A sequel truly deserving of ownership.
With the release of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Retro Studios has improved on every facet of the previous game, creating yet another world in the Metroid Universe that makes everything more believable.
While the control system is the same and the visuals all use improved engines as in Prime, the story line could not have been more different. The previous Metroid planets, from Zebes to SR388, all spanned the entire surface; Echoes took it to an entirely new level, with a planet divided into two parallel dimensions, one filled with the Luminoth, creatures of the light, and the other filled with Ing, creatures of darkness.
As in every Metroid game to date, Samus is gifted with several upgrades, from weapons to suit upgrades and transfomations. This stayes the same in Echoes, but the game introduces three brand new weapons, and a new Ammo system that goes along with it. Because the world of Aether resides in both Light and Dark dimensions, Samus finds a Light Beam and a Dark Beam, as well as an Annihilator Beam that mixes the powers of Light and Dark into one unbelievably powerful blast.
Two new Suits make an appearance as well, first the Dark Suit, and then the Light Suit, which slow down and eventually nullify the damage Samus takes when in Dark Aether. The graphics used to illustrate are spectacular, giving new life to everyone's favourite heroine.
Classic Metroid puzzles give the game what it needs to surpass the status of a Shooter game, and propel it into the Adventure category, one that doesn't accurately describe the experience in Echoes, but comes pretty darn close. Morph Ball puzzles, time limits, and scanning all take part to make the game one of the most varying we've ever seen in an Adventure game.
The most innovative feature in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, however, is not the puzzles, or the new ammo system, or even the weapons and suits Samus acquires throughout the game, but the advent of a Metroid Multiplayer mode. Up to four different coloured Samus' can battle it out in various stages unlocked at varying parts of the game, collecting Ammo for the different Beams, the Missle Launcher, and Power Bombs. You can scan an enemy hunter to hack into their suit and disable several functions, making it easier to destroy and gain that status of most powerful bounty hunter.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes takes what was a brand new idea and surpasses it, creating a memory in our minds that will never fail to amaze. Echoes is truly a sequel that deserves ownership. Fans of the series cannot miss this game.