Nintendo's Halo, Metriod Prime: Hunters Options

[Kazicht]

Time to swap friend codes dammit!

Kazicht: 2448 8083 3507

[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.

[Knightsword]

The single player mode does get shafted somewhat, mutiple reuses of the same monsters and besides the final boss there is really only 2 boss monster types, fight each 4 times, and using the "you must escape before the time runs out" after each boss fight was annoying stupid and there was no reason for it in the context of the game. Also the single player mode doesn't have quite exploration feeling of past Metroids, but as a shooter its a great game

[unitself]

Yo! AC9... give us the real news we have all been waiting for. Voice Chat, Baby! Have you tried it?

[AC9breaker]

Yeah sorry SCU I only gave a short blurb on it , It was really late at night when I wrote that and I was a bit tired.

Like I said before I swapped friend codes with some random person from PSO world. We met up on line by coincedence and tried it out. Its pretty sweet. Really really clear, the voice is very distinctive. I would have to say that the sound quality is even better then Xbox live. Although the only games I played online with Xbox where PSO, Crimson Skies, and Unreal Tournament so I'm not sure if I can't really make such a big claim. Even so, as I remembered it everyone sounded the same on Xbox live. Like some southern country hick or an elementary student, with lots of distortion and fuzz in the background too. Meanwhile, the DS sounded so clear and crisp and I didnt have to bring the DS all the way to my face to be heard well. I was able to sit back on my couch with my DS on my lap and talk to it. A little bit louder then I usually talk though, but I was heard.


I'm looking foward to spazing out with fellow AT'ers and yelling penis on Wifi chat!


On a side note, I agree Links. It was kinda dumb to have the countdown everytime you beat a boss then escaped to your ship. Especially since the planet doesn't blow up. None the less though I enjoyed the tense atmosphere it provided, especially when being ganked by bounty hunters. If the planet would have blown up however then it would have been cool.

[Dive]

[Retehi]

[tanshin]

hahaha, aw man... its me Worst picture of anyone ever taken.

[unitself]

ok... I got Metroid Prime Hunters last night!
After about 30 minutes of play, I now know what everyone was talking about by saying that the DS really digs into your palm. OUCH! I have never really played a game where the styus was the main mode of getting around, and using the shoulder button exclusively ... i'm going to have to start using gloves! BUT.. this game friggin rocks!

question: are there midway save points? I made it thru about 6 - 7 rooms and I noticed that my battery light was (and presumably had been) on so I ran back to my ship so I could save before the DS shut down on me.

[AC9breaker]

Have you given dual mode a test SCU? I would imagine that it would be more comfortable, then the default controls. But I liked the precision and speed of the Stylus too much so I never bothered with it.


Yeah, as you noticed there are no save points, save for your ship. However, once you get close to the warp that leads you to the boss of the area, you will see a small warp pad that can be used to warp back to the Gateway of the level where your shipped is docked. Also, you will be able to warp back to that area from the level's Gateway. It could be seen as a problem but, once you start to explore the areas you realize how small they are. However I found myself getting lost on multiple occasions on just about every world.

[Frosty]

I got it! Let me know when ya'll are ready to play.

[AC9breaker]

I'm down for some multiplayer action. Maybe this time me and Kaz won't end up tied up . I did something to my DS so now my old Metriod Prime Hunter friend code doesn't work. Once I get it off my neice I'll put my new code in my profile. Maybe sometime this weekend we can IM each other and get a game started.