New Review Posted: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

[Daniel Weissenberger]

Andrew Fletcher reviews Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and thinks that:

"Metroid Prime was the Nintendo success story of this generation, resurrecting the series (which has famously underperformed in the East but thrived in the West) at just the right time and in just the right way. Sandwiched between the hesitant critical praise that greeted both Super Mario Sunshine and The Wind Waker, Prime offered the most convincing reason not to write-off Nintendo as a major player in the industry, and served as stone cold proof that it had more to offer a contemporary—and crucially, Western—audience than the same old elfin quests and cartoonish jumping games. This sequel, pre-empting a new wave of similarly high-profile, mature exclusives like Resident Evil 4, Killer 7 and the newly re-imagined Legend of Zelda game, has perhaps less of a point to make, but it has a still significant legacy to uphold and consolidate, and that's exactly what Retro Studios have done."

The rest of the review is available here.

[Kin Korn Karn]

Good review, and I think it spot on. That's about all I have to say. I agree with the score and every argument you presented regarding faults (music is a bit weak compared to it's predecessor, the backtracking at the end of the game being a bit of a let down, etc.).

[legendarypegasu]

Great review Andrew, like KKK I couldn't agree more with your conclusion and score.

The game does some things very well. The panic and generally mature atmosphere, the screw attack, the improved visor system, a surprisingly decent and well put together story.

But at the same time there are several flaws. For one, the pacing just felt off. you would be confined to one area for a long time. Only to find out you need to backtrack across the entire planet, just to get to one room. The go back to the area you were at and play a while. Only to once again backtrack across the entire planet to get to one room. The environments were a double edged sword. It was nice to have a break from the typical video game environments and see a dying planet. But the various areas of the planet were not all the different, and when you throw in the light/dark mechanism, you have to explore same environment twice.

But Echoes is a very good game. It just doesn't quite reach the level of its predecessor, but considering the quality of the original, it would be near impossible for Retro to repeat such success.

[Jerm]

I can't really agree with Andrew about MP2, but that was a great review anyway.

I was just *way* turned off by all the back tracking in that game. Just like legendary said, backtracking across the world to get through one door....and then repeating that after opening the door. I loved the original, but I just wasn't feeling this one.

I just moved recently, too, and realized that I must've sold my copy at some point (or lost it, which would be even worse...and weird, since I take great geek pride in my collection). As much as I didn't like it, I'm gonna have to buy it again so I can have it in my collection. (Plus, I have buddies who worked on the game, so I gotta support them)

[Daniel Weissenberger]

Brad Gallaway has a second opinion on the subject of Metroid Prime 2, and it starts like this:

"Andrew is entirely correct in saying that the first Metroid Prime was Nintendo's success story for the current generation. It defied all odds by being a truly great experience in the face of so many obstacles stacked against it, stuffing crow in the mouth of everyone (including myself) who thought that bringing Samus Aran to living, breathing 3D was an impossible task. On the subject of Echoes, however, Andrew and I couldn't have more diverging opinions. Where he has appreciation and tolerance, I have nothing but impatience and scorn. Simply put, Metroid Prime: Echoes was far and away the most tedious and inspiration-free game that I actually bothered to finish in 2005."

And the rest is available here.

[Andrew Fletcher]

This is why I love second opinions; you have to begrudgingly accept that there is no totally definitive review for a game. It’s a sobering and valuable reminder that you’ll never satisfyingly cover all the angles with any conviction in a single review. I may have sung the game’s praises in my review, but I still agree with Brad’s critique at the same time.

I’ll concede that I was a little reverential to the game for things that were really breakthroughs attributable to its predecessor (hence “this review has sounded an awful lot like a review of Metroid Prime”), and I guess that comes from having replayed the earlier game immediately before moving on to this sequel.

I’m afraid I was quite disgustingly rational and forgiving on this one, but the fact that Echoes is excellent by most objective standpoints is not the bottom line, and Brad is totally valid in critiquing the title in a broader context. Although having enjoyed both games in a row, the sequel’s casual greatness was the line I could not truthfully deviate from when writing the piece. I stick by it, but I’m glad Brad has (justifiably) taken issue with Echoes in spite of the undeniable quality that I saw fit to document in my review. Funnily enough, his call for the series to start “covering new ground” and “exploring new play structures” sounds very much like my own plea for innovation in the Zelda series (http://www.gamecritics.com/review/zeldaminish/main.php).

I wonder how long Nintendo's reputation as the industry's trusty innovator will hold sway?

[Andrew Fletcher]

Personally, I have a theory that to some degree the original Metroid Prime, though every bit as significant and accomplished as I stated in the review, impressed people slightly more than it did entertain them. A bit like a "classic" album that sounds old as soon as it’s released and only ever becomes the critic’s favourite.

Perhaps I’m wrong to generalise so widely, but as a player, I for one certainly began feeling fatigued by the title after the first few “Wow!” hours had passed--and gladly suspended play the minute Wind Waker reached my door. The size of the world and speed of the game made the chore of backtracking and general legwork much more keenly felt than in the 2D games, and out of all Nintendo’s big hitters, it is perhaps Metroid that solicits player labour most unapologetically--“a 20-hour game about opening a succession of doors” I believe I rather cynically described it at the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if for many it was a one-off game that they’ll never bother returning to, or even trouble themselves to finish once at all. Metroid Prime fostered the kind of deeply imbedded structural qualities that might help explain why such a unique and classic game has lost some of its public (and critical) appeal within 2 years of first (re-)awakening it.

Or it could be the Space Pirates.