Squirrelinabox
03-30-2004, 04:41 PM
First off, dont' take this as a very specific review or anything like that. I haven't played the game in many months, so my accounts my be a bit off.
Let me start off by saying anybody that thinks the gamecube is an underpowered system needs to take a look at Metroid Prime...
The environments are amazing. Sure, you have your typical jungle area, lava area, snow area, tech area, etc.... but each is so well presented that you don't care. Sure, most games have these fairly obvious and standard theme sets, but I haven't seen any come close to as gorgeous as the ones found in Metroid Prime. The great thing is how each feels very open ended.. making you feel as if you have the freedom to go anywhere while keeping you on a VERY well hidden linear path. The classic metroid "must get x weapon before opening y door" rarely interferes with the gameplay. Once in awhile you may get annoyed in having to find your next "powerup" without knowing where it is... only to find out it was back in the area you thought you cleared two hours ago... however, those little annoyances are fairly few and far between and they are worth having to deal with to get the very uniquely designed gameplay path. Also, to keep you guessing, you will find yourself dealing with different (and much harder) enemies when you find yourself forced to backtrack. The first time you go through and area you may have only had to deal with 2 weak monsters, but on your way back you are suddenly confronted with 4 tough monsters. This helps make sure you feel as if you aren't just going back and forth collecting the necessary items before proceeding.
The monsters are also quite amazing to look at... until they tear you to shreds. The monsters range from bugs to humanoid ghosts... from mere nuisances to scarey beings that will make you run like hell. The great thing about the monsters is how you fight them... which is totally unique for each monster. Not only do you have to choose the right weapon to fight each monster (some do no damage, some do some but can slow the monster, etc), but you have to choose how to use that weapon. Some monsters will kill you VERY quickly if they get in close, so you must keep them at a distance and pound away. Others need you to get behind them and shoot their backs first, others will have you in a shooting duel. The monster fighting never gets dull as you will constantly be trying to kill things faster and more efficiently.
Couple unique things that stand out in Metroid Prime that make it one of the best FPS single player games of all time...
The ball. The good 'ol metroid ball is so damn fun. Balling yourself up, rolling along a tight beam while dodging enemy fire, finding the right moment to drop down, open up, and unleash hell never gets old :) You get some cool upgrades for your ball such as being able to do a short boost and being able to "stick" to magnetic strips. These powerups aren't just gimicks... they enable some very cool gameplay opportunities. Just as the piston allows some creative piston jumps in UT, the boost ball, for instance, enables you to do some skateboard-esque half pipe manuevers... some of which are required to proceed through the game. I've even read and watched some examples of people bypassing large portions of the game using various tricks such as jumping out of ball form at the right moment to get to areas earlier than you are supposed to. Rolling around in the ball is just plain fun.
The visor. The visor "system" is incredibly fun and just like the ball form, is much more than just a mere gimick. It is very tightly integrated into the gameplay... which turns out to be a VERY good thing. You basically get 3 different visors, a normal one, an infrared one, and an xray one. The great thing about this visor system is the necessary use of them in certain situations. For instance, you might be in a tech lab where you see monsters encased in various tube/capsules. All of a sudden you hear the glass break and the lights blow out. You can hear the monsters coming at you from all around but you see nothing... you then flip on your infrared and jump out of your seat as you see outlines of a dozen monsters ready to attack. There are quite a few scarey situations such as this, where you may need to flip on your infrared or perhaps your x ray visor. Many bosses require you to use alternate visors to attack them at various moments, sometimes a specific visor will show a weak spot in the enemy. The gameplay that results in the integration of the visors is pure fun.
So what about the story? Bah. Who cares? Oh you do? Well, the story is mediocre at best... this game is meant for the action not the story. I do, however, like the creative way the developeres made the story unveil itself. Basically you can scan various logs, transmissions, writings, etc... which will be stored for you to read. If you manage to read enough you will be able to somewhat understand what is going on... but the beauty is that you can just choose to not bother scanning that stuff if you don't want to. Basically, you are given an optional story if you want it. I scanned everything I could, though I forgot most of what the story was about... and wouldn't want to spoil it for anybody anyway.
