Lord Regal
Well-Known Member
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- 2011
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When I did the Metal Gear review, I couldn't help but think that this game needed a review as well. I logged so many hours on this one, it's shocking, and I keep coming back for more. This is a game that was advertised quite a bit, but it disappeared really fast, so if you didn't grab it quick Amazon or other online providers were your only option. I actually got my copy used because I waited a couple of months. It wasn't a hit with everyone, but it got a cult following (like with the Earthbound series) and I feel it merits a review. I'll review it in these terms: Single Player story, SP gameplay, Music, Multiplayer Gameplay, graphics, an in-depth character review, and overall.
SP Story: I'll be honest, the story concept wasn't bad. There's a ruined set of planets broadcasting a transmission in every known language about an "ultimate power". This occurs between Prime 1 and 2, and Samus is sent to either secure this power for the Federation or destroy it. Other civilizations intercepted this transmission though, and six other hunters arrive in the Alimbic Cluster. Each has their own reason, but all want the ultimate power. The problem with the story? You only get true plot elements from hidden floating data messages (using the scan visor) and at the very beginning and end of the game. The rest of the time it's just "Find the Octoliths (massive crystals)"...and even then you don't know why until you get the last one. In addition, some of the hunters' reasons for going after the power don't necessarily interfere with Samus' mission (Spire and Noxus in particular) and yet they're all hostile toward her, but end up working together with each other. It just doesn't make sense. Overall though, not the worst story I've seen in a game.
SP Gameplay: If the game has a single bad part, this is it. The gameplay in the story mode is terrible. The level design isn't half-bad, with the traditional power-ups (including new weapons) scattered throughout the four places you can land, consisting of two planets and two space stations. However, getting to the Octoliths (2 per planet) is annoying as heck. First off, there's nothing to tell you where you're going ever. This isn't so bad the first time you go to a place, but the second time, it's a matter of luck finding the new path to take. Then there's finding the three cube-thingies that activate the boss portal, another frustrating affair. And to make it all worse, there are near-constant miniboss fights. This isn't too bad when it's the other hunters...at least they're interesting. If you've already beaten all the hunters on your current location though, you get these bipedal robots called Guardians, essentially hunters that suck, have no alt-form, and hunt in packs. Once you get the Imperialist (the sniping weapon) every miniboss can be taken out in one hit (except if a hunter is in alt-form)...so why do you see Guardians in every other room? It's just frustrating. There aren't even classic Metroid bosses...aside from the final boss, there's only two other bosses; a tower that fires lasers and plasma balls, and a robot eye that fires various projectiles. The catch? There's four versions of each one. The first time it's interesting, the second ok, but the fourth time? Forget the fact that the versions get harder the more you get into the game...it's a lack of creativity and it's just not fun. Puzzles are either simple or near impossible...this mode is the reason not many people bought the game, and I understand it entirely. Single Player mode...play it once to unlock the hunters for multiplayer mode, play it a second time to get the last cutscene (because there are two different endings), and never go back again.
Music: This game has traditional Metroid music for the most part, but most of it isn't memorable sadly. The best theme in the game is the Hunter theme, or the music that plays during a Hunter fight. Why is this so cool? It's the same song after all...but each hunter brings their own addition to the basic song. Kanden has a melody. Spire has bass. Weavel a minor melody. Noxus a vocal track. Sylux a major harmony. Trace a creepy minor bit. When there's more than one hunter in a room, these bits combine. Unfortunately there's no way to hear the complete song, and I've looked around forever online to no avail. Other than this though, nothing too special to report in this category.
