The all time best hunter is here to please
Inticing plotline, amazing character design, huge variation on enemies, locations and collectables, massive lifespan
-- BAD --
Some not so good monster detail, some fiddly gameplay
Greetings, I am here today to review Metroid Prime on the Nintendo Gamecube.
Metroid Prime sees you taking control of a female bounty hunter named Samus Aran as she firstly investages a drifting Space Pirate frigate to find it derelict. After encountering a rather nasty boss monster, you lose all your suits capabilities. Shortly after you see a giant android dragon type creature, Samus jumps back in her ship and sets off after it towards the planet Talon IV. Once there, her search for the ultimate prize begins. The story sees you fighting against hundreds of different types of monsters, spanning across loads of different locations whilst gradually building your old fuctions up again, as well as collecting the massive amount of collectable expansions that the series is famous for.
Gameplay is rather inticing also. This is not just your run of the mill first person shooter. Metroid Prime adds well conceived puzzles, that require different equipment to complete. So if you find a path that has a glowing green path that scales a wall, you know you need the spider ball expansion or if you see a blast door, then you need the missile launcher expansion. That also comes in to accordence. There are tons of expansions for your suit each upgrading your overall survival rate. These expansions are obtained by completing puzzles or defeating well planned bosses. There are even some extra suits to find to make Samus that much different. As for enemies, there are hundreds. Each with thier own method of destruction. Where some can be defeated by a humble power blast, others are impervious to them and can only be destroyed by missiles. Others have weak spot and some can't be hurt until a certain task has been performed first. All of these enemies as well as all the puzzles, items and objects you encounter can be scanned using your scanner visor, which records their information as well as some sketches in a neat little database, which is pretty cool as it can reveal some secrets about the enemies. There is even a link up feature that can unlock some extras by linking up a Metroid Fusion GBA to the Gamecube. There is lots of other thinks such as generic platforming and other things to do during the game also.
Graphically, this is a classical game. The detail used on Samus' suit is extraordinary. Most enemies are brought to life with thier own colour scheme as well as textures. Background textures live up to this also, creating the feel of rock, foliage, plasma and all other substances. Unfortunately, some detail is forgotten complete with a tiny amount of dysfunctional animation for some enemies, but they still look great. First timers to games will have thier mouths agape after first seeing the splender of Samus' suit.
In terms of musical score, this game is very nice. We have the original Metroid theme tune as well as nicely composed enviroment sounds. Enemy cries and dialogue is particuarly nice, recreating how these creatures actually live.
Overall, this game is really taking Master Chief out of Halo, making him a female, taking away his troops and the covenant, making him a bounty hunter and giving a good gun on a hostile planet. In full... This game really is out of this world.