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Evil waits below the surface...
Title: Metroid Prime
Developer: Retro Studios Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
Date Published: 17/11/2002 (United States), 23/02/2003 (Japan), 21/03/2003 (UK/Europe)
Platforms: Nintendo GameCube
ESRB/ELSPA Rating: Teen/11+
Metroid Prime is one of the highest-profile games so far released for Nintendo's 128-bit GameCube home video game system and so it should come as no surprise to find that
it's also one of the most accomplished games yet released on the current generation of games consoles. Billed
as a 'First-Person Adventure' (FPA), Metroid Prime is an action-adventure game that for the most part
utilises a first-person perspective, putting the player behind the image-enhancing visor of one of
Nintendo's most compelling and enigmatic characters, the space bounty hunter Samus Aran. Although the
game is viewed in the first person and involves a healthy amount of projectile-based combat, it is not a
first-person shooter. The gameplay has several facets: combat, exploration, adventuring (puzzle
solving and so forth), and platforming. The game offers players the chance to explore a
lavishly-rendered alien world, unravel the story of the disaster that has befallen it, and put a stop to
the machinations of the power-hungry alien interlopers known as the Space Pirates.
Prime Mover
As anyone with a passing interest in video games will be aware, Nintendo owes a great deal of its success
to the cultivation and protection of its franchises - a portfolio of intellectual property with a
durable, universal appeal. Recognisable characters like Mario and Pikachu help to put Nintendo hardware
under televisions (and in schoolbags and briefcases), where the user base can be introduced to the latest exploits
of their heroes, and a supporting cast of
other bankable names, at (preferably) frequent intervals. With each new
hardware generation (roughly every five years or so), many of these tried-and-trusted games are wheeled out
again in the form of sequels. The artistic merit of this practice varies from franchise to franchise - some
games are merely given a graphical lick of paint while the underlying mechanics remain untouched, whereas
occasionally the new developments in technology open up a whole new direction for a series, resulting in a
game that is unrecognisably advanced from its predecessor, and may even usher in a new genre. (The perfect
example being Super Mario 64, a truly revolutionary game that represents Nintendo's top designer Shigeru
Miyamoto and his team at the height of their creative powers.)
As yet, most of Nintendo's 'big guns' in their GameCube iterations (Super Mario
Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Wave Race Blue Storm and Super Smash Bros. Mélee) have
not strayed all that far from their Nintendo 64 forebears. Not so Metroid Prime. Unlike Mario and Zelda,
the Metroid series had remained dormant for a full eight years before the release of Metroid
Prime,1 which necessitated the game being designed from scratch to take advantage of contemporary
technology. Surprisingly, the traditionally conservative Nintendo entrusted this delicate operation to a
second-party developer: a newly-formed, Texas-based company called Retro Studios. It has since been
revealed that Nintendo plan to farm out more of their franchises to increase the rate of releases for the
GameCube - the next major titles to get this treatment will be F-Zero GX/F-Zero AX (GameCube and arcade
variants respectively, being handled by Sega's Amusement Vision studio) and StarFox 2 (Namco).
Although Metroid Prime is the first project Retro Studios has worked on as a team, many of its key staff
members have long histories in development, coming from companies including Blizzard, Acclaim, Id
Software, Electronic Arts, LucasArts and (of course) Nintendo.
Heritage
The Metroid series2 always seemed somewhat at odds to the cartoonish, family-friendly vibe
shared by most of Nintendo's popular franchises. The games have a brooding atmosphere heightened by Hip
Tanaka's stark, synthetic-sounding musical score. The Metroid games are 'platform adventures'- instead of
following a linear, unidirectional path through the game world, the player is able (and required) to
explore the world non-linearly. The player can attempt to travel anywhere in the game world from the outset,
with the game gently guiding their progress by throwing up obstacles that can only be negotiated when a
specific item has been collected, bestowing the player with a new weapon or ability, for instance allowing
them to traverse small tunnels (by curling up into a ball), reach high ledges, or open certain
kinds of doors.
