Metroid, one of the most popular Nintendo franchises finally gets it's due after nearly a 9 year absence. The bounty hunter returns in a 3D GameCube adventure. But there is a huge problem… the game is in first person? The game is developed by Retro Studios, company wholly owned by Nintendo, who's had no previous developing experience. After 4 years in development, is there any hope for this game?
It's hard to call this game a FPS. It is in the first person viewpoint (for the most part) and you do shoot, but this game is more about adventuring. The controls take a bit of getting used to as most would think that the dual analog support would work best for this game. But the control set-up is actually brilliant, if a little hard to get used to. Moving around is very much like a 3D game, but to strafe and look around requires that you hold a button (the L or R shoulder button) along with the control stick. You can't move and look around either. You lock on to an enemy which allows you to move around it and attack while avoid other enemies (it's rather simple and works well). Luckily, the control set-up only seems to complement this new form of adventuring. The controls are the best for this type of new genre (first person adventure). The game has more exploration then shooting, it feels like classic Metroid. Even with the first person viewpoint, everything feels right. There are various upgrades which definitely fit right in. The upgrades open up new areas and allow you to progress through the game. The most interesting are the visors. The visors change the screens and let's you see different things or scan things for more information. The levels are wonderfully designed and a joy to explore. The bosses are just as huge and just as tense as any other Metroid game. The game is very challenging by design but is always a wonder to play. The game takes about 20 hours (this does not include the time spent reading scanned info). Getting 100% will definitely take more time and there is an unlockable hard difficulty mode. Also, connect with Metroid Fusion to unlock the full version of the original Metroid.
There is no doubt that this game is a complete visual wonder. The art style is definitely nice and fitting. The graphics are definitely a technical achievement. Technically, this game looks above and beyond anything else. The very organic looking areas are vast and give a great sense of isolation and the atmosphere is amazing. Samus looks great in 3D. The monsters and bosses are very unique and each one looks better then the last. You get different visors and each one produces a different effect, and looks extremely good. The special effects look great and they flow seamlessly. The game runs without any imperfections.
The audio is excellent. This game's use of Dolby Pro Logic II beats out the superior Dolby Digital and DTS of many others games. The use of DPL II is just plain awesome with the sound effects, which are also excellent. The music is absolutely great. It helps set the mood of the environments perfectly. There is no voice acting as the story is revealed through text. While the music is extremely fitting for the game, there could have been a few more tracks but that's not a bother.
The story is very good though it will take back seat to the action to many people. It's a component of the Metroid series but does not require any knowledge of past Metroid games. You have to explore a planet in which none of its inhabitants remain anymore. You find out what happened to the once beautiful planet and how they ended up being destroyed. The tale is explained through the gameplay (you have to find and scan the story as the inhabitants left them), which works out really well and is really interesting.
Final words: One of the best games ever, a true masterpiece of this generation.
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