a|A
03-04-2006, 10:03 PM
I bought my DS a week or two before Mariokart DS arrived on our shores. Then, I had it in my mind that there would be two games that could justify my purchase. One being Mariokart. The other being Metroid Prime : Hunters.
The Original Metroid series ( Nes, Snes, Gameboy ) tells the story of intergalactic Bounty Hunter - Samus Aran, and her adventures battling the evil space pirates and discovering more about the strange energy sucking creatures - 'metroids'. With the arrival of the gamecube, the Metroid saga moved from side-scroller to First Person Shooter. A bold move, but one pulled off amazingly by Relic. Producing a beautiful and detailed game that was true to the original.
With the annoucement of the DS, we were told that we were getting a Prime game for our little handheld friend. Well I was excited.
Not being able to contain my patience, I ordered a copy of this game from Canada, and it arrived last week - a good month or two before the rest of Australia gets it, and My god - was it worth it.
There are two main modes to MP:H. The Singleplayer Story mode, and The Multiplayer modes.
The Adventure mode is your standard Metroid Game. Samus has been sent on a mission to find the 'ultimate' weapon and secure it for the federation. However, she is not alone in receving this message. Numerous of the galaxys most notorious bounty hunters are also closing in on the signal and are attempting to gain the power for themselves.
Unlike your traditional metroid game, Samus seems to have rememberd to glue her suit on this time. So you DONT lose any of your shit at the start of the game. Which is a good thing, as about 5 minutes in - you're attacked by your first bounty hunter.
I'll move aside from the game for a moment to talk about the control system. Many games on the DS haven't taken full advantage of the touchscreen. Granted, many of those games you haven't needed to use it ( mariokart ), However in MP:H, it is essential. There are 4 control setups - two using the touchscreen, two without. Each is a left / right hand combination. I use the default -
Left hand on the directional keypad controlling movement and strafing ( Your W,S,A,D ), and finger on the L button for firing. While my right hand holds the stylus and controls directional movement ( Up down, left right ) and jumping ( double tap ). While at the same time, all weapon selections, Visor Changes, and Morph Ball switches are done using the touchscreen.
Although this control setup takes a while to get used to ( for the first day I could only play for 20 minutes at a time as my hand cramped up something chronic ), I can now play perfectly for hours at a time without getting cramps. Having the freedom to aim wherever you please is a luxury that was hard to come by on the old metroid games - and in some ways, it is better than a mouse on A PC system since its basicaly a touch where you want to fire system ( Except the main screen is at the top ).
Moving on to the graphics, and graphically this is the best looking game on the DS in my opinion. It has glorious cut scenes ( pre-rendered ) but so immensely detailed they scream brilliance. The introduction sequence shows off each of the bounty hunters, ending with our fav. Samus Aran - Battling a space pirate.
In-Game, the top screen is your main viewpoint, the bottom is your weapon/visor selection and aiming screen.
In-game, the graphics are spectacular. Although low-res, You can tell the developers have gone to immense effort pushing the DS to its limits. At times it does chug a little and the FPS drops ( mainly when there's more than 5 creatures on the screen at any one time ), but its not that often that that happens. With monsters being spawned one or two at a time.
The single player experience is like any other metroid game. Collect 8 "Octoliths" and you get the uberweapon. However, there are a few additions. With the coming of the bountyhunters, if you come across one and LOSE a fight - they will STEAL the octalith from you, and you will have to track them down, and challenge them to reclaim it.
Its at this point I'll tell you about the transport and saving system.
There is only ONE save point in MP:H. Your ship. However, the game does create 'checkpoints' for saving mid-game. So if you die, you can respawn there instead of all the way back at your ship. Also, there are multiple planets to explore in this game. You dock in your ship, take off - and select a planet from a solar system map. Along the side it shows with bountyhunters are currently at that planet, so you can track that pesky bugger down.
There are the usual assortment of metroid weapons, Morph Ball, Missles, Power Beam, as well as 6 new weapons you gain as you move through the game.
I wont joke when I say the single player experience is HUGE for such a tinly little cartridge. And is truly an asset to such a great game...
However...
The singleplayer is only secondary to the main selling point of MP:H.
M U L T I P L A Y E R.
When Nintendo Wifi was originally announced oh so long ago, I was praying metroid would be included, and my god . . . is it included!
