Retro Game Friday: Metroid Prime 3

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering the final entry in the Metroid Prime Trilogy! It’s Metroid Prime 3: Corruption!

Plot Synopsis: Admiral Castor Dane, leader of a Galactic Federation fleet, calls for a meeting with Samus Aran and three other bounty hunters—Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda. The bounty hunters receive orders to clear a computer virus from several organic supercomputers called “Aurora Units” in the Galactic Federation’s network. Suddenly, the meeting ends abruptly when Space Pirates attack the Federation fleet. Samus and the other bounty hunters are deployed to the planet Norion, where the Space Pirates are concentrating an attack on a Federation naval base. While suppressing the attack, Samus learns that a Phazon asteroid, called a Leviathan Seed, will soon collide into Norion. Samus and the other bounty hunters attempt to activate the base’s defense systems, when they are suddenly attacked by Dark Samus…

Plot: The plot is actually really good, and I enjoyed the heck out of the story for this game. It’s a pity that it played less desirably than the prior entries.

Gameplay: This was the only entry to be made for the Wii, which led to some unfortunate design choices like the choice to make use of motion controls. However other than that, it was easily the best entry in the series and was quite a blast to play if you could get over the awkward controls. It also was the first game in the series to take place on multiple planets instead of just one like the prior two games.

Art: It hasn’t aged well, but for the time it was pretty good looking. But if you were to play it now, it’d be an eyesore.

Music: Very well done, creepy in the parts where it was supposed to be and heart pounding in the action sequences.

Overall: A great entry marred by aged graphics and motion controls.

Retro Game Friday: Metroid Prime 2

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering the best entry in the Metroid Prime series! It’s Metroid Prime 2: Echoes!

Plot Synopsis:While looking for the Marines near Aether, Samus’s ship is damaged by severe lightning storms from the planet. Said storms have caused electromagnetic interference that prevented the Marines from communicating with the Federation. Samus finds the troops dead and surrounded by hive creatures called Splinters. Deceased Marines suddenly rise and attack her, apparently possessed, and she fights them off. Samus then encounters her evil doppelgänger, Dark Samus, for the first time, and Dark Samus jumps through a portal.

Plot: The plot is pretty good, although it’s not super amazing like an RPG it’s pretty good for what is essentially an FPS.

Gameplay: This game improved upon the first entry and included for the first time in the 3D entries the Screw Attack upgrade, which was amazingly fun to use. There was also a multiplayer mode, although it wasn’t that amazing. I enjoyed this entry quite a bit,

Art: It’s aged not that well, but it was amazing back when it was released.

Music: The music is amazing, and there were definitely parts that creeped me out.

Overall: If you enjoyed the first Prime, you’ll love Prime 2.

For those who like: Action, Adventure, FPS, Metroid, Good Plot, Great Gameplay, Excellent Music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Video Game Tuesday: Where’s Metroid?

Hey all for this week’s Video Game Tuesday in honor of Metroid’s recent 30th anniversary I’ve got a question. Where’s Metroid?

We haven’t had an entry in the series since the horrible “Other M”. That particular game was atrocious, seriously why did Nintendo let Ninja Team touch the IP? The prior entry in the series was Metroid Prime 3 and while that was a decent entry, it wasn’t anything amazing either. I’m sorry, but the Wii didn’t have the power capability for the series and while there were a few interesting mechanics, the motion controls were more annoying than helpful.

The last great Metroid game that was released was Zero Mission and that is a remake of the original. Which leaves Prime 2 and Fusion as the last great games. Fusion was amazing, and while I didn’t really hate Prime 2, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the original.

The only forthcoming Metroid game we know about is a spin off off the Prime series and that won’t even feature Samus.

I guess Metroid should be lumped together with Bomberman, Star Fox and Mega Man and left in the dustbin.

That’s it for this Video Game Tuesday.