Genre: Action platformer
Developer: Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo

In a few words, Metroid Prime definately has the best graphics on the Gamecube thus far. In fact, by any platform's standards, MP is a nice looking game. There aren't a lot of special effects, but the textures are pretty decent all around, dynamic lighting is abundant, and the level architecture features some fairly high polygon counts.

There's very little in the way of sound effects in this game; no voice acting or anything snazzy, just your run-of-the-mill energy gun whoosh, getting-hit sound, and generic "thud" that accompanies your player hitting the ground. The soundtrack is made up of very synthesized sounding MIDI. Melodically, most of the songs are a bit cheesy, but there are a few that are at least somewhat atmospheric. A mixed bag here.

There are a few nagging issues with the controls, the first and foremost of which is the fact that you can't look up and down while moving. In an action platformer, impairing the player's ability to make coordinated jumps is not what you're looking for. Also, the player's field of vision is way too narrow, it's exceedingly difficult to see and interpret the environments. The level and boss designs are a lesson in creativity, but are mostly overcast by the unintuitive control scheme. Upon seeing the final product, it's obvious: this title should have stayed in the third-person.

MP is a fun title at times, but has a lot of pimples; too much of the game is spent navigating the same tricky, puzzle-like boards over and over, only to find out that you either went the wrong way, or still can't beat the given part. Another problem is the lack of a cohesive story and game world; so I take this wierd magic elevator and go from a rain forest to a tundra. How? And even more important, why exactly am I going to this new, arbitrary region? MP gives you no answers, aside from some ambiguous, Unreal-esque, journal entries. Given these facts, Metroid Prime is just a marginally above average action-platformer: fun at times, dull at others, and always aimless.