Ah, that time of year is upon us again -- the time of year where you are almost happy to be alive, especially when that large present under the dead, but festively decorated, tree bears your name.
What better way to ring in the seasons than reading an article about forthcoming video games? On this week's agenda -- Metroid Prime.
Okay gamers, pause, breathe and say it again because it is that good.
Yes, the season of well-marketed and highly capitalized corporate goodwill will soon overtake our every motivation and desire.
With that in mind, the good people at Nintendo of America have launched what can only be described as one badass video game van of fun.
This finals-deterrent came equipped with bucket seats, surround sound and, of course, every conceivable Nintendo game. This "holiday van" is a gamers dream come true.
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In this van, the spirit of the holidays truly came alive as Samus, Zelda and several naked bikers ran amok in glorious 3D-rendered environments battling everything from space pirates and wizards to pimps, strip club bouncers and the unforgiving pavement.
First on my list of must plays was Metroid Prime, the long awaited addition to the popular Metroid series.
If you're a fan of Nintendo's classic Metroid franchise, you know you want this. You've waited far too long to be denied or duped with a cheesy second-rate game. Well, let me assure you, this game was worth the wait.
For such a compact system, the Game Cube delivers superior performance where it counts, even with a quaint 400mhz processor.
Nintendo has some how eliminated almost all the bottlenecking which has plagued systems in the past, making it possible to produce a game of such unbelievable beauty and detail that it rivals what even the most powerful PCs are capable of.
If Metroid Prime is an exercise in what the Game Cube is capable of, then the Game Cube is ready to run a triathlon.
On first look, Metroid may seem like all show and no go but fortunately, that is not the case.
Though the story is a little hard to follow at first, the missions are well laid out and the objectives are easy to follow. Former Metroid games have been side-scrolling shooters with a slight puzzle element. Metroid Prime is a first person shooter with a much heavier puzzle element. The player is asked to solve various puzzles in order to power up weapons and move on the next level.
While usually tedious to many gamers, Metroid Prime's 3D world, and by extension its puzzles and creatures, are so visually dazzling that there is always something new to look at and kill.
Of the games reviewed Metroid Prime is easily my top pick. Next week, look for reviews of the next Zelda installment, tentatively titled Legends in the Wind and BMX-XXX.