In each of the Metroid games, the player takes the role of a legendary cyborg Space Hunter named Samus
Aran. This lone hero, permanently clad in an armoured space suit that bestowed superhuman
abilities, was given the task of exploring an alien environment where guile and brute force had to be
used to survive against remorseless, predatory creatures. Samus is employed by the Galactic Federation (a
United Nations-style co-operative of inhabited worlds) to combat the threat of the Space Pirates, a
brutal alien race who plunder colonies and ships to augment their already fearsome military technology.
Samus Aran was the child of human colonists on the planet K-2L. She was the sole survivor when the colony
was attacked by Space Pirates (led by Ridley). An ancient race of birdlike aliens called the Chozo
observed the destruction of the colony, and rescued Samus. Under the guidance of the Chozo, Samus trained to
become a formidable warrior. She was infused with Chozo blood and cybernetic implants, and on reaching
adulthood was equipped with the Power Suit- a distinctive armour fitted with an array of weapons and
gadgets based on the Chozo's mysterious technology. Samus eventually left the Chozo's world and quickly
earned a reputation as the greatest of the Space Hunters.
The Metroid are a species of predatory aliens from the planet SR-388. They resemble large, airborne,
limbless jellyfish with a cluster of four nucleus-like red 'eyes' suspended in their bodies, and triangular
toothlike protuberances sprouting from their undersides, which they use to latch onto hosts to feed on their
life force. A single Metroid specimen, able to absorb or deflect weapon energy, grow to an enormous size
and multiply rapidly, would quickly eradicate all life on a planet where it had no natural predators. In
their most common form, the Metroids' only weakness is a hypersensitivity to low temperatures, allowing
them to be frozen and shattered (or kept in cryogenic stasis) with the right equipment.
The Space Pirates discovered the Metroid population on SR-388 and took harvested Metroids to their base
of operations on Zebes (a Chozo world they had previously conquered) for breeding as a weapon to use
against their enemies. In the original Metroid game, Samus Aran infiltrated Zebes and eradicated
both the Metroid and the Space Pirates (including their leaders Kraid, Ridley and the Mother
Brain). At least three Space Pirate spaceships survived the fall of Zebes, and immediately began work on
re-establishing their base of operations on the planet (the results of which would be seen in Super
Metroid). One ship, a research vessel called Orpheon, was sent to find a planet with a massive energy
source. Metroid Prime picks up the story as Samus tracks down the vessel at planet Tallon IV (fitting into
the series chronology between Metroid and Metroid II).
The surprise revelation at the end of the first game (that Samus is a woman) may these days sound like a
cheap gimmick, but viewed in context it can be seen as part of the series' oblique handling of more
complex issues than the average platforming fare. How much can we know about Aran's motives if we are
unaware of something so fundamental as her gender? Are Samus's employers (the "Galactic Federation")
justified in seeking to eradicate the Metroid species, purely because the possibility exists for this
instinctive predator to be exploited by an unscrupulous enemy? Is Aran - capable of single-handedly
neutralising entire planets - all that different from the Metroid? Is it possible to
concoct a spurious philosophical subtext out of even the most unassuming games?
Technological constraints limited Samus's previous adventures to a two-dimensional plane. (See malcster's
Super Metroid maps to get some impression of how the games were structured.) Moving the series into three
dimensions while retaining the feel and playing style of the previous games was clearly no mean feat, but
Retro Studios have managed it convincingly. Although the increase in representational detail is vast (it's
like comparing the battle scenes in the Bayeaux Tapestry to those in Braveheart - in both cases the best
that can be achieved with the available technology), many aspects of the game - from enemies to Samus's
abilities - will be familiar to fans of the series.
