As a game, Metroid Prime's conception isn't celebrated nearly enough. Nintendo taking a chance on their first in-house western development studio with a trusted IP and that team making it a first-person shooter—a genre both Nintendo and Retro were relatively new to—and on top of all this, is it actually working?
It's a move that's still paying off today, as fans are just as excited to see it remastered as they were to play it on release. It's no wonder, either. Despite being made by a new studio, MP has all the hallmarks of a great Nintendo game—innovation, creativity, and most of all, fun. Despite what skepticism might have surrounded this game pre-release, while playing it, it's a natural fit for the Metroid universe and gameplay style.
The Metroid formula translates perfectly to first-person, with all the same moves and weapons from prior games being adapted to suit the new perspective. It doesn't just feel like an FPS that's been 'Nintendoified', but rather a shooter that can easily stand tall with other giants of the genre such as Half-Life, DOOM, and Halo. Combat feels great, and there's a steady flow of new armaments and abilities to keep things fresh. From the depth of the controller settings, which give you completely different control schemes to play around with, and the excellent enemy variety throughout, it's clear there's never a wasted step in its design.
While I didn't personally play the original release on GameCube, I can at least attest that the remaster is smooth as butter to play, at a rock-solid 60 and with excellent camera controls. While it is indeed labeled as a 'remaster' here, it's honestly somewhere between that and a remake. The gameplay is fundamentally the same, yes, but the graphics and designs have received such a dramatic upgrade that it never stops being impressively stunning to look at.
Really, what lets the air out of it a bit is how Metroid Prime is structured. Like I said, for the most part, it follows the usual 'metroidvania' template beautifully; however, in order to finish the game, you must collect all of the artifacts, which, unless you were keeping tabs on them on your way to other objectives, is going to be a bit of a trek. Quite a lot of backtracking can ensue, and it does start to seem like tedious busywork. That being said, since the fundamental gameplay is so enjoyable and the bosses are all interesting, it stops it from being a total slog.
Overall, Metroid Prime Remastered does not disappoint. It really is as good as Metroid fans have been saying it is since it came out and if you're a fan of Metroid games and haven't checked it out, there really is no better way to play it.
8.5/10
It's a move that's still paying off today, as fans are just as excited to see it remastered as they were to play it on release. It's no wonder, either. Despite being made by a new studio, MP has all the hallmarks of a great Nintendo game—innovation, creativity, and most of all, fun. Despite what skepticism might have surrounded this game pre-release, while playing it, it's a natural fit for the Metroid universe and gameplay style.
The Metroid formula translates perfectly to first-person, with all the same moves and weapons from prior games being adapted to suit the new perspective. It doesn't just feel like an FPS that's been 'Nintendoified', but rather a shooter that can easily stand tall with other giants of the genre such as Half-Life, DOOM, and Halo. Combat feels great, and there's a steady flow of new armaments and abilities to keep things fresh. From the depth of the controller settings, which give you completely different control schemes to play around with, and the excellent enemy variety throughout, it's clear there's never a wasted step in its design.
While I didn't personally play the original release on GameCube, I can at least attest that the remaster is smooth as butter to play, at a rock-solid 60 and with excellent camera controls. While it is indeed labeled as a 'remaster' here, it's honestly somewhere between that and a remake. The gameplay is fundamentally the same, yes, but the graphics and designs have received such a dramatic upgrade that it never stops being impressively stunning to look at.
Really, what lets the air out of it a bit is how Metroid Prime is structured. Like I said, for the most part, it follows the usual 'metroidvania' template beautifully; however, in order to finish the game, you must collect all of the artifacts, which, unless you were keeping tabs on them on your way to other objectives, is going to be a bit of a trek. Quite a lot of backtracking can ensue, and it does start to seem like tedious busywork. That being said, since the fundamental gameplay is so enjoyable and the bosses are all interesting, it stops it from being a total slog.
Overall, Metroid Prime Remastered does not disappoint. It really is as good as Metroid fans have been saying it is since it came out and if you're a fan of Metroid games and haven't checked it out, there really is no better way to play it.
8.5/10