Post
by KungPaoChicken » Wed Nov 20, 2002 11:57 pm
So I finally got to play Metroid Prime, although I haven't gotten too far yet. Still, after combating with the controls a bit and finishing up the initial "tutorial" stage, I must say that I'm quite impressed with the game.
Controls
Since this is typically everyone's biggest issue with the game, let me just get it out of the way. The controls in Metroid Prime WORKS. And it WORKS damn well. Well, that's when you stop thinking about your precious FPS controls. The control stick moves and turns your perspective on a 2-axis plane (X and Z). Holding L gives you strafe. Holding R gives you access to the Y axis. So moving becomes a matter of holding L when you want to strafe and not when you just want to turn.
Now there's always been complaints that since this is a first-person game, then it should have dual analog controls. But given two reasons, one being the extensive use of different visor and ultimately, different weapons, and that jumping with a dual analog control really, really, sucks, you can see why this control scheme was adopted. Jumping in Metroid Prime is excellently done, a big improvement since the days of Turok, and even more stable than in Halo.
Everything else is pretty standard, control pad is for visors, C stick for weapons, A to shoot, B to jump, X for morph ball mode, and Y for missiles.
Gameplay
This is a big category. With any game, if the gameplay sucks, then that's like most of the experience right out of the window. Fortunately, Metroid Prime delivers, and boy does it deliver. Having played a few Metroid games in the past, like Metroid II: Return of Samus and Super Metroid, I can honest say that Metroid Prime is just like those games, except in 3-D. There are all enemies that you remember from the old games, and then some. But the biggest aspect of the game is exploration. Even with "hints" turned on, there is still really no indication where you can go and where you can't go. You'll just have to take the possible routes and see for yourself. And in doing so, you find that there are parts where you know exactly how to get through, but you just dont have the power up to do so. So, keeping those locations in the back of the mind, once you find said power ups, then it's time to journey back to those spots and explore those possibilities. And that's exactly what Metroid was.
But every thing else Metroid was is also in this game. Mostly. You still have your morph ball, which is necessary for a lot of the puzzles and paths in the game, you still have your bombs that you can lay out while in morph ball mode, and you still can propel yourself upwards using said bombs. However, what's notably missing is the spider ball, which is a kind of a drag. Included in that list is the Screw Attack, but given the fact that jumping is in first person, I'm not too sure how thrilled my stomach would be about spinning a few times in the air every time i wanted to jump.
What clearly is new about Metroid Prime, aside from the whole 3-D thing, are the visors. Combat, Scan, Infrared, X-Ray, they bring a new spin on how enemies, switches, bosses, and others, are handled. Most enemies must be (and all enemies should be) Scanned before they can be Combated to reveal their potential weaknesses. Switches are activated after you Scan them. Some bosses have weaknesses that only can be seen in Infrared. Potential paths and destructable walls are only found with X-Ray vision. So its not a matter of it being a gimmick or not, because everything that is put in there is functional.
Story
Metroid Prime takes an unique approach in story-telling, with a few cinematic cut-scenes (rendered in real time) and virtually no verbal dialogue, the plot of the game is told through Scanning various databases and journal entries. It is a text based plot, with much of the background story illustrated for you through said text.
Sound
Metroid Prime's atmosphere, in addition to the environment, is punctuated by the background music. It is surprisingly rendered in MIDI, which allows for very quick tempo changes as dictated by the action on screen. It is all very techno-y, but nothing too catchy. However, the quality is still very good; with old themes woven into the new. In addition, the composer is also the same game who created the original themes.
Graphics
Simply put, the graphics of Metroid Prime are amazing. The first thing you will notice beyond the environment is how the Charge Shot distorts the air around it as it travels down its trajectory. The second thing is how the rain beads on your visor. Then its how it hits your arm cannon. Then the water that falls off your visor after emerging from a pool of water. Then you'll see how your arm cannon smokes after an intense killing session. Then...
It just never stops, how the game keeps on showing you amazing visuals, continuously, area after area. Sure some textures look bland (I'm told) when you get up and close to it, but that doesn't detract from the experience. Metroid Prime pulls you into the game, behind the visor, inside the suit. Electric beams dance over your field of vision when you get hit by high disruptance weapons, bright flashs light up inside the visor reflecting Samus's eyes, your skeletal frame is visible as your grapple-hook in X-Ray, and on and on and on. Metroid Prime is a game that doesn't cease to wow, all the time without you noticing that there is practically no loading time between areas.
Overall
Metroid Prime is a wonderful experience, for both hardcore fans and casual gamers. It has the rich Metroid history woven into the text. It has the wow factor. It has the pleasure of dispelling most (if not all) of the doubts of Metroid heading into the 3-D world. It's a good game. Play it.
Even if you already have prime..getting both will only make things better cause you can get secrets in Prime by using Fusion and the gba to gc link cable after you beat Fusion 
