Your Top 50 Games: 2013 Discussion Thread (The Final Day!)

[theRepublic]

Number Four

Metroid Prime
GameCube(2002)/Wii(2009)
Retro Studios
First-Person Adventure/Shooter

With all the great games on the N64, I didn't really miss the Metroid franchise.  I had only played Super Metroid, and while I really liked it at the time, it did not immediately click with me.  It was more of a slow burn.  So when this game came out after an 8 year hiatus in the series, I wasn't super excited, but I knew I wanted it anyway.

The first time I touched down on Tallon IV the game took my breath away.  It immediately brought back all the feeling from Super Metroid, while maintaining a first-person perspective in a full 3D environment.  I probably spent 10 minutes just exploring that first room where your ship lands.  Pretty much the same thing I did in Super Metroid.  Same thing happened when I booted up the Metroid Prime Trilogy version on the Wii too.

Retro did such a fantastic job moving this series into 3D.  The sense of loneliness, exploration, how the enviroment around you feels alive, almost as if it was a character...

Needless to say, they also nailed the gameplay.  It just felt like Metroid.  The shooting felt right.  The power-ups felt right.  The hidden secrets felt right.  The exploration felt right.  And the bosses. Oh, the bosses.  Thardus will get your heart pumping.  Especially once the room clouds up and it becomes difficult to see.  But then, that is what your thermal visor is for.

For those really interested, Retro left little treats around the game in the form of short texts you could pick up by scanning certain objects.  They really fleshed out the world with that information.  The Space Pirates experimentations, and their fear of you.  The Chozo Lore gleaned from the ruins of the Chozo civilization.  There is so much there for the dedicated player, but if you don't care, you don't have to see any of it.

This is a fantastic game that is still amazing over a decade later.  Some people find the original lock on system a little wonky, but it does allow for effective strafing.  The Wii version adds IR Pointer controls, and I would consider it the definitive version.  Good luck finding Metroid Prime Trilogy if you don't already have it.  I hear it is quite expensive.