Prologue: Space Cruiser Orpheon
The game opens with Samus Aran boarding the Orpheon, in orbit around Tallon IV, to investigate the
Space Pirate presence. She finds the ship in disarray, with most of the crew having abandoned it a few
hours earlier. The Space Pirates appear to have been carrying out genetic experiments on indigenous fauna
of Tallon IV, attempting, as usual, to mutate them into giant killing machines. As the player explores the
ship they are taught the basics of controlling Samus and her suit, and are presented with many objects to
scan using the scan visor, a viewing mode which highlights interesting features of the environment, allowing
the player to lock onto them and view an illustrated text description. In the bowels of the ship, Samus
fights one of the escaped test subjects (the Parasite Queen) that has been snacking on the Space Pirate
crew.3 Having survived this encounter, Samus must then escape from the ship before it
self-destructs (a race against the clock that provides a good opportunity to learn how to control the Morph
Ball mode). During the escape, an explosion causes most of the Power Suit's systems to malfunction.
Samus also sees a strange, dragon-like creature escaping from the Orpheon. She boards her waiting
gunship and pursues the creature to the surface of Tallon IV. This is where the game begins proper.
The linear nature of this introductory section is successfully exploited by bombarding the player with
highly atmospheric scripted events, using sensory overload to draw the player into the game and get them
into the habit of actively observing (and scanning) their surroundings. The entire section can be played
through in around twenty minutes. (It was also used as the basis of a time-limited playable demo of the
game distributed by Nintendo in the weeks prior to the full game's release.)
On the surface
The Space Pirates have been drawn to Tallon IV by the energy readings emanating from the Impact Crater,
a site where a huge meteor has impacted at some time in the past. By scanning wall carvings left by the
Chozo as well as the data in Space Pirate computers during the course of the game, the player learns that
the meteor brought a radioactive substance called Phazon to the planet, blighting the land and mutating
the local wildlife. As the Phazon's effects spread, the Chozo eventually abandoned the planet, but
before doing so sealed the Impact Crater in a stasis field (The Cradle) powered by a temple built on an
island suspended above the crater. The Space Pirates have set about mining the Phazon and studying its
effects on different materials, animals, captive Metroids, and even their own soldiers.
The object of the game is to explore Tallon IV, replacing the damaged systems in Samus's suit (as well as
acquiring new weapons and abilities that have been left by the Chozo4), eradicating any Space
Pirates and other hostiles, and ultimately destroying the source of the Phazon before the Space Pirates
can harness it for their own ends. The adventure will take roughly 20-30 hours of gameplay to complete
(depending on how thoroughly the player chooses to explore the world).
Power Suit
Samus's suit, the source of her powers, plays an important role in the game. If anyone has read
this far without knowing what it looks like, I suggest they have a quick perusal of the URLs provided at the
bottom of this writeup. In its basic form (metallic red, yellow and orange armour with green
semi-transparent face visor and right forearm encased in a green beam cannon) it not only looks fantastic
in dramatically choreographed cutscenes (think Flash Gordon meets Sentai and you're halfway there), but
also provides life support for indefinite periods in the vacuum of space and underwater, allows falling
from any height without injury and offers some limited resistance to weapons, corrosives, poisons and
other forms of attack.
The suit itself can be upgraded through (at least) two increasingly powerful variants. The Varia
Suit5 provides Samus with protection against extreme heat (and restores her shoulder-pads to
their rightful size). The Gravity Suit allows Samus to venture underwater without her movement or range of
vision being affected. Two accessories further enhance Samus's mobility: Space Jump Boots allow double
jumping to clear wide gaps and scale tall platforms, as well as allowing faster dodging to the left and right
while engaging enemies; the Grapple Beam6 allows Samus to swing across lava pits or to
hard-to-reach outcrops, but only in places where special Grapple Points have been installed. Further upgrades
expand the suit's capacity for storing the game's consumable resources: Energy Tanks each provide Samus with
an additional 100 energy (health) points, Missile Expansions allow an additional five missiles to be
carried, and Power Bomb Expansions allow for one additional Power Bomb to be stored.
Morph Ball
The most mysterious and versatile of the Power Suit's capabilities is the Morph Ball ability. Once this
technology is acquired, at the press of a button Samus will curl into a foetal position and become encased
in a large metal ball. The player can now control this ball, viewed from a third person chase camera,
rolling it in any direction using the analogue stick. The ball is small enough to travel through many tunnels
and pipes scattered around the game world. Some of these tunnels lead to morph ball courses, narrow
obstacle-filled areas viewed side-on, in a style reminiscent of the 2D Metroid games. The morph ball also
is used to activate morph ball slots (special switches) and spinner controls (which use the rotation of
the ball to power some mechanical device, e.g. to winch open a floodgate or aim a mining laser).
