Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
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| Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | |
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| Developer(s) | Retro Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Engine | Heavily modified Metroid Prime engine |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube |
| Release date | NA November 15, 2004 EU November 26, 2004 AUS December 2, 2004 JP May 26, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | First-person action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Teen) CERO: 12+ PEGI: 12+ OFLC: M15+ USK: 12+ |
| Media | 1 × GameCube Optical Disc |
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a video game within the action-adventure game genre, taking place within the Metroid series. It is a direct sequel to Metroid Prime, although chronologically, it occurs after Metroid Prime Hunters. It was developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube video game console. It was released on November 15, 2004 in North America and was also the first Metroid game to have a multiplayer feature.
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[edit] Plot
The game takes place on the planet Aether , 6 months after Metroid Prime where a technologically advanced race of moth-like creatures, the Luminoth, have been harbouring and protecting the natural energy of the planet, called the Light of Aether. Another Phazon meteor (similar to the one that collided into Tallon IV in Prime and the Leviathans in Prime 3) struck the planet, and although it was destroyed upon impact, it did succeed in dividing the planet and its energy into two dimensions; light and dark. This new dark world, called Dark Aether, is home to the Ing, a race of dark, semi-liquid creatures that can possess the bodies of the living, the dead, and the artificially intelligent. They can also have bodies of their own. The Ing and Luminoth are locked in a bitter struggle for survival, as Aether's planetary energy cannot support both worlds. The Ing so far have been the victors, taking the energy from three of Aether's four temples, leaving only the main energy controller to harbor any of the Light of Aether. Should the Ing steal this last piece of energy, Aether will be destroyed.
On top of this, the Space Pirates had discovered the planet by luck, hoping to reap huge amounts of Phazon on the planet and to compensate for the loss on Tallon IV (Metroid Prime). A Galactic Federation Marine Corps ship intercepted a Pirate ship one week prior to start of the game, which crash landed on Aether. Contact with the Marines was lost soon after. Samus Aran, who is sent in to investigate, enters a hive where most of the marines were killed. Soon inside, Samus meets a mysterious entity known as Dark Samus, who wanders around tirelessly searching for Phazon to absorb to survive as well as engaging Samus at different points in the game. Samus engages an Ing-possessed Alpha Splinter that drops a mysterious module when killed. She then meets U-Mos, the current Luminoth Sentinel of Aether. He explains that Samus acquired an Energy Transfer Module that allows its holder to transfer and return the Light of Aether to each of its respective temples as well as preventing Ing possession, and learns of the situation of the war between the Luminoth and the Ing, and that his people went into a cryogenic sleep, leaving only him to try to find hope. By returning the energy, Samus can destroy the Dark world and return peace to the Luminoth.
Samus travels to the Agon Wastes, a desert wasteland where she encounters the first "portal" to Dark Aether. Also she has her first Battle with Dark Samus. After restoring the Energy controller to light Aether she travels to Torvus Bog, a swamp that has many volatile creatures inhabiting it. In the last area, Sanctuary Fortress, Samus gathers the energies stored in the energy controller after defeating a now even more phazon enhanced Dark Samus, and is bidden to go to the Sky Temple after finding 9 keys, where the Emperor Ing is guarding the last part of the Light of Aether left on Dark Aether. Samus travels there, defeats the Emperor Ing, and collects the last of the Light of Aether. Upon doing this, Dark Aether begins to collapse, and as Samus has only 8 minutes to escape, and Dark Samus challenges her to one last battle. Dark Samus has absorbed massive amounts of Phazon, and her suit has become transparent. Samus defeats Dark Samus in Dark Aether, and escapes just in time. On Aether, all the portals have self-destructed now that Dark Aether no longer exists. Samus finds U-Mos has reawakened the Luminoth, and she gives them back their technology before leaving Aether.
A secret cutscene is acquired for getting 100% of items in the game. It shows Dark Samus reforming in space, setting the stage for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
[edit] Gameplay
The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes, though single-player is the primary focus of the game.
