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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Space Pirates beware...


It's official - the Metroid Prime Trilogy is in stores. All three of Samus Aran's first-person adventure titles are now available in one metal box which includes an art booklet. The controls to the first two games have been updated to accomadate for the Wiimote, with slight graphical updates as well. Apparently Retro and Nintendo thought it was a good idea to tone down some of the more difficult boss battles in Prime 2: Echoes - for those who have played it, you know how irritating the boost and spider-ball guardian could be.

However, for those who are not as familiar with the games, I'll give you a quick overview. The games are set between the original Metroid and Metroid II and elaborate on the story of Samus' relationship with the space pirates and their leader Ridley (whom Samus defeated in the original Metroid). Fueled by vengeance and greed, the space pirates split their forces into three main teams. One begins mining phazon on Tallon IV (Metroid Prime), another engages galactic federation troopers in orbit above Aether (Prime 2: Echoes), and the third falls to will of Dark Samus (Prime 3: Corruption). Samus is sent on a mission which initially entails her deaing with said pirates, but quickly escelates to something greater. In Prime, your main enemies will be the space pirates, with the element phazon leading you through the other mysteries of the game. Prime 2 pits you against the Ing - creatures from an alternate dimension - as well as a dark phazon-infused version of Samus. Prime 3 begins with Samus aiding the federation in their battle against the pirates, but ultimately sends her out to recover missing tech and put an end to Dark Samus.

Stepping into the varia suit as you become Samus Aran is almost surreal for gamers. In the past Metroid was always seen as a side-scrolling platformer with a plethora of weapons and colorful alien baddies to shoot. The Prime series certainly uses a fair share of shooter elements to its control system, but with the different visors, third-person morph ball mode, and countless puzzles to be solved, the Prime series is better classified as an adventure series. The series sports a wide host of creatures both new and old, and explores the history of the Chozo - Samus' mentors - in subtle ways. The environments are breathtakingly detailed and well thought-out, from Phendrana to the G.F.S. Olympus - though some may be turned off by the Ing-infested dark world of Echoes.The soundtrack is moody and is a nice throwback to the soundtracks from past games, while creating an entirely new feel.


The Metroid Prime series carries about it an air of "everything old is new again" and gives gamers a truly unique experience. It's rare these days for a game to feel completely original, but the Prime trilogy pulls it off beautifully. If you already own the games seperately, I wouldn't really suggest you go out and buy this package - unless you are a die-hard Metroid fan or want the special metal box. But if you're new to the series or you just never got around to playing the Prime games when they first came out, I'd definitely say that the Metroid Prime Trilogy set is well worth your time and money.

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