Nintendo DS - Metroid Prime: Hunters

Format
Nintendo DS
Publisher
Nintendo
Developer
NST
Country of origin
US
Genre
First Person Shooter

Metroid Prime: Hunters Demo Review

By David Rasmussen
30th Dec 05

As 2005 ends, and 2006 rolls in I have finally expanded my reviewing horizons by adding a Nintendo DS to my reviewing schedule, and I love it… but before I get to the games I love I’m going to have to give you the games that I got to start with, their good and bad points and… well… you’ll see.
Starting off this week is the two games that came with the DS itself, mainly Super Mario 64 DS and the demo of Metroid Prime : Hunters.

This is Metroid Prime : Hunters, and as 1st person shooters go this looks fairly good… why, then, the DS (bleep)ed out by putting out trash like Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell : Chaos Theory and the not so pretty Goldeneye Rogue Agent is not too clear to me. But this game is simple enough, it has a few modes and a few things you can do… but the first thing you have to do is change the controller aspect, that’s first.
At the present default setting you’ll have to use the stylus in order to look around (and aim your shots), and you’ll soon find out that trying to control Samus with the d-pad (left hand) while aiming with the stylus (right hand) while shooting (top L button) is a pain! Change the controls ASAP!

Now the options. You have three single player modes, and a multiplayer option (if you can find friends to play this demo with). Let’s focus on the single player options since I am still looking for suckers… I mean “opponents” to play against. The options are as follows…
Training Mode (single player games)
Regulator : Basic combat, run and shoot.
Survivor : Stay alive as long as possible against creatures that become stronger as you play.
Morphball : What you only recently gotten more of in Metroid Prime : Echoes, now you get it even more here as you navigate obstacles and dangers using the stylus to move the morphball.

And just so you know…
Multiplayer (2 to 4 players)
Host : Become the “host” with the most by hosting your own multiplayer game.
Clients : Jump in on somebody else’s game and rain on their virtual parade.

Options
Name : Enter your name and keep record of your record and multiplayer records… but since this is just a DEMO why by so detailed? Get the real game before you start doing something that complex.
Records : But if you do play this for awhile then here’s where you can keep track of your scores.
Control Type : Change this ASAP. You have four options, find something better that doesn’t require you using the stylus for gameplay.
Erase Data : Reset your records if, you know, you want to start with a clean slate.

So what do I think of the three game modes? Let’s see… first let’s change the settings and find a better one than the “default” setting which isn’t any good. Basically you want to choose “Dual Mode” (right or left depending on whether your right or left handed) since this works the best.
Once you do that you should have no problem playing the game… then you’ll see how short this DEMO is.
Regulator : Cut and paste shoot and gun, if you can get to the end of the area though I envy you since I often get stuck in the area where I’m supposed to become a Morphball (I guess) to progress.
Survivor : It is what it says it is. Probably the only chance to get the most gameplay out of this DEMO.
Morphball : Over before you know it, you won’t have much time on this so it’s the shortest of the DEMO games.

And since I don’t have the ability to play multiplayer (I should but I don’t since I need another person to play against and that seems to be in short supply) I can’t review that. It should, however, squeeze the last bit of playability out of this DEMO… and that’s it. Now the breakdown.

Metroid Prime : Hunters Breakdown
What’s Hot?
I guess if you are really a major Metroid Prime fan and/or a fan of 1st Person Shooter, and are jonesin’ for a Metroid Prime first person shooter for the Nintendo DS then this might fill that need.

What’s Not?
It’s short. Basically as a DEMO it just fills the short gap of time it’ll feed until you decide whether or not to buy Hunters, which should be available by now since this is a 2004 DEMO and we’re at the end of 2005.
At least it’s better than Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell : Chaos Theory, if nothing else.

Moments to Remember?
Not much, but the graphics are kind of nice… better than that game I keep mentioning.

What to Ignore?
Not much… maybe how I can’t seem to get the hang of Regulator DEMO.

Overall?
I don’t know if this is going to lure you into buying the actual game, especially since it did nothing to lure me into wanting to buy the actual game, but at least it’s something else for your new system and if you are looking to get the most games you can on your first purchasing run you might want to consider this and Super Mario 64 DS if you can find this particular bundle pack. If not or if this doesn’t interest you stick to getting the Mario Kart DS bundle, you’ll probably like that better.
As for whether or not I’ll review the full version of Hunters? We’ll see… we’ll see.

-- David Rasmussen 30th Dec 05

Nintendo DS Metroid Prime: Hunters Images