[edit] Single-player
[edit] Concept
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, like the first Metroid Prime, is a 3-D game in a first-person style. This was a large departure from the series, which had been previously 2-D sidescrollers. However, Metroid Prime was largely regarded as being true to the basic tenets of the series, focusing on exploration and platforming rather than combat. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes uses this gameplay style as well, but features several changes, the most dramatic of which being the existence of two parallel dimensions, Light and Dark Aether. Changes in one dimension often reflect changes in the other. While the maps themselves have the same basic layout, the rooms are often completely different, with new enemies and designs. Progress through the game requires that both dimensions be thoroughly explored, using all the equipment that Samus regains or finds on her travels.
[edit] The Ing
The Ing are other-dimensional amorphous wraith-like beings, taking the shape of a black pool most of the time. When not in this form, the Ing usually appear in a spider-like form, they also take the shape of other bug like creatures. They can have five legs, though some have none while others have more or less, and many tendrils of "hair" which are actually used more as tentacles. Their most outstanding feature is their singular eye; large, red, and glowing that seems to have multiple pupils.
The Ing are also able to possess other beings. After possession, the victim's appearance will be dramatically altered. Sharp spines, darkening of appearance, and a large increase in strength and aggressive behavior are signs of successful Ing possession. The Ing also have the ability to absorb and process non-organic information, similar to the X-Parasites from Metroid Fusion. The only way for a possessed target to purge the Ing from their body is through death. At the beginning of the game, the Ing were able to steal most of Samus' power-ups by unknown means. The powered-up Ing are usually referred to as Sub-Guardians, underranked by the larger more powerful Guardians. These Sub-Guardians can utilize Samus' power-ups themselves; altering the power's effects for their own purposes. The Ing are ruled by the Emperor Ing, the Alpha and Omega of the Ing.
The Ing are mentioned in GF Log entries in Metroid Prime 3 retelling of the incidents that occurred on Planet Aether during the events of Metroid Prime 2. According to the logs the Ing are now completely extinct as a result of the destruction of Dark Aether although a form of Ing make an appearance in the next game, creatures called "Phaz-Ings", which resembled the small and weak Inglets only made out of blue phazon fluid instead of the black and purple fluid the Ing from Metroid Prime 2 are composed from.
[edit] Weapons
The standard Power Beam is the default weapon; though weak, it has unlimited firing capacity and is semi-automatic, giving it the fastest firing rate of any beam. Its Charge Combo is the Super Missile, as in the original Metroid Prime.
Adding to the gameplay mechanic of opposites are the Light and Dark Beams, which are more effective against enemies of the opposite world and have other effects, but have limited ammunition. These beams are also used to open various portals in both of the worlds and activate crystals and beacons, therefore making the conservation of their ammo all the more pressing. Ways of getting additional ammo for the dark and light beam include defeating enemies with one beam to receive ammo for the other beam, destroying crates with the same method with enemies and ammunition stations. The Light Beam is similar to the Plasma Beam from Metroid Prime in that it has short range and can set enemies on fire, though with the Wave Beam's rate of fire. The Dark Beam on the other hand is much like the Ice Beam: it can freeze enemies, allowing for Missile shots that will shatter the enemy, but has the Plasma Beam's rate of fire and Ice Beam's muzzle velocity. The Charge Combos for the beams are the Sun Burst, which creates a miniature sun which slowly moves forward, incinerating foes, and Dark Burst, which sucks enemies into its small, quickly dissolving black hole, but is as slow as the Sun Burst.
The fourth beam, the Annihilator Beam, is a powerful mixture of both energy types, and it consumes both dark and light ammunition. It has the ability to automatically home in on any enemy target, even without locking on: this is somewhat derived from the Wave Beam's homing capabilities in Metroid Prime. (Charged shots, however, cannot home in.) It is regarded as a sonic weapon and can, when used in conjunction with sound-detecting gear, interact with sonic-based equipment. The Annihilator Beam has the Power Beam's rate of fire, and drops both Light and Dark ammo simultaneously after defeating enemies or destroying crates. Its Charge Combo is known as the Sonic Boom, which instantaneously fires on a wide area, shredding enemies apart.
