Fierce Gaming: Your Multiplatform Head Quarters

Home

*E3 News*

News Archive

Xbox

Xbox 360

Gamecube

Playstation 2

Screenshots

Become Staff

Contact

Gamecube

Xbox

Playstation 2

PSP

Xbox 360

Playstation 2

GBA

Xbox 360

Xbox

Gamecube

Chatroom

Store

Forums

Metroid Prime GCN Review by: Kazooie

It's been 8 long years since Super Metroid and the long wait is over. Put down whatever you're doing, stop reading this review and go buy Metroid if you haven't already. It is an amazing game that has set the bar for all First Person based games.

You won't have any problem moving through the game and when you switch to the morph ball. The camera pans out and your view changes from 1st to 3rd person. This helps a great deal when trying to roll up half-pipes or maneuver tight corners. The controls are very smooth and perfect. It doesn't get much better than this. The display on her visor is great. It tells you everything you want to know when moving through a room like your status, if there are any dangers around, etc. You also get a pop up when something interesting has been found in areas that are far far away from you. Which means backtracking through areas you've already been through. But it doesn't get boring because the enemies never disappear. Once you clear an area and leave it, they come back. You don't wind up going through empty areas without any enemies like other games. This is why the entire world is your playground.

Whoever said the visuals were bland never played this game. They never saw the raindrops fall on Samus's visor and look perfect. I was floored when I saw how great the raindrops looked; it was like driving around in my car during the rain. When you submerge and then come out of the water, it cascades over her visor perfectly. Or when you come in contact with a waterfall, the visor will be covered in a mist. Retro thought of everything when they designed this game. Don't believe a word you hear about the ''visuals being bland''. The game is beautiful, best graphics I have seen in a game. That's comparing it to all consoles on the market right now. Like I said in the beginning, Nintendo and Retro have set the bar.

The music fits great with Metroid, nothing bland here either. Nintendo is known for it's unique music that is always amazing. The sound effects are great like when a monster is screeching or dying. They all have their own special sounds, which provides for a more realistic feel. Don't worry, there are no stupid aliens running around saying ''don't shoot me!'' The game is more realistic than that. Some of the old music from the NES Metroid and Super Metroid have been remixed here. Metroid Prime also supports Pro Logic II so plug your GC into the home theater system and be prepared to be blown away.

The earlier Metroid games didn't have a very deep story and you were always told the story through the manual. There was no way to expand the story either. This is not true with Metroid, the story is evolving while you play the game. Each area has some Chozo Runes you can scan that tell you the history of the Chozo on the planet as well as what happened to them. They also give you clues as to Samus's origin! This is a huge leap from the older Metroid games and should keep any gamer intrigued.

I continue to play through my older versions of Metroid for the NES and SNES as well as Gameboy. They never get old and this one won't either. It may not have multiplayer but it doesn't need it. It's Metroid, you are Samus that's it. There is no point in having a multiplayer version to satisfy people who know nothing about gaming. You'll never be able to experience the entire game if you rent it as well. This is a keeper, as are all Nintendo 1st party games. You will not be disappointed in purchasing this game. If you don't have a NES you can actually get the NES version of Metroid if you have a GBA as well. I won't review Fusion here but it's nice to know that younger gamers can experience the original Metroid. I suggest getting a GBA if you don't already have one and Metroid Fusion.

This game is going to be a GCN record. You won't be disappointed. Renting it is just a waste of your money because you'll wind up deciding you love this game. It will keep you busy for a long time, you'll

probably wind up spending 20-25 hours playing the game your first time through (it took me that long). I give Metroid Prime for the GCN a 10/10
10/10