At least we won't accuse Nintendo and Retro of false advertising.
User Rating: 7 | Metroid Prime 2: Echoes GC
When Nintendo released Metroid Prime, it became a testament to the belief that indeed a good game can be made in the transition from 2D to 3D. It managed to retain everything that made the series popular to begin with, while showing the action from the snazzy confines of Samus' helmet. It's unfortunate that Echoes pretty much erases all this progress. The sequel, while beautiful both visually and aurally, is ponderous, plodding, and most importantly- boring. The game begins with Samus crashing on the war-torn planet of Aether after receiving a distress beacon from the surface. The planet is under siege by a hostile force known as "The Ing." Upon crashing, Samus loses all of her gear and is forced to scour the planet's surface for her gear while at the same time trying to help the indigenous Luminoth race defeat the borg-like Ing before the planet destructs. The world of Aether is divided into two distinct parts. You have the organic, real world version, and the nightmarish counterpart-- Dark Aether. The two worlds have been melded together beautifully. While the two are basically twins, there are enough distinct differences to make the trek through each a very different affair. Fitting in with the theme, Dark Aether's air is toxic, while Light Aether's is safe to breathe. The creatures in Dark Aether sometimes mirror their light counterparts, but have been possessed by the Ing, making them usually a little tougher and more agile. The light/dark mechanic certainly isn't anything new, as Link to the Past or Soul Reaver veterans can attest. The problem is that it really isn't something a Metroid game needed. Metroid games have always involved solving puzzles and making progress by slowly acquiring more weapons, items and skills. This one is no different except now you have to contend with the usual environmental puzzles as well as the light/dark world mechanic. The pace of the game begins briskly enough, but quickly slows to a snail's pace. Like the first Prime, Samus has different beam weapons that wil open different types of doors. With Echoes, they added another element to unlocking doors- sonic and missile lock doors. This ends up being the game's downfall from a pacing standpoint. Even though, the areas in Echoes are smaller, it becomes extremely tedious walking all the way to the other end of the planet only to find out that while you have the beam type to open a door that showed up on your map, you can't open it because it needs one of the aforementioned mods. Not only that, the designers opted to neuter the hint system, which makes it so at times you'll have no idea where to go to progress the game. Many times, you'll find that the area you've been focusing on is polar opposite to where you are supposed to be in the game. Too many times, it feels like you've wasted an hour or two trying to further the game. About halfway through, the game kicks it up another notch on the frust-o-meter by requiring Samus to find keys scattered throughout the game. The first two sets aren't that difficult, and only serve as a minor annoyance as they are all in basically the same area. The final temple requires a laughable nine keys to open. They are scattered all over Dark Aether and they usually require you to leave a visor on nonstop in order to find them. It's this fetch-questing and backtracking that fundamentally breaks Echoes. The game has other problems, but the unfocused gameplay is what hurts it most. Graphically, the game is a marvel. It's right up there with Resident Evil 4, only where Resident Evil 4 relied on grime to convey its mood, Echoes relies on beautiful alien architecture and landscapes. All the wildlife on Aether help immerse you as well. Swarms of flying critters fly through the air, dust motes lazily sift through sunlight, schools of alien fish shoot through the water. Everything feels alive, and very believable. Aether feels like a living, breathing, place. Dark Aether, by proxy of it's design, pretty much looks like a bruised version of its real world counterpart. It's understandable, but not really as enjoyable to trek through as Light Aether's gorgeous levels. The character models seem a little more detailed as well this time around. Samus' different suits are gorgeous as are the different enemies in the game. The sound is worth mentioning as well. Each of Aether's areas has a distinct futuristic score that plays in the background. The music just sounds right. Futuristic electronica mixed with brooding choral arrangements are wonderfully composed as well as a few remixes of the classic Metroid theme. All the effects, like the sound of Samus' boots crunching along the planet's gritty surface, to the weapon fire to the sound of a Space Pirate are all distinctive and well done. The controls are about the same as the first game's. The left stick controls Samus' movement, and in conjunction with either of the shoulder buttons, serves as a strafe or free-look. The A button is used to fire and the B button is used to jump. X is used to go into Morph Ball mode and Y fires missiles. The controls are the same, but the game design has exposed a few weaknesses. Many times, enemies are directly above Samus, and the controls are simply too slow to get lock-on in these instances. Many of the fights in the game take place in close quarters, requiring quick (and constant) turning in order to succeed, which the game just doesn't have. The lock-on system is not very reliable either. At times, you'll find yourself locked on to an enemy you don't want to be, or even worse, locked on to the wrong part of a boss during one of the game's tense boss battles. It's unfortunate to say, but the controls will cause you to die in this game. I loved Prime, but Echoes is just that- an echo of a better game. The pacing pulls the game apart at the seams, and the fetch questing and backtracking will test even the most patient of gamers. Echoes feels like the developers were trying to bloat the game up with filler gameplay to make sure players felt they got their money's worth. Sadly, this backfired. The storyline is also banal and small minded. Very little is ever known about the Ing and Samus' ship (which crash lands at the beginning of the game) takes off at the end like nothing ever happened. The game has its pluses. It's beautiful, sounds great, and has some tremendously challenging and tense boss fights. But this isn't enough to elevate the game to the lofty perch of its predecessor. Buy the original for twenty dollars and put the thirty you saved towards another game. You'll be better off.