While the Dark, Light, and Annihilator beams use the ammo system, they can be charged if the player runs out of ammo to fire a weaker shot. This was likely implemented so that a player who has run out of ammo can still open color coded doors, energize light crystals and beacons, activate portals, and recover ammo.
The standard Missiles return to this game, and can be upgraded with a new item, the Seeker Missiles, to lock on up to five objects to fire multiple Missiles at the same time, or can be used to lock on to a single enemy up to five times. The Seeker Launcher is required for certain puzzles in some areas of the game.
[edit] Morph Ball
The Morph Ball function of Samus' Power Suit, which transforms the suit into a compact, mobile sphere, returns in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes with very little changes from Metroid Prime. Morph Ball bombs destroy certain objects and propels the morph ball into the air. The Boost Ball provides a temporary increase in speed, and is useful for ascending half-pipes and rotating certain devices. The Spider Ball gives the ball a magnetic charge, allowing it to attach to magnetic rails in the environment. Furthermore, the Bomb and Boost features are usable on the rails, allowing for some extremely intricate platforming puzzles. Finally, the appropriately named Power Bombs destroy even more types of objects and enemies in a very wide radius, though they do not propel the Morph Ball as would a normal bomb.
[edit] Visors
Since the game was shown from Samus' perspective, a new feature of Metroid Prime (though inspired by a feature of Super Metroid, the X-Ray Scope) was the inclusion of different visors, which showed the world in different ways. The most important of these is the Combat Visor. It shows the radar, a small map, the amount of missile and beam ammo, and a threat assessment meter. Next, is the Scan Visor, which could be used on practically every item of interest in the environment, and stored many different text entries, like creature morphologies and progress reports of Samus's enemies. This returns in the new game, and has been streamlined by highlighting all scanable objects with different colors to indicate scanning status. The other two unique visors are new to this game: the Dark Visor, which reveals and highlights inter dimensional objects or cloaked enemies, and the Echo Visor, which creates a visual representation of sound. Both of these are used in inventive puzzles and are often key in defeating particular enemies and boss monsters.
[edit] Platforming
A hallmark of the Metroid series has been the focus on platforming, with upgrades to extend the height and number of jumps possible. In this vein, Metroid Prime featured a double jump, called the Space Jump (though in all other games, the space jump was an infinite somersault power, this would obviously not transfer well to a first-person perspective). Echoes includes this power, but now features a third-person series of horizontal spinning jumps, called the Screw Attack, as well. (previously, the Screw Attack in the 2-D Metroid games simply made somersaults damaging to enemies, while the Space Jump was the series of somersaults.) This new power dramatically extends the distance ability of Samus' jumps, and even damages enemies, should they get in the way. However, it is primarily an exploratory tool that can be used in conjunction with special walls to scale new heights. Finally, the Grapple Beam returns, allowing the player to swing from special points in the environment. One new aspect of this, while not crucial, is that shooting is possible while swinging.
[edit] Safe zones
The atmosphere of Dark Aether is caustic and damages Samus' power suit, requiring the player to move between special "safe zones," at least initially. This concept is similar to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, where players can only survive in a protective area. This mechanic prevents the player from dawdling in certain areas of the Dark World, and allows the player to regain health slowly, while in the damaging atmosphere of Dark Aether. There are three different types of "safe zones," ones powered by permanent light crystals, ones that must be activated by the Beam weapons, and ones around certain creatures. All types can be shut down by the Dark Beam, drawing in Darkling enemies. The Light Beam will supercharge safe zones, making the area actively damaging to nearby enemies — this can make it faster to kill certain enemies by luring them to a supercharged safe zone than directly attacking them. If Samus fires the Annihilator Beam at one of these safe zones, however, the dark energy will draw enemies towards it, while the light energy will destroy them instantly.
The damage taken from the atmosphere of Dark Aether is reduced with the acquisition of the Dark Suit, and completely nullified with the Light Suit.
