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Preview:

15th March 2003:
Metroid Prime
Nintendo losing sales to the Xbox? Wait till you play Metroid Prime...
Posted by John Wasabi - GameCube - UK and Europe

Metroid was released on the 8-bit NES system back in the day and was considered by many as revolutionary. In fact it was one of the first games to perform better in North America than its home country Japan. It featured non-linear gameplay, a dark moody atmosphere, a good control scheme, and loads of weapon upgrades and skills to learn in order to progress further or backtrack to collect hidden secrets. Metroid is also one of the first games to feature a leading lady at a time where only heroic muscle bound males were the norm.

It is with great relief that we say Metroid Prime is by far one of the most polished titles we have ever played. Doubts were initially there; early indications hinted that not everything was going smoothly between Retro Studios and Nintendo. Add to the fact that Metroid Prime was going to be a first-person shooter where it had traditionally been a side-scrolling platform adventure game was rather a worrying gamble and not one Nintendo was particularly an expert in.

Our preview version of Metroid Prime is actually the finished NTSC version of the game. Believe us, we've played it to death but we will not review Metroid Prime till we get a PAL version. Why you ask? Simple, the lovely folks at Nintendo Europe have decided to make the PAL release an enhanced version with extra touches and features. Until then, we cannot comment or give a just picture of the final European product, all we can do however is let you know what we found to be the best features and the ones they could have improved on to see if this is a game for you.

Lets start with the cons; do you like re-spawning enemies once you've cleared an area? Well I for one wasn't chuffed with the idea but I can see why they did it. For one it would get boring very fast as Metroid's philosophy is all about exploration, backtracking and looking for secrets and if you are constantly backtracking with nothing to blast for enjoyment or to replenish health or ammo, then the game design of Metroid would be arguably flawed.

Secondly if you like games where the lead has personality and a sense of identify or attachment where you get drawn in, then you'll be disappointed as this department is lacking if not non-existent as Samus Aran demonstrates little if any character at all.

Thirdly, the music was starting to annoy me, but thats down to personal taste so I wont go into too much detail about it.

Finally, my last gripe with Metroid Prime is although they have done a great job of implementing it, 1st-person perspective really isn't the best for exploration and platform hopping, which most of the game involves. I've had a few debates about this; some people love the 1st-person perspective and praise Retro for pulling it off, but for my own preference I stand by what I say, 1st-person perspective really isn't the best for exploration and platform hopping.

So now that you have heard the bad and the ugly, here comes the good. The World you explore in Metroid is absolutely gorgeous, lush vegetation, extremely detailed scenery and surroundings all adds up to a very convincing environment. You almost feel like you are interacting and exploring a newly discovered alien world. The HUD effects is genius to say the least, water drips off it after a swim, tiny bugs splatter on it like a windscreen and intense fire fights even reflect Samus' eyes off it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for little effects like that and it is this attention to detail that makes what you do believable in Metroid Prime.

What never ceases to amaze me about Nintendo games are the way they are so well designed and balanced so that the game always feels rewarding to the player. Metroid Prime excels in these areas; every little progression just makes you want to play that little bit more. To make exploration fun, Retro have made the map fully 3D and easy to understand charting all the places you have been and areas that may be possible to enter if you investigate, its done so well that you never feel as if you have nothing to do, its always challenging you in an interesting way so you keep coming back for just that little bit more.

Another thing that Metroid Prime stands out from the heavily saturated 1st person shooter market is the fact that it wants the player to think before he shoots. You actually have to outwit later opponents in order to dispatch them efficiently. How you ask? Switching to scan mode allows you to learn about the enemies you meet, their details will then be entered into your diary for future reference while at the same time giving you clues of any weak points to exploit. The morph ball ability also adds to the gameplay, when in morph ball mode, this will be the only time during the game where you are in a third person perspective. With the morph ball ability you'll be able to roll through tiny gaps, travel faster and lay bombs/mines. Bundled with the fact you have continual ability upgrades and weapon power-ups, Metroid Prime truly allows for a lot of gameplay variety.

The PAL version will be out in the coming weeks, although we have not reviewed it, we recommend an immediate pre-order of Metroid Prime if you like what you have read so far, because if the PAL version is going to be an enhanced NTSC version which we have, then European gamers are going to be in for a real treat. Look out for a full review on Silicon Fusion in the coming weeks.

John Wasabi

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