There are 7 gameplay modes ( yes, 7 ). Each supporting up to 4 players ( and bots if you're playing a local game - yes, bots ).
Battle - Basic Deathmatch.
Survival - CS deathmatch.
Bounty - Sort of a "hold the thing for as long as possible" gametype.
Defender - Similar to King of the Hill.
Prime Hunter - One person is the prime hunter, the rest must kill that one person.
Capture - Capture The Flag.
and filanally Nodes - Similar to UT's Domination.
There are also many many MANY levels - enough to keep you occupied.
MP:H uses Nintendos "Friend code" system once more as well as adding a 'rival' system so you can add people who you dont like very much ;).
A new addition to nintendo wifi however is the use of the microphone.
If playing a game with people on your friends list, By holding X before or After a game ( in the lobby ) you can use VOIP to chat.
Yes, that's right - you can chat over the DS with your friends.
And to make matters even more exciting, you get to play as any of the bounty hunters you have encountered in the game ( and defeated ). To start with, you have 3. ( Samus, and two new ones ) - and then as you defeat more in the game, you unlock them as playable Multiplayer characters.
Multiplayer is fast paced, Lag Free, and utterly addictive. You'll be fragging in no time.
Besides the microphone, Sound is quite good - You've got a full soundtrack, nice sound effects, and good dramatic boss music.
However,
a note on the bosses.
Those expecting your typical absolutely AWESOME metroid boss fights - Im afraid you will be sorely dissapointed. Besides the bounty hunters, there are several defence systems you have to fight. A giant Pole. And an Eye. ( That's all Iv'e found so far ).
Amazing ;).
Also, after beating each of these defence towers, you must 'get out'. That is, run ALLLLLL The way back to your ship. Not because anything is going to blow up. Just because you have to get out. It's a bit of an anticlimax, but it can be quite heart-pumping with 20 seconds to go after running solidly for 8 minutes.
damn you stupid giant eyeball.
For Co Op I put a score of 8. Merely because of the Capture the Flag and team based gameplay modes. There is no Singleplayer Co Op. But the MP more than makes up for teamplay.
All in all,
Metroid Prime Hunters is by far and away the pride of my DS collection. It wont leave my DS card slot for a long time coming. And, I can't wait to play some of you people online.
The Original Metroid series ( Nes, Snes, Gameboy ) tells the story of intergalactic Bounty Hunter - Samus Aran, and her adventures battling the evil space pirates and discovering more about the strange energy sucking creatures - 'metroids'. With the arrival of the gamecube, the Metroid saga moved from side-scroller to First Person Shooter. A bold move, but one pulled off amazingly by Relic. Producing a beautiful and detailed game that was true to the original.
With the annoucement of the DS, we were told that we were getting a Prime game for our little handheld friend. Well I was excited.
Not being able to contain my patience, I ordered a copy of this game from Canada, and it arrived last week - a good month or two before the rest of Australia gets it, and My god - was it worth it.
There are two main modes to MP:H. The Singleplayer Story mode, and The Multiplayer modes.
The Adventure mode is your standard Metroid Game. Samus has been sent on a mission to find the 'ultimate' weapon and secure it for the federation. However, she is not alone in receving this message. Numerous of the galaxys most notorious bounty hunters are also closing in on the signal and are attempting to gain the power for themselves.
Unlike your traditional metroid game, Samus seems to have rememberd to glue her suit on this time. So you DONT lose any of your shit at the start of the game. Which is a good thing, as about 5 minutes in - you're attacked by your first bounty hunter.
I'll move aside from the game for a moment to talk about the control system. Many games on the DS haven't taken full advantage of the touchscreen. Granted, many of those games you haven't needed to use it ( mariokart ), However in MP:H, it is essential. There are 4 control setups - two using the touchscreen, two without. Each is a left / right hand combination. I use the default -
Left hand on the directional keypad controlling movement and strafing ( Your W,S,A,D ), and finger on the L button for firing. While my right hand holds the stylus and controls directional movement ( Up down, left right ) and jumping ( double tap ). While at the same time, all weapon selections, Visor Changes, and Morph Ball switches are done using the touchscreen.
