Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

An amazing masterpiece that is unmatched by any Next-Gen game. The areas are put together flawlessly, the enemies are very cool and the bosses are few but amazing.

It's easily the best title for GameCube this year, and while there's really not all that much new in terms of game mechanics, play style, and presentation, what you're ultimately left with is a rock-solid sequel that offers a bigger, harder, more rewarding challenge than the first game.

No game this year casts its web with such distinct mood and sci-fi wonder. [Jan 2005, p.54]

Visually, MP 2's dazzling, organic-looking environments represent a quantum leap for console-based shooters.

I want to go on about how perfect everything else in this game is, but you need to experience this for yourself. The title is an amped version of the original Metroid Prime, making an epic experience even better.

A much fuller, richer game than "Metroid Prime." That, combined with amazing level design, overcomes the sense of deja vu that permeates the title. [Jan 2004, p.134]

Nothing comes close to the feeling you get when the Eznite shuts down your systems for the first time and you have to reboot.

Quite possibly my favorite area of the game, the many boss battles each had a distinct feel and strategy to them.

It has tougher gameplay, a compelling story and the coolest boss concepts in the series' history. And hey, it has Space Pirates, too!

But if you throw away expectations of Metroid Prime: Volume 2, and instead think of it as Metroid: Echoes - a separate game - you'll realise that the changes Retro made are just as amazing as the transition to Gamecube was for the original.

It is very well made, challenging, long and so amazingly atmospheric. Sadly, there is a small voice at the back of my head, when ever I see or hear something lifted from Prime, nagging at me, asking why Retro couldn't have just put a tiny bit more effort in and given us a completely new game.

Just getting to know the world is immensely enjoyable and extremely rewarding...If you're okay with Echoes being an extension of the first game and not a revolution, you're going to flip out over this sequel. Our highest recommendation.

I doubt Echoes will bring too many new players into the Metroid fold, but if you are an addict like myself, you will enjoy each and every frustrating minute. [Jan 2005, p.126]

It's not dramatically different from the original but, man, is it fun. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a title every GameCube owning shooter fan should have.

Easily lives up to its predecessor's outstanding degree of polish, while subtly enhancing some elements of story and mood. In terms of raw quality, disregarding legacy and innovation, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is easily one of the best titles on GameCube and of this entire generation.

This is proof not only that the first game's greatness wasn't an anomaly, but also that true effort in game design can overcome even the greatest possibilities for a letdown. Samus is back, people; get ready to ride, for the most anticipated GameCube game of 2004 is here, and it rocks the house.

Offers a larger and more challenging adventure than the first title. Even though most of the gameplay additions are tweaks off the original game Metroid Prime 2 is still an amazing title.

Every aspect of the game has improved and that's saying a lot seeing as the first game was so brilliant.

Samus' new adventure is one of her best. It's darker than any Metroid game out there, more challenging, more atmospheric and perhaps longer. Overall, it's a very extension of Metroid Prime – which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

It all makes for a very fun experience, though it probably would have been even better with a dual analog setup. Something about locking onto enemies in a multiplayer context just feels like cheating.

It has taken everything which made Metroid Prime so stunning in the first place and molded, defined and enhanced it into something that is even more stunning.

One of the finest looking Gamecube games on the system to date, if not the finest. From the moment you first fire up the game, you are thrown into a visual explosion of detail which is enhanced greatly by the scanning systems in the game and also the various enemies.

Other than playing on a harder difficulty, or during an attempt to recieve 100% completion (if that was missed out on the first time through), there isn't much of a replay value to the game.

If anything is a disappointment, it's the all-new multiplayer mode; the game's lock-on targeting just doesn't lend itself very well to a four-player fragfest, and the options are severely limited. So why am I still giving Echoes such a high score?...The main game is that damn good. [Holiday 2004, p.136]

It's a good game, however, just like the original Metroid Prime, and if anything, it's only true weakness is the fact that it's too much like the old game, and doesn't feature quite enough innovation.

Sadly though the multiplayer only serves to bring down the quality of the game.

Visually, Metroid Prime 2 is amazing.

Despite the addition of a middling and somewhat unnecessary multiplayer component, Echoes stands shoulder to shoulder with its predecessor, delivering absolutely everything you'd want from a new 3D Metroid adventure.

If you want more of what you enjoyed in the first Metroid Prime, expect to be pleased as it is duplicated here in vast quantity. High production values, solid gameplay and classic Metroid design combine to form another winner.

The Dark Aether parts of the game added quite a bit of backtracking and mapping which really took me out of the experience more than I'd have liked. Still, the game is better than almost any other released this year, so it's definitely worth picking up.

Other than a few superficial tweaks and some vanilla, offline multiplayer, the rest is exactly like the first Prime.

