Metroid Prime (Nintendo GameCube, 2002)

The Metroid series has always been a fan and industry favorite. The 2-D side scrolling adventures were exhilirating, entertaining and and challenging. Bringing together a mix of action and exploration, aided by a great selection of weapons and tools that redefined action adventure games. This legacy has continued for almost 20 years, and then, along came METROID PRIME. Metroid Prime was the first Metroid on the Gamecube Harware, and a virtually unknown developer looked to revive the series by injecting an entirely new gameplay style, that of the First Person Shooter. when news of this hit the media prior to it's release, critics scoffed and fans trembled at the idea of their beloved franchise being hobbled by this new format. Rest assured, the gamble paid off. Metroid Prime may very well be the best game in the series to date. The execution of the First Person perspective is done BEAUTIFULLY, and gives the game an edge that it never had before. As you play from Samus' point of view, the world unfolds right before you in the most action packed way imagineable. This perspective add the elements of surprise, fear and tension, as you never know what may come at you from outside of your peripheral vision. This new aspect really gives the game a whole new feel, and that is warmly welcomed.

Gameplay: VERY SOLID. good responsive controls, matces with a VERY intuitive control scheme. Incredibly well desigend interface on screen. Challenging yet accessible gameplay. Elements of Action, Adventure, Puzzle, and Mystery Genres. Absolutely FLAWLESS camera. Incredibly well designed immersive world.

Graphics: PHENOMENAL. One of the best looking games on the Gamecube. Smooth, beautiful textures rendered at 60 fps.

A must have game for ANY gaming enthusiast, or anyone who has ever picked up a contoller for that matter.

A Metroid game on Gamecube. Wow. An FPS Metroid on Gamecube. Wow. An FPS Metroid on Gamecube that unveiled the fate of the Chozo and Samus' past. WOW! Metroid Prime was the worthy follow up to Super Metroid. The 8 year wait was definetly worth it. The involvement to the Chozo and the Space Pirates made this a true Metroid game but making a three dimensional interactive enviorment and also making the items respond to this enviorment is what made Retro Studios a name in gaming. The debut of the new Phazon menace made way for the sequels. Metroid Prime had a huge involvement with the Metroids as well and the way the Metroids, Space Pirates, and Phazon were so intimately tied into each other the interaction was natural but sadly the control was slightly harder to get used to than the SNES control but the Space Jump, Morph Ball, and other items were easy to get used to with the control scheme. All and all this is the beginning of Metroid FPSs and is one of the best.

Pros: Awesome graphics, with tons of cool effects. You can see the fog or water droplet on your visor, and more. The sound effects are also well done, even though there is no voice acting. The game plays out as a first person shooter, but if you press the X button on the controller Samus rolls up in a ball and the camera pulls out into a 3rd person perspective. Also, you get the ability to free-roam the world and are able to go back to practically any previous locations at any time. You also acquire new items, weapons and abilities as you progress forward. The enemies are very nicely done, and are diverse. Also, there are many larger than life boss battles.

Cons: The controls are uncomfortable. You are forced to WALK and LOOK around using the left analogue stick. This means that you have to stop then press and hold the right trigger + use left analogue stick to look up. Why didn't the developers use the left analogue stick to walk and the right stick to look around is a mystery. Instead the right analogue stick is used for weapon selection in the game. Which brings up the next flaw with Metroid Prime. The game only has 4 weapons! Even if you consider that every one of these 4 weapons can be 'charged up' for burst fire, and that each gun can be used to fire missiles. Still, the gun selection in the game is very limited. Finally, you are often forced to backtrack to locations after acquiring the one item that you need to move forward. Backtracking slows down the pace of the game.

Bottom Line: This is a must have title for the GameCube. Metroid Prime series are easily the best 1st person shooters on the GameCube.

I initially approached this game pessimistically - I mean how could Nintendo let one of their greatest side-scrolling franchises turn into a first-person-shooter? After 20 minutes of playing the game though, I realized that Nintendo had just succeeded in what many other publishers have failed at - brining old-school games to the current generation consoles.

Even if you're not a FPS fan you will find something to like here. Metroid Prime has elements action, adventure and role playing games all wrapped under one game. The graphics are spectacular. Even when comparing to next-gen systems they hold up remarkably well. The environments range from ancient ruins to frozen wastes and to the volcanic depths of Talon IV. Each area presents a great deal of exploration as you wander through looking for power-ups and augments to Samus' weapons and power suit.

Even after you finish the game there is more to do. The game rewards multiple play-thru's by unlocking concept art, and even the original Metroid should you connect a GBA with Metroid Fusion. To date I know of three endings that vary on how throughly you explored the world around you.

Simply put this is one of the best Gamecube games out. It can easily hold its own against the best of PS2 and XBox.

This is easily the best shooter on the Gamecube, and, in my opinion, of all time. You play as Chozo hero and bounty hunter Samus Aran and try to gather all the ancient Chozo artifacts to stop a great evil (the Metroid Prime.) This is an awesome game, full of suspense and action. It scared me sooooo bad when Space Pirates (the most common bad guys) just pop down from the ceiling right in front of you and start blowing you away. Aside from EEXXTTRREEMMEELLYY good graphics, an awesome plot, and sweet enemies, this game is also great because of all the special weapons you can aquire like the Super Missiles, Power Bombs, Plasma Beam, and so on. If you loved this game as much as I did, check out the sequel (Called Metroid Prime 2: Echoes) which is also a sweet game.