Genre: First Person
Platform: GameCube
Developer: Retro Studios
Rating: T for Teen
Greetings! I'm about to review Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, one of the later games to be released on the GameCube. This game, like its prequel, was an action/adventure/strategy game.
Samus is back in another 3D game, and she's just as powerful as ever! Only this time, you'll be relying on your wits and gut instincts more than ever before in this title!
Plotline:
Samus has received a message from the Galactic Federation, asking her to investigate the disappearance of Galactic Squad Bravo, who vanished while patrolling the outskirts of the world Aether. Samus accepts the mission, and flies of to Aether. She quickly finds the location of the last transmission sent by the squad, and sets a path for the location. Aether's atmosphere is extremely unstable, and shifts between leaving the planet's surface visible at times, and covered in darkness at others. The Gunship was struck hard by a lightning bolt, and sent it off course. It crashed through a stone wall and landed, only to be damaged immensely, leaving it unusable for the rest of the game. Samus exits her ship, and quickly looks around her crashsite before jumping off the ship, only to start her biggest adventure yet!
Now, to begin the review. Scores are rated 1-10, 1 being the worst, 10 being the best.
Story: 7 (Good)
The story for Metroid Prime 2 Echoes has new angles never before seen in a Metroid game, and the planet of Aether has a Light and Dark world. The story is basically a small rip off of Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past's plot of "destroy the dark world and save the light world". The story has a score of seven because of plot twists that happen throughout the game. Despite the small Legend of Zelda rip off, the story is still an enjoyable part of the game. But, like all other Metroid games, Samus loses all her weaponry by having them stolen by the dreaded ***. What? You thought I was going to tell you who stole the weaponry? You'll have to find that out on your own!
Graphics: 10 (Perfect)
Holy cow! Everything you see in this game is perfect! Even when you get up very close to an object, you can't see a trace of those nasty pixels! You can see all sorts of things through your visor. The sun, assuming you're in a rare area that actually has some, leaves sparkles in your visor, and will cause the screen to go white when looking at it too long. The water is very realistic when underneath it, it's murky but you can make out faint images. The water also leaks off your visor, one droplet at a time. Walking through waterfalls results in fog, and when shooting next to a wall with Samus up close, you will briefly see a blinking reflection of Samus. Sometimes, it looks like the more realistic enemies are actually trying to attack YOU because of how real they can look! No matter what you look at, you can see Retro Studios has outdone themselves again!
Sound: 10 (Perfect)
Another perfect category for this game. The sounds are incredibly realistic, such as the explosive sound of your Power Beam, the blasts of phazon and other weaponry from your new foe, **** *****, and the screams of pain from Metroids, Space Pirates, and other creatures throughout the game. The songs played agree perfectly with the environments, which usually is a slightly creepy tune. Samus still has her characteristic grunts from the first game. Unfortunately, the game has no voice acting, but that didn't affect the sound score at all. Even without voice acting, the sound is one of the most memorable parts of the game.
Characters: 7(Good)
There isn't much to say about the characters. Other than Samus, the Space Pirates, the ******** and *-***, the ***, and **** *****, there aren't many main characters. There may not be many main characters, but they are all interesting.
Controls: 10 (Perfect)
The controls may be a little confusing at first, but you pick them up quickly. During your first battle, you should have already mastered the current controls, making it very easy. Here is the list of controls.
The A button shoots whatever beam you're using. Depending on what beam you're using and how fast you're tapping the A button, it fires the beam at a certain rate. Holding the A button charges your current beam up, which results in a more powerful blast with certain effects, such as burning, freezing, and stunning. In Morph Ball mode, pressing the A button leaves a Morph Ball bomb, which you can use to Bomb Jump or hurt foes.
The B Button allows Samus to jump. When you are in possession of the Space Jump, you can press the B button to do a midair jump. When in possession of the Screw Attack, pressing the B button while moving forward will let you do up to five jumps with perfect timing. The Screw Attack is now meant to cover large gaps, not vertical distance. In Morph Ball mode, holding the B button lets you charge up the Boost Ball, which can be used to roll up ramps or hurt enemies.
The X Button swaps you to Morph Ball mode. If you're in Morph Ball mode when you press X, you will swap to walk around mode.
The Y button allows Samus to use Missiles. When you hold down the Y button, you can use Seeker Missile, which launches up to five missiles at once at targeted enemies. In Morph Ball mode, pressing Y lays a deadly Power Bomb.
The R button lets Samus look around freely as long as you're holding it. In Scan Visor, it lets you scan certain objects. It has no use in Morph Ball Mode.
The L button lets Samus lock onto enemies or specific targets. It has no use in Morph Ball mode.
The C-Stick swaps your current beam. It has no use in Morph Ball Mode.
The D-Pad swaps between your current visor. It has no use in Morph Ball mode.
The Control stick moves Samus no matter what mode she's in.
Gameplay: 8 (Amazing)
A sequel from the much loved Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2 Echoes involves the same type of genre, only this time with much more strategy. It uses more Spider Ball puzzles than before, and one of the bosses uses only the Morph Ball. The game is also chock full of first person puzzles. Some puzzles are too easy, such as a simple missile puzzle.
Difficulty: 10 (Intense)
This has to be the hardest Metroid game since the original! Some of the hardest bosses actually can convince several players to give up, like the dreaded Boost Guardian or the near invincible Spider Guardian. Even some of the basic enemies can kill Samus with ease, such as the ***smasher, Dark ***smasher, Quad, Dark Quad, and many others. The final Boss, **** *****3/4, is very hard and easy at the same time. The boss is easy to damage, but hard because of the time limit before the planet blows! You'll still have a fun time with the game though.
Items: 8 (Amazing)
All the items are rather fascinating. The new items, such as the Seeker Missile, make the game easier. The new Beam Ammo, however, lowers the quality. When you're out of ammo, you have to charge up your beam to fire a normal shot. There are Beam Ammo expansion packs throughout the game though. There are 14 Energy Tanks in this game, for a maximum of 1,499 energy units. The Dark Beam, Light Beam, and Annihilator Beam may be semi rip offs of the Ice, Plasma, and Wave beams, but their combos are incredibly different.
Secrets: 10 (Perfect)
There are plenty of secrets in this game. Hard Mode is a classic, but many new secrets lie in wait for you in this adventure. Try to find them all!
Replayability: 9 (Incredible)
You almost never get tired of playing this game! By playing it again, you can formulate plans on how to beat the bosses you had a hard time with, like Boost Guardian or ******* ***, the leader of all the ***. If you think you're great at the game, give Hard Mode a shot. The enemies are smarter, have twice as much health, and deal out more damage!
Fun Factor!: 10 (Perfect)
This game is fun in every portion! The item collecting, the battles, the adventure, the strategy, everything! This amazing game of platforming, shooting, adventure, and strategy is something nobody should miss! How do I know? This was my first Metroid game! Get this game A.S.A.P! And maybe Metroid Prime while you're at it. Happy Gaming!
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