The morph ball can be upgraded with several additional capabilities. Boost Ball allows the player to hold
down the 'B' button to give the ball a burst of speed. This is useful for activating spinner controls, and
also allows the morph ball to gain height on halfpipe structures in certain rooms, as well as of course
aiding evasion of enemies. As Samus is still vulnerable to attack in morph ball mode, the Bomb upgrade
bestows the ability to drop energy bombs when morphed. These bombs do not damage Samus, but can propel her a
short distance into the air. These jumps can be 'chained' (bomb jumping) to reach high areas.7
Bombs can also be used to destroy certain obstacles blocking the path. Later in the game Power Bombs are
acquired, which can only be carried in limited numbers and can kill all the enemies in a smallish radius,
as well as being able to take care of more resilient obstacles.
The morph ball is enhanced still further with the Spider Ball ability. This allows the player to activate a
powerful electromagnet inside the ball, allowing it to stick to special metal tracks that run up walls and
across ceilings. Some of the more inventive puzzles in the game involve negotiating these tracks, avoiding
hazards and generally defying gravity.
Visors
As the game is played from a first-person perspective, the display is shown from inside the suit's visor.
In its default mode (Combat Visor) this provides an extremely comprehensive heads-up display including a
threat radar, health meter (both for Samus and certain bosses), 3D minimap, hazard proximity
indicator, targeting system (allowing the player to lock onto any target that enters their field of vision
by pressing the left trigger), missile counter, compass, beam and visor selectors, and a directional
damage indicator. The environment can also affect the visor in a whole host of graphically impressive
ways, including ice crystals, condensation (when walking into a steam jet), water droplets (from
rain and water splashes), water runoff and splatterings of bug guts, lava or poison. Electrical
interference nearby can cause static to obscure the view and may temporarily make the HUD overlay drop
out. Best of all, bright flashes of light cause Samus's animated face to reflect off of the inside of the
visor. All of these visual cues add significantly to the sense of immersion.
Switching to the Scan Visor (briefly mentioned earlier) lowers Samus's beam cannon, leaving the player
vulnerable as they scan items. It is worthwhile to call up the scan visor when encountering a new type of
enemy for the first time, as the scan readout will often help determine the best strategy or weapon to
use. Scanning also sometimes acts as a 'use' key, activating and deactivating machinery. Later in the game,
the suit acquires two further visors. The Thermal Visor (which renders the player's view in a similar
fashion to a heat-sensitive infrared camera) allows cloaked enemies and power conduits to be seen, as
well as aiding navigation in pitch black areas. The X-Ray visor reveals illusory barriers and non-corporeal disturbances, although it only offers a limited range of
visibility. These two visors render the environment in completely different ways to the normal view, making
certain elements display distinctly while obscuring fine detail. Neither is based on a true simulation (of
temperature or density, respectively), limiting their effective use to situations the developers have
anticipated. (You can use them at any time, but don't expect to see brilliantly lifelike heat patterns, or
the skeletons of animals.) Although on the positive side, they each have their own exotic HUD layouts and
sound effects.
Interface
The suit's HUD also provides some utility functions, that pause the action while they are being used. At
any time the player can access the Map view. This expands the wireframe minimap (in the top-right corner
of the standard display) to full screen, and allows the player to view a three-dimensional map of the entire
region, which can be panned, rotated, and zoomed in and out. Door colours and useful locations (such as
save stations) are marked on the map. The location of the next compulsory objective is often marked on the
map with a '?' symbol. It is also possible to zoom out to a view of all the regions in relation to each
other, which is useful for planning the quickest route between two distant areas.
