Metroid Prime: Hunters DS review

For many DS owners, Hunters has been the title they’ve been waiting for a very long time. An early build was included as a playable demo in DS packs and was well received. A later build was seen by journalists at a couple of trade events and was less well received, being something of a step backwards. Now the finished version is out and has, more or less, been worth the wait.

The plot takes place between the two Gamecube Metroid games, apparently. It’s a simple enough premise, with yet another ancient race having vanished many thousands of years ago, after cluttering up the Alimbic Cluster with their buildings, space stations and so on. Of course, in amongst all this clutter are the usual secrets, powerful weapons, nasty critters, and a big bad boss at the end of it all. Complicating matters for Samus are six other bounty hunters, each with their own weapons and styles, who are after the same ultimate power that Samus has.

A Plot of Sorts

Ok, so the plot really isn’t anything original. Ultimately, neither is the game, but that’s no bad thing. This is, in all ways that matter, a system perfect translation of Metroid Prime, only without any metroids or space pirates. Although there’s no excuse to strip Samus of her kit this time, there are still weapons to collect without which you cannot progress (certain doors still need certain weapons to unlock them and the new areas beyond). The gameplay is familiar without breeding contempt, and is spread over five locations that include the requisite lava and ice planets.

Part of what makes Metroid Prime: Hunters quite so good is that the control method is as near as damn it perfect. If, like so many, you’ve played the old demo then you’ll be fully prepared for Hunters. If you haven’t, you’ll marvel at the way the aiming (with the stylus) and movement (with the d-pad) so beautifully emulate the keyboard and mouse combo so beloved of FPS gamers everywhere. It might seem odd, but you jump by double tapping the touch-screen, and shift into alt-form or change primary weapons or bring up your scanning visor, by touching certain areas of that screen. It all makes sense pretty much straight away, right or left handed.

Aching Hands

I said it was near perfect, but it needs work. The design of the visor screen (different for each hunter) has taken a degree of prominence over practicality. In the heat of action, it’s a little easy to drop into morph ball mode by accident, or into and out of scanning mode. Main weapons are easy enough to switch to, but accessing and swapping the special weapons is an unnecessary hassle, but only in multiplayer. You know, where it really matters. It sounds serious, but it’s really not that bad - a matter of fine tuning for the sequel, perhaps.

The single player game plays really very well indeed, and will absorb your free time without your realising in the way all good games should. Your first realisation of this will come when your poor, crippled hands have to be surgically corrected after numerous hours have fled unnoticed. Side rant – why is it that hand held consoles aren’t designed to be, well, hand held? Eh? Eh?

The single-player game does have its faults, of course. Graphically, it looks stunning. The sounds and music are gorgeous. It plays well, nicely instinctive, and with a good difficulty curve. If you haven’t enjoyed the other Metroid Prime games, you’ll likely not enjoy this one either (though the multi-player may draw you to it). The other hunters are a little samey when you face them, with the exception of the sparky Sylux and the sniping Trace.

Iain's Confession

The boss battles that make the Cube Metroid games so entertaining are a real disappointment. Each of the eight items you need to gather to unlock the final environment are guarded by one of two types of bad guys – a floating ball or a fixed tower. They vary slightly, getting more powerful with each encounter, but they are basically the same throughout. There are other semi-bosses in the game (the lava creature being particularly effective), but they tend to be recycled through the game too. I’d have rather done without some of the spiffy video sequences (and they are very pretty – especially the intro and the final sequence!) in exchange for a bit more variety. Mind you, the last boss is worth playing the game through for, even if the clues to nailing him the proper way are a little obscure.

So, the single-player game is pretty darn fine, taking some ten hours to get through. What about the multi-player? Well I can report that, when it comes to playing the option-filled, fast paced wireless or online multiplayer I am utterly rubbish! No, really. I’ve played it a lot, and I am terrible. However, I have had a lot of fun being humiliated at an international level, so that’s something.

Multiplayer Action

There’s a limited single cartridge multi-player (up to four players in free-for-all Battle mode only), and you can set up bot-populated practice games for yourself against up to three other hunters of selectable skill levels. Multi-cart or online play is available for up to four players with all seven modes of play: Battle, Survival (last man standing), Bounty (grab an item), Defender (defend an area), Prime Hunter (first kill becomes Prime, longest time as Prime wins), Capture (team-based capture the flag), and Nodes (capture areas of the level to get points). The games are very fast, hand-cripplingly fast, reminding me of Quake 2 (which I was also rubbish at). The arenas are adapted from levels in the game and are pretty good.

Unlockables are limited to affecting the multi-player game. If you scan everything in the single-player game and finish it, you get a special icon in your name on multi-player. You only get to play in multi-player the hunters you kill in single-player. Some levels in the multi-player game are unlocked in single-player, others by playing lots of games. Victories in multi-player are rewarded by changes to your on-line ‘hunter’s licence’ – fancy borders, more icons, etc. Oh, and you can speak to folks on your friends list using the mic in the DS before and after games.

Ready to Rumble?

The rumble pack add-on, first used in Metroid Pinball, is compatible with Hunters. I liked the way it was used in the pinball title, and felt it really added to the feel of the game. In Metroid Prime: Hunters, it might as well not be there. When it is, it somehow adds nothing at all save some additional sound effects. Real shame that.

Conclusion time, you’ll be pleased to hear! I read here and there that the Metroid Prime: Hunters single-player game had been sacrificed for the excellent multi-player game. Nonsense. The solo game is a little limited at times, but it is still very absorbing. What faults it has can mostly be laid at the feet of the series as a whole – a series that is going to have to do something a bit different on the Wii (and more than just make use of the new control options) if it is to keep people’s attention. On the DS, the touch controls just need that little bit of a tweak to make them perfect (RSI aside) for the sequel that I really hope is coming.

The potential of the technologically disruptive DS is just beginning to be exploited. Metroid Prime: Hunters is a great game, and one that really should shift systems. Buy it, play it, and you’ll understand.