creating emotions or moods, but reinforcing them.

The game is set in a first-person viewpoint, but also moves into a third-person view whenever you access the 'morph-ball mode'--allowing the protagonist, Samus, to form into a sphere, which in turn allows her to perform various tactical and exploratory functions. The inclusion of this element is evidence of the diversity in the gameplay and innovation as well as its preservation and accurate translation of previous Metroid games' elements.

Though the game is primarily in a first-person view and involves shooting as its main offensive gameplay element, it does not necessarily play like any other FPS; it does feel and play like Metroid games of the past since it utilizes so many gameplay elements and items from Metroid games of the past, a notable achievement in itself. The shooting element uses a lock-on system if you so choose, allowing you to engage one-on-one's more effectively; although this might make it easier, it doesn't particularly detract from the enjoyment of the fighting. True, hardcore FPS fans aren't generally going to like the control scheme or the battle system, but it will appeal to the more casual gamers or the newcomers to the genre. The lock-on system is probably necessary to make the game playable because Samus' speed of movement and (especially) turning is limited compared to other FPS (most likely because of hardware limitations so that there weren't as many graphical compromises): there's no way for some gamers to deal with the potential onslaught of enemies if you couldn't lock on; there's no mouse.

Prime is a milestone achievement in level design. Every room, every area has its own personality, its own backstory, providing an alien authenticity rarely found in games. The game effortlessly moves from one environment to another, from a lush, wet jungle-like environment, to subterranean caverns of molten rock, gaseous vents, and expansive openings. There is also a serene, harmonious area of ice and snow, the arid ruins of the previous inhabitants of the alien world of Tallon IV, and deep caverns/mines which is home to a lethal and profitable ore, "phazon." There is no cheap rehash of previous environments.

And if the level design based purely on its merits of originality, detail and aesthetics wasn't enough, it also helps tell the unspoken story of the game. Prime is one of those rare atmospheric games that do not rely on narrative or other common storytelling elements to tell its tale. Older cartridge-based games attempted this feat because it was all they could do: the use of text or voice-overs in a game took up too much room on a cartridge to be used in an effective manner. Yet, their graphical capabilities weren't no where near that of Prime's is, and telling the story through visuals was also limited. Hence, the story was usually told at the beginning and end. Prime, however, is one of the first games that foregoes strong narrative--that gained much momentum during the Playstation/N64 era--and instead uses environmental cues, mood, and notes/logs left by previous and current inhabitants. You have the option to use one of Samus' pieces of technology that allows her to scan objects in the environment. You can scan a variety of objects like various bioforms, computer terminals, stasis tanks, power-ups for Samus, enemies and creatures that inhabit the planet, etc. There are also logs you can decrypt that are left by a marauding group of Space Pirates who are on Tallon IV conducting experiments on its inhabitants using the mysterious, alien organism called 'phazon.' In addition to the Space Pirate logs, there are the scribblings left on stone throughout the world of Tallon IV by the Chozo--bipedal, birdlike creatures from which Samus shares blood ties to. Throughout the game, you begin to notice contrasting views--simplicity vs. complexity, natural vs. technological.

The writing is well executed and has a scholarly overtone to it through its choice of words and use and references to science: biology, astrology, geology, physics, etc. However, it can be a bit vague in its references and usage at times.

Prime is the best game to grace the Gamecube thus far. Every detail and aspect of the game seems to have been pored over meticulously. Not only is it a technical achievement in game design, it is more importantly an artistic achievement, elevating videogames beyond forms of entertainment, to the realm of inspiration, evoking emotions, moods, and higher thought.

[Author's Note: Some text is borrowed from a preliminary analysis of Metroid Prime by the author, published elsewhere on the web. All work above remains the original work of the author.]

Evil waits below the surface. But first it must be found.

There's that mysterious music as the camera looks into the depths of space, pulls back, and reveals... a creepy space station sitting above Tallon IV. This vessel appears to be a space pirate frigate, and the Space Pirates have invaded Tallon IV mining Phazon and trying to collect artifacts.

Metroid Prime is a complex action/adventure game that weaves dark webs with story lines containing the dead Chozo race, the powerful Space Pirates, the mysterious element Phazon, and a beast only known as 'The Worm'. You are Samus aran, and you must find out how all these connect AND bring order to it! This is the best game to date. It contains a lot of action without being annoying. The graphics are stunning, and the boos fights are worth the wait. Metroid Prime takes you from the fiery tunnels of the Magmoor Caverns, to the beautiful snow land of Phendrana Drifts, to the rainy forest of the Tallon Overworld, to the barren shrine of the Chozo Ruins, and to the powerful mining base built by Space Pirates called 'Phazon Mines'. Prepare to have your mind blown, cause this game rocks! Evil waits below the surface. But first it must be found.