Only a year after bringing Samus into the 3rd dimension Retro Studios is back at it with the sequel to Metroid Prime. While only little details have been added to the overall experience, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes still manages to build on the previous game Retro created, and as a result, the sequel is every bit as good as the original.
The improvements start right with the way the game looks. The graphics don’t get an overhaul, but there are so many small little changes, that you owe it to yourself to stop and admire them. The original Metroid Prime was a graphical marvel, and MP2 manages to up the ante in quite a few areas. Everything still appears the same on the surface, but Samus herself is indeed more detailed, and to an even bigger extent so are the environments. Every part of the world seems to have better lighting, better special effects, and definitely more detail. The best part about the environments though, is that they all look unique – down to the placement of each shrub, or rock, or tree. You’ll be hard pressed to find areas where Retro Studios copied parts of one environment and placed them on another. Gamers will actually have to stop launching rockets at enemies to notice the changes -- which most of you won’t do -- so I’ll save you the trouble and just tell you that the graphics are indeed better.
The sound is exactly the same as it was in the first game. Unless Retro Studios did something completely drastic, like add in speech, there was no way they could top the sound experience from the original. So it’s definitely more of the same in this department. I’m sure for many who’ve been spoiled by what the original did with its soundtrack, it might be a slight let down, but it’s still top notch even if you’ve heard it all before.
The story in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes impacts the gameplay in every way. It’s not often you see a story make such a difference in the way a game is played, but Retro Studios has gone about making that happen. To paraphrase the story (sans spoilers): Samus Aran lands on the planet Aether to investigate an incident, only to discover that this planet has a dark half (Dark Aether) which exists in a different dimension. Samus promptly gets dragged into a war between the inhabitants of the light and dark worlds of Aether, which becomes the major set-up for how you play the title.
The control scheme from Metroid Prime had gone completely unchanged, so if you’ve played the original you’ll be able to pick up and play this one. If you haven’t played the original it might take some getting used to though. Retro studios came up with a new way to play a First Person Shooter; that allowed you to focus more on exploration, then on actual targeting of enemies. In MP2 you simply hold down a button to lock onto an enemy and fire – no need to aim using the controller. However it does take some getting used to for those who’ve never played using that control scheme, since it goes against everything that has come before it in this genre.
As stated, the fresh and new experience in the gameplay comes from the story. As a result of fighting on two parallel words, Samus Aran gets new weapons specific to each world. It does mean she loses a few of the old gear she used to sport (like the ice, and wave beams), but it’s a small price to pay for the new way to play Metroid. Two new weapons that tie into the story are the Light and Dark beams. Each one obviously will have different effects and have strengths depending on which dimension of Aether you’re on. The Light beam will work best on enemies from Dark Aether, and vice versa.
Even with all the shooting and story elements about, they still take a back seat to the tried and true formula of Metroid: Exploration and Puzzle solving. Samus will still be solving brain teasers throughout the game, and getting the best experience possible out of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes will involve considerable exploration on the part of gamers.
There’s also a touted addition to the Metroid universe, and that’s multiplayer. Sadly though the multiplayer only serves to bring down the quality of the game. Not that there’s anything wrong with it per say, but when you’ve got a single player package put together so tightly, creating a multiplayer mode that nowhere near lives up to the standards of the single player campaign just doesn’t help the overall package. To some it might add to the replay value of Metroid Prime 2 -- just don’t expect Halo 2 level features when you decide to play with your friends.
This is the Christmas of the hyped sequel. PS2 owners got Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Xbox owners got Halo 2, and Gamecube owners got Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Thankfully MP2 lives up to its hype, and delivers a killer piece of software for those who own a GC.
