There has been some hate online since the brief glimpse Nintendo gave of METROID PRIME: FEDERATION FORCE last year at E3. And when Nintendo showed off a new trailer for the game at their Nintendo Direct last week it didn’t get much better.
But perhaps I’m in the minority here, but I think the game looks pretty fun.
Sure there are some changes to the look of the game, which is what people are likely upset about. The game’s look and art style is a departure from the METROID PRIME games for the Nintendo GameCube, as well as METROID PRIME: HUNTERS for the Nintendo DS, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I personally think that the look of this game feels like a hybrid between the PRIME games and the METROID games of the Game Boy Advance days, specifically METROID FUSION.
One commenter online even pointed out that some of the people hating on the game might relent if the “PRIME” part of the name was removed. But let’s face it; this isn’t exactly the first time Nintendo’s made a multiplayer adventure game based off of one of their piller properties. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS Wii featured four player co-op in a Mario game. Even just as recently as a few months ago we had THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TRIFORCE HEROES, and that game was heralded as a great game.
So what is this game even about?
Well basically the galaxy is still not at peace. Samus may have won the battle, but the war on the Space Pirates is far from over. In this four-player local or online co-op sci-fi shooter, you’ll enlist with the Federation Force. Fight alongside teammates in your specialized Mech to eliminate the Space Pirate menace and any threat that stands in your way.
You can play the game solitary or join up to three friends for increased firepower and deeper strategies. In each mission, you’ll choose your role on the team by selecting from different subweapons and MODs to customize your Mech. Whether you focus on healing allies or increasing your arsenal, your greatest asset will be teamwork. Work together, tackle missions, take down bosses, and defeat hostile creatures as one powerful unit. The dangerous METROID universe is now at your mercy. Honor your vow to protect it and fight back…before there’s nothing left to fight for.
The game also features a sports diversion called METROID PRIME: BLAST BALL, a 3-on-3 sci-fi sport in the METROID universe where players literally shoot the ball into their opponents’ goal to score. This feels very much like the way Blitzball was included as a playable sport in FINAL FANTASY X.
The game will also let you aim using the Nintendo 3DS system’s gyroscope or you can use the C-Stick on the New Nintendo 3DS system for dual-analog control. It hasn’t been stated yet if the game will support the Circle Pad Pro peripheral.
Check out the trailer below, as well as a handful of new screens for the game.