Reviews// Metroid Prime 2 Echoes

Rather shamefully, this particular reviewer is a newcomer to Metroid's Prime mutations and the very seriously considered hype generated by very serious games journalists had previously gone a little over my head. But having chugged through Metroid Prime 2, it's all becoming clear. The first point to make is that if you were a big fan of the last game, you’ll love this to pieces; and that if you weren’t, you won’t. If you don’t know of the game’s intricacies at all, however, that’s where playing MP2 may prove an eye-opening experience.

Acquainting oneself to MP2 is a process remarkably similar to the effects of smoking cigarettes. A ridiculous analogy, yes, but it's still holds true under scrutiny (sort of). Your friends will tell you how cool it is and how they love it; and so, eventually, you try it. And you hate it. You don't really understand what you're supposed to be doing and it leaves an unpleasant taste in your mouth. But, in an effort to keep up appearances, you take it upon yourself to try it out again a bit more thoroughly.

Then it hits you, a rush to the head as you work out how to make it all work properly for the first time. This is cool after all. It looks really sophisticated and is profoundly satisfying. Then you're hooked and all the while you need increasing amounts of Metroideine in your system. But as you get to the stiffer more oblique conundrums, you can't get that fix because you don't really understand what the hell it is you're supposed to be doing. You begin to resent it and want to finish with it. But you can't. There you are craving until frustration of the most extreme kind kicks you in the head and makes you want to cry. And so you do.

But away from absurdly extended metaphors and back to the game. It's clearly a masterpiece, just like its blueprint predecessor, but it can be a cruel beast. It has the power to test your patience far more than any other game that you might actually want to play. With a distinct focus on exploring your alien environment, there's plenty of running around and getting a bit lost to be done. That can get quite tedious, especially if it ends in a situation which blocks your progress, be it an unsolved puzzle or fiendish trial' n' error boss thing.