Metroid Prime is a perfect game that anyone can get lost in.
You start out on a frigate ship in the middle of... nowhere. Deepest space surrounds you on all sides, and the only thing accompanying you is your HUD and trusty blaster. It is almost immediately clear that all is not well aboard this massive starship. Fires raging everywhere, small parasites picking through the ruins, and the blood dripping corpses littering the floors all give warning signals. After a harrowing battle, the player must escape the frigate. A timed sequence forces you to run very quickly, but gives the escape a very dramatic feel. After escaping, you hop on your ship, only to land on the beautiful planet of Tallon IV.
And what a planet it is. Broken up into different regions (ranging from massive ruins to snowy cliffs and lakes to radioactive material mines) Tallon IV is a blast to explore. However, you soon find out it holds a very dark secret. The entire game revolves around ridding the planet of Phazon, a highly dangerous and radioactive material. There are many creatures to battle, native to the planet. In addition, there are the devious space pirates, who conduct grisly experiments with the Phazon. Their other main goal is to take the life of Samus, the main protagonist. Every enemy encounter in this game is very intense, and the boss fights in particular are memorable.
There are 4 main types of blaster types in the game, and all are very effective at annihillating the enemy. There are also 4 types of visors. Each weapon and visor is seamlessly selected at the press of a button, and it is very easy to switch between them all. Overall, the HUD and weapons are very effective, and it all feels like you actually ARE Samus, not just playing as her.
All in all, this was my favourite game for a long period of time. It had me hooked from the second Samus jumped off her ship and onto the frigate. The adventure was a perfect length, and all the components of the game added up to make an instant classic. This is a game that I will always remember, and some of the best time I have had with video games were in this game. If you haven't played this one, I don't know what is wrong with you, because I can't see anyone who has even a smidge of gamer sense passing this superb experience up.