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> Results: Metroid Prime: Hunters
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For many purchasers of the Nintendo DS, the most compelling part of the ﾑextras' package was not the bundled Super Mario 64 but the demo of Metroid Prime: Hunters. The short demo provided a small taste of what was possibleﾗthe touch screen combined with the other controls could be the best alternative to the keyboard and mouse controls on the PC. The release date has been pushed back a couple of times, most recently to include full Wi-Fi support. While PSP had the first great handheld shooter with Syphon Filter last month, Metroid Prime: Hunters surpasses the mark set by that game to become easily the best shooter of the year on any platform so far, and is rivaled only by F.E.A.R. as the best first-person shooter since Half-Life 2.
Metroid Prime: Hunters is a game that does a little bit of everything and does it all well. It has a challenging single-player mode, excellent multiplayer over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection that includes voice chat with people on your ﾑFriends' list, plenty of action over local connections and even battles using a single game card over the DS download play. Nothing feels tacked on either. If you want to play some multiplayer rounds for practice, just load up some bots and fire away. It works great! Want to share some action with a friend who has a DS but hasn't bought the game yet? No problem. A simple download to his DS allows you to have an excellent Samus against Samus battle.  Gameplay lives and dies by how well you control the action using the touchscreen. There are control configurations for left- and right-handers, as well as ones that use a combination of the D-pad and ﾑXYAB' keys. Ultimately the game works best when using the touchscreen for ﾑmouse-look'. There is no lock-on key. You need to manually aim and fire. Fortunately that is not a problem. In fact, it's a major treat. This is a first person shooter done right. The single player mode features loads of action, an unfolding story and a bunch of simple logic and jumping puzzles. The story is simple and straightforward. You are hunting for special items of power called ﾑOctoliths' scattered on different worlds. There are a few problems thoughﾗfirst, the items are hidden in the most guarded areas in heavily fortified locations. Next, once removed the fortress defenses activate and count down to destruction. Finally, there are other hunters out there looking for the same artifacts and are quite willing to take them from you by force. Before, during and after the single player game you will undoubtedly want to engage in some wild multiplayer battles. Nintendo has done a wonderful job of making wireless multiplayer simple and safe over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection using ﾑFriend Codes'. Metroid Prime: Hunters includes robust wireless multiplayer support allowing you to battle against anyone, anywhere in the world. This makes it simple to find quick ﾑdeathmatch' games when no friends are online. But the system reserves the best featuresﾗand most of the multiplayer modesﾗfor you to share with people on your Friends List. You can use text or voice chat to communicate with others in the ﾑlobby' of a Friends match, which is really nice if you are playing repeatedly with the same group. Multiplayer modes are excellent. In ﾑopen mode' where you can battle anyone, only ﾑBattle' mode is available, but in ﾑFriend' (or rival) mode, you can access the tremendous depth and variety of game types available. These include modes that focus on teams, survival, defending a position, variations on capture the flag, and a ﾑPrime Hunter' mode where it is all hunters gunning for the one with the superpower item. There is just so much entertaining variety to these modes that they will provide hours upon hours play time.  Metroid Prime: Hunters is not just a great handheld shooter, it is a PC gamer's dream come true on a handheld. It is the first handheld game that really understands what is great about PC shooters and shows it by implementing a control system that allows frantic and crazed action reminiscent of shooters like Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena, only this game also has an excellent single player component. Since I personally dislike all of the profanity in many voice-enabled shooters on other platforms, I love that the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection only allows people on your friends list to chat with you. It's rare that games with this much hype meet expectations, but with a solid array of single and multiplayer action this is an example of something even rarerﾗa game that exceeds expectations. 
The visceral nature of first-person shooters combined with their intense struggle for survival and violence makes them an experience designed for teens at a minimum. Ultimately that is the decision you need to make regarding allowing your kids to play this game. The game is intense and visceral, but the settings and action are science fiction-based and in no way appear realistic. There is no confusing this game with reality! There aren't any other questionable elements either. No inappropriate language, no drug or alcohol references, and the ﾑblood' is nothing that really looks like blood in any real sense.
The only other concern specific to this title is the multiplayer. Because you can play over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, there is interaction with other people. In addition, it is possible to play against strangers not on your ﾑFriends list' in open matches. However, you can only text and voice chat with people on your friends list. That means it is more important than ever to make sure kids are aware that they shouldn't share their Friend Code with strangers or in public places. You can add ﾑRivals' automatically, which allows access to more game types but not chat. So the only way to chat with someone is still by you entering their code and them entering yours. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "metroid prime" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Metroid Prime: Hunters |
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