Metroid Prime

One of my gaming regrets is not purchasing the Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii. Until it comes down to a price that doesn't require me to sell off my kids, I'll have to settle for the Gamecube version of Metroid Prime and the Metroid Prime Corruption only Wii disc. Sadly, I've never played Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, but I would like to. I keep putting off picking up a cheap gamecube copy, holding on to the hope of one day owning that Trilogy Disc.

Add the sound of angelic singing here.

All that aside, here are my feelings on the original Gamecube Metroid: Prime.

This game has been out a few years now and most everyone knows whether they like it or not. Playing through it again, however, it surprised me how well this game holds up. Should that be a surprise? Probably not. Most all Metroid games hold up. I still have as much fun with Super Metroid as I did when I was 12. The difference, to me, is that the old 8 and 16 bit games have their charm. The graphics are what they are and gameplay was what drew you to 'em. The same is true here. Though, it must be said that the graphics hold up very well. This is still a beautiful game. The environments are breathtaking and realistic. It definitely looks better than some of the Wii games out there.

The beauty of this game, as is true with the rest of the series, is the sense of immersion and exploration. The isolation. The sheer atmosphere of it as you discover new parts of a dying world. There is a sense of history surrounding you and you must make your way through various puzzles and enemies to find the items that let you continue to explore the world and try to take out the vile Space Pirates using it for their own Phazon-induced schemes. And you feel like you are there every step of the way.

The bosses are fun, huge and varied. I enjoyed facing the bosses in this game. The challenge of figuring out their weaknesses, learning their patterns and taking them down was quite satisfying. Also, they were neat to look at.

The scan system works, it's very effective in filling in backstory and the history of the planet, as well as figuring out how to deal with enemies. I don't mind the scan system for those reasons, but I can see how it can be frustrating for some players who feel like all they're doing is scanning objects. Especially if you are a completist (I'm an "near completist", I don't have to have every single thing, but I will put in effort to get enough to get as close as I can and also not get the lamest ending).

Though I have to throw in that this game does include 2 things I absolutely hate:

1)Water Levels: These are never fun for me. They are more a chore and I have a deep irrational fear of deep water (even in video games). It must be noted that this isn't quite as bad once you get the gravity suit.

2)Chozo Ghosts: No particular reason, I just hate Chozo Ghosts. They pop up way to often and make backtracking more difficult than it should be (I guess that is a reason after all).

Yes, this game has put a few years behind its release date and there have been a handful of Metroid titles sinc, but I have a feeling I'll be playing this game more than once or twice in the future (especially if I get my paws on that ever elusive Trilogy Wii disc!). Just a fun, immersive experience.

A Little Bit About Me

Just a little info, so you know where I'm coming from, gaming wise. When I was but a wee lad an even wee-er cousin of mine would come down and visit the family for the summer. And one summer he brought forth the Nintendo Entertainment System. Much Mario was played that summer. Eventually, I got one for Christmas with a couple of games (I believe Mario 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). There was much rejoicing. Zelda and Metroid was played and enjoyed. Tetris came along and all the adults would steal our system away from us to play that.

The Super Nintendo came around about the time I was heading into Junior High or so and I remember wanting it so bad. We had to sell our NES, but I didn't care if it meant getting an even bigger and better version of it. With Super Mario World, to boot. The graphics blew me away. Our family never had a lot, but I had friends and cousins that had some cool games. Games like A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, Super Metroid and Super Mario RPG were played and beat without ever owning them.

I never put much stock into other systems, understand, me and all my friends were about the Big N. So, Nintendo 64 comes out and it's my first big time purchase with my own cash made by myself working at a real job. I was blown to smithereens by Mario 64. Ocarina of Time eventually made it's way into my hands and I thought it couldn't get much better. I was a huge Bond fan, especially of the movie GoldenEye, the first one I saw on a big screen. I was anxious to get that game before I even realized it was gonna be the game changer it was. Needless to say, multiplayer was played and friends and family had great times executing one another. It was about the time I beat the mission part of the game when we got our first computer with internet access.

I barely touched my 64 after that. This is where I fell away. I pretty much missed the Gamecube. Until one day my friend got himself a Wii and sold me his Gamecube real cheap. Then it started again. Metroid. Mario. Zelda. Played them all and the love came back. I was eventually able to scrounge up a Wii a couple of years ago and I thnik I might play it more than when I was a kid. Actually, that's probably not accurate, what with a full time job and all. Plus raising kids. Scratch that, I don't play it as much as then, but I'm probably into it as much as I was back then.

Moral of the story is, I went away and the Wii, and to a lesser extent, my later experience with the Gamecube brought me back and this little blog is my way of chronicling my catching up.