Metroid Prime

It had been 8 years since gamers had seen gaming icon Samus Aran in her own adventure. While she graced us with cameo's in the Super Smash Bros games, Nintendo still refused to commit to creating a new chapter in the Metroid saga. But after the dawn of the new millenium Nintendo finally decided to resurrect the Metroid franchise in the 3D world, a move met with both celebration and hesitation. How well would Metroid's sidescrolling exploration translate into a 3D universe? When the shroud was finally lifted on the project at E3 2001, a storm of debate continued; Metroid as a first person shooter!? Being developed by a no name studio in Texas? Fans were aghast, the doubters seemed to outnumber the faithful. But as time went by it became clear that Metroid Prime was not a run of the mill shooter, but rather an entirely original experience married with breathtaking visuals. The anticipation grew, the hype challenged only by Vice City. On the 18th of November, the 1st birthday of the North American GameCube, Metroid Prime was unleashed on the masses and Samus Aran was back, with a vengeance...

Metroid Prime is not a direct sequel in terms of storyline, as it is set in an undisclosed period between two of the main chapters of the series. While it is not concerned necassarily with the chronology of the events it is a safe bet to say, for those of you that care, that it is set immediately after Super Metroid but before Metroid Fusion. After the apparant destruction of MotherBrain and the fragmenting of the Space Pirate Samus answering a distress signal from a nearby research station, which has seemingly suffered some sort of attack. Upon investigating the site she finds evidence of hideous genetic experiments with a mutagenetic substance known as Phazon. The results of this heinous research killed almost everything on board; surviving pirates are limply propped up against the walls and taking potshots at Samus before being put out of their misery. Not long after this discovery does she encounter the newly resurrected and cybernetically enhanced Space Pirate Ridley, who activates the self destruct system of the space station and flees. In true Metroid fashion, Samus must has only a few minutes to escape the disintegrating space station and reach her ship to give chase for the quickly escaping Ridley. Ridley heads to the neighbouring planet, Tallon IV, the source of the mysterious Phazon and once home to the long forgotten Chozo warriors, who's Prophets tell of the Hatchling, the orphan raised as their own delivering them from the cancerous Phazon...

Prime's story is not told through elaborate cutscenes, rather, through the course of playing the game and distilling information along the way with Aran's scanner. The scanner itself is something that I always had fun with, scanning enemies for weaknesses, objects, downloading data and decrypting Chozo Lore. It is also used as a means with interacting with switches and so forth, making it a vital part of her arsenal, as well as something that adds to the quiet and solitary atmosphere of the game. The game itself is unlike any other first person perspective shooter before it, in fact it is less dependant on gunplay and violence than it is on old school exploration. The adventuring aspect of the series has made the perfect transition into a 3D space, complimented by the gorgeous enviroments that one must explore throughout the game. From the lush rainsoaked enviroments of the Tallon Overworld to the beautiful thick blanket of snow smothering the Phendrana Drifts, every landscape in Metroid Prime is a labour of love in artistic design, painstakingly put together by the gifted artists at Retro Studios. No draw in distance, no pixelation, the visual presentation is nothing short of spectacular, the character models finely detailed and rendered with spot on rag doll physics. The effects in Metroid Prime can be breathtaking also, from the subtle reflections of Samus on iced walls to the trail of light washing the walls as Samus' blaster fire is sent down a corrider and of course, the reflection of Samus' own watchful eyes on the inside of her visor. There is much more to tell, like the effects of th X-Ray vision, but for those that have never played this game, I shant spoil it for you. I will simply go on record as saying that the graphics and presentation are easily amongst the very best the GameCube and indeed, console world have seen in a long time.

The controls, although somewhat unorthodox and challenging at first, eventually become second nature and in no time you will be thoughtlessly traversing the many locales of Tallon IV and engaging in the frantic and intense combat that the game does so well. The controls put you in Samus' Chozo armour, restricting her neck movements even as she looks up and down, and holding her blaster with her other arm in the precision aiming mode. Even though it control is designed to somewhat reflect the feel being incased in armour it is still fluid and caused no problem in the heat of battle.

The audio in the game is fine fitting, from the beam charges to the screeching of Ghosts to the venting of steam pipes the sound effects perfectly accompany the on screen atmospherics and lends a great deal of ambience to the isolated feel of the game. Now, the music is something I have got to comment on, Metroid Prime easily has some of the moody and engaging music of recent memory and effortless makes it's way onto my list of favourite game music. The Tallon Overworld and Phendrana Drifts themes were stuck in my head weeks after playing...

So 8 years later we see Samus Aran return. Was it worth the wait? Unless what I have been saying has not registered, let me put it simply; it is more than worth the wait. The hours you will spend staring stupidly at her surroundings, engaging in frantic melees and endless exploration will pile up on you as you immerse yourself into one of the best games ever created. The team at Retro, with the help of Nintendo and superstar producer Shigeru Miyamoto have come up with 2002's game of the year and perhaps most importanly, once again proved the validity and significance of the Metroid franchise in the gaming consciousness. Metroid Prime is an instant classic and a must have addition to any Nintendo fan and video gamers collection.