GameCube: Metroid Prime
November 15, 2008 - 12:50 pm - Posted by Sean R.
The original Metroid was an NES classic, and Super Metroid (1994) is considered by some to be the best game for the Super Nintendo. Both featured top-notch platform shooting in creepy, desolate space environments. Transitioning such a popular series to the third dimension turned out to be a monumental challenge.
Originally intended to be a first-person shooter for the N64, the project was plagued with controversy, endless delays, and development team changes.
All things considered, it’s surprising that Metroid Prime turned out this good! Not only does Prime capture the distinctive flavor of the series, but you’ll need to search high and low for a more polished video game.
The razor-sharp visuals, fluid frame rate, and intelligently crafted stages are astonishing at times. It’s amazing the level of detail they can squeeze onto one of those tiny GameCube disks.
Mysterious sci-fi music and Alien-inspired corridors make you feel claustrophobic and paranoid. Despite adopting a first-person point-of-view, Metroid Prime’s gameplay remains faithful to the series.
Long-time fans will be giddy as schoolgirls as they behold awesome 3D renditions of bosses they battled in the previous Metroid adventures. Even some stages call to mind the old games, like the timed escape sequence in the very beginning.
A few original elements have been added to spice up the action, including visual devices called “visors” that allow you to scan objects, see in the dark, and even see through walls. You’ll need to morph into a ball to squeeze through narrow openings, and the game wisely switches to a third-person view for this. You check your position by rotating 3D map, which is a lot of fun to manipulate.
Metroid Prime’s clever puzzles are far more thoughtful that the standard pull-the-switch stuff. You can only save your progress at specific locations, but these tend to be well placed.
The controls are somewhat unconventional, and this has been a sticking point for many gamers. There’s no strafe control (unless you’re locked on), and that can be problematic.
Overall quality and playability of Metroid Prime for the GameCube is more than enough to win over any skeptics. I love playing it on my Wii.
6 Responses to “GameCube: Metroid Prime”
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I love this game and I just revisited it on Friday. The Metroid series is one my favorites from NES to the Game Boy Advance.
@Dennis: I agree, the Metroid series is pretty awesome. I was just playing the original on my NES a few days ago.
I did like this game to some degree. I am not personally a Metroid fan at all, but am a fan of it’s 2D gameplay. Metroid had this Japanese development feel which I wish Nintendo would have stayed with.
I did try this game out and appreciate it and its Western take on the series. I love the exploration but really didn’t have that much time to get lost and try to figure some things out, so I gave up on it.
Overall I would recommend this to anyone who loves first-person shooters because it has more depth then most first-person shooters did at the time. This game actually still holds up now I must say.
I love Metroid Prime. I’ve spent countless hours, actually days playing this game. It’s in my to 10 GameCube games for sure. It actually seems to play better on the Wii too. Not sure if you noticed that or not?!
I don’t think it’s fair to call Metroid Prime a first-person shooter. That’s setting up a lot of expectations, and if you go in expecting the action of Doom, Wolfenstein, Half-life, or any game like that, you’ll be disappointed.
MP, I would say, should be called a first-person adventure. Most of the combat is incidental to exploring the areas, taking in the atmosphere, and learning a little more about the history of the game world. Most creatures that aren’t bosses or space pirates can be ignored pretty easily as long as you’re just passing through the area.
Also, I believe that using the lock-on button without locking on (either when there’s no target or by not clicking it) allows you to strafe, but other people are using the TV right now so I can’t test it.
I have only played this game a small handful of times, but I enjoyed it. My opinion is that no Metroid game can compare to the first one on NES.