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Retro Studios up to the task? I'll put it to you in one word: yes. Trying to be like Gumpei Yokoi, who was one of the most innovative game developers ever, is not an easy act to follow by any means. To top it all of, this game was made in the United States of America, and not in Japan, which makes all of this an even bigger roll of the dice than it would normally seem, and that got Retro Studios a lot of ridicule, most of it which was probably unnecessary to begin with. But, they had a right to be nervous. Now, I can safely say that their fears were unjustified on all fronts. This is a game that takes so much from the old Metroid games, but it also takes a lot from other games, the one I found it to be taking a lot from was none other than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which is arguably Miyamoto's magnum opus. The master helped the young men at Retro Studios in Austin, Texas find the right note and let them take care of the rest. Once again, Nintendo has delivered one of the best games ever, which is becoming more and more of a trademark.
The story isn't all there, but if you actually take the time to read through the content and you look at everything, you will find this story to be quite engrossing. On a job to Tallon IV to visit an abandoned space station that had a distress signal (not too far off from Super Metroid) Samus Aran learns that this place was attacked. After dealing with a monster and escaping, she finds that Ridley was behind the whole thing and that means the Space Pirates are behind this one. Now, heading down to Tallon IV, she is about to walk the fine line between victory and hell. This game takes place after Metroid, which is the right move because it does answer some questions. I won't tell you what, exactly because I have no intention of ruining the game for you. This is all you need to know. If you look and scan all the content, you will find that there is a very rewarding story in all of this. Maybe HALO should have tried that...
Graphics are more of a polygonal look, and that is about right for this game, since it really doesn't want to fall into the trap of the extreme realism, which is very dangerous if it isn't done right. The visuals are remarkable and the effects are just as good. The graphics aren't the best of the year, but they sure as hell come close.
The controls take a little time to learn, especially when you have to learn so many configurations and combinations. The Metroid and the gaming vets will have no trouble learning the game, but the newbies might run into a little trouble, so beware. The controls run similar to what Ocarina of Time had if you are wondering.
The music takes a lot from the old Metroid games and give them the right beat and tone to match the mood of the game, which is very dark, and that works well with the environments. Metroid music in general was great, so this was easy enough.
The overall gameplay structure is virtually flawless, making this a great game for any gamer, especially FPS fans. XBOX fans can no longer gloat about HALO because Metroid Prime beats the hell out of this game and Splinter Cell with relative ease. This is not a three-hour game, which is what Super Metroid was, roughly. Overall, this game is about 15 hours long. The level design isn't quite as good as Yokoi's, but you wonder how Super Metroid would look as an FPS. Something to think about.
By far and away, this is the best Nintendo game of the year and a game that is sure to raise hell for Vice City when the top honors roll around. Buy this game or you might as well consider yourself a non-video game fan. Congratulations, Retro Studios. You lived up to the task of meeting the master. -- Chris Vavra, PGNx Media
---- Nov 25, 2002
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