I have enjoyed a long relationship with the "Metroid" saga -- from the NES 8-bit versions to the current "Zero Mission" and "Fusion" available for Game Boy Advance, but playing "Prime 2: Echoes" was my introductory experience of the first-person style for Metroid.
My immediate response: satisfaction. Granted, we're not talking about a virgin engine, but one that has been tweaked since the conception of the "Prime" series.
So you're probably wondering how this game differs from the old-school "Metroid" you played in junior high. Well, the weapons are fundamentally the same, with a few additions thematic to the plot, but with "Echoes" they offer a far a more aesthetic execution, of course.
With weapons lock and a very smooth strafe function, the classic firepower of former games proves a welcome change to the typical first-person shooter armory. Plus, with many of the weapons being interactive to the environment and key to the progression of the game, you won't just stick with one.
There are some oldies but goodies like the ball (complete with spider ball and bombs), high jumping and spin attack. But the first-person heads-up display offers a much more useful, enveloping interface. The scanning mode is one of the most unique aspects: allowing everything from manipulating objects to downloading info from abandoned computers to unraveling the mysterious plot surrounding your purpose on the alien planet.
I found myself trying to scan everything, and consistently checking the logbook for new data. And it feels a lot more like you're Samus, walking around shooting anything that moves. It might have been nice even to have her breathing in the mask for effect.
Speaking of sound, the music is pretty mellow, but nice for the background -- never really heavy-handed. The sounds for movement, weapons, bad guys -- all very cool and, as with anything, better with surround sound. If you're like me and your pc has Dolby digital but your television is so old it has one of those Flintstones birds inside it, you may want to get a console to pc adapter. It makes games like "Echoes" much more interactive, especially with such a three-dimensional atmosphere.
The cut scenes are unique to the first-person "Metroid" series and do well to break up the action and get you out from behind the gun for a bit and really show off the graphics.
"Echoes" has a logbook feature storing everything from soldiers' personal accounts to species identification similar to "Doom 3." It would have been nice to hear a little more speech, perhaps having some of the logbook entries be actual recordings instead of text. Granted, you don't have to take heart medication before playing "Echoes" like you did "Doom 3": pretty much any age group can enjoy "Echoes."
Some caveats, and I say caveats because the potential byproduct of being ill-prepared include jumping up and down and screaming at your oblivious roommate for ten minutes. "Echoes" has far too few chances to save. Granted, they have to limit the save stations to some degree because it also recharges your power and weapons -- if that could be done anywhere, the game wouldn't be much of a challenge. But perhaps random save points throughout plot progression (there are some, but not enough) would have been a fair substitute to more save stations.
I had some close calls during the game -- playing for half an hour and being so close to dying that a large gnat could have done me in, so I had to play ultra-conservative hoping for another save point.
And the game play is somewhat linear (a lot like former "Metroid" games and comparable to the "Castlevania" series), but with lots of problem-solving in-between action sequences.
As with any first-person game worth its salt, "Echoes" comes with a multiplayer option. It's pretty easy to get savvy with the controls, and with sharp color contrasts, quick movement and the right partner, the multiplayer mode is bound to keep players up through the night.
"Metroid" series games usually remain a pretty steady price (about ten bucks or so below the $50 opening cost), and "Echoes" is no exception. But if you like first-person shooters with a little more depth than blood and guts, it's well worth it.
Darren Todd is a Renaissance literature graduate student. Reach him at lawrence.todd@asu.edu.