Whilst none of the levels quite match up to the stunning quality that was Phendrana Drifts, it is, as a sum of its parts, wonderfully evocative as a playing experience and induces the same level, if not more, of internal satisfaction that Prime achieved.

An excellent game with brilliant art direction and tried-and-true gameplay. But...feels slightly less powerful than its predecessor. [Jan 2005, p.96]

Don't let the muted disappointment of the multiplayer discolour what is among the best single-player experiences we've ever experienced. Certainly up there with literally anything else, including "Half-Life 2," "San Andreas," and as far as enjoyment, intrigue, reward and challenge, far surpasses the likes of "Halo 2" and "Killzone," and shows up the competition in more ways than we could care to mention.

All the style and playability of the first Prime title is here, while the new weapons, suits and combat system provide enough of a new experience to enjoy it all over again. Fair enough, it doesn't evoke the same reaction this time around... but that doesn't prevent it from being a damn fine game that should be played by all. [Christmas 2004, p.92]

There can be no doubting that as an adventure game with elements of action and puzzle, and a storyline that requires the player to work at and deduct as you progress through the game, there's very little to touch it on any format.

The great graphics, excellent gameplay and intriguing story line will have gamers glued to their GameCube for hours.

The save system is also a major weakness. Unlike so many games now that allow the gamer to save at any time, Echoes employs the save-point method that only allows saving at specified locations that must be reached.

Not quite as blinding as the original but still a glaringly brilliant and consuming piece of first-person adventuring. [GamesMaster]

If you're looking for non-stop action, Echoes only delivers in waves. As an adventure game you will spend a lot of time exploring, collecting, amassing clues and solving puzzles. When the action hits, it hits big time. The relatively quiet and isolated stretches in between make the action appear more intense. If you like diversity in your gameplay this is the game for you.

It looks more surreal than ever, provides a decently sized chunk of gameplay (although the multiplayer modes feel a tad half-hearted compared to the attention that has been lavished on the single-player game) and, despite being a first-person shooter, is cleverly suitable for all ages (although Nintendo's younger punters will find it prohibitively hard and confusing).

Despite the multiplayer faux pax, and the odd dispersion of items throughout the game, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes still comes out on top as one of the premier titles to experience not only this holiday season, but rather throughout this entire console generation.

Challenging, engrossing and rewarding, and full of lovely little touches (the creature that causes your suit to crash and require a ctrl-alt-del style 'reboot' with the joypad is a particular highlight) that show the designers have put their all into this and polished everything until it shines.

Features a lot more action, is much more story driven, has better graphics and sound, and the game is a lot harder than its predecessor was.

Feels a little bit too familiar for the first half of the game. Still, it is one heck of a game with huge vistas to explore. The multiplayer section is a bit of a letdown, though. [Jan. 05]

The sequel features improved graphics, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, new weapons, suits, and visors for Samus to use, as well as a host of menacing creatures to blast and puzzles to solve.

The most shockingly-under hyped game of the year.

I was both blown away and extremely disappointed by Echoes.

True, nearly everything in Echoes was also in its predecessor, but the merit in maintaining that game's superb balance whilst still making careful additions (Echoes bears the burden of flawlessly updating the screw attack into 3D with great élan), giving nearly every interface a new lick of paint (dig the sleek new menu design) and imbuing the game with its own uniquely foreboding atmosphere (with a moody synth score that's equal parts John Williams, Kraftwerk and Joy Division) cannot be understated.

The multiplayer game in Echoes isn't anywhere near half the fun. It's a noble attempt to translate the single-player control scheme to a head-to-head game, but that attempt fails in a mess of cheap deaths and constant struggles to wrench the view in the right direction.

Regardless of the amount of familiarity, though, Echoes is as solid and tangible as ever: the uncluttered HUD, the gentle rumble as Samus touches down from her unfaltering jumps, the ingeniously tucked-away power-ups, the smoothness and surety of movement. Its combat and exploration, if taken separately, can feel a little hollow and basic, but taken together they're still a powerful combination for a rewarding adventure. [Christmas 2004, p.76]

An awesome game. It takes everything fans loved about the previous installment, and amplified it ten fold to create another vivid adventure for one of Nintendo's most celebrated characters.

Simply stunning to watch.

The single-player adventure is every bit as time-devouring as the first Metroid Prime... But the multiplayer split-screen mode, while fun, is straight out of 1997. Plus, there are no online and no 16-player matches.

By offering more control options and a more user-friendly system of save points, Retro Studios could have worked wonders at opening up the Metroid Prime series for new fans or more casual gamers.

The first handful of hours with Echoes is truly a magical experience, but eventually you'll end up spending more time looking at the map trying to figure out where to go than actually playing the game.

Fans will enjoy the new gadgets, rich story and longer, more taxing challenge, yet the most revolutionary feature (a multi-player mode) is bland and dull.

Second verse, same as the first... a little bit longer and a whole lot worse.