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Metroid Prime Hunters (JP) (abbreviated as MPH) is a first-person shooter, adventure, and a spin-off game in the Metroid series that takes full use of the Nintendo DS utilizing both screens for some interesting gameplay mechanics.
The game was developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo.
Gameplay[]
In Metroid Prime Hunters, you take the role of Samus Aran who is searching different planets to collect artifacts, but she is not alone in the universe, this time there are many hunters searching for the artifacts as well.
Nintendo uses an interesting control scheme for Metroid Prime: Hunters, the top screen is where all the action takes place and where your HUD is located, while the touch screen acts as a radar, and an area for you beam selection.
The real magic is how the touch screen is used to control Samus in this First Person Adventure, you simply move the stylus across the screen to where ever you wish to position your cannon, this works great for quick spins and complete accuracy.
Metroid Prime: Hunters also utilizes the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and allows for four players to battle it out simultaneously. You can also chat with friends and have custom matches with rivals.
Plot[]
Metroid Prime Hunters takes place between the events of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and is set in the Alimbic Cluster in the Tetra Galaxy, where it was previously ruled by the Alimbic race. One day, the Alimbic race vanished without notice, leaving artifacts dispersed throughout the solar system.
In the present, the dormant Alimbic race telepathically transmits a message to bounty hunters and other intelligent species, stating the key to the "ultimate power" resides in the Alimbic solar system. The solar system consists of two planets (Alinos and Arcterra) and two space stations (the Celestial Archives and the Vesper Defense Outpost).
Multiplayer[]
In multiplayer, you can do a single card link with up to three of your friends. One of you must have a copy of Metroid Prime: Hunters to do so. In single-card multiplayer, the person who has the copy of the game can be any of the hunters below if they had unlocked them.
The others get to be Samus for the Deathmatch. If all of your friends have a copy of Metroid Prime: Hunters, you can be any character that you want, and you get to play all 7 types of games.
Plus to unlock any character for future games, simply defeat any characters that you have not unlocked, and then you can be that hunter for any game. You can also defeat any character in the game to unlock them in multiplayer too.
Hunters[]
For more information on each hunter, press the hyper link for the selected character.
Enemies[]
Development[]
The development team for Metroid Prime Hunters at Nintendo Software Technology (NST) was led by the game's director, Masamichi Abe and the lead technical engineer, Colin Reed, which both worked together on several Nintendo games like Pikmin and 1080° Snowboarding.
Wanting to introduce a new element to the Metroid series, Abe created several new bounty hunters after he that the game's multiplayer mode and the new bounty hunters could both be implemented seamlessly into the game: "We had this idea early on and thought that would be a good way to introduce [Metroid Prime Hunters] and [the new bounty hunters] to the gameplay and take advantage of that in the multiplayer."
The developers decided to add them because they wanted to show that the technology has evolved, and they also wanted to include something that was instantly recognizable to those who had played previous games. Abe said that as the game's controls shifted from an analog stick method to touchscreen aiming, "our real focus in designing the levels was just to make sure that the actual gameplay didn't get more difficult or the actual control didn't get more difficult."
Metroid Prime Hunters was first revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004, with IGN giving the game their Best Nintendo DS Game of E3 award.
Reception[]
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Metroid Prime Hunters was given "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic. Several reviews praised the amount of value that Metroid Prime Hunters offered on the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. GameZone considered the game phenomenal, and believed that it used the DS to its maximum potential regarding graphical ability and innovation.
The Toronto Sun remarked that the graphics were big enough selling points on their own for the game, and The Press called Metroid Prime Hunters the best-looking game for the Nintendo DS. The Australian agreed that the graphics are "outstanding" and push the Nintendo DS to its limits, and The Independent asserted that Metroid Prime Hunters was perhaps the best first-person shooter ever for a handheld console.
GamePro's review stated that "it's hard to imagine how Nintendo squeezed Hunters into a tiny DS cartridge." Despite a few "small quirks", the magazine noted that Hunters "is a very polished game". The Times concurred with these claims, remarking, "A lot of thought has clearly gone into making the most of the DS's touch-screen capability here, and it works gloriously."
Game Revolution admired the "high-quality work" found in the game's production design and smooth online play. 1UP.com asserted that fans of the Metroid series should recognize the technical achievements that the game showcases. GamesRadar lauded Metroid Prime Hunters' gameplay, and believed that the game was strictly for hardcore gamers "who live for fragfests".
Convinced that making a Metroid game different from its slow-paced adventure predecessors into a "nail-biting wrecking ball" was a "risky trick", they appreciated the results, stating, "Damn did it ever work." Both GameSpot and Game Informer enjoyed the game's "worthwhile" and "electrifying" multiplayer mode.
Nintendo Power praised the game as a "new-school, action-packed" game that makes a "great addition to the growing collection of Wi-Fi titles", and The Guardian claimed the game's multiplayer aspect as their favorite feature. The Sunday Times wrote that Metroid Prime Hunters does a "staggering job" of replicating the style of previous Metroid Prime games.
Eurogamer also expressed their disapproval of the control scheme, predicting it would lead to "the coming years of physiotherapy on [their] arms". They were also unhappy with the game's "flimsy" multiplayer experience, noting that it is best used when played locally with friends who also have the game. X-Play had particularly negative sentiments about the game, stating, "This feels like yet another genre shoehorned poorly onto hardware that just isn’t equipped to handle it."
Credits[]
Sales[]
Metroid Prime Hunters was the fourth best-selling game in its debut month in Japan, selling 32,467 units, and has since sold over 90,000 units there. Over 410,000 units of the game were sold in North America in its first month. Hunters received several awards and honors. IGN gave it an "Editors' Choice" award, and named it the "Best DS Action Game" of 2006.
The game also received the awards for "Best Graphics", "Best Shooter/Action Game", and "Best Wi-Fi Functionality" from Nintendo Power for 2006.
External links[]
- Metroid Prime Hunters at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Metroid Prime Hunters at GameFAQs
- Metroid Prime Hunters at MobyGames
| Metroid series | |
|---|---|
| Metroid series | Metroid (NES Classics) • II: Return of Samus • Super Metroid • Fusion • Zero Mission Other M • Samus Returns • Dread |
| Metroid Prime series | Metroid Prime (New Play Control! • Remastered) • 2: Echoes (New Play Control!) • Prime Hunters • Prime 3: Corruption • Prime 4 Prime Pinball • Prime: Trilogy • Federation Force |
| Related | Nintendo • Retro Studios • Samus Aran • Super Smash Bros. • Nintendo Land Gunpei Yokoi • Kensuke Tanabe • Yoshio Sakamoto |