Single player a mixed bag
The "Adventure" mode of MP:Hunters is a mixed bag. First the negatives. Compared to the GameCube Prime games, Hunters is pretty weak. You still find the Metroid basics of missile expansions and energy tanks, but the power ups are few. Instead of hunting down the morph ball, double jump, grappling hook, and so forth, you have all the items at the beginning of the game. Instead, the items you find are all beam variations, such as an electrical beam, a "super-cooled" plasma beam, and so forth. This leads to a rather one-dimensional item hunt that lacks the traditional depth of Metroid games.
Also on the negative side are the boss battles. There are two, TWO boss designs in the entire game, out of about 10 total boss battles. The designs are progressively variations that are more difficult to defeat. Still, this part looks rushed.
Lastly, the countdown timer starts after every boss battle. This is really unnecessary and kinda unfair, as beating the timer can be really tough after exhausing your fingers beating the boss. It would be nice to have more save points too.
Okay, now the positives. This *is* Metroid Prime on a handheld! The scan visor is there and the scanning paradigm works exactly as in the GC games. The beam variations are satisfying and require strategy to use effectively. The environments are typically Metroid, excellently detailed, and have good variation. Morph ball puzzles are in the game and work exactly like the GC versions. The great Metroid Prime map system has been included in Hunters. The graphics are fantastic, and the game engine is smooth as butter.
There's new stuff as well. The idea of running into rival hunters on the various planets is a neat addition, and hunting one for revenge is fun. The control system, especially using the thumb stylus, is as close to WASD/Mouse as possible, and works great.
If you're buying Hunters for the single player adventure, I would recommend it, especially for those who enjoyed the Cube games. It's certainly a step below Prime and Echoes, but that's too be expected for a handheld. A bit more depth would have made it fantastic. As it is, it's still far better than most adventure games out there!