That's my weak attempt at trying to convince you to buy this game if you have a game cube and havent played Metroid Prime yet. The game just rocks.
Let me start off by saying anybody that thinks the gamecube is an underpowered system needs to take a look at Metroid Prime...
The environments are amazing. Sure, you have your typical jungle area, lava area, snow area, tech area, etc.... but each is so well presented that you don't care. Sure, most games have these fairly obvious and standard theme sets, but I haven't seen any come close to as gorgeous as the ones found in Metroid Prime. The great thing is how each feels very open ended.. making you feel as if you have the freedom to go anywhere while keeping you on a VERY well hidden linear path. The classic metroid "must get x weapon before opening y door" rarely interferes with the gameplay. Once in awhile you may get annoyed in having to find your next "powerup" without knowing where it is... only to find out it was back in the area you thought you cleared two hours ago... however, those little annoyances are fairly few and far between and they are worth having to deal with to get the very uniquely designed gameplay path. Also, to keep you guessing, you will find yourself dealing with different (and much harder) enemies when you find yourself forced to backtrack. The first time you go through and area you may have only had to deal with 2 weak monsters, but on your way back you are suddenly confronted with 4 tough monsters. This helps make sure you feel as if you aren't just going back and forth collecting the necessary items before proceeding.
The monsters are also quite amazing to look at... until they tear you to shreds. The monsters range from bugs to humanoid ghosts... from mere nuisances to scarey beings that will make you run like hell. The great thing about the monsters is how you fight them... which is totally unique for each monster. Not only do you have to choose the right weapon to fight each monster (some do no damage, some do some but can slow the monster, etc), but you have to choose how to use that weapon. Some monsters will kill you VERY quickly if they get in close, so you must keep them at a distance and pound away. Others need you to get behind them and shoot their backs first, others will have you in a shooting duel. The monster fighting never gets dull as you will constantly be trying to kill things faster and more efficiently.
Couple unique things that stand out in Metroid Prime that make it one of the best FPS single player games of all time...
The ball. The good 'ol metroid ball is so damn fun. Balling yourself up, rolling along a tight beam while dodging enemy fire, finding the right moment to drop down, open up, and unleash hell never gets old :) You get some cool upgrades for your ball such as being able to do a short boost and being able to "stick" to magnetic strips. These powerups aren't just gimicks... they enable some very cool gameplay opportunities. Just as the piston allows some creative piston jumps in UT, the boost ball, for instance, enables you to do some skateboard-esque half pipe manuevers... some of which are required to proceed through the game. I've even read and watched some examples of people bypassing large portions of the game using various tricks such as jumping out of ball form at the right moment to get to areas earlier than you are supposed to. Rolling around in the ball is just plain fun.
The visor. The visor "system" is incredibly fun and just like the ball form, is much more than just a mere gimick. It is very tightly integrated into the gameplay... which turns out to be a VERY good thing. You basically get 3 different visors, a normal one, an infrared one, and an xray one. The great thing about this visor system is the necessary use of them in certain situations. For instance, you might be in a tech lab where you see monsters encased in various tube/capsules. All of a sudden you hear the glass break and the lights blow out. You can hear the monsters coming at you from all around but you see nothing... you then flip on your infrared and jump out of your seat as you see outlines of a dozen monsters ready to attack. There are quite a few scarey situations such as this, where you may need to flip on your infrared or perhaps your x ray visor. Many bosses require you to use alternate visors to attack them at various moments, sometimes a specific visor will show a weak spot in the enemy. The gameplay that results in the integration of the visors is pure fun.
So what about the story? Bah. Who cares? Oh you do? Well, the story is mediocre at best... this game is meant for the action not the story. I do, however, like the creative way the developeres made the story unveil itself. Basically you can scan various logs, transmissions, writings, etc... which will be stored for you to read. If you manage to read enough you will be able to somewhat understand what is going on... but the beauty is that you can just choose to not bother scanning that stuff if you don't want to. Basically, you are given an optional story if you want it. I scanned everything I could, though I forgot most of what the story was about... and wouldn't want to spoil it for anybody anyway.
That's my weak attempt at trying to convince you to buy this game if you have a game cube and havent played Metroid Prime yet. The game just rocks.