Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Review

9.0

Format Nintendo Gamecube

Developer Retro Studios

Publisher Nintendo

Genre First Person Shooter

Anyone who was unfortunate enough to play the recent Leisure Suit Larry remake will be only too aware that old 2D favourites rarely benefit from the addition of an extra dimension. But it is possible to create a modern yet recognisable version of an old game with 21st-century technology, as the original Metroid Prime proved. Metroid Prime deservedly picked up a hatful of awards (and kept game-starved GameCube owners temporarily free from abject despair), so Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has a lot to live up to. Happily, it doesn't let the franchise down in any way.

Retro Studios, unsurprisingly, resisted the temptation to tinker with the format which worked so well for the original Metroid Prime. As ever, you play the foxy, (not that you can tell with her hidden behind a combat-suit, but we can dream) Samus, an action hero who, frankly, makes Lara Croft seem about as hard as Natalie Appleton.

Aether, either?

This time around, Samus pitches up on the planet Aether, previously devastated by a meteor which opened up a dimensional rift. The Luminoth, the race which occupied Aether, soon found themselves fighting off a race of dark creatures called the Ing Horde, and as dimensional rips opened up on Aether, war between dark and light forces ensued. Subsequently, a Federation ship chasing space pirates landed on Aether, only for the crew to be decimated by the Ing Horde.

That ship, though, managed to send a distress message, picked up by Samus. The game starts with Samus landing on Aether and, after a bout of puzzle-solving, finding the doomed Federation ship.

Samus it ever was

As you would expect, the gameplay is a mix of shoot-em-up action and puzzle-solving, all of which has been given that inimitable Metroid spin. Typically, Samus acquires objects and upgrades through the course of the game - including two suits (named the Varia Suit and the Dark Suit), missiles, the Dark and Annihilator beam weapons, the Dark and Echo visors and extra moves for the Morph Ball.

At first, though, she is devoid of missiles and armed only with the Power Beam (which, like before, can be charged). Sensibly, Echoes has a pretty gentle learning curve - at first, the only enemies to be found are overgrown crickets, but before long, those (and dead Federation officers) become energised into much more formidable opponents by the Ing Horde.

Gentle puzzles generally involve squeezing into small spaces using the Morph Ball and scanning door-opening mechanisms (the controls of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes are identical to those of the original Metroid Prime). Those looking for replay value can scan pretty much anything, acquiring a vast amount of background data which can perused on a rainy day. A healthy curiosity is required, though - for example, an innocuous-looking crate yields missiles for the first time, which are required in order to open an early blast door.

As Samus begins to progress through Aether (whose levels are generally larger than those of the original Metroid Prime), things begin to hot up. The dark energy possessed by the Ing Horde becomes more prevalent, and portals between the light and dark worlds appear. This is where Echoes really starts to differ from Metroid Prime.

Once Samus passes through a portal to Dark Aether, she finds herself in a very hostile environment, which constantly saps her health. Luckily, the Luminoth left Light Crystals in Dark Aether, and Light Beacons, which can be energised with Samus' power beam. These provide areas of respite from Dark Aether's atmosphere, and suitable areas from which you can fight off the Ing Horde.

Soon, you begin to find puzzles which demand flitting between the light and dark worlds, and eventually, Samus acquires a Dark Suit, as well as light and dark beams - the light beam is effective against dark creatures and vice-versa. The dark beam's charged-up blast, called an Entangler, is particularly satisfying, as it envelops enemies in a dark cloud.

While Metroid Prime 2: Echoes' gameplay doesn't throw up any real surprises, it progresses nicely, and requires much more tactical thought than Metroid Prime. When faced with bosses, you soon learn techniques such as tapping the B button to nip out of the way of enemy onrushes, and at times have to think hard about when to use (and preserve) dark and light beams. The Seeker missiles (which cleverly lock onto up to five targets) and Spider Ball (which adds magnetic properties) make another appearance, and must be used in order to survive at key moments.

As you progress, you find some of the most evil bosses in gaming history (which is very much in keeping with the Metroid tradition), while the acquisition of Luminoth translators allows Samus to open doors which were initially closed and explore new areas. As you would expect, Echoes is a pretty meaty game, and you won't be able to complete it without severe detriment to your social life.

Visual magic

Metroid Prime won enormous plaudits for its graphics and art direction, and Echoes carries on where it left off. Visually, it is, frankly, one of the most surreal games ever, with liberal use of weird purple particle effects, bizarre creatures and environments and a look which is utterly unmistakable. If there is a criticism of the game, though, it's that at times, things become so visually busy that you have to endure a couple of abject deaths before working out what the hell is going on. This is not a game you would want to play after dropping acid - it would make your frontal lobes explode.

It's fun with friends

The familiar four-player multiplay is all present and correct in Echoes, with two modes - Deathmatch and Bounty. The former is self-explanatory and pretty bog-standard, although fun, thanks to the precise, analogue controls and ability to lock onto enemies to lock onto enemies, while in Bounty mode, players start with a set amount of coins, which they start to lose when hit by attacks; the player with the most coins at the end of the timed round wins. Bounty mode is more imaginative than Deathmatch, and proves to be much more fun.

An essential purchase?

Yes, if you own a GameCube - as simple as that. Top-class GameCube games are thin on the ground, and Echoes, although it doesn't innovate like its predecessor, will still undoubtedly attract some awards. It looks more surreal than ever, provides a decently sized chunk of gameplay (although the multiplayer modes feel a tad half-hearted compared to the attention that has been lavished on the single-player game) and, despite being a first-person shooter, is cleverly suitable for all ages (although Nintendo's younger punters will find it prohibitively hard and confusing). Another ahem prime irreproachable slice of forward-looking Retro-inspired weirdness.

Still can't get enough of all things Samus? Well why not check out our recent interview with Retro Studios, where CEO Michael Kelbaugh and Senior Producer Bryan Walker spill the beans on all things Samus

Steve Boxer