Although this control setup takes a while to get used to ( for the first day I could only play for 20 minutes at a time as my hand cramped up something chronic ), I can now play perfectly for hours at a time without getting cramps. Having the freedom to aim wherever you please is a luxury that was hard to come by on the old metroid games - and in some ways, it is better than a mouse on A PC system since its basicaly a touch where you want to fire system ( Except the main screen is at the top ).
Moving on to the graphics, and graphically this is the best looking game on the DS in my opinion. It has glorious cut scenes ( pre-rendered ) but so immensely detailed they scream brilliance. The introduction sequence shows off each of the bounty hunters, ending with our fav. Samus Aran - Battling a space pirate.
In-Game, the top screen is your main viewpoint, the bottom is your weapon/visor selection and aiming screen.
In-game, the graphics are spectacular. Although low-res, You can tell the developers have gone to immense effort pushing the DS to its limits. At times it does chug a little and the FPS drops ( mainly when there's more than 5 creatures on the screen at any one time ), but its not that often that that happens. With monsters being spawned one or two at a time.
The single player experience is like any other metroid game. Collect 8 "Octoliths" and you get the uberweapon. However, there are a few additions. With the coming of the bountyhunters, if you come across one and LOSE a fight - they will STEAL the octalith from you, and you will have to track them down, and challenge them to reclaim it.
Its at this point I'll tell you about the transport and saving system.
There is only ONE save point in MP:H. Your ship. However, the game does create 'checkpoints' for saving mid-game. So if you die, you can respawn there instead of all the way back at your ship. Also, there are multiple planets to explore in this game. You dock in your ship, take off - and select a planet from a solar system map. Along the side it shows with bountyhunters are currently at that planet, so you can track that pesky bugger down.
There are the usual assortment of metroid weapons, Morph Ball, Missles, Power Beam, as well as 6 new weapons you gain as you move through the game.
I wont joke when I say the single player experience is HUGE for such a tinly little cartridge. And is truly an asset to such a great game...
However...
The singleplayer is only secondary to the main selling point of MP:H.
M U L T I P L A Y E R.
When Nintendo Wifi was originally announced oh so long ago, I was praying metroid would be included, and my god . . . is it included!
There are 7 gameplay modes ( yes, 7 ). Each supporting up to 4 players ( and bots if you're playing a local game - yes, bots ).
Battle - Basic Deathmatch.
Survival - CS deathmatch.
Bounty - Sort of a "hold the thing for as long as possible" gametype.
Defender - Similar to King of the Hill.
Prime Hunter - One person is the prime hunter, the rest must kill that one person.
Capture - Capture The Flag.
and filanally Nodes - Similar to UT's Domination.
There are also many many MANY levels - enough to keep you occupied.
MP:H uses Nintendos "Friend code" system once more as well as adding a 'rival' system so you can add people who you dont like very much ;).
A new addition to nintendo wifi however is the use of the microphone.
If playing a game with people on your friends list, By holding X before or After a game ( in the lobby ) you can use VOIP to chat.
Yes, that's right - you can chat over the DS with your friends.
And to make matters even more exciting, you get to play as any of the bounty hunters you have encountered in the game ( and defeated ). To start with, you have 3. ( Samus, and two new ones ) - and then as you defeat more in the game, you unlock them as playable Multiplayer characters.
Multiplayer is fast paced, Lag Free, and utterly addictive. You'll be fragging in no time.
Besides the microphone, Sound is quite good - You've got a full soundtrack, nice sound effects, and good dramatic boss music.
However,
a note on the bosses.
Those expecting your typical absolutely AWESOME metroid boss fights - Im afraid you will be sorely dissapointed. Besides the bounty hunters, there are several defence systems you have to fight. A giant Pole. And an Eye. ( That's all Iv'e found so far ).
Amazing ;).
Also, after beating each of these defence towers, you must 'get out'. That is, run ALLLLLL The way back to your ship. Not because anything is going to blow up. Just because you have to get out. It's a bit of an anticlimax, but it can be quite heart-pumping with 20 seconds to go after running solidly for 8 minutes.
damn you stupid giant eyeball.
For Co Op I put a score of 8. Merely because of the Capture the Flag and team based gameplay modes. There is no Singleplayer Co Op. But the MP more than makes up for teamplay.
All in all,
Metroid Prime Hunters is by far and away the pride of my DS collection. It wont leave my DS card slot for a long time coming. And, I can't wait to play some of you people online.