Metroid Prime Trilogy
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Game
Reviewed: Metroid Prime Trilogy
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer: Retro Studios, Inc.
Reviewer: James
Trevillian
Platform: Wii
Category: First-Person Action Adventure
ERSB Rating: T
Game
Description:
When I
picked up “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption” for the Wii a
while back, the thought crossed my mind that the original two Metroid
Prime
games would have been even more incredible with the Wii control scheme.
Being
able to aim at whatever I wanted to on the screen was much simpler than
trying
to use the Gamecube controller for fine-tuned situations (in my
opinion).
Apparently, enough other people felt the same way so Nintendo and Retro
Studios
decided to release a special edition of the Metroid Prime trilogy for
the Wii,
complete with Wii controls and widescreen capabilities for all three
games.
The
Metroid Prime series begins with the first game, simply
titled “Metroid Prime.” Samus Aran, a highly skilled and heavily armed
intergalactic bounty hunter, is tasked with investigating the
activities of a
race known as the Space Pirates in the Tallon system. Samus discovers
that the
Space Pirates have begun experimentation with a mutagen they call
Phazon. This
Phazon has the capacity to transform even the most docile creatures
into dangerous
killing machines. Samus sets out to destroy the Space Pirate’s
operations and
stop the use of Phazon.
In
the second installment of the series, “Metroid Prime 2:
Echoes,” Samus is summoned to determine what happened to a detachment
of Space
Marines on the planet Aether. After crash landing on the planet, she
discovers
that the missing Marines have been killed by simple parasitic creatures
that
somehow overwhelmed them. She also runs into her evil twin, dubbed
“Dark
Samus,” who initially bests Samus and leaves her without many of her
suit’s
functions. As if that is not enough, Samus stumbles into the middle of
a civil
war between the planet’s native Luminoth and a dark species known as
the Ing.
Samus also discovers that the Space Pirates have set up more Phazon
operations,
going so far as to use Phazon on themselves. Samus must help the
Luminoth
defeat the Ing, stop the Space Pirates, and defeat her evil
doppelganger.
In
the final game, “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption,” Samus and
three other bounty hunters are tasked with eliminating a computer virus
that
has spread to several supercomputers. Before she can begin her quest,
she must
stop a Phazon asteroid from colliding with a nearby human planet. As
she
defends the planet, she confronts Dark Samus again. As a result of this
fight,
Samus begins to be able to produce Phazon on her own, which she can use
to her
advantage. The only problem is that this Phazon also has the capacity
to
completely corrupt her and transform her into another Dark Samus. She
also learns
that her fellow bounty hunters were sent out earlier and have been out
of
contact for some time. Samus must complete her original quest, fight
Space
Pirates, and fight the ultimate source of the nefarious Phazon.
All
three games are played the same way. Players move Samus
around the various planets, using her suit’s functions to blast
enemies, solve
puzzles, and traverse great distances. As players progress, they unlock
more of
Samus’ capabilities, open up new areas to explore, and discover more
difficult
opponents. One of the features unique to the Metroid Prime series is
that Samus
can scan creatures and computers to record descriptions of enemies and
lore
from the surrounding cultures. As Samus scans more lore, players unlock
more of
the game’s features, such as concept artwork.
What Parents Need to
Know
Violence:
Much of the game
involves Samus using her suit’s weapons to defeat her enemies. Samus’
weapons
include her standard charge beam, missiles, mines, a plasma beam that
toasts
enemies, a freeze beam that can turn enemies into ice, an electric beam
that
can zap enemies, light and dark beams, and some other goodies that
combine some
of the aforementioned weapons. The baddies that Samus destroys range
from
mechanical creations to giant animals to the humanoid Space Pirates.
Most
enemies will simply keel over or blow up when defeated. Anything that
is left
vanishes. Some biological enemies spurt a little bit of blood on
occasion. If
Samus is defeated, you hear her scream and her heart monitor goes flat
line.
Language:
There is
no foul language in the games.
Sexual
Content:
The only
thing to note here is that in some very brief parts
of the games, you get to see Samus in her “zero suit,” a form-fitting
jumpsuit
Samus wears when she is out of her Power Suit.
Spirituality:
Some of the alien
races Samus encounters have their own fictional spiritual beliefs that
are
revealed in bits and pieces through the scans Samus completes. The most
prominent of these races, the Chozo, apparently transcended from being
physical
to being ethereal. The game’s namesake, Metroids, are creatures that
are
capable of sucking the “life force” from a creature in order to
survive. It is
never specified what this life force is and where it comes from.
Reviewers
Thoughts:
These
Metroid games were incredible when they were released.
They have great stories, excellent gameplay, and worlds rich in detail.
These
games are even more enjoyable with the new controls and widescreen
capability.
If you enjoyed all of these games or missed an installment someplace,
this
trilogy is definitely for you. The Metroid Prime series is also a good
action
game that has little content for parents to be concerned about. If you
like
action mixed with some puzzles and exploring, then the Metroid Prime
series is
a good game for anyone teen and up.
