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Metroid 2(Metroid Prime 2 Echoes) the sequal to the best Nintendo Gamecube game of all time Metroid Prime, is finally here! Buy Metroid2 today. Buy Metroid 2 here! Don't wait till it's sold out. Buy Metroid Prime 2 :Echoes. There are no better games comming out for the Gamecube this year. Metroid 2 is it. Get it here. Pre-order Metroid 2 if you can't wait.
Metroid Prime 2 Echoes |
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In this highly anticipated sequel to Metroid Prime, become the bounty hunter behind the visor once more and travel to a planet torn into light and darkness. Hunted by a mysterious entity and a warring race called the Ing, Samus Aran must explore the light and dark worlds of this doomed planet to discover secrets and augment her suit's weapons and abilities. And now, for the first time in the history of the celebrated Metroid franchise, up to four players can battle each other as they search for weapons, grapple across ceilings, and turn into Morph Balls to make their escapes.
It's ironic isn't it? Samus Aran, heroine of Nintendo's Metroid series, stars in one of the best games of all time(certainly my favourite) in Super Metroid on the Super NES, and then doesn't even appear on the N64 apart from a fleeting appearance in Super Smash Bros. Then within a year she returns in a GameCube title, a GBA title, a GBA remake of the original game, and now there's another one for GCN on the way.
Nintendo obviously knows what an opportunity they missed with this franchise. Now, they're looking to remedy things. With Metroid Prime, Retro Studios managed what a lot of people considered to be impossible. They successfully translated the vintage Metroid gameplay into the third dimension. And now they're working on further expanding the series with a sequel, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Recently, we got another chance to sample the E3 demo on the floor of Game Stars Live.
Translating Metroid into 3D was never going to be easy, and when you do it as admirably as Retro you're not keen to mess with it too much. Metroid Prime 2 understandably doesn't really tinker with the established formula and just adds to it - it wasn't broke so why fix it? Samus now has light and dark beams in addition to that old staple, the Power Beam. The demo featured one moment in which Samus needed the Dark Beam to dispel a light barrier, which helps illustrate just one way Samus will employ her new weapons.
We already know that Dark Samus will be an enemy and that Samus can jump between light and dark worlds, and those nefarious Space Pirates certainly look darker this time. The Dark Beam also has a very nice effect when you charge it where what looks like phazon grows over the cannon until you release it. The combat is very similar with beams and missiles utilised in the same way as the first game. The scan and combat visors are present and correct, and Samus can roll into her Morph Ball at will. Some of the moves dropped from Super Metroid for Metroid Prime like the screw attack, allowing Samus to kill enemies by jumping into them and also to reach distant ledges by spinning through the air.
Graphically Metroid Prime excelled and MP2 is no different. It's not hugely different, but things did look more detailed and more organic than the environments in the first game. The frame rate was similarly consistent and didn't even drop during combat with effects flying between the combatants. Once again Retro has shown what we've known all along but many people seem to forget - that the GCN is more than capable of keeping up with the competition. The graphics, coupled with the set pieces witnessed in the demo--such as Space Pirates rushing through a portal to the Dark World or Space Pirates manning huge cannons in an effort to eliminate you--really make it seem like you're visiting a living, breathing planet.
Most of the upgrades to Metroid Prime have been fairly minor, but it's the multiplayer that is the biggest addition. Purists have complained that multiplayer Metroid is missing the point, but that didn't stop a lot of gamers requesting it for the latest game. Retro has listened to the masses and now Metroid Prime 2 adds support for up to four players in Deathmatch and Bounty Hunter modes. It's odd to have multiplayer games with the ability to lock onto opponents as it often causes games to deteriorate into pure circle strafing matches. It's also a matter of who can fire faster and who has the most Power Suit upgrades. It's fun though, and the demo map had plenty of opportunities for Morph Ball antics. I can't see it being anything big, but it's a nice distraction from the main story mode.
It used to be that you had to wait years for a sequel to your favorite Nintendo games. There were seven years between major Metroids, eight between F-Zeroes, and poor Kid Icarus never did get a proper console sequel. How times change. Retro Studios, the brash startup behind the super-successful Metroid Prime, is already well into the development of Metroid Prime 2. Slated for release around the end of the year, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes will follow Samus as she explores another strange planet -- and indulges in some multiplayer competition!
First things first, though. Metroid Prime was all about single player, and Retro certainly isn't planning to skimp on that front in this sequel. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes takes place on the strange planet Aether, which was split into two dimensions when a Phazon-laced meteor crashed into its surface. Whether Samus is looking to repair the rift, stop others from exploiting it, or just taking a space vacation is currently unknown. And will there even be Metroids? Good question. Can't say.
What we do know is that, early in the game, Samus will observe Space Pirates taking a portal to the alternate dimension, and can then follow them through to the planet's "dark" half. From what we saw, the dark dimension often lives up to its name, and is largely illuminated by various pools of light. These lit areas protect Samus against the dark dimension's corrosive atmosphere, and she can only venture outside of the light for a short period before taking damage. One gameplay sequence we saw required Samus to shoot at targets ahead of her to create new pools of light that she could then jump to.
It's unclear right now just how the light/dark dimension-jumping will truly impact gameplay. We wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being similar in style to the real-world/ghost-world system seen in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, where careful traversal through both sides was necessary in order to solve certain puzzles. On the equipment side, Samus will start out with several basic powers, though she obviously won't be packing the massive loadout that she ended Metroid Prime with. Long-time Metroid aficionados will be pleased to hear that the classic Space Jump and Screw Attack powers will be making a return, which may mean a greater emphasis on platforming elements this time around. Samus will also have light- and dark-themed weapons, which do different amounts of damage depending on an enemy's light/dark affiliation. Apparently, we're not the only once who played Ikaruga.
We also got a glimpse of Metroid Prime 2's multiplayer side, and that's looking fine. Up to four Samuses can run around the specialized multiplayer maps and do horrible things to each other. Everyone starts with the Morph Ball, and racing around with the ball form's charging dash is actually a key strategy. It gets you around the map quicker, and every time you dash your opponents will lose their lock on you. The map we saw also had special cannons which could launch Samus's ball form into the air, for quick access to certain areas. Getting hit with a launched Samus means instant death -- a nice little touch. The Grapple Beam is also available for reaching certain areas. In all, the multiplayer looked pretty fun, and the final game will support modes other than deathmatch. The only major problem I foresee, assuming enough maps and such, is the game's lack of support for any sort of networking. We all know Nintendo's not big on online play, but Mario Kart: Double Dash! supported primitive LAN play, so things seemed hopeful. Alas, there are no plans for anything but split-screen in Echoes. What's the deal, Nintendo? In any case, that's a small blemish on what looks to be an otherwise fabulous sequel. Metroid Prime came outta nowhere to shock and awe in 2002, and it looks like Retro's all set to give an encore performance. Look for a hands-on report from the show floor soon.
