Metroid Prime Hunters makes every single portable first person shooter that came before it obsolete. You see, Metroid Hunters for the Nintendo DS takes full advantage of the units touch screen abilities which has translated into fast, accurate gameplay. I really can't emphasise the controls enough, they are perfect! They rival the mouse and keyboard for accuracy, this isn't joystick nonsense – this is total control over a first person shooter in the palm of your hand. The controls take about half an hour to an hour to get used to but after that you will be fraggin those bots with frightening accuracy. The sensitivity of the controls can be changed and there are right handed and left handed modes. There are also a number of options available for you control-wise. You can play using only console buttons (old skool), you can use the stylus or you can use the thumbpad. I highly recommend the stylus or the thumpad. I just couldn't decided which one to choose when I first got the game but I finally settled on thumpad because I feel more accurate with it. Basically there is a control scheme here for you, so onto the fun stuff.
The graphics are drop dead gorgeous! This is the best looking DS game out to date. The levels are massive and very detailed. Contrary to some reviews I have read, you will be doing quiet a bit of exploring. The enemies look good and the game runs at a stable framerate. The enemies are all well modelled; from the little spikey creatures, to boss security systems and giant magma beings. The single player adventure mode is very well done. There are several planets for you to explore and you will be flying between them regularly to unlock new areas and secrets. The story involves this hypnotic message which is being broadcast throughout space speaking of some "ultimate power". Samus must visit these planets to gather ocoliths to find out what this "ultimate power" is and to destroy it if it poses a threat to the galaxy. But Samus is not the only bounty hunter in the galaxy receiving this message.
There are seven hunters in all including Samus. They each offer an unique challenge as they all play differently, have different morph forms and different affinity weapons. The hunters are Samus Aran, Weavel, Noxus, Kanden, Spire, Sylux and Trace. You will run into these hunters during your adventure multiple times while traversing the levels. Once you get used to them they pose no threat for your accurate thumb attacks of doom. If they do beat you they are gonna steal an ocolith - so best not lose.
Multiplayer is even better than adventure. (And adventure was brilliant!!) Multiplayer reminds me of Quake 3, it's a fast, frantic deathmatch frag-fest. This is where the different hunters come into play. After you beat a hunter once in single player adventure, you can select them for use in multiplayer battles. This takes the Quake 3 style deathmatch terror and adds an extra level. Totally unique characters that utilise certain weapons better than others, and have crazy morph form characters too. Kanden has this crazy little Stinglava form which you wiggle around the stage dropping off regrowable tails that hone-in on their targets. Noxus becomes the Vhoscythe which has a huge spinning blade to chop his opponents. Spire turns into a red hot boulder with spinning rocks at your control. You can kind of see how crazy these battles get. Trace turns into a dashing Triskelion and he can also turn invisible when he stands still. Oh and his affinity weapon is the rail gun (called Imperialist). So that comes in really handy.
There are several weapons for you to discover and utilise. Samus starts off with the usually energy blaster and rockets but you will find guns that shoot exploding boulders, guns that shoot ricocheting flak and several other guns that all have unique properties. Most weapons also have a super charge attack and Samus can charge her rockets to make them super homing rockets.
The sound is great – classic Metroid music and sound effects. If you have played Metroid Prime or Prime 2 on the Gamecube you will feel right at home. There are also lots of beautifully rendered cut scenes throughout the game which ooze quality. The intro movie is very impressive and sets the standards for the game that follows. Metroid Hunters is the best game I have ever played on my DS and its also one of the best FPS games I've ever played. I would highly recommend this game! The single player adventure is a joy to play while the multiplayer section boasts fast and fun gameplay, with years of replayability.
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