Metroid Prime: Hunters

The demo helped gamers get to grips with the touch screen controls on their new DS’ earlier this year - and now the full release of Metroid Prime: Hunters is almost here. The story goes that an extinct race has left behind relics of their once-powerful warrior culture. Now six bounty hunters from across the galaxy are racing against each other to lay claim to these relics to harness their power for themselves. Expect to see all your favorite Metroid Prime weapon expansions to return as well as the vicious Metroids.

After Mario 64 DS and a few other launch titles being fully 3D, we have had 2D/Semi-3D titles which barely made use of the DS’ power. MPH will set the benchmark for visuals on the DS with some of the best looking environments and characters seen on the handheld.

The multiplayer mode is similar to Unreal Tournament or Quake 3 Arena set in the Metroid Prime universe. You compete against your friends in at least three different modes. Chose from Samus or any of the other six bounty hunters and find out who really is the best hunter in the galaxy. All hunters feature unique back stories and fighting styles. That, coupled with wi-fi support, could make this the multiplayer ‘fragfest’ NDS owners have been waiting for. Hopefully Nintendo will tweak the controls or come up with an alternative control scheme, as the biggest gripe I had about the demo was the awkward touch screen controls.

Multiplayer features:

• Compete in a series of action-packed arenas.


• Try out at least three modes of play, with game-play features similar to Deathmatch and King of the Hill.


• Link wirelessly with up to three friends.


• Six new bounty hunters, including Noxus, Spire and Kanden, fight against Samus in both single-player and multiplayer modes.


• All hunters have their own unique back stories, weapons (from sniper beam to mortar to shotgun) and fighting styles (i.e. stealth, melee, sniper, etc.).