Multiplayer Gameplay: This is the reason I love this game. Multiplayer. You play as any of the hunters you've unlocked (by beating them in either single player or multiplayer) and play in various modes. Local gameplay has many adjustable options, such as time, kills, whether the capture the flag mode is individual or team, etc. Online mode is simpler. 7 minutes, first to 7 kills wins, free for all. This is what makes the game so much fun, because unlike the story mode, playing against other people keeps you engaged. The 7 minute time period online gives a sense of urgency, so hiding doesn't work, forcing frantic fights to the death. Winning or losing affects your rank (given in stars) and there are a host of other stats that are kept track of in your profile. If you don't want to verse other people, local multiplayer lets you fight bots, which even at their weakest point are better than the single player hunters. The arenas are from the single player mode, taking any area that Guardians or Hunters appeared and then a few extras into account. Unfortunately there are some problems. This game is apparently easy to hack. As such any high ranking player is suspicious. I actually made 4 star, the second highest rank, legitimately. I've only ever seen one five star that legitimately earned his title...and he was stellar. Invisibility, invincibility, deadly to the touch all the time (there's an item called deathalt that traps you in your alt-form but makes you deadly to touch for 30 seconds or so. The hack works all the time and out of alt-form, and doesn't have the orange glow that marks this mode is in effect)...the hacks are varied. There's even a hack to use the "ultimate power" outside the one arena it's available. However, it seems to have trouble working in any other arena, so I laugh at people who use it there. The game also is full of holes. In Combat Hall (the most popular area online, sadly) there are four glitches I know of, two of which I can ever get to work. These put you inside the walls, in areas where there's still a floor. You can shoot out, they can't shoot in. Annoying, and no way to counteract it but to hide. Lag also poses an issue. Overlook these issues, and ask for worldwide any rank battles and you'll get good fights (Americans are the worst hackers I've learned). This is the best mode in the game, and I've spent over 200 hours playing online.
Graphics: Meh. The regular gameplay graphics aren't bad for a full 3D game on the DS. Nothing to be proud of, but not bad. The cutscene graphics, however, suck. The quality of images that are shown are supposedly higher than normal gameplay, and in a way they are, but they're so grainy it's kind of sad. I love the opening movie before the title screen and the cutscene that leads to the final boss fight, but they're grainy. Not the best graphics by any means. Still, it works.
In-depth Character Review:
Samus: The worst hunter of the seven. Sorry guys, it's true. She has no affinity weapon (weapon she's best with) so hitting one of those markers in multiplayer gives you missiles. Those are supposedly her affinity weapon, homing when they're fully charged, but it's such a loose home it's not worth it. Morph ball is fast when you boost, but the bombs just don't work well in multiplayer. Not a great character at all in this game.
Kanden: A hunter very similar to Samus, and almost as bad. Alt-form is a massive caterpillar type thing, and its tail detaches and becomes a bomb like what the morph ball does, but this one homes if there's an enemy near. However, you only get one bomb at a time, unlike Samus' three. His affinity weapon is what turns Kanden around. The Volt Driver, when charged, gives most people a more powerful basic shot. Fast, not too powerful. Kanden gets a slow (slowest in the game) ball of electricity that homes pretty well (better than the missiles) and messes up the screen of anyone who gets hit for a bit. Not stellar, but not bad. I consider him the second worst.
Spire: Great concept, bad execution. Spire's alt-form is a big spiky ball. It moves kind of jerky, but it's still fast. Instead of bombs, it bludgeons enemies with it's sides when you fire, and it does massive amounts of damage. In this form Spire can climb walls, but it's so slow it leaves you a sitting duck for enemies. His affinity weapon is the Magmaul. Usually a powered charge gives you a faster, more powerful shot than the original (this one lobs) Spire gets a shot that explodes on contact with anything, setting anyone hit on fire, doing exactly 30 damage. (max health is 199) Spire can be hit by this too, and because he's such a big target, that's easier than it sounds. His size makes him a target for everyone, so it's hard to get out of danger at times. I consider him the middle hunter (4th place)
Weavel: Probably the most unique of the hunters. Weavel's alt-form splits him in half. His top half you control, the bottom sits where it is and becomes a turret, firing Battlehammer shots at anything that comes near (infinite ammo). This is a cool feature, but someone far enough away can kill this turret easily, and since you not only split your health between the two halves, but hitting the bottom half hurts the top half (bottom half can be destroyed, top half must be killed for a kill) and Sylux especially can kill this turret easily. Finding a safe spot is hard, but doable. Weavel's affinity weapon is the Battlehammer, and the difference in this lobbing weapon is slower fire speed (It's fast for the other characters) but more powerful and bigger explosions. I consider Weavel the 3rd best hunter when he's used properly.
