Still in her 'Prime'

"Metroid Prime" is rated T, for ages 13 and up

By William Schiffmann

The Associated Press

One of the gaming world's first female stars is making a spectacular return, just in time for the holidays.

It should be cause for great celebration as Samus Aran is back, in "Metroid Prime," from Retro Studios and Nintendo for the GameCube.

She's made the leap, garish space suit and all, from the side-scrolling days of yore to the spectacular 3-D world of "Prime." The move is a good one, although not problem-free.

This time around, Samus shows up on Tallon IV, former home of a bird race known as the Chozo. They hit the road after the planet was blasted by a poisonous meteor. Samas was raised by the Chozo, who are all but wiped out of their new home by pirates.

When it turns out the meteor that hit Tallon IV is a source of great power, the pirates headed that way and began mining. But Samus is on their trail, and the confrontation will take place on Tallon IV, where she plans to finish them off, once and for all.

Samus -- or Ms. Aran, if you wish -- has many of the nifty tricks she had in the old days, including the ability to shrink down to a small metal Morph Ball to race through tight areas or operate doors by rolling into triggers.

The ball takes the game from a first-person, inside-the-visor view to third person, so you can watch it roll and guide its progress.

The suit can be upgraded with a variety of weapons and there are additional suits with new abilities, including an antigravity model and a version that can resist the high temperatures deep in Tallon IV's Magmoor Caverns.

The suit features several visors. The standard combat visor gives a clear view of the action with a heads-up display that includes a targeting radar. The scan visor is the basic option, useful for acquiring information on any item, living or inert, that can be scanned. There's also a thermal visor which helps locate enemies by the heat they give off, and an X-ray visor which lets Samus peer through otherwise solid objects.

Don't buy this game if you're looking for a run-and-gun experience. There's plenty of shooting to be done, but Samus also has to do a lot of exploration and unravel puzzles to locate many of the more entertaining features of her suit and armament.

And don't look for much of a plot, either. This game is driven by action, exploration and finding secrets, not a dazzling story line.

Graphics get an A. They're beautifully detailed, textured and colored, with vast dramatic areas to explore and wildly effective weapons effects. They aren't consistently perfect, but close enough for me.

Sound also gets an A. There's an interesting and eerie soundtrack to back up the excellent weapons and environmental effects. Nice job, Retro.

Control gets a B. This is the game's only weak area. For example, the left shoulder button provides an effective weapons lock-on, but the lock-on doesn't seem to work unless the weapon is already pointing at the target. Targets up high don't attract the lock-on and you have to raise the weapon to make it work. The controls are not intuitive and I was constantly having to think before acting, not the best plan in a shooter. On the plus side, camera work is good and platforming is easy and very forgiving.

"Metroid Prime" gets a B+. Samus Aran might be the video game Comeback Player of the Year. This is an amazing return for one of the most popular characters from gaming's past. It's a must-have; the best title on GameCube this year and the best Metroid title ever.