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Metroid Prime 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: Nintendo Catalog: Video Games Release date: 2002-11-19 Audience age target: Teen Suitable before (months): 240 Media: Video Game Model: NGNIN 045496960421 Ean: 0045496960872 Upc: 045496960421  Tip: compare prices with similar computer games |
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Compatible with: GameCube |
| Professional Review: |
| For legions of Metroid fans, Samus Aran is a true hero. Gamers old enough to remember the original Metroid will never forget their surprise when learning that the armored character they had been controlling for days on end was actually a woman! Of course, you were only let in on the secret if you were able to beat the game in less than three hours -- no easy task. The original Metroid premiered on the original NES in Au |
| User Reviews: |
 Written on September 4, 2006 Summary: Best game on Gamecube, hands down. Metroid Prime is easily the best game on the GameCube. In fact, it makes Halo look like a complete joke. When everyone heard Metroid was going to be in the first person, people freaked out. Admittadly so, it just didnt seem right for a Metroid game to be a First Person Shooter. Then, Nintendo decided to let an unknown studio by the name of Retro Studios develop the game. People freaked out even more. But amazingly, the game turned out awsome. This is unlike any first person shooter you have ever played. Its actually a lot about exploration and puzzle solving than it is stright up shooting. One thing that has been a problem for most FPS games that Prime pulls off amazingly well is platforming. Before Metroid Prime, platforming in a FPS was usually akward, difficult, and frustrating. But somehow it works in Prime, you can easly jump from platform to platform, over gaps and up stairs, without ever missing your target or feeling frustrated. Metroid Prime is also just difficult enough to the point where it is never frustrating, but always a good challenge.  Written on August 25, 2006 Summary: Don't fall for the over-inflated review ratings. Despite what you may be tempted to believe, based on the many "Game of the Year" awards this game received and it's seemingly endless five star ratings at gaming sites, this is far from a perfect game. While it has its merits, it is certainly far from being the best GameCube game ever released. The quality level of this game is simply not up to Nintendo's standards of perfection; it is, in fact, more in the vein of X-Box or Playstation games - good but flawed. Remember the first time that you played the original "Tomb Raider"? If you reacted as I did to that game, roughly half of your time was spent having fun, and the other half was spent feeling unbelievably aggravated. "Metroid Prime" is similar, although its good sections aren't nearly as stunning, and its irritating sections are ten times worse. Here are just a few of the cardinal sins of video gaming that "Metroid Prime" is guilty of: - Un-fun 'busy work' in order to extend the length and 'replay value' of the game. The idea that you must "scan all the items" in the game in order to fill your log book is simply tedious and boring. There are rooms in this game where you'll do nothing but scan objects and read text for ten minutes. That's a very poor way to tell a story. - Endlessly respawning enemies. One particular room that I remember clearly contained three Chozo Ghosts. These are quite monotonously difficult enemies, in that they disappear and reappear and, if they hit you, your gun loses power and your screen flickers momentarily. And this room had four exits to explore. So every time I would leave to explore a region and come back, I'd have to fight the Chozo Ghosts again. A five minute battle just to pick a different door? Come on... - Compulsory backtracking. There will be times in this game when your radar will send you off to a particular section of the world only to find that it is a dead end unless you go all the way back and pick up an item. The first time you enter the crashed ship, you'll be allowed to go a third of the way through before it tells you to go all the way back to the Phendrana Drifts (which is, incidentally, where you just came from.) - Along with compulsory backtracking...upgrading enemies in previously beaten sections. Sections that you traveled through hours ago will suddenly contain three or four of the most difficult enemies you've yet faced. Chozo Ghosts will appear in a room that used to contain nothing but vines and little creepers. Old level bosses will show up where simplistic enemies once stood. Part of what makes compulsory backtracking fun is that you can revisit areas that were difficult and explore them properly without worry. Such a scheme was used very effectively in the original Metroid and in the Castlevania series. In "Metroid Prime," however, backtracking is simply a nuisance. - Faking 'challenge' with the "disappearing powers" trick. I've lost track of how many bosses or 'level challenges' in this game are a fabricated challenge simply because they force your 'lock-on' to malfunction, or because they can 'flash-blind' your infra-red scanner, or something else equally mindless. Note to game developers: if one of your features is deemed necessary to make the game playable (like 'lock on'), creating a boss battle in which the player has to do