Metroid Prime for GameCube Reviews by Gamers

Metroid Prime brings the elements of the classic Metroid games into a 3D first-person shooter only in principle. This game is an atrociously grueling marathon of exploration and searching to the extent that it's essentially unplayable.

Bringing Metroid into 3D apparently somehow means adding the frequent use of several extra buttons for basic movement. And 3D Metroid apparently also requires the tedious and endless use of the scan visor to look for small emblems hidden around walls and ceilings, which literally are required to open doors, as well as obscure cracks which lead to a new area.

Whereas the 2D Metroids were charming and accessible, Metroid Prime is mundane and tedious. Prime is as uneventful and dull as any first-person shooter can be.

There is also little trace of actual skill gameplay in Metroid Prime. Aiming is done automatically with a button, and bosses are degenerated into either a series of sequential tasks, or endurance circle strafing.

If only I thought that guessing obscure solutions to linear puzzles and getting stuck constantly was a rewarding gameplay experience. I don't understand why many gamers selectively give Nintendo games like Metroid Prime the benefit of their utmost patience.

Be warned.