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A highly underrated game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am surprised at how cheap this game is. It is actually a top-notch game. If you are a shooter or action fan then you must get this game. I've been playing this game for a while now as it has a lot of gameplay. You certainly get your money's worth with the amount of time in entertainment value. The graphics are stunning. This is the best Metroid yet. If you have a GameCube, you must play this game or you're missing out!

More Metroid Prime! Wheeee!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: January 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you loved Metroid Prime, you will probably love Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. That's not a given, but it is very likely. Same game engine, same control scheme, same graphical detail, new environments, second chapter of the story. That about sums it up. Personally, I do love the game.

The story isn't groundbreaking by any means. Samus Aran travels back and forth between a "light" and "dark" world to battle evil shadows of her allies and herself. It's been done before many times, but this game pulls it off well. While Prime 2 is very much a second chapter in the Metroid Prime story, you do not need to have played or beaten the first to understand the second. On top of that, unlike most of the other titles that use this plot, the "dark" side of the game world is genuinely creepy. The atmosphere of Metroid Prime 2 is top notch.

There have also been a few major tweaks to the scan visor. The scan visor is, apparently, the most under appreciated part of the Metroid Prime series. Using the scan visor tells you a great deal about the environment, particularly the enemies you face. It is also how you get most of the back-story of the game. But the great part is, using the scan visor is completely optional. If you find it slow or annoying, you can simply ignore it and still play through the game just as well without it. The scan visor's implementation really is an elegant system.

In Metroid Prime 2 it gets a lot more elegant. In the prequel, scannable items had orange symbol blocks on them when you aimed the scan visor at them, and you had to focus in on these to scan something. If your angle was wrong, say if you were behind or below the scannable object, it was easy to miss the orange block and therefore miss the scan. In Prime 2, however, a scannable object changes color entirely when the scan visor is turned on, quite clearly pointing it out, and you can scan it regardless of your view angle. This makes the scan visor much easier and more intuitive to use.

With all that said, there are a couple niggling issues. While more Metroid Prime is a good thing, it was the first game that was the real breakthrough for 3d first-person Metroid. The second one can only be...the second one. Great game though it is, it is still basically a rehash of the first. For example, at least a third of the enemies are taken directly from Metroid Prime and given a slightly new look. That's just lazy.

Second, it is easier than its prequel. For most of the game this is hardly noticeable, but the final boss fight really drives it home. For the original Metroid Prime, even if you know the trick to beating the final boss it is still challenging. In Prime 2, if you know the trick you can blaze right past the final boss. Just to add insult to injury, in a couple boss fights "challenge" has been replaced with "completely random pattern that you can only beat through luck". That's pretty annoying. Fortunately, it is also pretty rare.

(Also, speaking of the final boss fight, if you get 100% of the pickups, you'll see an ending which proves that there will be a Metroid Prime 3. I'll not say anything more to avoid spoilers.)

But Prime 2 has also kept most of the good parts of its predecessor. The platforming and exploration elements of Metroid Prime were effortless, and the same is true for Prime 2. Jump distances are easy to judge by eye and just as easy to pull off. You won't often find yourself falling short of your mark. The enemies tend to blend in well with the environment, really adding to the atmosphere of exploring the ecosystem of an alien planet. The background music also adds to the atmosphere; it switches effortlessly from bright and almost-cheerful tunes to more somber melodies.

There's also a multiplayer mode where players try to frag each other. It seems fairly well put together, though I have not played it extensively. I am not a first-person-shooter fan, and I'm guessing it was added for those folks rather than for Metroid fans, to whom playing Metroid is more important than fragging people.

The control scheme is also largely unchanged, using the same L targeting lock-on system as Metroid Prime rather than the dual control stick system used by most first-person console games. While this cuts down slightly on mobility, it also aids significantly with fighting quick enemies and/or a swarm of small foes. A couple of new moves have been added, however. The fan-favorite screw attack is back, though it is not very useful as an attack. It's more a way to lengthen the jump and cross wide gaps. The morph ball has also received a few movement upgrades. All these new moves blend into the familiar control scheme without any trouble.