Pausing the game brings up a set of status screens providing additional information. The Inventory screen
allows the player to view information about all of the suit upgrades and weapons that have been collected so
far (as well as a running total of the percentage of items collected), and also to examine Samus's power
suit and morph ball in 3D. The Logbook screen stores images and information collected with the Scan
Visor, divided into five categories: Creatures (any potentially hostile living thing encountered), Pirate
Data (records extracted from Space Pirate computers), Chozo Lore (documents left by the Chozo as wall
carvings), Artifacts (information about the location of each Chozo Artifact, from the Artifact Temple), and
Research (information about other objects in Samus's universe, from ammo pickups and useful devices to
spacecraft and planets). The final status screen is the Options screen which allows adjustments to be
made to the game's audio, video and controls.
Weapons
Finally we come to the suit's weapon systems. Although Metroid Prime resolutely isn't an FPS,
combat situations still play an important and frequent role. Unlike most console FPS games, Metroid Prime
does not require the player to manually guide a crosshair in the horizontal and vertical planes. If an
enemy is in the player's line of sight and roughly on the same level of elevation, a targeting marker
will hover over them. The player can then press the left trigger to lock on to that enemy, automatically
centering the view on them. When locked on to an enemy, moving to the left and right will circle around that
enemy. As a result, combat places more emphasis on dodging shots, weapon choice and shot timing than aiming
accuracy.
The weapons are split into two categories: beam and missile. Beam attacks are instant and never
running out of ammo, while missile-based attacks deplete Samus's missile reserve and generally
have a delayed firing effect. All of these weapons are fired through Samus's Beam Cannon system, the firing
mode of which can be selected with the 'C' stick. (The beam-selection pictograms show that the different
modes are activated by Samus making different gestures with the fingers of her right hand - it is actually
possible to see her hand making the gestures inside the beam cannon when using the x-ray visor.) Holding
down the fire button while using any beam 'charges' the beam cannon, causing a more powerful shot to be
fired when the button is released. While the cannon is charged, power up objects will be sucked towards it.
Samus starts out with the Power Beam, which fires yellow pellets of energy just as fast as the player can
tap the 'A' button. Although it's the weakest of the beam weapons, it still comes in handy against certain
enemies throughout the game.
Next to be acquired is the Wave Beam, a weapon based around electricity. Although it fires at a slower
rate than the Power Beam, each shot is more powerful and has a moderate homing ability. The
Wave Beam can also be used to activate power conduits and open purple colour-coded locked doors.
After that comes the Ice Beam. This fires chunks of ice at a much slower rate than the Power and Wave
beams. The shots again do more damage, and (especially in the case of charged shots) can trap enemies in
blocks of ice, giving Samus a few seconds to finish them off before they break free. It is particularly
effective against enemies adapted to hot climates. It also opens white doors.
The final (documented) beam weapon, acquired quite late in the game, is the Plasma Beam. This fires huge
searing bolts of liquid fire at enemies, burning weaker ones to a crisp instantly, and setting alight the
armour of more resilient foes. Its shots do much more damage than any of the other beam weapons, making
combat with most of the common varieties of enemy a walkover. It can also be used to open red doors and
melt certain ice barriers.
For situations where an enemy must be taken out quickly, Samus is also equipped with missiles from the
start of the game. These have a very slow firing rate but deal more damage than a shot from any of the
beams. Initially Samus can only carry five missiles at a time, although each Missile Upgrade collected
increases the maximum capacity by five (up to a possible maximum of 250). Missiles are also consumed when
using the final class of weapons - Beam Combos.
There are four Beam Combo upgrade items in the game, one for each of the beam weapons. Once a Beam Combo
power up is acquired, the player can then activate it by charging the relevant beam weapon, and with the
fire button still held down, pressing the missile button. The super-powerful Beam Combo weapon will then
begin firing, rapidly using up missile stocks until the player is out of missiles or releases the fire
button. Super Missile (the Power Beam combo) simply fires a massively powerful missile with a large
blast radius. Wavebuster (the Wave Beam combo) fires a Ghostbusters-style snaking particle beam which
latches onto nearby enemies even if Samus's own targeting system cannot hold a lock on them. Ice Spreader
(the... you get the idea) fires a huge ball of ice which shatters on impact, trapping all the enemies in a
ten meter radius in a frigid blanket. The | 
