Metroid Prime is a crowning achievement in the video game industry, and in my opinion, the definitive First Person Shooter of all time. I will admit I missed Metroid Prime during its initial release, as I wasn't into console games at the time. I've never been able to connect with FPSs, even as my friends were really devoting a lot of time into them. It wasn't until Metroid Prime that I discovered why. More than anything else, Metroid Prime is a perfectly complete game and no one who owns a Wii should miss this collection. The Metroid Prime port alone is more than worth the price of admission. Metroid Prime 2 and 3 are just gravy.
The Metroid Prime Trilogy plays extremely well on the Wii. The game's control scheme might surprise you. Like many aspects of the game, it goes against the conventions of the genre, going for a control set up that seems strikingly reminiscent of the 3D Zelda games. You move Samus with the nunchuck and aim with the Wiimote pointer, which is very well implemented and accurate. The game also uses a Z targeting system, allowing you to auto focus on an enemy and making combat more about maneuvering and aiming. Overall, the control scheme works perfectly well (Though I used to option to switch the "A" and "B" button configuration). The use of the nunchuck and Wiimote and well implemented and aside from flicking the Wiimote to jump in morph ball mode, feels very natural and non gimmicky.
If you are unfamiliar with the Metroid games, they revolve around exploring nonlinear worlds and collecting power ups, allowing you to use said power up to explore parts of the world that were previously unavailable to you. Through it, you will encounter a wide variety of enemies, bosses, and environments. The original 2D games were groundbreaking in their use of nonlinear exploration and atmosphere and Metroid Prime goes above and beyond taking the tropes that worked so well for the 2D games and translating them into 3D.
As I mentioned, what Metroid Prime has over almost every other FPS how perfectly complete it feels. With other FPSs, there is a very shallow limit to what you are expected to master in the game. Usually it all comes down to shooting, arcing grenades, melee attacks and maybe vehicles. The Metroid games took inspiration of Zelda's permanent upgrade system. This allows Metroid Prime to hold several layers of depth never truly seen in the genre before or since. There is a lot to absorb and master in the game so that you are never bored, but it's paced well enough so that you are never overwhelmed.
Another major success of the game over almost any other in its genre is the pacing. The game is mostly nonlinear, and much of the game involves exploration and observing the environment. The graphics still hold up today and a long with the games well executed, minimalistic soundtrack, creates an extremely immersive experience that sucks you in and is hard to put down. There is a lot of variety in the game's pacing. Aside from the intro level, it'll be several hours before you get into your first shootout with space pirates. The earlier parts involve you exploring the terrain and killing local wildlife. It all builds up in tension, but the game never loses focus of the amazing atmosphere.
The power ups are all unique and really adds to the game's experience, rather than feeling gimmicky or tacked on. The boss fights are all really fantastic puzzles in themselves. The game's platforming feels extremely natural and fluid, I can rave on and on about the game. It's a masterpiece in every sense of the word.
The game does have some flaws however. The story is far more minimalistic compared to what many expect from today's games. The game works on world building and storytelling through a mostly optional scanning mechanic, which involves you scanning an object in game and receiving data on it. Some will find this piece by piece story telling engaging, yet unobtrusive, others will likely find it cold and off putting. An annoying gripe is that you are required to shoot doors to open them every single time you want to open them, and switching weapons to match doors unnecessarily slows down the game. These are both extremely minor and pale before the overwhelming greatness of the game.
I almost forgot this is a trilogy collection. Truth be told, Metroid Prime 2 and 3 are more of the same, and not quite as well executed more of the same. They both have their own gimmicks, but neither feel as groundbreaking or masterful as the original and don't push the formula to new levels as Metroid Prime 1 did for the 2D Metroid formula. I'm also boggled by Metroid 2's tacked on multiplayer. It seems really out of place. Overall though, they're still extremely high quality and fun games and more than worth your time.
As far as other features unique to this collection, the game comes in a really nice looking metallic cover with a small but neat art book. Overall, it conveys the high quality of these games, though it isn't quite as extravagant as it could be.
This is a must buy for Wii owners of almost all stripes and colors, be you FPS fan, FPS hater, or what have you. These are gamers' games, however. It's not casual friendly in the slightest.
I approached with skepticism, and I have seen the light. This collection is worth $150, making it an absolute steal. Since this is out of print, buy it while you can. The cost is only going to go up. Don't rob yourself of three of the best experiences gaming has to offer.
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