"Metroid Prime 2: In it's prime, but not for everyone..."

Nintendo has broken my heart on many occasions in recent years. The standards of its games has slipped drastically, especially in the Zelda department. But Metroid Prime begged to differ: a solid first-person adventure game with enough depth, gameplay and attention to detail to satisfy most people. Sure, it was hard at times but that was what some of us liked. It was a game which would last you months, and a game still rated very highly as the best game on the Gamecube.

Scratch that, it WAS the best game on the Gamecube. For Metroid Prime 2 is here, and it's a meanie. But you'll love it.

Once again, we play the mysterious bounty hunter, Samus Aran (aka that foxy chick in heavy duty space armour) as she receives a communication to go and help assist Federation marines on Aether. From the off, things aren't good - Samus crash-lands her ship, finds lots of dead marines and then they get possessed by a dark life force which makes them mindless killing machines. Oh dear. Not exactly the best start to things really, but its a little further on when the story gets REALLY quite interesting.

Of course, it's not long before Samus once again loses her nifty abilities - this time stolen by the Ing, a race of dark beings with no understanding of the word "mercy". However, unlike past titles where the powerups can be re-obtained because the Chozo kinda predicted this would happen, now you have to battle dark boss creatures which actually UTILISE these power-ups against you. It's still "Obtain power ups to explore", but by concealing them in this manner brings an element of strategy into the game, and you truly feel you have earned the usage of these abilities.

The new feature in MP2, is that Aether is split into two dimensions: Light and Dark. The dark realm is a total bastardisation of the light world, the atmosphere in the dark realm is toxic to Samus (makes sense to me), and thus she has to rely on safe areas generated by crystals. While many could argue this is what many games have done in the past to double the amount of map to explore, there is no getting away from the fact that this does feel quite solid. It feels right, it's been planned out perfectly and well designed that you will easily forget the unoriginality of this concept and just enjoy the whole switching between realms.

Anyway, I hear a lot of people moan this game is "Rock 'ard". Belive them, this is not something for the casual gamer, far, FAR from it. If you ever expect to get anything from this game, expect it to be through tears and tantrums, and to expect seeing the Game Over screen. A lot. (It is however a very NICE game over screen.) This game demands skill, it demands time and patience, and it demands a player learn from their mistakes. It's not for those who prefer ther games a little dumbed down, this requires much more, but the fact that it is quite a large game, and that it has an unparallelled level of depth, means that it will last considerably longer than the usual stream of First-person action games.

There is also a lot to scan in this game. From the research logs, down to the new addition of the marines last recorded log entries, it fleshes out a world that really is quite unbelivably beautiful. The attention to detail is something I haven't even seen in Half Life 2, and comes damned close to the minute detailing in Doom 3. From inside Samus' visor, you'll see water roll off her visor when she emerges from water. Steam will mist up her visor, electric interference will scramble it briefly. Water flows, the sky is convincingly ominous, enemies breathe, logs are detailed and at times verge on macabre. The world of Aether is unparalleled in terms of these details and they all build up to make some of the most convincing environments I have ever seen. You really have to play this game to ever appreciate this feat, because it is quite incredible.

Boss battles are the real highlight in MP2. From Dark Samus onwards, the boss battles are nothing short of spectacular. Once again, these bosses are just downright hard, and you will find yourself cussing at how this game brutally punishes every mistake you make and gloats at you with the Game Over screen. But the designs of the bosses - and creatures in general - are special. They are fabulously designed, well thought out and blow up in spectacular fashion. There is no game out there at the moment which really can rival how wonderful this game is in terms of design. Retro Studios should be proud of themselves.

OK, down sides now. Enough of being nice. The problems MP2 has to face are minute details, but enough to warrant mention. Again, I have to stress that Metroid Prime 2 is hard. It brutally punishes the uninitiated, the careless and even slight errors of judgement, and punishes them brutally. This game lets you know exactly who's in charge, and it ain't you, put it that way. You will find yourself battling bosses and sub-bosses sometimes several times, learning their movements, their battle plan, their strategies, and you need to learn how to punish back just as brutally as this game punishes you. Some will find this frustrating. Some will give up. And some, like me, will be thankful that finally there is a game out there that can throw up a challenge, in an era when most games don't pose any real level of difficulty. In a world of casual gamers and very linear pathways, Metroid Prime 2, like its predecessor, throws up some real thorny problems and some downright cruel morph ball and spider ball puzzles - enough to have most players blubbering like a baby. Take this as you will. But make no mistake: do NOT expect to finish this game too quickly.

And then, there are some of the power ups. Now, don't get me wrong, all power-ups are good power-ups. But there are some which actually don't QUITE fit in. The "Screw Jump", a good classic 2D Metroid ability, makes a welcome and long-overdue return in MP2, and throws in wall-jumping as an added bonus. But this adds two small problems. First of all, the dreaded "PIT". Something you never ever expect in a Metroid title, and another of those brutal punishments for you messing up the timing of your screw jumps. Pits do NOT fit in with this game, nor do they fit into the Metroid Series as a whole. So introducing this feels somewhat alien, like it doesn't belong there and it is hard to forgive adding in something like this when the game is challenging enough. But couple it then with the fact that the Screw Jump just doesn't feel right in this game as well, and you've got yourself a recipe for sleepless nights and nightmares that will haunt you for weeks on end.

But when all is said and done, there is no mistaking that Metroid Prime 2 is a feat that could well have turned sour. The old-school difficulty levels are so unheard of these days, and yet MP2 couples this with an extraordinary world that has been so well designed that it beggers belief, and some of the most impressive boss battles and explosions out there. Game of the Year material? Most definately. You're going to be hard-pressed to find something this well designed for a while to come - until MP2, Metroid Prime was still highly regarded as one of the most brilliantly executed titles on any system. Metroid Prime 2 raises the bar, raises the difficulty, and will raise eyebrows - some in awe, some in disdain.

Of course, the problem is, that being released a week after Half Life 2, that it probably won't ever get the coverage - or fanbase - to really make it stand out. Which is a damn shame, since Metroid Prime 2 is better than Half Life 2 in almost every single detail, and far outclasses it's fellow console rival Halo 2 in terms of gameplay and depth. Metroid Prime isn't perfect - few games ever really are. The brutal punishments and the ability to explore and approach things in different ways, often to the point of getting hopelessly lost and wondering what to do next, do not make this a mass-market title. But that is good with me. I will let the mass-market lap up their Halo 2's and their Half Life 2's, and I will let them harp on about how excellent the titles are. But for me, for a first person action adventure, nothing right now comes close to Metroid Prime 2. If you're a FPS fan, you owe it to yourself to play this game. If you love a challenge and want a game to last you into the new year and beyond, play Metroid Prime 2.

But if you're looking for a quick-fix game, or have a problem with challenging your mettle, I do strongly advise you go elsewhere. This is not a game you can take lightly, and its not a game which you would glean any enjoyment from. Metroid Prime 2 is gaming art. Fine art. It's a modern interpretation of old-school difficulty. And this will be lost upon a lot of players.

It's good to see a game which justifies having a Gamecube. But be forewarned, Metroid Prime 2 is not for everybody...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/04