Here it is for the slackers.
Don't sayNintendo didn't do anything for you: on August 24th, the publisher will release Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii. Metroid Prime Trilogy, releasing almost to the day ofMetroid Prime 3 Corruption's two year anniversary, is a jammed to the brim package that combines all of Retro's first-person adventure games for the GameCube and Wii, on a single disc. And the two GameCube games – Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes -- have been reworked with full widescreen, 480p support and feature the same awesome Wii Remote/Nunchuk control that made Metroid Prime 3 Corruption so tight.
This is a far superior strategy than what Nintendo is doing in Japan with the Metroid Prime games, since in that territory Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 have been released separately with the "New Play Control" branding. North American gamers get all three for $49.99, an absolute bargain when you consider 2006's Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is still one of the top titles on the Wii and you're getting three great games for the price of a standard Wii release.
Earlier this month we had an opportunity to take a look at pretty much the final version of the compilation package. In our hands-on we could take a look at the brand new front end produced by Retro Studios that ties all three games together in a single menu. Players will set up a profile using one of the system Miis, and all progress in each game will be stored to this profile. You'll be able to pull up how far you are, in percentage, in each of the games and the location of your save file. The front end also has an option menu that affects all three games, so if you've tweaked the controls or lock-on abilities, your settings will carry over into each of the products instead of requiring you to change it up every time.
The front end has been designed with a bit of visual flair that matches the Metroid theme. As you work your way through the menus you're digging through a mechanical tube, and when you select the game to load it's obvious that you're inside Samus' cannon…and the camera pulls out to reveal Samus in the specific form/model of the game you'll be playing. When you select the Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Multiplayer mode from this new front end, the camera pulls out to reveal four Samus characters before it jumps into the action.
We've already experienced the original Metroid Prime on the Wii with its new play controls, and it is awesome. The version that's in Metroid Prime Trilogy is identical to the version released in Japan a few months ago. The voice over narration that was added to the Japanese version during the introduction fly-over is not in the US version; instead, it plays out exactly as the GameCube version did in North America: quiet and haunting. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is equally fantastic with Wii remote controls and the updated widescreen, 480p visuals, but the GameCube game used a bit more FMV – on the Wii, the compression is a little, shall we say, bleah during these cutscenes. But when it jumps back to realtime in-engine, everything flows sharp and smooth. Though nothing's really changed beyond the new widescreen option, it's not farfetched to say that these two GameCube games are some of the best looking Wii visuals to date.
The multiplayer mode in Metroid Prime 2 wasn't all that special on the GameCube, mostly due to the lock-on controls making it feel like a very rigid deathmatch experience. On the Wii, however, this four player splitscreen mode really opens up, and in our short hands-on we had an absolute blast trying to see who the best Samus is. It's a shame this mode isn't available online, but we certainly can understand why it's remained a single system, split-screen mode.
Along with the new control and display options, Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes has also been given the same medal system that's already in Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. As you complete missions you'll be given medals specific to the task completed – each medal has a specific color, and you spend these tokens in the new front-end's option menu for unlockables. Each unlockable has a specific value: you can buy concept art, music, or special options like a screen grabbing utility so you can save screenshots to the internal storage and send them to friends. Some of the more coveted unlockables are far more expensive: we saw a few items that required three red, one blue, three yellow, two green, one orange, and two purple medals. You can also score medals by linking friends over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and earn friend vouchers.
The key things to remember: three full games, one disc, $49.99, releasing on August 24th, 2009. If you're a late Wii adopter you have no excuse to not put the 50 bucks down – Metroid Prime 3 Corruption is still considered a fantastic Wii title more than two years later, and the two updated GameCube games make for excellent Wii experiences as well. All this for the price of one game? Yes please.
I'm a mod, come to me if there's mod'n to do.
Chrizum is the best thing to happen to the internet, Period.
Serves me right for challenging his sales predictions!
Bet with dsisister44: Red Steel 2 will sell 1 million within it's first 365 days of sales.
