One of the best "pick-up-and-play" games for the DS.
Now, when this game was first announced (simply called 'Metroid Pinball'), there was a LOT of doubt and discouragement towards the game, most likely because nobody really liked the earlier Mario Pinball Land. Now the tables have turned, because this is the BEST pinball game on ANY system!
Playing Metroid Prime Pinball is a lot like replaying Metroid Prime. You must go through the various different regions and eventually defeat Metroid Prime. You even collect different items as you play the main adventure! (Such as Missiles, Power Bombs, and the Force Ball, which is new to the series.) The Force Ball item is very similar to the "Death Ball" from MP2E's multiplayer; it instantly kills enemies and heavily damages bosses. The only exception is that Samus has green electricity all around her.
Now, this being a pinball game, Samus is in her Morph Ball mode most of the time. That means she's free to drop bombs and Power Bombs (one only) freely. Most of your missions require careful thinking and planning and timing, but the missions are straightforward and somewhat easy. There's two "main" tables, four "boss" tables, and a bonus third main table only playable in wireless multiplayer. All of the tables represent a different region from Metroid Prime. The two main tables are the Tallon Overworld (my personal favorite), and the Pirate Frigate. They both include a number of minigames at a shot to rack up some big points. The boss tables are Phendrana Drifts, where you face off with the rock golem Thardus (also the stage where you aquire the Power Bomb), Phazon Mines where you take on the dreaded Omega Pirate (the place where you get Missiles), the Artifact Temple, which technically you face off with Meta-Ridley, but it's more of a six-ball minigame where you activate 12 towers, and finally, the Impact Crater, where you take on the two forms of Metroid Prime (and aquire the Force Ball). The multiplayer-only table is Magmoor Caverns, but it's very plain and watered-down, probably because it's single-card multiplayer. But really, when searching for opponents, you get to hear the awesome theme to Magmoor Caverns, but when actually playing in the table, the music is the "Hunters" theme from MP2E. What the heck?!
Of course, the entire game isn't limited to being a Morph Ball. There's a Combat mode where Samus will get in her regular form, and you participate in a shoot-out for points, or to deal some damage to a boss. In this mode, you can fire your Missiles. In main tables, you'll probably end up completely wasting them, but in boss tables, they can deal a nick of damage.
Not everybody is great at pinball, so people might get frusterated. I know I do in the "Shriekbat Shootout". >_>
Graphically, the game is pretty amazing. There's a lot of detail in every stage, so every stage looks gorgeous. The Artifact Temple might have used a little more work, however. No blurs or slowdown whatsoever.
You won't BELIEVE the music! Most (actually, I think all) of the music from Metroid Prime has been put into the game, and MP2E's title music was put in as this game's title music as well. Of course, they don't sound as good as the originals, but come pretty darn close to. Character sounds could have used much more work, however.
The game also includes the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak, and is fully compatable with it. Although it makes more noise than rumble, it's still a nice addition for the Nintendo DS. The only other game that uses it right now is Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, so hopefully we'll see some more good games use it.