Looking for a quality game to buy? Need a game that will keep you busy for a while? Then say hello to Metroid Prime Trilogy, a game that truly gives you your money's worth. Metroid Prime Trilogy, as the title states, gives you Retro Studios' 3 excellent Metroid Prime games on 1 disc. These games are some of the best games that you will have the pleasure of playing.
This trilogy follows the adventures of Samus Aran, a bounty hunter clad in the Power Armor of the Chozo race, and her battles against the evil Space Pirates and the mutagenic scourge, Phazon.
The original Metroid Prime begins with Samus receiving a distress call from a Space Pirate Frigate. She discovers that all Space Pirates on board have been killed by their experiments. Once one such experiment, the Parasite Queen, is defeated, she spots her arch enemy, Ridley. Upon chasing him, her Power Armor becomes damaged by an electrical surge, causing it to lose most of its abilities. He escapes to the planet below, Tallon IV, the game's setting, to which Samus pursues him.
In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Samus arrives on the planet Aether, searching for the Galactic Federation Marines who sent out a distress signal. She soon discovers that they were all killed, and is surprised when the rise and attack her, apparently due to an indigenous parasite. Soon thereafter she spots her evil counterpart, Dark Samus, and pursues it through a dimensional rift to an alternate version of Aether called Dark Aether, which was caused by the impact of a Phazon meteor splitting Aether's planetary energy. Upon arrival, Samus is ambushed by the dark Ing. Samus manages to escape, albeit with her Power Armor becoming damaged. She learns from U-Mos, a Luminoth, an inhabitant of Aether, that she must combat the Ing and restore the "Light of Aether" to prevent its destruction.
In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Samus and several other bounty hunters learn of a computer virus that has infected several Galactic Federation supercomputers, the Aurora Units. After learning this, they are assaulted by Space Pirates. The Federation sends the hunters to the planet Norion, on which a Leviathan Seed will soon crash unless destroyed. But before they can activate Norion's defenses, they are attacked by Dark Samus' Phazon weaponry, which incapacitates all but Samus, who manages to destroy the Seed in time. She then awakes a month later, learning that they've been infected with Phazon, and are thus equipped with a Phazon Enhancement Device, which allows her to use the Phazon to utilize its great energy. She is then deployed to various planets to cure the Aurora Units, then rid herself, and the universe, of the corruption of Phazon once and for all!
The Metroid Prime games deviated from the rest of the series in that they are 1st-Person shooters, rather than a 2D game. This however, turned out to be a good thing as they were expertly crafted by the folks at Retro Studios. Although they are FPSs, it retains the Metroid series signature exploration and eerie Sci-Fi atmosphere. Retro really emphasized the story, making you feel more connected with Samus' struggles, both within and without. They went above and beyond the call of duty by letting you know more of the events that take place elsewhere through the games' lore.
Even though it's an FPS, the shooting takes back seat to the exploration and puzzle solving. Finding power-ups, such as Missile Expansions or Armor upgrades, give that classic Metroid feel and are great for completists (such as myself). The games are basically made up of several large areas, each with many rooms to explore. Some areas cannot be accessed without the proper weaponry, so the bosses holding them must be conquered. Another neat feature is found using Samus' Scan Visor. With it, you can learn about various in-game enemies (including weaknesses) and objects, such as architecture and the like. When scanned, the information from some objects and locations give you more of the back story behind certain events, which was a nice treat for the series' fans. In the original release of Metroid Prime 3, there was a Token system implemented throughout the game, which whenever tokens were found or when certain tasks were accomplished, such as defeating a boss allowed one to buy game artwork and music with the tokens. This system has been added and linked between the three games. Retro Studios built these games very diligently, no slacking to be found.
The Metroid Prime games do not disappoint in the graphics area. You are never disappointed by the texture of the objects or character models; the beam effects are especially good. Some neat tricks include the dirtying of Samus' visor when attacked, and the visibility of her eyes when near a bright light. The cutscenes too, expectedly, are well made. The first 2 Primes had their graphics enhanced, although Prime 3 still has them beat. Much effort was put into making these games look good.
Just like the rest of the series, the Metroid Prime games keep the Sci-Fi music and sound effects. The games' music really deliver. The sounds in natural areas give off an ambient vibe, and ships have mechanical sounds. Classic Metroid tunes are also present, and are used well; a good nod to the past games. When shifting from exploration to battle, the music takes on a more frantic pace, which really gets the player into the game.
The voice acting in Metroid Prime 3 was done superbly throughout, making it my favorite in the trilogy.
The Metroid Prime series is truly, great. For those into exploration and long games, these are just what the doctor ordered. With the updates and extra goodies that were thrown in, there is no reason not to get this game, if you can find it. Metroid fans have nothing to fear, it delivers as well as the best of the series.
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