More of the same. Whether thats good or bad depends on how much you enjoyed the first game and whether or not you want the exact same game with new levels.
If you are an older and more experienced gamer you will get the distinct impression they lifted 50% of the art and sound effects from the first game. The luminoth race and space pirate models are slightly retouched chozo and space pirate models from the first game. I was very angered when I was scanning many of the dead luminoth bodies and realized they are the chozo with slightly different modifications, some chozo models are directly ripped from the first games with the barest of modifications.
Many of the same enemies make a return in slightly modified form, while they did make some new ones there are not that many new enemies. Most of the work went into the (mostly fantastic) bosses.
This game really feels like an expansion pack rather then a sequel. It doesn't have the same kick the original Metroid prime did, so if you didn't like the original there is not much new to find here.
The story is probably the most horrible thing about Metroid prime 2. There is so little of it and reading the logs of the dead bodies of the "good guy" space marines and luminoth you find around Aether leave a lot to be desired.
Light and Dark Aether are the exact same areas with slightly modified geometry and some different textures and lighting, they re-used a tonne of geometry while retexturing it. You feel so much like you just wasted $50 on this game because of this expansion pack feel to it.
The whole game feels rather polished but you can tell the developers rushed this one out the door to get it out for christmas, the main plot is to search for keys the entire game to open up temples and "grab" energy from the 4 temples (including the sky temple) to restore Light aether and destroy the dark version of aether, that was mysteriously caused to come into existance by a meteorite impact. Which is the lamest explanation I have ever heard. The developers of this game spent no time thinking up something good for this game. The entire game has you hunting for keys to unlock doors, and after you find the first 9 keys (3 for each of the first 3 temples) you get to find out as you last quest... YOU GET TO FIND ANOTHER 9 KEYS INVISIBLE KEYS to open the last temple, which you have to find using the dark visor and the light suit while you run around all the areas of Aether until you find them. Most likely you will cheat and go to gamefaqs for the walkthrough for the last 9 keys because a few of them are frigging hidden in the most sick places that you'd never find them unless you combed over certain rooms with a fine toothe comb.
This is the most BORING and moronic part of metroid prime 2: Echoes, or it should have been called "Metroid prime 2: The hunt for the 18 keys" since you need to find 18 keys total, then you fight the last bosses. I felt like I was playing a game from 10 years ago, finding keys to open doors for the entire game is a big no no in the gameplay department.
The music has a lot of low points, its basically the same from the first game but has gotten slightly worse. The best music is the opening theme, the ingame music is pretty forgettable, I turned the music way way down because it was more distracting then anything else when it switches back and forth when certain enemies appear.
After playing the game I *wished* the real story was that the luminoth were really were a not-so-good race as they first appeared to be and there was some sort of accident that in that they CREATED the ing through some experiment and Ing were exacting justified vengeance, but alas, it was not to be.
The story of metroid prime is this: It was all because some meteorite that caused dark aether to come into existance as a parallel world to the original Aether (called "light Aether") and also just happened to create the Ing at the same time, the lamest story idea ever.
The only good things are some of the new suits and effects in the game, the art itself is nothing to really write home about. It looks exactly the same as in the first game except for the suit that samus wears, which thankfully, look much better then in the first game, the light suit is especially cool the rest of the suits are standard Samus suit with slightly different colors (lame). The graphics on the whole feel like as if the artists at Retro have reached what is maximally possible on the gamecube. The style of the environment feels exactly the same as in the first metroid prime, you feel like you're on the same planet as teh first prime, thats how much the art resembles certain areas of the first game.
It's metroid with a new coat of paint but it feels half-baked in the end. You'll have a bitter taste in your mouth unless you are a younger gamer with less experience and are easily entertained because the experience is entirely new to you.
As an older gamer Metroid prime 2 is worthy of a RENTAL only, its not a game you should waste $50 on. Wait to pick it up on sale or used, or rent it first.
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