The Wait Is Over...
The story in Metroid Fusion is intriguing, frightfully scary, and littered with twists and sub-plots. While investigating the planet SR388 - the Metroid's home before extinction - Samus Aran is attacked by a virus called 'X'. The virus nearly kills her, infecting her Power Suit, and putting her in a coma. An emergency operation to remove the suit is attempted at the Galactic Federation Headquarters, leaving her in a vulnerable state. The infected suit parts, meanwhile, are shipped to Biologic Labs for research purposes.
As Samus' condition deteriorates, a radical plan is formed to make an 'X' vaccine from cells kept from the last Metroid, which she rescued from SR388 at the end of Super Metroid. The vaccine's effects are immediate - all of the X parasites in Samus' body are killed within minutes. As she recovers, an urgent call is recieved from the Biologic Lab, telling of an explosion in their Quarantine bay... This is where your adventure begins.
Déjà Vu...
The gameplay mechanics of Metroid Fusion are similar to those of the previous SNES game. You explore areas by shooting open doors, shooting enemies, and shooting up the environment around you. Yup, there's a lot of shooting in this game. But there's a lot more to the game than just that. You explore massive levels, acquiring suit upgrades, and killing some mean bosses along the way. When Samus was given the 'X' vaccine, it enabled her to absorb the 'X' parasites for energy, just as the Metroids did on SR388. 'X' parasites appear after killing enemies, and if you don't catch them quick enough, they morph back into creature form for you to kill all over again.
Emphasis is placed on level exploration, with hidden passages and crumbling walls scattered across each level. The game teases the player by presenting puzzles that can only be solved with certain weapons or upgrades, forcing you to remember hundreds of locations that you can optionally backtrack to. In most cases, you'll be appropriately rewarded if you put in the effort.
To help you get around the incredibly large Biologic Lab, you have a handy Navigation Computer. At the beginning of each area, the computer downloads a limited map of the sector, gives you instructions, then highlights your destination. This makes the game's story incredibly tight, as you rush from one sector to another in search of specific goals. There's rarely a moment to relax as you are bombarded with enemies, objectives, and exploration duties.
The structure of the game sounds as if it could become repetitive, but it never does. Every time you think you've gotten used to an area, something happens that makes it new and exciting. You could acquire a new upgrade which can be used to open up a whole new area of a different level. A new type of enemy could appear. A boss character could menace you throughout the corridors of a particular section. The game always throws something fresh and exciting in your way, which makes for a relentless, but incredibly fun experience. The game's difficulty ramps up gradually, so by the time you encounter a new boss, you're well equipped with the skills to deal with the challenge. The game becomes VERY hard later on, so you'll need to be prepared to invest time in passing particularly tricky sections.
Warning: May Shock Beyond All Expectations!
Screenshots definately do NOT do this game justice. The game uses extensive sprite scaling to enhance the level backgrounds and characters, effects such as heat shimmering and transparencies are scattered throughout different environmental sectors, weapons produce excellent effects - look out for the Power Bomb - and enemies are amazingly detailed, especially the Boss characters. Some areas are bright and colourful, some are metallic and industrial, while others are dark and dingy; each sector has a distinct feel which makes exploring the game a lot more interesting. Animations are fluid and natural, which adds immensely to the visual treat that is Metroid Fusion.
Oh No... Not Now!
The music used in this game is, quite simply, amazing. It can inspire fear in the player with a simple repeating riff. It can calm and soothe a player before shocking them into submission. One song in particular that plays when a certain boss walks on the screen will induce fear in even the most hardcore of gamers.
The majority of the soundtrack is new, with occasional references to the previous games in the series.
Sound effects in the game are top-notch, with each weapon having distinctive sounds. Enemies make the usual grunts and growls you'd expect from a GBA game, but they're used exceptionally well. For example, certain enemies have distinctive sounds that will alert you to their presence. Voice samples that are used further into the game will come as a surprise, as they're so crisp and clear. The use of aural cues in the game adds greatly to the gameplay, as you're forced to strategise before an encounter.
Worth Your Time? Absolutely. Worth Your Money?...
The game clock may read about 6-10 hours at the end depending on your level of skill, but in fact you will have been playing for much much longer. Fusion doesn't count the time spent on repeated attempts to pass certain sections and it doesn't count the time you spend consulting your map. In reality, you'll probably get between 12 - 18 hours out of Metroid Fusion, with replayability depending on the added incentive of five different endings depending on completion time.
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