Twitch
29-03-2006, 01:31 AM
In this the first metroid game to grace the GBA, Samus Aran almost dies after being infected by a previously unseen lifeform while she is upon SR388. This parasite which the Scientists later call X has the ability to mimic its' host, and slowly begins to take over Samus's Power Suit. To prevent the bounty hunters untimely demise the doctors of the Galactic Federation surgically remove the infected portions of her suit and send them away to a research station orbiting SR388 to be studied. However even with portions of her suit removed the infection continued to spread until someone proposed the idea of using the cells of the last metroid to create a vaccine, and after it was administered it completely removed the infection from Samus's body. This was because the Metroids were in fact created by the Chozo to destroy the X, making Samus the only being capable of standing against the X. Soon after her recovery Samus, is forced to travel to the station orbiting SR388 in order to exterminate the X or die trying.
G R A P H I C S
On the graphics front nothing about the game is cutting edge but then again it is on the GBA so it's to be expected. Fusion features the same variety of graphics as Super Metroid(circa 1994) did on the SNES in the form of a 2D sidescrolling platformer with a small amount of tweaking to make the surfaces smoother and the like.
A lot of bright colouring has been used in the game within certain area's, this does help quite a bit with Samus being in a bright blue suit at the start of the adventure making it a hell of a lot easier on the eyes contrast wise than many of the previous Metroid games have been.
S O U N D & M U S I C
Much of the music for this game has been remixed from previous games in the series which, I personally find adds to the nostalgia without taking away from the gameplay experience in the least in fact it makes it all the better.
There are you basic sounds within the game that do get irritating however as well as some which you will come to dread when playing the game, much like the Space Pirate theme in Metroid Prime, however this time it is the sound of the X parasite version of Samus the SA-X, stalking you through the station.
C O N T R O L S / P L A Y A B I L I T Y
I found the game relatively difficult and therefore quite playable, although that could just be because I suck. The game has 7 areas in total all with different climates and terrain created in order to simulate life upon SR388. Once again as with all of the other Metroid games you start out with none of you equipment except the basic beam, everything else will have to be gained by defeating the X parasite's, that were within that had infected that part of the suit and reclaim the ability. Many of the enemies that you must face in order to regain these abilities are easy but a few of them are stupidly irritating, hard or powerful, with the ability to take an entire energy tank with a single hit. Also unlike most other metroid games this one is entirely linear and you have set objectives to achieve.
There is also the issue of the SA-X in the game which much like the Dahaka of Prince of Persia:Warrior Within it cannot be defeated when you begin and the only thing that you can do upon seeing it is run for your life especially since it has the ice beam and you're susceptible to the cold since the fusion with the Metroid DNA.
The controls of the game are relatively easy once you get used to them but when you first begin playing most will find them irritating to come to grips with and may find yourself switching to morphball mode when you meant to duck to shoot at an enemy, which can at times cause a very quick death.
P R O B L E M S
Some parts of the game were way too easy but on the flipside some of them were also extremely hard to complete with some of the bosses taking several attempts before you recognize their weakness and use it to kill them. The controls also require you to be incredibly precise at times which is quite problematic.
C O N C L U S I O N
In finishing, this is an excellent game which is a true credit to the Metroid series. It took me about a week or so of solid gameplay to finish it off and I had to use a playguide because some of the things were that hard to figure out, there are also those points in the game where the solution is easy but you don't realise it.
So to anyone that is a fan of the Metroid series or even those of you that have never played it and just enjoy the odd side scrolling platformer I say go and buy this game, if you do I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did and still am.
-Twitch?
G R A P H I C S
On the graphics front nothing about the game is cutting edge but then again it is on the GBA so it's to be expected. Fusion features the same variety of graphics as Super Metroid(circa 1994) did on the SNES in the form of a 2D sidescrolling platformer with a small amount of tweaking to make the surfaces smoother and the like.
A lot of bright colouring has been used in the game within certain area's, this does help quite a bit with Samus being in a bright blue suit at the start of the adventure making it a hell of a lot easier on the eyes contrast wise than many of the previous Metroid games have been.
S O U N D & M U S I C
Much of the music for this game has been remixed from previous games in the series which, I personally find adds to the nostalgia without taking away from the gameplay experience in the least in fact it makes it all the better.
There are you basic sounds within the game that do get irritating however as well as some which you will come to dread when playing the game, much like the Space Pirate theme in Metroid Prime, however this time it is the sound of the X parasite version of Samus the SA-X, stalking you through the station.
C O N T R O L S / P L A Y A B I L I T Y
I found the game relatively difficult and therefore quite playable, although that could just be because I suck. The game has 7 areas in total all with different climates and terrain created in order to simulate life upon SR388. Once again as with all of the other Metroid games you start out with none of you equipment except the basic beam, everything else will have to be gained by defeating the X parasite's, that were within that had infected that part of the suit and reclaim the ability. Many of the enemies that you must face in order to regain these abilities are easy but a few of them are stupidly irritating, hard or powerful, with the ability to take an entire energy tank with a single hit. Also unlike most other metroid games this one is entirely linear and you have set objectives to achieve.
There is also the issue of the SA-X in the game which much like the Dahaka of Prince of Persia:Warrior Within it cannot be defeated when you begin and the only thing that you can do upon seeing it is run for your life especially since it has the ice beam and you're susceptible to the cold since the fusion with the Metroid DNA.
The controls of the game are relatively easy once you get used to them but when you first begin playing most will find them irritating to come to grips with and may find yourself switching to morphball mode when you meant to duck to shoot at an enemy, which can at times cause a very quick death.
P R O B L E M S
Some parts of the game were way too easy but on the flipside some of them were also extremely hard to complete with some of the bosses taking several attempts before you recognize their weakness and use it to kill them. The controls also require you to be incredibly precise at times which is quite problematic.
C O N C L U S I O N
In finishing, this is an excellent game which is a true credit to the Metroid series. It took me about a week or so of solid gameplay to finish it off and I had to use a playguide because some of the things were that hard to figure out, there are also those points in the game where the solution is easy but you don't realise it.
So to anyone that is a fan of the Metroid series or even those of you that have never played it and just enjoy the odd side scrolling platformer I say go and buy this game, if you do I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did and still am.
-Twitch?