Gamers looking for a First Person Shooter on the Nintendo GameCube have never had a better game to check out than Metroid Prime–a classic FPS with some of the best visuals seen to date on the console outside of the Resident Evil series.
The story follows a brave warrior by the name of Samus Aran as she infiltrates the depths of Tallon IV in an attempt to uncover a mystery surrounding Phazon and it’s effects on life forms. Using a specially designed battle suit, which is e…uipped with several weapons, Samus begins the adventure to Tallon IV by boarding an orbiting outpost around that planet once used by the Space Pirates to conduct zero-G experiments on Phazon.
Graphics
The eye candy presented in Metroid Prime is sure to be a hit with any player. Indeed, the visuals presented here are quite smooth and colorful, and as previously noted, are some of the best seen on the console since the release of the Resident Evil series of games.
Although players can’t see Samus in her full form, (but can see her in third-person when she enters Morph Ball mode) they do get a great view through her Combat Visor. The HUD displays on the Combat Visor are well laid out and convey the necessary information readily to the player concerning weapons and energy status as well as a 3-D map.
Interesting creatures and enemies await Samus in varying, unique levels. Although as a First Person Shooter goes, movement is restricted to a fairly linear fashion through corridors and pipes. However, the game designers mixed in some wide open areas in several spots to give Metroid a little more of an adventure feel to the title.
Audio
Presented in Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Sound, the sound effects and music blend together into a great, interactive sound environment which draws the player into the sci/fi-ish gameplay.
The music included in Metroid reminded me of the soundtrack heard in the film Tron–dramatic, sweeping, orchestra and synthesizer movements which highlight the suspenseful nature of the action adequately.
Gameplay
Metroid Prime is a First Person Shooter of the highest order–and one of the best on the market second only to HALO in my opinion. Gameplay consists of maneuvering Samus from area to area, uncovering information and clues and taking down the baddies when they spring up.
Along the way, Samus can replenish her weapons and energy by obtaining power-ups left around the level, and will acquire a few handy new ones as well. She has two types of visors—the Combat visor which is default with the HUD and a Scan Visor for downloading info and accessing some switches. Weapons info is detailed nicely on the Combat Visor for the player to reference weapons and ammo.
Samus has two types of weapons–Beam and Missiles–in addition to the ability to lay bombs when she morphs into a ball. She has several varieties of Beam weapons like the Wave Beam and a Grapple Beam to swing across areas.
The Morph Ball comes in handy when Samus needs to roll through areas that are too tight for her to fit, or when she needs to get someplace in a big hurry. Personally, I found it a great way to roll through evil denizens waiting to take a shot at me. Yet, Samus does do admirable job at strafing and jumping to avoid fire and damage.
Replay
Metroid Prime will allow the connection of a GameBoy Advance to the GameCube, and using a copy of Metroid Fusion and a link cable, one can unlock a special feature in the game. Once Metroid Prime is beaten, one more connection to Fusion via the GameBoy will unlock a secret.
The addition of GameBoy connectivity certainly adds shelf life to Metroid Prime, yet the gameplay and graphics alone are enough to make the title stand on its own. Every player should have a copy of this game in their library to show off the processing power of the Cube and to demonstrate what a fun FPS it is.
Screenshots