Noxus: Such a broken character...Noxus' alt-form causes him to turn into a mobile top, and holding the fire button has him extend a claw as he continues to spin. The catch? He's momentum based like this. Going up a hill? Better get a flying start or you won't make it. It's powerful, but the most annoying alt-form in the game. His affinity weapon is the Judicator. Most people get three of the normal beam when powered up, but Noxus gets a short range freeze blast, causing anyone hit to freeze solid for several seconds. Not too shabby, but there's a trick. Aim straight down in the direction of an enemy, and as long as you're horizontally lined up as well, he'll freeze. Shadow-Freezing this is called, and it's a glitch (one of many in the game). not the easiest to do, but kinda frustrating when you get hit across the map. Great idea again, bad execution. Because of his alt-form alone, he's the 3rd worst.
Sylux: An easily abused character, but a good one nonetheless. Sylux' alt-form turns him into a mobile tank, and I believe this is the fastest alt-form of all. He attacks by laying bombs, but these bombs are special. Lay two near each other and they form a tripwire. Hitting it causes both bombs to fly into the person for extra damage. Lay a third charge and a triangle is created. Anyone in the triangle when the third bomb is placed is hit for 198 damage (199 health being the max) They have to be in the plane of the triangle though, and the triangle can't be too big or the bombs go off prematurely. Still easily abused, and annoying as all getout. Sylux' affinity weapon is the Shock Coil. It fires the same as everyone elses' (realllllly short range but powerful) but instead of just draining health from the victim, the health gets added to Sylux'. Dangerous? Absolutely. I consider him the 2nd best.
Trace: The most used character online, and the easiest to abuse. Also my personal favorite. Trace's alt-form looks like a three-legged red spider, and while it isn't particularly fast, it has some really good points. First and foremost, when it isn't moving, it turns completely invisible. This doesn't work that well online because radar is always enabled, but if there're multiple floors in your level, you can hide successfully, and most new players don't use radar anyway. Its lunge attack sends it flying, so fast it even surpasses Sylux' alt-form for a brief moment. 4 hits with this attack kills a player at full health, so it's pretty deadly...aside from Sylux' 198 damage, it does the most damage in one hit of all alt-forms. His affinity weapon is the Imperialist, the sniper laser. A zoomed headshot with this laser does 201 damage, so even a fully healed opponent (199 health) dies instantly. Useful to discover hackers, as if they don't die, they're either lagging or hacking. Shoot in front of them and if they die, lag. Otherwise hack. The issue with the Imperialist is that it leaves behind a red laser for a second, making it all too obvious where the sniper's at. Trace gets an added bonus here in that he turns 90% invisible if he's standing still while sniping (or even has it equipped) so he's far less vulnerable to people attacking snipers. When he fires, he becomes visible for a moment, then fades again, so if someone doesn't get a good lock on where he is, he has another shot. It is possible to see Trace in his invisible form while he's sniping (as opposed to the alt-form, which is completely invisible) so a careful person can see him, but it's not easy. The best character in my opinion, the one I use the most, the one most people online use the most, and the most easily abused because of his overpowered state combined with invisibility. This is the only game I play online where I'm good with the sniper, and half the time I'm not even sniping. I don't rely on his cheaper abilities, instead I snipe sometimes and use alt-form the rest...it's fun to see people spinning helplessly as I lunge back and forth. By far the best.
