Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- September 16, 2004 13:35 PM PST
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Shipping one week after Bungie's venerable Halo 2, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is just as anticipated as the continuing adentures of Master Chief.
Shipping one week after Bungie's venerable Halo 2, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is just as anticipated as the continuing adentures of Master Chief. Cube owners the world round want to know what has happened to Samus since the end of Prime and while Nintendo has been quite secretive about the whole affair so far, the company has given players a taste of things to come with its Metroid Prime 2 bonus disc. Available with a new GameCube or via a mail in offer for current owners, the disc offers a history of the series, an art gallery, a trailer and a fully playable level from the upcoming game.The bonus disc begins with a short training area designed to get players used to the controls. You are forced to use the default set which does not allow for a Halo-style dual stick wield, instead the left stick controls movement and the L and R buttons act as modifiers for strafing and freelook respectively. The C-stick is used for weapon selection. In the demo Samus is armed with three different beam weapons as well as missiles.
Those familiar with the original Metroid Prime will feel right at home with the controls, however gamers moving over from another platform will face a learning curve. Thankfully it does not take too long to get up to speed with the setup. If you engage the strafe while facing an enemy Samus will go into a strafe lock and circle strafe around her opponent until you either release the lock or the target is destroyed.
After defeating the first round of space pirates a second wave materialized within the room and took up positions on the upper level -- manning two large cannons. In order to lock on Samus was required to use free look to aim and then engage the strafe lock. The initial attack was somewhat confusing because there is no indicator to reveal your enemy, instead you must locate the source by watching for bullets.
Once the room was cleared the energy lock surrounding the door was released and the portal opened into the next room. Here things were a bit calmer, however the path out was completely blocked. In order to proceed Samus morphed into a ball and bombed her way through the floor and into a hidden passageway. When in ball form you have access to an unlimited number of bombs which will allow you to destroy any obstacles in your way.
Inside the main space pirate control room there was little to do so Samus whipped out her scanning visor and looked around. One of the main panels was a bright red and scanning it revealed the controls for an elevator platform. Riding the elevator to the upper level revealed another enemy and a secondary control room which could not be reached. The door opened up into a blocked passage, with a shadow Samus on the other side. You cannot fight shadow Samus in the demo, however she is reported to play a key role in the main game.
Shadow Samus will disappear and you can then progress into the next area and enable a teleportation device. This device will bring Samus to another dimension where the atmosphere is toxic and parasitic enemies abound. The only way to survive is by targeting energy crystals which will create a temporary sanctuary for Samus to stand within. You can still be damaged from enemy fire, but the environment itself will not hurt you when standing by an energized crystal.
It is at this point -- just when things were starting to get good -- that the demo ends. While it is frustratingly short (15-20 minutes at best) the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes bonus disc does exactly what it is supposed to do and that is whet your appetite for the full game. Hardcore Metroid fans will probably want to search this one out, but casual fans shouldn't bother due to the minimal length. Save your energy for the full game, which is due to hit store shelves in just under two months.