[edit] Multiplayer
The multiplayer mode allows for up to four person combat through a split screen. It has two modes: the rather self-explanatory Deathmatch, and Bounty mode, which focuses on collecting coins that injured players drop. In contrast to most first-person multiplayer games, Echoes features the same control scheme as the single player mode, including the morph ball and lock-on systems. This move, as well as the inclusion of multiplayer in the first place, has provoked some controversy from gamers, but Retro Studios maintains that this was to differentiate the game from the admittedly large number of multiplayer FPSs on the market. To make the system work better in multiplayer, use of the Boost Ball will throw off another player's lock, allowing an escape, as does using the Space Jump. Play is further livened up by different environments featuring grapple points, magnetic rails for the Spider Ball, Morph Ball cannons and water pits. All players start out with the Power Beam, Charge Beam, Morph Ball, Boost Ball, Spider Ball, Space Jump and Grapple Beam, and can pick up many of the single-player game's power-ups through crates or Randomizers scattered around. During the single player mode, various events can unlock additional multiplayer content, including extra soundtracks and two unlockable battle arenas. There are six arenas in total.
[edit] Music
The music for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was composed by Kenji Yamamoto. The music for each area on Aether fit the theme of their environment. The themes used for areas on Dark Aether are dark variations of the themes used for areas on Aether. The "Hunters" Multiplayer theme is a remix of Super Metroid's "Upper Brinstar" theme, while the theme for subterranean Torvus is a remix of the "Lower Brinstar" theme from Super Metroid. Finally, the escape theme is a remix of the original Metroid's "Escape" theme.
[edit] Release information
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was released in North America on November 15, 2004, and in Europe on November 26, 2004.
Unlike the majority of PAL game releases, the game cannot be run in 50 Hz, the standard refresh rate for PAL televisions. The game instead defaults to 60 Hz, which is normally included as an option in PAL GameCube releases, as it reduces display flicker and is supported by many, although not all, PAL televisions. Starting with this title, first-party GameCube releases include a logo on the packaging and marketing material stating which refresh rates are supported. Many other titles (for example Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360) have since adopted this "PAL60" format.
The PAL version of the game was also briefly available for free through the Stars Catalogue loyalty scheme, then named "Nintendo VIP 24:7".
[edit] Reception
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The critical reception for Echoes was mostly positive[1], with good reviews from magazines like EGM and Game Informer and websites like GameSpot[2] and IGN[3]
The game also won a number of awards, including the 2004 Nintendo Power Awards (Vol. #191) in almost every category it was nominated for (minus Best Multiplayer and Most Memorable Moment, in which it won 3rd and 2nd places respectively). It was also rated the 174th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Powers Top 200 Games list.[7]
The game earned good sales, although inferior to the original Prime: 490,000 copies in two months.
Though Echoes received good scores, a few reviewers such as IGN criticized the game for having too similar game play and action to Metroid Prime and for bland multiplayer mode. Common criticism focused on the amount of backtracking required to complete a mission objective, as well as save points being too few and far between.
[edit] Other appearances
This game makes a cameo appearance in WarioWare: Smooth Moves as a microgame in 9-Volt's series. In it, a scene is shown depicting Samus in her Morph Ball form atop a metal platform, with a barrel and (often) other obstacles nearby. The microgame is played by holding the "Form Baton" (Wii Remote) balanced on your palm, and tilting your hand to cause Samus to roll into the barrel, knocking it over. After you successfully do this, Samus turns back into her humanoid form as the game ends.
At the Tokyo Game Show in 2005, a modified version of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was used to demonstrate how Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would take advantage of the Wii controller. In this version, aiming and firing was controlled by pointing the remote at the screen.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Cassamassina, Matt (November 11, 2004). Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review. ign.com.
- ^ Shoemaker, Brad (November 12, 2004). Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review. gamespot.com.
- ^ Williams, Bryn (November 26, 2004). Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review. gamespy.com.
- ^ "Metroid Prime review" (December 25, 2004). Edge magazine (115).
- ^ Metroid Prime Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Metroid Prime reviews. metacritic.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ “NP Top 200”, Nintendo Power 200: 58-66, February 2006.
[edit] External links
- Official Metroid Website
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes at MobyGames
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes at The Metroid Database
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes at Metroid2002, focusing on speedruns and speedrunning tricks
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes at GameFAQs
- 'Metroid Prime 2 at Gamerankings.com
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