When people compare the graphical capabilities of next generation consoles, they essentially rate X-Box first; mostly because of its smash hit: Halo. Now Halo looked absolutely amazing, and Metroid Prime looks just as good, if not better. The environments are so well done and polished, that you could just walk around looking in awe as you witness the amount of detail. The environments are also very diverse; you can find almost every kind of atmosphere in the world of Metroid Prime. The effect of rainfall and snowfall are also a welcome addition to already beautiful environments. Sometimes you will be slowly creeping through close corridors, watching out for Space Pirates; and other times, you will be running around outside shooting harmless birds. Metroid Prime has some of the best environments in any game, period. It was up to Retro Studios to make a well-working engine, and they did it. The action flows so well, even when scanning enemies. I was absolutely amazed when I was firing my Power Beam so much, only to witness the ripple effects of smoke, and its sheer amount of detail. The textures can be blurry when up close, mostly because of the lack of bump mapping, which makes textures more crisp and vibrant. Thankfully the textures don’t look so blurry from a respectable distance, it is just worth mentioning. The main menu screen is also worth mentioning, mainly because it looks so damn cool. The character models are absolutely astounding, especially when you compare them to the previous Metroid games. It is evident that a lot of work was put into the art direction of Metroid Prime. Retro Studios added an astonishing amount of extra effects to Prime. When Samus jumps out of water, you can see the water drip down here visor. When an enemy fires at you when in close range, you can actually see a blinking, breathing, living Samus in the reflection of the visor; these two effects alone are amazing, but there is much more where that came from. You are just going to have to pick this game up to find all of the cool extra graphical touches. The game runs at 60 FPS (frames-per-second) as well, with no frame drop (unlike Halo). Metroid Prime is the most technically advanced game on the GameCube to date.

When it was announced that Metroid Prime would take place in first person, many people were skeptical and thought that it was just going to be another traditional first person shooter; oh boy, how wrong they were. Metroid Prime is NOT a first person shooter; it is a first person ADVENTURE. Prime has very different controls than the traditional first person shooters as well. There is no “free look”, although some complain about this, I understand that Samus has a huge suit on, and would have trouble running and looking at the same time. Luckily, the lack of free look doesn’t affect the gameplay to the point of complaint. It would be difficult target an enemy because of the tight controls, but thankfully the left trigger button is used to target enemies. The strategy in combat is not based on aiming either, it is based on evasion and timing; a thing you don’t see in first person shooters. Metroid Prime puts to use every single button on the GameCube controller. Many people complain about the fact that you must “scan” enemies and other objects to get information about them. I have found that this addition is magnificent. It causes the player to actually read, and to get info on what is happening in and around the story. The engine was done wonderfully; it absolutely feels like you are playing Metroid in 3D; even when many people feared that nothing in 3D could match the feel of Super Metroid. Like previous games in the Metroid series, Prime is about exploring, puzzle solving, and collecting items/upgrades. Speaking of upgrades, Samus has a series of ways to upgrade here suit. She can get up to four new weapon upgrades for her Blaster. Samus can also get up to four visor views, which really can help her in combat and in puzzles. Samus truly is a badass chick, with a lot of cool upgrades. Samus aside, let’s talk about the enemies. The enemies are each designed in a different and innovative way, to prevent the player from ever becoming bored. For example, the Space Pirates mostly look the same but some require you to use a different beam to successfully defeat the enemy. The AI (artificial intelligence) is done VERY well. Enemies dodge behind objects for cover, and some are pulled to you, if you are charging your beam weapon. I just love how innovative the designs of the enemies are as well; it really pumps up the fun factor when battling them. Playing Metroid Prime is the best gaming experience I have had since Ocarina of Time. Retro Studios and Nintendo hit a homer with this one.