Speaking of crossing gaps, another addition to Metroid Prime 2 is the age-old platformer menace of bottomless pits. This seems like something the developer added almost as an afterthought, considering how forgiving they are. In most platformers, if your avatar falls into a bottomless pit, he/she/it dies. In Metroid Prime 2, your avatar loses 10 health and is magically returned to the point from where she fell. It is more annoying than anything else, which makes this addition to the game somewhat superfluous. If the consequences of falling in are so light, why have them in there at all?

But that's a minor gripe considering, as mentioned above, that accurate jumping is quite easy. What matters is that the pros far outweigh the cons. If you liked Metroid Prime and would like to play it some more, you'll like Metroid Prime 2.

To summarize:

Pros:

- Same excellent game engine with some minor streamlining tweaks
- Vastly improved implementation of the scan visor
- Same excellent graphical detail
- Amazing new environments
- Good integration of old Metroid staples of exploring and treasure hunting

Cons:

- Still only the second one
- Slightly easier than the first
- Pointless "bottomless pit" obstacles

Neutral:

- Multiplayer fragging mode

Final grade: Five stars of fun, but only 4 stars overall for being "the second one".

The game is rated T for a reason!!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: March 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I first got this game I looked a the cover and said "WOW, this looks really cool!" so I bought it thinking it would be as cool as the cover looked. Well,it was cool, but too hard! The multiplayer was really fun but the single player was really made for a teen and I'm only 10 but I've played loads of T rated games. Overall this game was fun but too hard so I recomend this game to teenagers or if your a younger kid who likes blasting aliens mindlessly with lazers.

THE BEST GAME EVER!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After I recieved Metroid Prime for my Birthday Last Year, I fell in love with it, and the series for that matter. Having played AND beaten every Metroid game, I was anticipating this game since it was first confirmed. I went and played Prime trying to master it. My fastest time was 5 Hours and some odd minutes. Not the fastest, but still pretty good.<br />When Echoes Came out, I tried the Multiplayer out. (Yes, Multiplayer, even better than Halo 2's.) After I tried that, I went straight for the Single Player. Having played the Demo Disc, I expected it to be the same. It wasn't.<br />I played for a week, and finally beat it with 15 hours. Now, going through Hard Mode, I can say that this game lives up to its name. The Replay Value is there, the Graphics are the best for any console game, the Sound is mesmerizing, the areas are gorgeous, the story is perfect; EVERYTHING! Go get this game if you don't yet, and if you don't have a Cube, GO GET ONE AND GET THIS GAME! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!<br />One word here is that most hate this game because of the controls, but if they say that, then they must not be TRUE gamers, for they shall accomodate to any controls. I play all types of games, and am used to their controls. They fit with the game. Perfectly. Everything about this is perfect.

Never played Metroid before this

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: February 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well, I have to say that I never was into the Metroid games. Heck, I wasn't even into shooters, either (exception being Descent 3, but that's in a class by itself).

Because I haven't played a Metroid game prior to Echoes, I have the opportunity to review this as a video game, and not a part of a franchise.

The graphics are seamless. Most games, even when worked on for 4 years, have glitches. I can't find any.

The music is creepy. I love it. Adds to the effect of being in an unfamiliar place. (Try listening in surround sound.)

The sound is spot-on. Every shot and every squeal is well placed and is very recognizable.

While you can't move and aim at the same time, it is easy to get used to. The weapon change is a little slow, but that adds to the challenge.

This game is long. I'm not even halfway yet. This game is also hard. Don't play it if you have little patience. I'm serious about that.

Echo Indeed

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: March 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

A fitting subtitle for a game that is nothing more than an echo of the original.

Well, you do get different weapons, surely that warrants another $50?

But you think not (and you should), this game is a rental - at best. The monsters *look* different, but they really aren't. The weapons *look* different, but they really aren't. And the powers don't even look different. They start you off with the same hokey excuse of getting your powers stolen at the beginning of the game so that you have to hunt for your missles, boost ball, space jump and different suits all over again. Samus should know by now to keep an extra suit in the ship.

Ironically, for some "originality" the game designers threw Samus on a new planet with a "light" side and a "dark" side (which I have never heard of in a game before -_-). The "light" side is pretty much normal, but traveling to the "dark" side subjects Samus to dangerous atmospheric conditions that slowly drain your health unless you stand near a light beacon. These beacons are scattered throughout the "dark" planet, effectively giving you a path to follow to your objectives. Yahoo.