Overall: Overall this game is good. The single player is terrible, but the multiplayer more than makes up for it. It puts a Metroid twist on the classic first person shooter genre, putting the emphasis on battling rather than exploration. If you're looking for a great online game, check it out. If you're looking for a great Metroid adventure, look elsewhere.
7/10 Golden Nintendans
SP Story: I'll be honest, the story concept wasn't bad. There's a ruined set of planets broadcasting a transmission in every known language about an "ultimate power". This occurs between Prime 1 and 2, and Samus is sent to either secure this power for the Federation or destroy it. Other civilizations intercepted this transmission though, and six other hunters arrive in the Alimbic Cluster. Each has their own reason, but all want the ultimate power. The problem with the story? You only get true plot elements from hidden floating data messages (using the scan visor) and at the very beginning and end of the game. The rest of the time it's just "Find the Octoliths (massive crystals)"...and even then you don't know why until you get the last one. In addition, some of the hunters' reasons for going after the power don't necessarily interfere with Samus' mission (Spire and Noxus in particular) and yet they're all hostile toward her, but end up working together with each other. It just doesn't make sense. Overall though, not the worst story I've seen in a game.
SP Gameplay: If the game has a single bad part, this is it. The gameplay in the story mode is terrible. The level design isn't half-bad, with the traditional power-ups (including new weapons) scattered throughout the four places you can land, consisting of two planets and two space stations. However, getting to the Octoliths (2 per planet) is annoying as heck. First off, there's nothing to tell you where you're going ever. This isn't so bad the first time you go to a place, but the second time, it's a matter of luck finding the new path to take. Then there's finding the three cube-thingies that activate the boss portal, another frustrating affair. And to make it all worse, there are near-constant miniboss fights. This isn't too bad when it's the other hunters...at least they're interesting. If you've already beaten all the hunters on your current location though, you get these bipedal robots called Guardians, essentially hunters that suck, have no alt-form, and hunt in packs. Once you get the Imperialist (the sniping weapon) every miniboss can be taken out in one hit (except if a hunter is in alt-form)...so why do you see Guardians in every other room? It's just frustrating. There aren't even classic Metroid bosses...aside from the final boss, there's only two other bosses; a tower that fires lasers and plasma balls, and a robot eye that fires various projectiles. The catch? There's four versions of each one. The first time it's interesting, the second ok, but the fourth time? Forget the fact that the versions get harder the more you get into the game...it's a lack of creativity and it's just not fun. Puzzles are either simple or near impossible...this mode is the reason not many people bought the game, and I understand it entirely. Single Player mode...play it once to unlock the hunters for multiplayer mode, play it a second time to get the last cutscene (because there are two different endings), and never go back again.
Music: This game has traditional Metroid music for the most part, but most of it isn't memorable sadly. The best theme in the game is the Hunter theme, or the music that plays during a Hunter fight. Why is this so cool? It's the same song after all...but each hunter brings their own addition to the basic song. Kanden has a melody. Spire has bass. Weavel a minor melody. Noxus a vocal track. Sylux a major harmony. Trace a creepy minor bit. When there's more than one hunter in a room, these bits combine. Unfortunately there's no way to hear the complete song, and I've looked around forever online to no avail. Other than this though, nothing too special to report in this category.
