Metroid Prime

Released: November 17, 2002 (USA)

Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Introduction

Metroid Prime is a first person adventure/shooter game released in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube.
While it is technically a shooter, the game focuses more on exploration than combat. It was universally praised by critics upon release, and is the highest rated first person shooter of all time according to Metacritic.

The game stars a scientist and bounty hunter by the name of Samus Aran, and you play as her after she lands on a planet known as Tallon IV. The game revolves around finding upgrades to Samus' suit and eradicating the substance known as 'phazon'.

Impressions

I'm not a huge fan of shooter games, but Metroid Prime is definitely an exception. Part of that was probably the focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, which you do across the whole game world. The world was another major factor in my enjoyment of the game. Tallon IV, the game world, is an interconnected set of five areas, each with a distinct atmosphere. When I took an elevator up from the lava-filled caves of Magmoor Caverns into the snowy Phendrana Drifts, I was in awe. I think the world, and using Samus's suit upgrades to traverse it, is what makes this game great, and the amazing atmosphere is what makes it stand out to me.

Gameplay

When you play as Samus, you use her arm cannon to defend against aliens, open doors, and solve puzzles. The game starts you out with a very limited set of abilities, but as you progress you find upgrades to your moves that let you access new areas. Some of these include Space Jump, which lets you jump in midair, the Grapple Beam, which lets you swing across gaps, and my personal favorite, the Wavebuster, which sends out a Ghostbusters-style stream of electricity from your arm cannon that leeches the life of the monsters you attack. 

The Wavebuster being used in a peaceful waterfall area

The game uses these upgrades very cleverly, however. For example, early on in the game, I saw a ledge too high to reach with my abilities at the time. But later, after I got the Space Jump, I remembered the place I came across before and I was eager to go back with my new upgrade to explore more of the previous area. In fact, the whole game is based around this concept. The designers made a large game world that let me go wherever I wanted, but they guided me through it by giving me an ability which let me access a new area, where I would gain a new ability and the cycle repeated. And even though this structure was similar for the whole game, it never felt the same to me. I think this is because of the sense of progress I felt as the world opened up to me with my new abilities.

Fans of the Metroid franchise will be very familiar with this style of gameplay, as this is how all Metroid games are set up. But for me, what sets Prime apart from other Metroid games is that it's in 3D, and instead of seeing Samus' journey through a planet from a sideways, 2D perspective, I got to see it from her perspective as new areas open up before my eyes.

Discovering a new area in 2D Metroid

The game uses these upgrades very cleverly, however. For example, early on in the game, I saw a ledge too high to reach with my abilities at the time. But later, after I got the Space Jump, I remembered the place I came across before and I was eager to go back with my new upgrade to explore more of the previous area. In fact, the whole game is based around this concept. The designers made a large game world that let me go wherever I wanted, but they guided me through it by giving me an ability which let me access a new area, where I would gain a new ability and the cycle repeated. And even though this structure was similar for the whole game, it never felt the same to me. I think this is because of the sense of progress I felt as the world opened up to me with my new abilities.

Fans of the Metroid franchise will be very familiar with this style of gameplay, as this is how all Metroid games are set up. But for me, what sets Prime apart from other Metroid games is that it's in 3D, and instead of seeing Samus' journey through a planet from a sideways, 2D perspective, I got to see it from her perspective as new areas open up before my eyes.

Discovering a new area in Metroid Prime

Music

The music of Metroid Prime isn't great music on its own, and it isn't supposed to be. While it does have a few catchy melodies, the music's main purpose is to add to the atmosphere and immersion of the game.

For a given track, there is usually an ambient background, which may consist of simple chord progression, and a slow melody. "Tallon Overworld", which plays in the game's first area, is an example of this. The slow, almost triumphant melody and ambient chords really fit the sprawling, rainy forest of the game's first area.

"Phendrana Drifts", another song that follows this pattern, is this game's best known track. Even before I knew of its popularity, the theme stuck out to me because of how well the soft piano melody went with the snowy landscape of Phendrana Drifts.

The only exception to this is "Magmoor Caverns", a quick-paced song that features a prominent, ominous melody. I thought this type of song worked very well, because I usually entered this area with the intent of passing through it quickly.

Art/Visuals

Even though Metroid Prime was released in 2002, I feel like the visuals hold up. This usually isn't the case for semi-realistic looking games like this one, but the blocky models of some areas only added to planet's alien feel. The game also had some really cool effects for its time, which have not aged badly. When Samus makes contact with a burst of steam, for example, her visor fogs up, and when there's a bright flash of light, you can briefly see the reflection of her face.

Fog effects

Samus's reflection

The game has some beautiful vistas. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the game so aesthetically pleasing, but I have to commend the art directors for making the alien planet so different from Earth, yet so beautiful. I also noticed that each of the areas had distinct color palettes, which helped distinguish them from each other and change the mood.

Story/Characters

Metroid Prime is a game based on exploration, and while it doesn't have much of a "story", the game has extensive lore that can be found and read while exploring. The story of the Chozo, the alien race that once lived on the planet, is gradually revealed to the player as they scan panels on the walls. This is entirely optional, but it adds an extra layer of depth to an otherwise simplistic story.

The only real character in the game is Samus herself. She never speaks, and the only time you see fully see her is during cutscenes. Like many Japanese games, this is most likely done to make her easier to project onto. By giving her no dialogue, the player feels like they are the one in the game, instead of controlling an entirely separate character. This definitely enhanced the game's immersion factor, but left Samus without any real character development.

Samus's face is finally revealed at the end of the game

Impact/Context

As I've mentioned before, Metroid Prime was the first 3D entry in the Metroid series. The games Metroid, Metroid II, and Super Metroid preceded it, and were all in 2D. However, Metroid Prime was released 8 years after the previous entry in the series, which came out in 1994, so Metroid fans had high expectations for the game. When it was first revealed to be a first-person game, there was a lot of backlash. Fans thought the new perspective would ruin the classic gameplay. Once the game was released, though, it met near universal critical acclaim from critics and fans alike.

Metroid Prime was also the first game produced by Nintendo's newly-acquired American studio, Retro Studios. While today Retro is well known for making masterful games, they had to prove themselves with Metroid Prime. It is widely assumed that Retro Studios was acquired as a replacement for Rareware, which was one of Nintendo's best studios in the late 90's until it was bought out by Xbox. Because of this, Metroid Prime was reassuring to people who thought the loss of Rareware would limit the number of quality games Nintendo would release.

Metroid Prime is currently the first game in a trilogy. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was released 2 years later, also on the GameCube, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released 3 years after that on the Wii. Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Prime Federation Force are online multiplayer spinoffs for the DS and the 3DS respectively, and there was even a Metroid Prime pinball game released for the DS as well. Needless to say, the Prime series proved to be a beloved and best-selling series.

Notes

I hope this post was informative and relatively unbiased! I can't promise the same for Super Mario Galaxy, the next game, because that game is my favorite game of all time.