Metroid Prime

The Good
Everything! The graphics are outstanding like any Metroid game. The detail in the surroundings were out of the charts and switching from an energy cannon to a freeze beam was an extra bonus. Additionally, the enemies looked super cool! The controls were very easy to handle and the story unraveled very well with no flaws. The game lives to its name, PRIME!

The Bad
Nothing.

The Bottom Line
Buy the game now and be hooked for life.

The Good
You play Samus Aran, a female bounty hunter who must investigate the "Great Poison" released throughout Chozo Ruins, which is among four different planets connected to Tallon Overworld through elevators.

The gameplay in this game is completely revolutionary. It's in First Person, but is in no way a first person shooter. Nintendo's given moniker of a FPA is about the best way to put it. I won't give the story here, as this review is long enough as it is. You can check the plot details to find it out. The game works like your usual FPS, only much better. A shoots, and B jumps. X and Y do other functions, such as the morph ball and missiles. What makes things better is that as she goes on, Samus unlocks new weapons and abilities, true to any Metroid game. However, this time, all her weapons remain accessible and usable, with just a swift jolt of the C-Stick, you can switch from the Power Beam, Plasma Beam, Ice Beam, and Wave Beams. Another great feature about the game is that Samus can switch between scan visors. In the beginning of the game you start out with just two visors, the combat visor, which is your normal view-screen, and the scan visor, which allows you to scan objects and enemies, and details most of the plot for you. It can also tell you enemy weaknesses. That's just one of the many things I like about this title. The story is very profound and immersive, but almost none of it progresses during the actual game. You can choose to scan around, learning more and more about what happened here. You can also choose to remain completely oblivious to the events that occurred on Tallon IV. This really adds some more atmosphere and makes the game even more immersive. Even looking up and down is extremely immersive. It would seem clunky at first, then you realize that Samus is in a very heavy suit. Speaking of immersive, this game carries it in spades. You can go anywhere, and mess with almost all of the environment and its creatures. This game is very open-ended…perhaps the most open-ended game I've ever played, allowing you millions of different ways to go about getting the next item on your list. However you like to think, Metroid Prime definitely supports it, and for someone with ANYTHING stimulating their brain cells, this game should definitely be for them. The graphics in this game are among the best ever burned onto a disc or stuffed into a cartridge. Everything is beautiful and extremely accurate and realistic to their certain area. Every villain is drawn wonderful, to the smallest detail, and the areas are perhaps the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Upon landing on Tallon IV I was shaken by just how beautiful the over-world looked. The tropical rains, the lush green forests, and the fact that as I stood in the water and looked into the churning waterfall Samus' face would actually get wet and fog. Magmoor Caverns are the same way. You step into a stream of hot water vapor and you vision wavers and fogs. Phendrana Drifts is perhaps the second most beautiful area I've seen in a game. The perpetual light snow, and those ever-white snowcaps. They just make me want to touch the screen. And the best thing of all? I didn't have a progressive scan cable. The progressive scan cable makes the graphics much sharper than before. Trust me that is a good thing. The soundtrack and sound was good. I liked the screams and groans of the aliens you kill in the game. The music is very good. It is the best in Phendrana Drifts and in the Space Pirate Frigate.

. There is nothing to say for voice acting because it is not there. For good reason. It wouldn't make any sense. There's no one on this big, empty, dangerous planet. It's just Samus. There are no speaking parts in the entire game. This game is an achievement for Nintendo, Retro Studios, and gaming itself. I'd never seen a game so immersive and atmospheric before I played this game, and this really is one of the games that changed the way I game…even if I had been gaming for a good ten years + before I got it.

The Bad
There is no multiplayer.

The Bottom Line
Retro Studios and Nintendo have created a true masterpiece, once again setting standards and defining a genre all over again.

It's a massive title, too. The 30-hour mark is definitely something most gamers will hit. There's so much to it. Most impressive to me is that Tallon IV's separate worlds -- lava, ice, water, etc -- are all connected. It's just like the old Metroids, and load times are nearly nonexistent; a truly amazing feat.

It is Super Metroid brought into 3D. All the naysayers who said it couldn't be done right -- including myself -- are completely wrong. I need some time to absorb it, but it's absolutely as great a game as Super Metroid, and perhaps...better.

When I say the game is amazing, I mean it. From level design, to rewarding the player for exploring, to power-ups, to the bosses, to the music, Metroid Prime is amazing.

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!