The
first Metroid Prime for GameCube was amazing! It ranked as my game of the year
when it was released. Now Samus has returned for some more action in an all new
adventure. This time it revolves around a planet that is torn into light and
darkness. Samus has to undercover the mysteries of the planet and what is
happening. Along the way she will discover new weapons including the new Light
and Dark Beams. But probably the biggest change is the addition of a
multiplayer mode.
Graphically the game
appears to be exactly the same as the first Metroid Prime. Now this isn’t a
knock on the game or the graphics since the first Metroid Prime was amazing.
But for gamers expecting another quantum leap in graphics, you might be
disappointed. The graphics engine is a solid piece of gaming technology that
should be exploited to its full potential, which is thankfully why we’re getting
this sequel.
The demo has you fighting
through a stage against some different creatures than the first game. Just as
in the first game you start off with a certain number of beams to use and
abilities to use as well. The morph ball was in full effect on the demo and
still controlled beautifully. One area of the demo had you fighting two to four
different creatures that soon jumped out of the battle. But instead of leaving
the area they jumped into some gun turrets that were attached near the top of
the stage. So now Samus is trapped within the cross fire of gun turrets and you
don’t have a huge assortment of weapons as you did late in the first game. This
was especially cool since the majority of the combat in the first game was close
combat and now in this game the creatures are using additional weapons in the
area.
Near the end of the demo
you had to unlock a portal to move to the next area. Once inside of the portal
you’re treated to a rather unusual cut scene with Samus looking around inside of
the portal very confused. Once she comes out the portal and moves around in the
next area she meets up with appears to be her clone, but decked out in dark
plasma like costume. Not sure if the developers are following a similar story
line that took place in the first Game Boy Advance version of Metroid or if they
have something new up their sleeves.
The multiplayer mode was
unfortunately, to this writer, disappointing. Everyone was wondering how Retro
Games/Nintendo would do a multiplayer mode in Metroid with the auto lock control
system. The auto lock controls do not apply in the multiplayer mode which is
both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it evens up the playing
field for everyone since no one can auto target you and blow you to bits. It’s
a curse because the game just doesn’t feel the same without the auto lock
controls. You’ll either over or under shoot the other players most of the
time. But you can battle it out while in the morph ball mode as well. In fact
one of the stages in multiplayer had a section where once you rolled onto the
platform in the morph ball it would shoot you to another area in the game. That
part was very cool and fun. Changing in and out of the morph ball seems to
leave you open for an attack for a split second. The morph ball change isn’t
immediate so there is always the few seconds where someone can frag you.
While the graphics engine
is amazing in the single player game, it seemed to have some trouble in
multiplayer mode. Since this is a split screen game, your viewing area is
restricted to just a little section on the screen. The frame rate was very
sporadic while playing in multiplayer. There was considerable choppiness and
the game lost all of its detail and luster in multiplayer. Why oh why Nintendo
why don’t you give us an internet mode for this game? Or just give us a LAN
mode like you did in Mario Kart so we can have a LAN party with the game.
For the single player
game, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is going to be an impressive follow-up to the
first game. The graphics are just as impressive as the first game, the controls
are as impressive as ever and the storyline appears to be very intriguing. The
much hyped Multiplayer mode might need to stay in the oven a little bit longer.
Hopefully the developers can iron out the rough edges before the game’s release
in November of 2004.