Multiplayer Gameplay: This is the reason I love this game. Multiplayer. You play as any of the hunters you've unlocked (by beating them in either single player or multiplayer) and play in various modes. Local gameplay has many adjustable options, such as time, kills, whether the capture the flag mode is individual or team, etc. Online mode is simpler. 7 minutes, first to 7 kills wins, free for all. This is what makes the game so much fun, because unlike the story mode, playing against other people keeps you engaged. The 7 minute time period online gives a sense of urgency, so hiding doesn't work, forcing frantic fights to the death. Winning or losing affects your rank (given in stars) and there are a host of other stats that are kept track of in your profile. If you don't want to verse other people, local multiplayer lets you fight bots, which even at their weakest point are better than the single player hunters. The arenas are from the single player mode, taking any area that Guardians or Hunters appeared and then a few extras into account. Unfortunately there are some problems. This game is apparently easy to hack. As such any high ranking player is suspicious. I actually made 4 star, the second highest rank, legitimately. I've only ever seen one five star that legitimately earned his title...and he was stellar. Invisibility, invincibility, deadly to the touch all the time (there's an item called deathalt that traps you in your alt-form but makes you deadly to touch for 30 seconds or so. The hack works all the time and out of alt-form, and doesn't have the orange glow that marks this mode is in effect)...the hacks are varied. There's even a hack to use the "ultimate power" outside the one arena it's available. However, it seems to have trouble working in any other arena, so I laugh at people who use it there. The game also is full of holes. In Combat Hall (the most popular area online, sadly) there are four glitches I know of, two of which I can ever get to work. These put you inside the walls, in areas where there's still a floor. You can shoot out, they can't shoot in. Annoying, and no way to counteract it but to hide. Lag also poses an issue. Overlook these issues, and ask for worldwide any rank battles and you'll get good fights (Americans are the worst hackers I've learned). This is the best mode in the game, and I've spent over 200 hours playing online.
Graphics: Meh. The regular gameplay graphics aren't bad for a full 3D game on the DS. Nothing to be proud of, but not bad. The cutscene graphics, however, suck. The quality of images that are shown are supposedly higher than normal gameplay, and in a way they are, but they're so grainy it's kind of sad. I love the opening movie before the title screen and the cutscene that leads to the final boss fight, but they're grainy. Not the best graphics by any means. Still, it works.
In-depth Character Review:
Samus: The worst hunter of the seven. Sorry guys, it's true. She has no affinity weapon (weapon she's best with) so hitting one of those markers in multiplayer gives you missiles. Those are supposedly her affinity weapon, homing when they're fully charged, but it's such a loose home it's not worth it. Morph ball is fast when you boost, but the bombs just don't work well in multiplayer. Not a great character at all in this game.
Kanden: A hunter very similar to Samus, and almost as bad. Alt-form is a massive caterpillar type thing, and its tail detaches and becomes a bomb like what the morph ball does, but this one homes if there's an enemy near. However, you only get one bomb at a time, unlike Samus' three. His affinity weapon is what turns Kanden around. The Volt Driver, when charged, gives most people a more powerful basic shot. Fast, not too powerful. Kanden gets a slow (slowest in the game) ball of electricity that homes pretty well (better than the missiles) and messes up the screen of anyone who gets hit for a bit. Not stellar, but not bad. I consider him the second worst.
Spire: Great concept, bad execution. Spire's alt-form is a big spiky ball. It moves kind of jerky, but it's still fast. Instead of bombs, it bludgeons enemies with it's sides when you fire, and it does massive amounts of damage. In this form Spire can climb walls, but it's so slow it leaves you a sitting duck for enemies. His affinity weapon is the Magmaul. Usually a powered charge gives you a faster, more powerful shot than the original (this one lobs) Spire gets a shot that explodes on contact with anything, setting anyone hit on fire, doing exactly 30 damage. (max health is 199) Spire can be hit by this too, and because he's such a big target, that's easier than it sounds. His size makes him a target for everyone, so it's hard to get out of danger at times. I consider him the middle hunter (4th place)
Weavel: Probably the most unique of the hunters. Weavel's alt-form splits him in half. His top half you control, the bottom sits where it is and becomes a turret, firing Battlehammer shots at anything that comes near (infinite ammo). This is a cool feature, but someone far enough away can kill this turret easily, and since you not only split your health between the two halves, but hitting the bottom half hurts the top half (bottom half can be destroyed, top half must be killed for a kill) and Sylux especially can kill this turret easily. Finding a safe spot is hard, but doable. Weavel's affinity weapon is the Battlehammer, and the difference in this lobbing weapon is slower fire speed (It's fast for the other characters) but more powerful and bigger explosions. I consider Weavel the 3rd best hunter when he's used properly.