without said feature is not fun, or challenging, or surprising; it's simply mean. The game creates 'challenge' by evading its own rules, rather than by being clever. - Limited save points, or saves behind locked doors. I can't be too emphatic about this one...any game in which enemies constantly respawn and upgrade cannot have limited save points. On several occassions I lost 45 minutes worth of gameplay (and 'item scanning') because I was trapped between two save points and in both directions lay difficult enemies. I don't know about you, but when I lose a significant amount of work simply because I had no way to save, it tends to decrease my enjoyment level to zero. - And, including 'bonus features' as a sales pitch. The booklet and the case (and even the start screen itself) on "Metroid Prime" with leave you perfectly well aware that, if you go out and buy "Metroid Fusion" for the Game Boy and link the two games together, you get to play the original NES Metroid on your GameCube. That is simply amoral. If you're going to put a 'prize' on the game that I already paid for, make it unlockable by beating that game, or finishing with 100% of the scanning, or something. Don't make me buy another game in order to unlock something on this game. That's beyond ridiculous... What's next? "Send in proof of purchase seals from the previous 15 Metroid games or you don't get to face the final boss"? That's not to say that the game is entirely bad, however. On the contrary, when the game isn't throwing endless Chozo Ghosts or flying Space Pirates at you, some of the level exploration can be quite fun. There was even a time or two when a bit of exploration was done so cleverly that I actually felt like I was playing an old two-dimensional Metroid game. About 50% of this game does feel like it deserves all the praise that it has received. Unfortunately the boss battles, the backtracking with upgraded enemies, the limited saving, and the continual need to 'scan' everything turns this game into a tedious and unbelievably irritating experience. I have been playing this game for three consecutive days and its irritation factor has got me so stressed out that I have a tension headache. I've thrown my controller at least five times while playing and I'm not usually the controller throwing type. To sum up, if you don't have a high tolerance for aggravating gameplay, avoid "Metroid Prime" at all costs. Written on August 10, 2006 Summary: Godd game This game is pretty good i love the graphics and blasting space pirates. but there is a bad thing about this game it is hard at times and confusing! i I have been playing this game for over a year and I have only got it 21% complete (Im stuck on the phendrana Drifts!) but overall good game I even enjoyed it and im not even into metroid games Written on July 24, 2006 Summary: Metroid Prime: Nintendo's Halo I bought Metroid Prime about 5 months ago, and have beaten it 3 times so far. I've gotta tell you, this game is so great, that playing it three times just isn't enough. On my list of the twenty greatest games ever, Metroid Prime is # 2. That is saying alot, considering that the list also includes Splinter Cell, Goldeneye for the n64, and Halo 2's multiplayer. In this review, I will give you a brief history of the Metroid series leading up to the game this review is actually about, Metroid Prime. The reason I am including this short history is so that people who have never played a Metroid game before will be somewhat familiar with the series. But now let's get down to the basics. The first Metroid game in the series was released in 1986 for the NES, and established the Metroid series. Basically, the game showed you that in the future, there is a bounty hunter named Samus Aran, and he must destroy a new species of alien called, you guessed it- Metroids! These creatures are being used by the wicked space pirates as biological weapons. So Samus flies to the planet Zebes to end the space pirate menace and the Metroid threat once and for all. He, in the end, fulfills his mission, destroying the space pirate leaders Mother Brain, Ridley and Kraid, and ends the Metroid threat once and for all! - Or so he thinks .... But the end of the game revealed a suprise... Samus is a girl! The second Metroid game in the series was Metroid 2, released in 1991 on the Gameboy. The game continued the story, revealing that Samus had not actually completely destroyed the Metroids. So she went to SR388, the home planet of the metroids, and defeated the space pirates and the Queen Metroid. However, before leaving the planet, Samus discovered a baby metroid, and took it back to the Federation for research.... The third game in the Metroid series was Super Metroid, released in 1994 for the NES. The space pirates are recovering from Samus' attack, and Ridley has stolen the baby metroid. Samus heads back to Zebes and destroys Mother Brain again, and barely escapes the planet bfore the space pirates' self destruct program destroys the planet. The fourth game in the Metroid series is Metroid Zero Mission, released in 2001 for the Gameboy Advance. This game is actually an extended look at Samus' first trib to Zebes, and in it, Samus once again defeats the space pirates. And now we come to Metroid Prime, the fifth game in the Metroid series, released in 2002 for the Gamecube. Metroid Prime is the first game in the series that is 3D. It is also a first person