Metroid Prime

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Reader Reviews
I had the priviledge of playing a couple of hours of Metroid Prime, and I liked what I saw. The game began with Samus on an outside platform. Thousands of asteroids were flying across the sky, and she could go to a clear spot on the platform and shoot them. Ultimately, however, she needed to search her surroundings for hidden devices that would open the doors of the structure. The adventure doesn't really begin until Samus enters the building. This game has all kinds of terrain to explore--including some very Turok-esque jungles. These are huge places. I have no idea how long it will take people to finish the game, but I'm betting better than 60 hours. Seen through Samus's visor, Metroid Prime is every bit as much about exploration and puzzle solving as it is about shooting. Samus's visor includes a window that exposes hidden signs and symbols. Once you uncover these clues, it is up to you to figure out how to arrange them to unlock door and find hidden items. Metroid Prime's camera shifts to the third-person perspective when Samus curls up in a ball and rolls places. She rolls through tunnels that are otherwise too small to explore. By placing explosives on the ground, she can bounce her balled-up self to reach elevated tunnels. The game also has these really nifty half-pipe areas. Once you find the right explosives, you can launch Samus over the top of the half-pipes to reach otherwise inaccessible ledges. Per past Metroid games, Metroid Prime has plenty of creepy vermin to kill. Thanks to the first-person perspective, Metroid Prime does not suffer the irritating camera problems that have plagued so many of the latest 3D games. You are inside Samus's helmet, so you see what she sees. Better look quickly, though. When the action gets going, outer space thingies will come at you from all directions. The art direction in this game is excellent beyond belief. I doubt that any PlayStation 2 game will ever reach this level of graphic quality. This even rivals Halo--and that is saying a lot. The big complaint about Metroid Prime is that played from the first-person perspective, it cannot possibly have the same search-and-explore feel as earlier games--particularly Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo. This was a fair concern--but Nintendo guards its franchises carefully and Retro Studios has been true to the original vision. Metroid Prime does have that perfect blend of explore and shoot. Actually, for those of you who play PC games, Metroid Prime feels a little--and I did say a little--like System Shock II from Looking Glass. If you played System Shock II as a naval officer instead of a spy or a marine, it was about exploring and setting traps and hacking into systems. The weakness in this comparison is that the navy guy in System Shock II could not strap on anti-gravity boots or swing across ceilings--Samus does. System Shock II was brilliant in its sci fi reality and its feeling of danger. Metroid Prime has a more powerful fantasy element. I, obviously, have not had the chance to finish the game, but I love this game. I absoultely love it. Comment | Permalink | function showYesNoCommunityResponse(uId,result,value) { var msgLayer = getElement("thanks" + uId); if ( result == "SUCCESS" ) { msgLayer.innerHTML = "Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.com readers and reviewers. Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."; } else { showVoteErrorResponse(msgLayer,result,value); } } (Report this)