When a new Metroid game was announced for the GameCube with a 2002 launch date, series fans cheered. There had been no new Metroid game since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and gamers were jonesing for a fix of everyone’s favorite bounty huntress, Samas Aran. Those cheers quickly turned to whining and blowing snot when it became clear that this was going to be radical departure from the Metroid series’ traditional platforming genre and would be, sacrilege of sacrileges, a first-person action/adventure/shooter. Well Retro Studios and Nintendo showed they knew what they were doing back in 2002 and, since the unqualified success of the first Metroid Prime game, Metroid fans have been eagerly waiting for the second installment in the Metroid Prime games. So does Metroid Prime 2 Echoes measure up? Almost exactly. If you liked Metroid Prime you’re surely going to love Echoes. And even the new multiplayer mode that lacks both online and linked-system gameplay can’t ruin this game. The game has not shown a lot of evolution in any department, but it is still a good ride.
As Metroid Prime 2 Echoes opens, Samas Aran has accepted a contract from the Federation to look in on some Fed troopers that were chasing a group of pirates to the surface of a planet called Aether when all contact was lost. The planet’s atmosphere is rather unstable and Samus has a bit of a rough landing. It does not take Samus long to find the Feds … seemingly all dead. Things are not at all right on Aether. A natural disaster has caused a dimensional rift between a light and dark version of the planet. A war is going on between the light dimension inhabitants, the Luminoth, and the dark dimension inhabitants, the Ing, over the planet’s energy supply and now Samus has landed in the middle of things – with a dark version of herself popping in and out to boot. To further complicate matter, Samus loses all of her more advanced powers early in the game and will only regain them as she progresses in the adventure.
Through the course of the game Samus will travel between the light and dark Aethers via dimensional portals. Things she does in one world will directly impact things that happen in the other world and at times the only way to progress in one world is to accomplish a task in the other. The challenge for Samus is that the environment of Dark Aether is toxic to her. Fortunately the Luminoth found a way to create safe areas within the dark world and Samus can move between these to minimize damage.
The visor system that lets players see in different spectrums is back. The combat visor, which allows Samus to see the world in a normal view and lay waste to enemies, and the scan visor, which lets her see controls and other items that are otherwise hidden, are the visors that get the most workout. The dark visor allows Samus to function better in the Dark Aether environment and see interdimensional beasties and items. The Echoes visor is like a visual sonar that detects sound and thus permits Samus to see otherwise invisible enemies and items.
Echoes has plenty of power-ups for the player to collect. In addition to her normal Varia suit, Samus can also collect the Dark suit. This suit of armor allows Samus to operate in the dark world with less damage. There are not an outrageous number of weapons but in addition to Samus’ standard power beam and missiles, there are also dark and light beams that have varying effects on light and dark targets, an annihilator beam and seeker missiles. Samus also will collect additional equipment like the grapple beam that allows her to swing between areas and space jump boots that give her the ability to take a second jump in mid-air. These latter items make it possible for Samus to reach additional areas.
In reality, the Metroid Prime series is more of an adventure game than it is a shooter. This is evidenced by the inordinate amount of time the player spends scanning around rooms looking for clues and controls. Also the targeting/movement system would be considered very weak by any hardcore FPS fan. The left thumbstick is used to move and, when the R button is depressed, look around. Echoes compensates for the clumsy “look” function with a system that allows the player to lock onto a target by simply pressing the L button. Sadly, while this auto-targeting system works very well for the shooting work in the main game, it is what kills the multiplayer game since it takes away the skill component that makes a multiplayer shooter fun.
Exploration is the key to Echoes and, like its predecessor, a bit of its downfall. As the player explores into the game he’ll find items and equipment that will allow him to open areas previously inaccessible. This necessitates what is often a lengthy backtracking to get to the gate or whatever he could not get through before. It can get a bit tedious.
The save system is also a major weakness. Unlike so many games now that allow the gamer to save at any time, Echoes employs the save-point method that only allows saving at specified locations that must be reached. This can get pretty frustrating when you get beat down by a boss and then have to play a bit of the game over again to reach the boss and give that sucker another try. At the very least, having more of the save points would have helped.
On the major plus side are the graphics. This is probably the best looking Cube game so far. Characters and environments are all well detailed and convey the unique atmospheres of the setting. Audio is not quite as impressive. Sound effects are outstanding but the soundtrack struck me as rather generic.
Overall If Retro can work on the redundant and maddening backtracking gameplay, bring Metroid Prime 2 Echoes is a good game with some flaws that keep it from being truly great. the constant scanning down to only occasional, and replace the unfair game-save system, they could make Metroid Prime 3 a must-have game for GameCube players. But for right now, the second game in the series is good but not great.
© 2004 GameShark.com
