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.

Retro Game Friday: Super Smash Bros.

This week I’m covering the original casual fighting game. It’s Super Smash Bros.

Plot Synopsis: Wait you were expecting a fighting game to have a plot?

Plot: See above.

Gameplay: The gameplay was good, although some characters were ridiculously overpowered, like Fox or Samus or Ness. Having only 12 characters was the only downside to this game, but at the time it was a lot of characters.

Music: It took music from the various series represented in the game, as well as some original music. Nothing amazing though.

Art: It shows it’s age now, but back in the day it looked pretty freaking good.

Overall: If you’ve never played it you should give it a whirl, just don’t pay more than a few dollars for it.

For those who like: Nintendo games, Fighters, Casual fighting games.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or fighting games with a shallow learning curve.

Retro Game Friday: Metroid Prime

 

This week I’m covering a favorite game of mine, it’s Metroid Prime!

Plot Synopsis: Samus Aran, a Bounty Hunter, intercepts a distress signal from the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon, whose crew have been slaughtered by the Pirates’ own genetically modified, experimental subjects.

Plot: Well the plot in this game is very minor, and that’s actually to it’s benefit in that it’s all about the gameplay which was quite fantastic.

Gameplay: The game is a FPS game, but it has heavy elements of exploration and puzzle solving involved as well. I really enjoyed the gameplay, and my only complaint is that as a younger kid I got quite scared easily of all the bug-like monsters I had to destroy. Looking back it wasn’t that bad, but this game is probably a bit too intense for a kid.

Art: The art in this game was pretty good, but nothing spectacular.

Music: The music was amazing and very enthralling. It definitely helps set the mood for the game.

Overall: If you enjoy Metroid games you’ll love Prime.

For those who like: Metroid, FPS games with plenty of puzzles and exploration elements.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or have a fear of bugs.

 

P.S. Happy Independence Day to all the American readers.

Retro Game Friday: Metroid Fusion [Spoilers for Super Metroid and previous games]