shooter, another first for the series. The game's story line goes like this: Samus detects a distress call from a space station in orbit above the planet Tallon IV. She goes to it to investigate, only to find that the space station is a space pirate station. She infiltrates the station, only to find that the Space Pirates are almost all dead, due to several experiments that have gone horribly wrong. She ventures on, eventually finding one of these experiments. She destroys it, which sets off the space pirates' self destruct system. She runs for her life, but another suprise is in store. Ridley is also trying to escape the station, and he flies away, trying to escape the station before it explodes. Basically, Samus chases Ridley to Tallon IV's surface, where the rest of the game takes place. I won't reveal any more details, as this is only a review, not a walkthrough or a spoiler. I will let you know that what I just told you is actually less than a twentieth of the game's length. This game is extremely long, so if you enjoy playing games for a while to beat them like I do, this game will fit you like a glove. However, the game is definately not for casual gamers, because the game usually takes between 15 - 24 hours of solid gameplay just to beat it, and even longer to find all of the secret hidden items that are all over the place on Tallon IV. This is not saying that Metroid Prime is boringly long, as the complete opposite is true. Metroid Prime's length is caused by the exploration in the game. That brings me to another factor. This is not just a shooter where you run from room to room killing everything in your path. Metroid Prime is as much a strategy game and an exploration game as a first person shooter. In fact, you will probably spend as much time exploring and searching for weapons and items as you will battling swarms of enemies. The alien enemies you fight in the game range from huge War Wasps to Space Pirates to a Gigantic rock monster. This also brings up a factor of the game: its graphics. Every detail is perfect no matter how close to a landscape or enemy you get. The graphics make you feel like you are a part of the action, as Space Pirates drop from the ceiling to fight you, or you explore a flooded cave. The locations you play in are stunning, as they look real. As you play through the game, you will explore a lush jungle, a barren and desolate desert, a frozen white and snowy land full of caves and mountains, a Space Pirate mine, an ancient temple, and firey caverns filled with lava and fire snakes. The game is brimming with boss battles as well. There are over a dozen bosses you must defeat in order to beat the game. Each and every battle is unique, and you will have to use your brain to beat some of them. Metroid Prime is difficult, but most of the difficulty is due to challenging puzzles and frustrating bosses. If you stick to it, you can beat it in around a week and a half of consistent playing. The gameplay is unique as well, as there are things that you can do in this game that you can't do in most other games. For example, you can roll up into a ball to navigate tight spots, and to explore every nook and cranny of the game. The music in Metroid Prime is great as well, as it compliments the gameplay in every aspect. The music gets more frantic as you battle enemies or a boss, and then it is peaceful again after they are defeated. As I said above, this game is one of my favorite games ever. In fact, that is the only reason I am writing this review. I gave this game 5/5 stars, but I would definitely have given it more if I could. All in all, Metroid Prime excels in gameplay, graphics and music. There is a good reason why it is a player's choice game, and I hope this review has helped you out in your decision. Thanks for reading! -Bubba"Samus" Written on May 5, 2006 Summary: Great Game I sat in front of my gamecube for 24 strait hours playing this game. This is a must have for any serious 1st person shoter fan or for someone who has a gamecube. |
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| Price comparison |
 Metroid Prime |
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 Super Mario Sunshine |
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| List price | $19.99 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $24.99 |
| Lowest used price | $3.01 | $8.96 | $6.95 | $13.11 | $12.44 | $7.99 |
| Lowest new price | $38.95 | $28.90 | $5.78 | $52.95 | $38.00 | $9.43 |
| Collectible price | $28.99 | $26.01 | - | $30.00 | $31.01 | - |
| Catalog | Video Games | Video Games | Video Games | Video Games | Video Games | Video Games |
| Release date | 2002-11-19 | 2006-09-08 | 2006-06-15 | 2006-06-15 | 2006-06-15 | 2006-06-15 |
| Audience age target | Teen | Teen | - | Everyone | Everyone | Everyone |
| Suitable before (months) | 240 | 240 | 240 | - | 204 | 240 |
| Media | Video Game | Video Game | Video Game | Video Game | Video Game | Video Game |
| Model | NGNIN 045496960421 | 45496962159 | 45496950507 | 45496960469 | 45496960346 | 45496962050 |
| Ean | 0045496960872 | 0045496962159 | 0045496950507 | 0045496960469 | 0045496960896 | 0045496962050 |
| Upc | 045496960421 | 045496962487 | 045496950507 | 045496960469 | 045496960346 | 045496962050 |
| Link to shop* (opens in a new window) | BUY IT NOW* | BUY IT NOW* | BUY IT NOW* | BUY IT NOW* | BUY IT NOW* | BUY IT NOW* |
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