Noxus: Such a broken character...Noxus' alt-form causes him to turn into a mobile top, and holding the fire button has him extend a claw as he continues to spin. The catch? He's momentum based like this. Going up a hill? Better get a flying start or you won't make it. It's powerful, but the most annoying alt-form in the game. His affinity weapon is the Judicator. Most people get three of the normal beam when powered up, but Noxus gets a short range freeze blast, causing anyone hit to freeze solid for several seconds. Not too shabby, but there's a trick. Aim straight down in the direction of an enemy, and as long as you're horizontally lined up as well, he'll freeze. Shadow-Freezing this is called, and it's a glitch (one of many in the game). not the easiest to do, but kinda frustrating when you get hit across the map. Great idea again, bad execution. Because of his alt-form alone, he's the 3rd worst.
Sylux: An easily abused character, but a good one nonetheless. Sylux' alt-form turns him into a mobile tank, and I believe this is the fastest alt-form of all. He attacks by laying bombs, but these bombs are special. Lay two near each other and they form a tripwire. Hitting it causes both bombs to fly into the person for extra damage. Lay a third charge and a triangle is created. Anyone in the triangle when the third bomb is placed is hit for 198 damage (199 health being the max) They have to be in the plane of the triangle though, and the triangle can't be too big or the bombs go off prematurely. Still easily abused, and annoying as all getout. Sylux' affinity weapon is the Shock Coil. It fires the same as everyone elses' (realllllly short range but powerful) but instead of just draining health from the victim, the health gets added to Sylux'. Dangerous? Absolutely. I consider him the 2nd best.
Trace: The most used character online, and the easiest to abuse. Also my personal favorite. Trace's alt-form looks like a three-legged red spider, and while it isn't particularly fast, it has some really good points. First and foremost, when it isn't moving, it turns completely invisible. This doesn't work that well online because radar is always enabled, but if there're multiple floors in your level, you can hide successfully, and most new players don't use radar anyway. Its lunge attack sends it flying, so fast it even surpasses Sylux' alt-form for a brief moment. 4 hits with this attack kills a player at full health, so it's pretty deadly...aside from Sylux' 198 damage, it does the most damage in one hit of all alt-forms. His affinity weapon is the Imperialist, the sniper laser. A zoomed headshot with this laser does 201 damage, so even a fully healed opponent (199 health) dies instantly. Useful to discover hackers, as if they don't die, they're either lagging or hacking. Shoot in front of them and if they die, lag. Otherwise hack. The issue with the Imperialist is that it leaves behind a red laser for a second, making it all too obvious where the sniper's at. Trace gets an added bonus here in that he turns 90% invisible if he's standing still while sniping (or even has it equipped) so he's far less vulnerable to people attacking snipers. When he fires, he becomes visible for a moment, then fades again, so if someone doesn't get a good lock on where he is, he has another shot. It is possible to see Trace in his invisible form while he's sniping (as opposed to the alt-form, which is completely invisible) so a careful person can see him, but it's not easy. The best character in my opinion, the one I use the most, the one most people online use the most, and the most easily abused because of his overpowered state combined with invisibility. This is the only game I play online where I'm good with the sniper, and half the time I'm not even sniping. I don't rely on his cheaper abilities, instead I snipe sometimes and use alt-form the rest...it's fun to see people spinning helplessly as I lunge back and forth. By far the best.
Overall: Overall this game is good. The single player is terrible, but the multiplayer more than makes up for it. It puts a Metroid twist on the classic first person shooter genre, putting the emphasis on battling rather than exploration. If you're looking for a great online game, check it out. If you're looking for a great Metroid adventure, look elsewhere.
7/10 Golden Nintendans
