Overall Score (8/10): The Metroid Prime series makes its handheld debut! But is it good? Somewhat. This game feels more like a first-person shooter than the others. Metroid Prime Hunters is, so far, the best first-person shooter on the DS. Single player is, however, linear. Online has, also, improved quite a bit. Oh, and this game isn't developed by Retro Studios, the developers of the console Primes. That would explain the different feel of the game and why it isn't as good as the console versions.
Idea: Take Metroid Prime, put in touch-screen controls, improve the multiplayer, and put it on a handheld. What do you get? Metroid Prime Hunters!
Controls (9/10): You have a few options for control in Metroid Prime Hunters. There's the control scheme with the stylus and the one without it. Four options total, since the two schemes have a right-handed and left-handed version. The stylus mode is much more precise and the one I recommend. You move the stylus on the bottom screen (which serves as the radar and where you change your weapons. to look around and use the buttons to move and fire. It takes some getting used to but is very good and, as I said, precise. The only problem is that it's possible to accidentally drag the stylus over one of the buttons, causing you to change your weapon or go into your alternate form (Samus's Morph Ball is an example.) The other scheme, dual mode, completely uses the buttons. This is less precise and I don't recommend it. Plus, the only way to switch weapons or go to alternate form is to use the touch screen, meaning your going to have to jab the screen with your thumbs in dual mode. This could cause smudges. Stylus mode is the way to go. It's very good, apart from the small problem of accidentally dragging the stylus over various buttons.
Entertainment (8/10): Metroid Prime Hunters has fun mutliplayer. But the sinlge player is...less fun. The level design is a linear, which is quite shocking considering this is a Metroid game. The bosses, too, repeat themselves. It gets very frustrating fighting the same bosses. And after every boss is the classic Metroid countdown. You have to reach your ship before time runs out or...well, try not to think about it. Since the countdown is after every boss it really isn't surprising after the first time. It even gets tedious, having to dash back through the level back to your ship. There are four levels, each of which you have to fly your ship to. In Hunters, Samus gains the weapons her rival hunters have eventually. All they're really used for is to blast force fields or open certain doors. No mind-bending puzzles, sadly. Now, normally the mediocre single player would have landed Entertainment a 6 or 7. But it has an 8. Why? Mutiplayer, that's why. Read more about it in the Mutiplayer section, but let's just say it keeps you very entertained.
Graphics (9/10): Wow. Just wow. The graphics in Metroid Prime Hunters are simply fantastic for a handheld. These graphics are some of, if not THE, best on the DS. The cutscenes look unbelievably awesome. But when the action gets a little heavy you will experience slowdown. Slowdown is all that stops me from giving graphics a 10. Again, wow.
Sound (7/10): There's some classic Metroid tunes and noises in Hunters, but nothing special really. The sound isn't bad but it's not exactly fantastic either.
Replay Value (8/10): You probably won't want to go through single player more than once. But being able to play against bots or other people over online in multiplayer is fun, and should keep you occupied for a little while.
Multiplayer (9/10): When playing against bots or friends, there's 7 modes to choose from. There's quite a few arenas, too. Most of them are unlockable. Then there's all the hunters. Each hunter has a different weapon that they're the best with (the one they use in the game.) Samus is best with missiles. You can still use whichever weapon you want to, however. It's hard to describe just have fun mutiplayer is in words. Now, in this game you have what's called a Hunter License. It keeps track of your wins, your win streak, lucky arena, favorite weapon, kills, and much more. Online is an improvement. You can only play Battle (which is fun, no doubt about it) when online. But when you win a match you don't need someone's friend code to add them to your "Friend" list. They become your Rivals, meaning you can see their Hunter Licenses and find them again. There's also a special Friends and Rivals mode online. In this mode you can play any of the 7 modes, but only with your friends or rivals. Oh, and did I mention there's voice chat with your friends? Even though online still uses the friend code system it gets the job done. It's not the greatest online service but it's free and works if you just want to play games.
Final Thoughts: Well, Metroid Prime made its debut on a handheld. It was pretty good to say the least. Single player wasn't anything special but multiplayer certainly was. This isn't the best Metroid Prime game, but certainly a fun one.
The Verdict: A great addition to any DS owner's collection. A must-buy if you're a Metroid fan or an FPS fan. But, if you use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, it's very simple: you HAVE to buy this.
Create an Account
Member Login