If you've never played Metroid Prime before, this might be entertaining. Otherwise, I'd leave it alone.

I got an advanced copy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 11
Date: November 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just got an advanced copy of Metroid Prime 2. I just got the dark suit, so im a good way through the game. If u liked Prime, u will like this. this game is more action oriented than its presicesore, and way longer. The multiplayer kinda feels like it was jsut thrown in there, but it's still fun. The story rocks and is way more involved than the original. THis game ties as the best metroid game ever with Prime. P.S If you get it, BEWARE the Dark Metroids. Protect the light

This game is Prime Choice.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: November 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

As I play Metroid Prime I find myself inside a suit and visor helmet. Through this I am somewhat protected from the harshest of elements, attackers and terrain.
Each time you open a door its a challenge and an anticipation of what visual wonder will be next. The music, the switch from serene to attack excites, explosions light Samus's face against her visor so you see yourself as if you were her. The graphics are amazing and it takes some thinking (no cheat book) to thwort those metroid mutants. Many different metroid life forms to vanquish and a log book to keep track. So many aspects of the game that I enjoy. It's difficulty is enought to keep me coming back, it's reward enough to keep me interested, and it is beautiful.

Beautiful and elegant game - unbelievably addictive

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Prime 1 was an excellent and successful experiment in genre-conversion. A once exclusively 2D platformer turned 3D gave a lot of dedicated nostalgics the shakes. I was one of them. However, Prime 1 proved me wrong indeed. The graphics were nothing short of unfathomable (they're exquisite even now), the level design was very good and well-coordinated, and the creatures made for the game were just as awesome to learn about as to shoot at.

Prime 2 steps up everything. There are a few changes that needed to be made that were good saves for the series. One of the biggest changes here was the drastic change in mood and atmosphere. Metroid's reputation as a moody, lonely, and eerie game series was rather iffy in Prime 1. In Prime 1, the environments were too bright and well-lit, large, and outdoors. It didn't really convey the right sense of sheer creepiness that the series has. But in Prime 2, even Light Aether is dark and gloomy. It's raining in most places, or sandstorming in others. Torvus Bog is, frankly, one of the BEST environments ever created for any videogame.

And then there's Dark Aether. The light-world/dark-world concept comes to brilliant vividness in this game. Dark Aether is depressing, lonely, and conveys a real sense of danger as throughout the bulk of the game you're running around between spheres of light to escape the poisonous atmosphere. And the Ing are just plain ugly as sin.

The sound and music are awesome, and the music especially stands as an improvement over Prime 1. Prime 1's music was a bit of a downpoint for the game in general. It seemed too upbeat and pretty at times, and I simply hated the boss tracks. They grate on the ears. Prime 2's tracks, however, are all mysterious sounding, eerie, and toned down just right to bring forth the right feelings. Favorites of mine in particular are the Torvus Bog theme and the music that plays inside the Hydrodynamo Station.

The multiplayer is unique in its design, but not necessarily ground-breaking. It's fun to have though and it makes for some real kickass party-gaming! I enjoy the idea of unlockable multiplayer items. However, the multiplayer unlockables seem rather incomplete. Two new levels, and some songs from the single player game. Nice little additions, yes, but adding more to unlock would have made it even neater. I think playing a deathmatch in the Dark Arena would be quite fun - and honestly I was craving to have the Echo Visor in multiplayer. I LOVE the Echo Visor....

I highly recommend this game! Be warned though, it's no quick race through the park - it's very long and very involved and it WILL consume a buttload of time to complete.

Metroid prime 2 rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just finished the game yesturday adn it rocks. The music is grat as well as the graphics and the gameplay. Its really a good challenge and the story is fantastic. This Game will put a good challenge to everyone and you really have to think like a pro game player to get all the items and scans. Although the multiplayer isnt as well, im sure it will get much better later one. Its really fun killing my brother with the power bombs. Over all this game rocks and it should have a soundtrack. I recommend this game for players over 10 unless ur son is a real good gameplayer. THIS GAME ROCKS

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