Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

"A great sequel, but doesn't live up to Metroid Prime."

"Metroid Prime 2: Echoes"

Metroid Prime 2. The most anticipated Gamecube game of 2004. It didn't quite live up to it's expectations. Sure, it has the superb gameplay, sound, control, and graphics, but it didn't give me the same feeling it did when I first played Metroid Prime. I may sound like a nerd for saying this, well I am a nerd, but that's beyond the point, Metroid Prime me feel like I wanted to go to Tallon IV, explore Phendrana Drifts, and relive the battle with Meta Ridley. The main problems with Prime 2, is some of the cliches, first off, Dark and Light worlds are nice, but I've seen it in a lot of games. Also, Prime 2 gets too gloomy at times. Also, the boss battles are like they are in Crystal Chronicles, and tons of other games. You drain there health down to zero. Not much twists and turns in the boss battles. But the thing that most disappointed me is no classic boss battles. Sure Dark Samus is cool and all, but where is Kraid and Ridley? I've only seen Kraid in Zero Mission, and the classic Metroid. The only Metroid I haven't played is Metroid II, so I'm hoping Kraid will be in that too. But besides the few bad things, Prime 2 it still a great game. Buy this game. Now.

GAMEPLAY:
Gameplay-wise, Metroid Prime 2 is a lot like Prime 1. The bosses are a lot a like because you still have to drain there health down to zero like in a lot of games. it isn't much of a problem, but I wish that it had more twists in the boss battles, make them longer, harder, better. You now have Beam ammo, which makes the game harder, but there are some awesome beams, (Light, Dark, and Annihilator.) Like in all Metroid games, Missiles are here, With the same old, get missile expansions to add 5 more missiles to your max amount of missiles. The game is harder than Prime 1, because in Dark world you lose health quickly, until you get the Dark suit, which will reduce the speed of losing health. You have to wait to about the end of the same to get the Light suit which will protect you from losing any health while being in Dark world. There are new enemies too. The Grenchler's are like Baby Sheegoth's only harder. There are a few Metroids in this game, but not that many. Like in Prime 1, they are a rare sight to see, so scan them while you can. Oh yeah, the scanning is easier too. Instead of the orange square, you know see the scannable boss, item, enemy in a different color. Blue, if you haven't ever scanned one, Red if it's an important scan, and Green if you've already scanned it. Also, Metroid Prime 2, is harder that Metroid Prime 1. In Metroid Prime 1 it took me about 11 hours to get 100% the first time, In Prime 2, it took me about 18 hours to get 100% the first time. Bottom Line, if your a fan of Metroid games, this is definitely a must-buy. If you've never played any Metroid Prime games, try out Prime 1 first, because it's a but better and you can find it used for about 10 dollars. The multiplayer was a great edition, two-to-four people can play Deathmatches, where it's an all out war of Samus's. There are some great Multiplayer maps, I suggest Sidehopper Station because it is very fun, and easy, so it is good for beginners. You can also do Bounty Mode, where you battle for coins to see who is the best bounty hunter. The only problem I found with Multiplayer, is that there are too many health pickups, and the maps are a bit small. Also, the new enemies, the Ing make this game kind of scary. it's the way that they attack you, and mutate you into one of them. There like zombies. The gameplay is great.
P.S. Good luck on the boss Quadraxis!

Gameplay Score: 9

GRAPHICS:
In terms of graphics, Prime 2 has the best out of any Metroid game, and some of the most impressive on the Gamecube. Prime 2 has great lighting effects, but in some places, you want to put the brightness up because it's too dark. it's kind of scary. But that's only in Dark world. Light world may seem dark, but after being in Dark World for a while, Light World well seem like mid day in summer. The level design was extremely well made, and everything is very detailed. Who ever thought up the world of Aether, had a lot of imagination. The graphics are not blocky at all, and this boasts some of the best graphics on any console. Samus looks awesome in her well detailed Light and Dark suits. The bosses look awesome as well. Overall, I haven't seen graphics this good since, well, um..., uh... Well, I haven't seen graphics this good ever.

Graphics Score: 10

CONTROL:
The Control is simple in Prime 2. Just like in Prime 1, you shoot your Beam with a A button, go into Morph Ball with X, shoot Missiles with Y, switch beams with the C-Stick, move with the Control Stick, Y-Axis aiming like in most First Person games, Go into aim-mode with R, Lock on with L, Jump with B, view map with Z, and Pause the game with Start. (obviously) This game is also glitch free, there are no movement glitches or anything like that. Metroid games have always had great controls. Ever since the NES days.

Control Score: 10

STORY:
The story is good, but I don't think it is the best out of the Metroid games. My friend thinks so, but I disagree. One reason, is that the storylines in Metroid games are amount a Metroid that was found, or have to do with Metroids quite a bit, but Prime 2 doesn't. Like in Metroid for the NES, a Metroid was found, and a group of Space Pirates stole it because of Metroid's ability to multiply. The space Pirates planned to use Metroids as there secret weapon. But don't get me wrong Echoes still has a good storyline, here is what it it: Samus's lands on the planet of Aether. Aether is home to creatures called the Luminoth. Luminoth remind me a bit like Chozo. After landing Samus's finds out that a Phazon Meteor hit Aethor, causing it to split into two worlds-Light and Dark. Light Aether is where the Luminoth are. Most of them die, leaving almost no survivors if any. The cause of there death? The Ing. The Ing spawn in Dark World, where they mutate life forms. No it kind of sounds like Resident Metroid or something, but fortunately, Ing are easier to kill than Zombies. The Space Pirates come here and reside in both worlds. But as Samus's Aran tries to find out what's really hidden deep down in Aether, a new nemesis silently stalks her... It's name is Dark Samus. You meet it early in the game, and you fight it a few times during the game. While there are no classic bosses, Dark Samus will soon become one. the story is great, but like I said, Metroids should have a big part in the story. I also hoped that the story would unfold in awesome cutscenes like Metal Gear Solid games.

Story Score: 8

SOUND:
Even though Brinstar is not in Metroid Prime 2, I really think that the Brinstar some would be a great song for the Dark World. I love the classic tunes of Metroid and the sound was the only disappointment in Metroid Prime to me, and it's even worse in Prime 2. But the sound is good in Prime 2,just because I said it got worse doesn't mean it's bad, but Retro should have had music from Brinstar, Crateria, Kraid, Chozodia, etc. The sound effects and enemies noises are very good, and the music is scary, but a remix of the Brinstar and Kraid songs would be great.

Sound Score: 7

OVERALL SCORE: 8.8, ROUNDS TO 9.0

In conclusion, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a great addition t the series, but could have been better. I do not regret spending a crisp Ben Franklin on the game at all, it was wroth every last penny, but like I said, it didn't give me that "feeling" that Metroid Prime gave me. The sound is a bit disappointing but I'll get over it, and the story could have more about Metroids in it, but still, the Graphics are spectacular, the Control is superb, and the Gameplay is stunning. A must-buy for any Metroid fanboy, veteran, and even newcomer. Prime 2 is a worthy nominee for 2004 game of the year.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/05