Nintendo's Halo, Metriod Prime: Hunters Options

[AC9breaker]

Just a few more days intill Metriod Prime Hunters is unleashed on the public and I'm mad suped up. Every interview with a developer only confirms that this game will be nothing short of dope. Playing the demo of the game that came with my DS when I first purchased it I thought, the controls where already solid (the closest thing you can get to a mouse, probably better). The visuals where a little lackluster but not too bad. But now, it seems like everything has been polished to perfection. From the graphics to the already solid controls even the game modes. Offline seems to offer a great experience and Multiplayer seems like its gonna be off the meat rack! featuring seven different type of match types. The most interesting being a football type of mode where you everyone goes for one ball then the players who gets it has to truck through everyone and reach his goal to score.

Some comments that really sounded cool.

[AC9breaker]

With more then 60% complete on adventure mode and a little over 3 hours on Wifi I'm ready to post some thoughts on this.




First thing I must say is, WOW. I can't believe how hardcore this game is. Before we get to that I'll give a brief synopsis of the game. The game takes place sometime between Metroid Prime 1 and 2. The premise of the game is, a message has been received by the Galactic Federation from an uncharted area. The message tells of a great power that will be granted to whom ever finds it. Various bounty hunters across the galaxy have intercepted this message and venture off too fulfill their desires by acquiring this great power. As Samus you enter this area as a rogue op to verify the contents of the message as well as prevent it from falling into the hands of those that would abuse it.





The story sounds kind of cheese to me, but it’s executed quite nicely. This game is so beautiful it’s enough to make me cry. The characters and areas have been totally improved from the demo's version. The worlds are filled with very pleasant textures and satisfying topography. Even the games menu is a treat to navigate. What’s more, the game is loaded with tons of CG cut scenes.





Something I think will be completely overlooked is the sound. The music is so awesome. Some of the songs are from the Gamecube version and sound so great. Even all the little sound effects are great. From your footsteps clamping on Metal Catwalks to the crunching of snow under your feet all of the sounds add to the ability to immerse yourself in the game. Even the sounds of weapon fire, all distinct and unique.




The controls are something to behold. I have not tried dual mode which treats the 4 buttons on the right as directional pads while the shoulder buttons are used to jump and shoot. It seems very similar to dual analog sticks, on console FPS games. Several reports online say that the dual mode control scheme is very solid and, with adjusted sensitivity is quite precise. The control style that I have been playing with is stylus mode. In this mode the touch pad is used for sight direction while the d-pad is used for moving forward, back, and strafing much like mouse. After playing this style I understand why all PC fps players rave about mouse. It’s so fluid and natural; I can't imagine how I use to play before. Double tapping the screen makes your character jump and weapons and morph ball are selected by pushing buttons on the touch pad. The shoulder button is used for firing.






The game was obviously made for multiplayer, but that doesn't mean the single player aspect was shafted. The single player reminds me of the Megaman series where you travel to stages, find a new weapon then use it to make progress in another level. One thing that should be noted is that the game doesn't offer the same little tip screen like the Gamecube Metroid prime series. This might be a gripe for some since it can be quite easy to forget what is needed to be done next, or not no where to go. But I feel it’s more akin to the old school Metriod where you got to figure it out yourself. The puzzles in the game seem weak, but personally I never did have a hard time figuring them out in the Gamecube versions so I’m not really disappointed. However one big letdown where the boss battles. So far all the boss characters have been recycled models from one of two types. But at least with each progressive fight they get noticeably harder (cheaper) whatever you want to call it. Such as heat seeking lasers with, laser beams being shot at in various different directions, spinning around. Some of the fights can be quite intense. After the boss is disposed off you then get a countdown and must escape the area. This leads to some great excitement and tense moment since its common for other bounty hunters to ambush you on your run out in hopes of stealing your newly acquired relic.






Online I must say is really great. With a selection of 7 different characters all with their own unique special abilities, they really did a fantastic job keeping everyone balanced. No hunter is neither too strong nor too weak it also allows for lots of great variety in matches since players will take advantage of their special abilities. The character Noxus for example can freeze his opponents, but only at close range. Leaving them open for a headshot kill. Meanwhile a character named Trace has horrible defense but has superior power with a sniper rifle. In fact when he has it equipped, whenever he stands still he is rendered invisible on screen, but not on radar. I was also surprised at how fluid voice chat is. It was great to hear it in action. I swapped friend codes with some random person over at PSO world and played a game of Nodes with him. We only played one game but it was cool to see it in action. I then later on played a game of capture the flag with some random people I placed on my rivals list. We then also played a game of Defender. It was crazy mayhem fun. At the moment I'm still trying to learn all the level layouts and item placements as knowing power ups and weapon locations and health spots is pretty key. Then there is also the online stat tracking feature that tracks everything from headshots to shots fired to win percentage to a ranking system. I finally broke the 10000 mark last night and with tonight’s sessions I’m hoping to be somewhere in the 8000. A link to my stats in my sig.





A few dislikes though is hand cramps. Using stylus mode I often find my hand cramping up. Also the edges of the DS start to feel like knives cutting into my skin. Although I feel that problem will be remedied with the DS Lite. Also, I feel the creature designs on the Adventure mode where a bit lacking in appearance. Also Nintendo is still ironing out the wrinkles in its server so when playing quick search matches 1 on 1 games are common while 1 vs. 2 games are rare and 4 player games are pretty much unheard of. But with rivals and friend list that is easily remedied.





My final thoughts on the game are, "wow." I'm still in awe at how much content is packed into this tiny little cartridge. I mean its smaller then Gameboy Advance SP cartridges for crying out load yet offers as much as console games! The game suffers from very little problems that don’t really detract from the whole experience. The game is a solid buy and definitely a system seller in my books.