Introduction:

The fourth installment in the classic Metroid series takes a different turn, for better and for worse. The Zelda of shooting games, here's my review for Metroid Fusion

Story:

The story is a bit long, so there are spoilers.
Samus is assigned to protect scientists on SR388 when she kills an enemy there. The enemy reveals a gelatinous creature, later called X which Samus accidentally absorbs. The X inside her attack her nervous system and she is operated on. Many parts of her suit are removed surgically, but the X are too embedded in her. A Metroid cure is found, and injected into Samus and she is cured. This works because Metroids were the predators of the X. The X can absorb DNA and mimic the creature they absorb. Long story short, an explosion is heard at B.S.L, or Biologic Space Labs where Samus's suit parts are kept. Samus, much weaker without most of her suit, is sent to investigate. Oh, and she can never be infected by X again due to the vaccine.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is similar to any 2-d side scrolling Metroid game. You jump and shoot. The gameplay is fairly easy, and you can defeat enemies easily if you tread carefully and keep your distance.
The movements are well done; Samus leaps into her morph ball and climbs up walls, although with one cannon arm it is confusing just how she climbs up walls in the game. You can point your gun and shoot, etc.
The enemies have the X parasite embedded in them and you need to shoot them to get the X out where you can absorb them and regain health. Every single enemy you defeat will have one or two X in it. If you leave the X alone they will turn into another monster and attack you again, or they will fly away. While this makes the game a bit harder by giving the X opportunities to become another enemy, the game compensates for this because there are either health or weapons in every single monster, so healing is not much of a problem.
The gameplay has taken a more linear turn in this game in my opinion, for the better and slightly worse. It is better because in Metroid you were running around everywhere for no reason, collecting powerups while in Metroid Fusion you know exactly what to do and why. However, this limits the ability to collect powerups, because you will need to complete the mission and then go back to the Navigation room where you are briefed.
Samus is also introduced to stealth. Spoiler: There is an X (later 10) mimicking you at full power from the suit parts. You usually have to alarm them and run away from them, (which is hard because they are incredibly powerful) but occasionally you can wait for them to leave.
Items are cooler now, but only slightly. You can have a missile that charges up.
Spoiler: At the end of the game you do get your ice beam back, but only for the final boss so what sucks is that you can't try it out on other enemies.

I give the gameplay: 10/10

Graphics:

The graphics are very decent in this game. Everywhere you go you see flashing lights, screens, and monitors to remind you that you are in a space station. Samus's figure however could have used a bit more work; she is slumped over.
The enemies have a lot of detail put into them. Nightmare's face oozes, the X really look like gelatin, and there are occasional posters lying about.
A few pictures look like anime, like a cartoon.

I give the graphics: 9/10

Sound:

Ahh, here's a tough part. The sound was bad but the music was good.
Let's start with sound: It's scratchy, dull, and repetitive.
The sound that you first hear when you come from a save room is scratchy, and sounds like it was recorded 12 times. The little music when you find items is plain, and nothing else seems to have been put into it.
The music, however, saves the sound from mediocrity. It has creepy little scary music that is not advisable to play at night, exciting music, stressed out and determined music, and doom and gloom music. There is music for so many things that Metroid Fusion could have its own soundtrack.

I give the sound: 7/10

Replayability:

Well there's plenty. There are three files to play, as well as powerups. After you beat it a few times Metroid Fusion seems boring, but it is incredibly tough and will keep you playing for a while.

I give the replayability: 6/10

Challenge:

This game is tough. Ridley-X takes so many charged hits, Nightmare does so much damage, and the plant thing with the Plasma Beam traps you and keeps you from doing any damage while slowly killing you. The SA-X is also tough to run away from, until you beat one of them at the end.

I give the challenge: 10/10

Frustration:

The frustration is that some enemies are too hard and deal too much damage. After you get the space jump you have to run from the SA-X and fight enemies and a boss that deal tons of damage. That is undoubtedly the hardest part of the game. Other than that, there is not much frustration in the game. It was well put together.

I give the frustration: 5/10

Value

Hmm... I'm not sure, but I think a used Metroid Fusion would be $9.99 and a new one would be $14.99, so it's worth a buy if you like Metroid. Pick this up.

I give the value: $9.99/$14.99

Overall:

Overall this game is worth it. The gameplay is easy yet fun, and with the influx of old attacks, you'll see why I call this "The Zelda of Shooters."

I give Metroid Fusion: 8.9/10

Conclusion:

Why haven't you gotten this game yet!? Well there's no hurry, but don't put it off too much. If you wait for the DS to take over you'll only be able to get it from eBay or something.

Warning: I'm trying to copyright "WTF? Factor". Anyone know how?

Written By: Adam
E-Mail Address: flashback25@aol.com
Date Submitted: April 20th, 2007

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