The Biggest Game Project on this Planet

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

SSSSSSSHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeet. This is one HUGE game. It seemed like it was going on FOREVER.

Metroid Prime 2, then, the second outing of Samus Aran on Gamecube. This time the armored lady has the unenviable task of finding out what happened to a squadron of the Galactic Peace Force or whatever, who got mysteriously wiped out after landing on planet Aether. Soon you will find out that all is not well, and that Planet Aether has a dark side to it (literally!) which is teeming with evil beings staying up late, making obscene noises, talking really loudly on the phone, and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

Like the prequel, the game is presented in first person perspective, although it changes to third person whenever Samus goes into Morph Ball Mode (man, I wish I had a girlfriend who could roll up into a ball. She could sleep with the dog!).
Many people claim it's not really an FPS though, at least, not in the traditional sense, and it is true that this game has a lot more on offer than simple shooting. Metroid games have always been very exploration-oriented, and true enough, finding power-ups and keys and stuff is definitely the major chunk of gameplay for this game.
FPS-fans looking for a mindless blast-fest need not apply, nor do fans of 'clever' FPS's like Perfect Dark or Goldeneye etc. Gameplay stays very close to the original games, only in first person now, but the emphasis is definitely on exploring and puzzle-solving. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that this is probably one of the best, if not THE best, series to be translated from 2D into 3D.

Well, there's not much to say here actually. I generally feel that the most fun and easy to write reviews for me are for games that have one or several things severely wrong with it. Bitching is fun, but it's not so interesting to keep talking about how damn good some game is. In that case I just say: Go out and get it yourself, and experience it first-hand. And that is indeed something I will say for Metroid Prime 2. Do yourself a favor, and get this game. It's SO much worth your money.
A HUGE gaming world, with loads of stuff to discover. In the end I clocked in at ca. 27 hours (the in-game clock was way off though), which makes it the length of a very decent RPG.
If there's anything wrong with it, it's that perhaps the game goes on for a little too long. It's largely dependent on yourself, and how eager you are to backtrack and revisit rooms with your newfound skills to find yet another Missile Expansion, but the game rewards your progress by unlocking very pretty artwork and the like, so it's very much worth it.

After restoring Energy to the 3 Main Temples on Aether, which is the main goal of the game, you are however presented with the unnecessary task of gathering 9 secret keys, INVISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, in order to advance. You can only see these keys with a special visor, so you have to go back to old rooms and see if you can find them, although you do get pretty clear hints about where they are. It did feel like a cheap way of adding another couple of hours to the game to me though.

Also, some enemies can be REALLY annoying, but geez, where would the challenge be if they were all push-overs, right? Which brings me to the fact that the last bunch of Boss Battles are very nasty too. If you keep trying they'll become easier soon enough, but even after I thought I had beaten the final boss (In a 3 round match), there was still yet another Boss whom I had to beat under a rather relentless Time Limit. I was not happy then. Also, if you've played any Metroid games before, you should know that the ending is totally NOT worth the bother. You should play this game for the fantastically fun and satisfying game that it is, and if the above bothers you, just play until you get to the bit where you have to gather those last 9 keys. You won't really miss anything by quitting at that point anyway. Just some damn annoying bosses and a boring ending. But what precedes it is really great fun!

The game has a Light/Dark world system rather similar to Link to the Past, only not nearyl as good. Going back and forth can only be done at specific warp points, and when you are in the Dark world, your energy will deplete all the time, unless you're at a safe spot, where your energy will restore. Soon you will get armor to reduce that damage, but the only armor that can completely resist it will not be acquired until that very point where you have to find those 9 elusive keys.
This is apparently one of the biggest spots of bother for the people who played this, although it didn't really upset me. There's always plenty of restoration opportunities, and chances of actually dying because of the Dark Powers are almost zero. I willsay that the game could've used a little bit more save points though.

In any case, this game is terribly impressive on practically all fronts, and any self-respecting fan of platforming, shooting, exploring and/or just damn good games should definitely give this a try. NOW.
A nice 9.2 for this one.


On a totally different note: Do you know why Ocarina of Time is so goddamn cool and one of the best games of all time?
Because people are still discovering all kinds of new shit in there
Bizarre!

posted by Ingen! @ 5:04 PM