I remember playing the original Metroid back in the day. When Samus revealed that she was, in fact, a girl! Of course, it took a little imagination, but it made a lasting impression. She was one of the original female heroes in a gaming world dominated by testosterone.
Samus was much better than that Mario guy. I mean, how could a big-footed plumber compare? Samus had armor and lasers! Mario had mushrooms and large feet. No contest! Anyway, Samus has endured as one of the most beloved characters in gaming, and I decided to take a look back at one of the most popular games for the Nintendo GameCube: Metroid Prime.
Released in 2003, Metroid Prime sold over a million copies in North America. This was the first Metroid to offer a first-person view, instead of side-scrolling, which was a huge advance for the series. The game has a mission-driven story line, which was another first for Metroid. Of course, since I did not own a GameCube at the time, I didn't have a chance to play Metroid Prime when it was new. I recently bought a GameCube for my son, so now I have the opportunity to check out some of the stuff I missed. My son is still limited to E games, so it'll be a while before he gets to play Metroid, but I think he'll enjoy it once his dad loosens up (which might be when he's 35).
One thing I want to mention right off is I really dislike the GameCube controller. It has to be one of the most awkward button layouts in console history. It really took a lot away from the gameplay, because I was constantly trying to remember which button did what while trying to press the dinky little buttons with my large fingers. Metroid uses EVERY button on the pad, and frequently. This caused much frustration on my part. Also, maybe I've been spoiled, but I love the Xbox and PlayStation 3 controllers for first-person shooters. (I also love the Wii, but that's a different story.) Being able to use one d-pad for movement and one for aiming makes an FPS much easier to play.
Metroid, on the other hand, makes you click and hold the button to activate the up and down camera movement, which is extremely awkward. It tries to compensate for this by allowing you to lock onto your targets. This helps, but I still take major marks away from a game that doesn't allow me to look around easily. Doom was set up with a straight-on perspective, but it was also one of the first FPS games. In 2002, I would expect more.
Level structure is fairly linear, connected mostly by elevators or doors, which you have to open in different ways. I love the one that makes you roll into the morph ball and fall into the slot in the floor to activate it. The combat was pretty standard: You lock on, juke side to side and blast away until the thing you have targeted dies. There are some exceptions to this, like the stone toad, which you have to allow to eat you while you're in morph-ball mode and then detonate the morph-ball bomb while inside it to kill it. I enjoy finding unique situations like this in a game, since it adds to the overall feel of being in an original environment. The boss battles were fun and varied, so you didn't feel like you were fighting the same thing over and over.
Graphically, the game looks very good, especially for a game designed to work on the GameCube, arguably the worst graphics platform of the previous generation. I did feel pretty enclosed, even in the outdoor levels, but this had more to do with the control layout and not having the two-stick movement/look option I previously mentioned. I honestly can't say too much one way or the other about the audio, which probably says all I need to say. I know it had audio, but nothing really stood out.
Overall, the game was enjoyable, but to be honest, it is starting to show its age. And the numerous gripes I had about the controller layout just about killed any desire I had to further play the game. I will probably try and play it again once we upgrade to the Wii. Until then, Metroid Prime sits in its box, waiting to for someone to pull it back out into the light of day.
