Metroid Prime: Hunters
 

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/1...0060118112.jpg

The games coming out March 20, and it is looking like one of the best DS titles to date.

There have recently been an extensive amounts of information revealed on multiplayer, showing the game to be full of online options that were sorely lacking in Mario Kart: DS. The 20+ maps in the game, the 7 playable bounty hunters and all 7 multiplayer modes are available online, and it now has been revealed to include a Voice over IP chat function available in the pre and post game lobby. The drawback to this is that you can only speak to opponents on your Rivals list (this games equivalent of the friends list), but a welcome addition is the freedom to add opponents to your list online without the hassle of tracking them down on message boards and posting codes.

In addition, there is extensive stat tracking from the game detailing information such as kills and deaths using each of the hunters, favorite weapons, most used morph forms, number of intentional disconnects (it only counts disconnects from the player turning the system off, not from dead batteries), win/losses, headshots and more. This information is public information to your opponents, and can also be found on Nintendo's website.

Also improved from Mario Kart DS's online interface is match making. A player can now host a match, in which they will select all the rules and the map for the round, and other players can join freely, with the host starting the match at any time, or you can simply browse the matches open, and pick one that you would like to join.

The single player is being met personally by mixed emotions. On one hand, recent interviews have stated that it is fairly long, only being slightly shorter than Metroid Prime. However, Samus begins this adventure fully powered. In addition, the single player campaign is level based, with each level being a different planet Samus travels to. Still, the developer's promise plenty of exploration, puzzle solving and the oversized bosses Metroid fans have grown to love alongside the shooting, so it has promise as well.

Some screenshots below (courtesy of IGN):

http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/3...unters23zs.jpg http://img325.imageshack.us/img325/2...unters38vb.jpg http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2...unters47ur.jpg http://img325.imageshack.us/img325/1...unters56yh.jpg

And some plenty of gameplay movies and information at:

http://metroidhunters.com/launch/index.jsp

It really looks like a polished game that won't disappoint when it is released this month.

FRIEND CODES:
WraithTwo: 4982-8383-0672
BlueMikey: 4166-7940-2040
Darkcomet72: 2663-5552-7906
NES Oldskooler: 3479-5991-0223
Ronz: 3178-9512-4349
StarmanDX: 5455-2841-2680
Tails: 4166-7937-2335
Triad: 2534-7054-1123

EDIT: Added link to official page

EDIT 2: Added friend codes list

Having played the James Bond game for the DS, I seriously doubt that the game will be a major turning point in DS owners' lives. But you never know. I'm waiting to be impressed.

Ohhh man. I am looking forward to this game, more for the multiplayer part over the single player... Almost as long as metroid prime? Thats crazy, fitting that on a DS catridge? AND included multiplayer? Nuts.

The lobby seems to be a step in the right dirrection for nintendo, stats tracking, even Voice over IP seems to be a major plus (if its really going to be there). I wodner though, is the DS system itself capable of managing that? Online game, 8 people fragfest, (8 or 4?, cant remember) shouting at eachother? I'd imagine some lag happening there...

Speaking of VOIP, does that mean we'll finaly be able to see the DS 'headset' or microphone? It would look kinda strange screaming into the little hole on your DS. Just my two cents.

Well, the VoIP is DEFINITELY in there, IGN had a hands on with the game, and they said that it actually worked quite well. The online is limited to 4 players though, and the VoIP isn't active during the game, it only exists for chatting pre and post game. For those that don't wanna look silly talking to their DS, there is also text chat supported.

FUCKING AWESOME.

I'm tired of MKDS' matchmaking, thank god they're going to change things this time around.

Defitenly picking up this baby and playing WiFi!!!!

She kind of does in MP and MP2 as well, only to lose it all in uh...whatever happened in the beginning of those two games.

I am pleased that it actually has a Single Player portion, I had heard rumors awhile ago that it was MP only. I'll definitely be getting this one.

I actually liked the demo. I've read on Gamespot that the gameplay has been tweaked, but hopefully for the better, so, I'm totally getting this.

I've been meaning to get a good FPS for the DS, since the Goldeneye games aren't filling the mold. I'm not sure how much I want this game though. Looks great though.

I really can't wait to pick this up, but I think I'll definitely need to pick up a bigger stylus at the same time...The stylus is fine for small movements, but it's really hard for me to use for long periods at a time...(Or I could just wait for the DS Lite's uber stylus...)

I might pick it up when I'm gonna know more about the single player mode. I don't play WiFi with my DS , so the multiplayer option is kind of pointless for me.

I could have sworn that I heard that there will be bots...

lol, I just came back to the thread because I forgot to mention that there are bots available of varying difficulty to fill out games. It has a limited single card mode as well (all 4 players are Samus, one map).

- WraithTwo -

No bots in online mode though, thats what i read somewhere...
Either way i'll just wait and see if at least 3 other people i know get it so i can play online.

If what they say about how the single player segment being close in length to Metroid Prime then that for me is a strong reason to buy. I would be surprised if it were true, I just hope the single player is actually compelling and not just a series of boring "get this item, bring it to this place" missions strung together by a piss-weak backstory.

I am impressed how this game has 4 times the maps and many more times the variety of multiplayer options than many recent console FPSes.

But damn man I can't wait for it. I hope to see you all in #nwifi so we can kick each other's asses. It'll be SWEET.

I'm getting it, so that's two of us... :)

Why do you need more people that you know for online play? You can always find someone to play online whether you know them or not, and its even better now, because you can add those you're playing to your friends list.

- WraithTwo -

From the videos I've seen, the game looks pretty bad in my opinion. I personally would've preferred another 2D Metroid.

Who WOULDN'T prefer another 2D Metroid? But seriously, ya can't think of this as another Metroid installment, but a damn good looking online portable FPS.

- WraithTwo -

I also want another 2D metroid, in the style of its SNES predecessor. Hopefully this'll be a nice surprise, right? :)

Yes you can, it's easy:

1. Read the Box.

2. Notice the title says "Metroid Prime: Hunters."

3. Easily conclude this is a Metroid game.

However, it doesn't contain all of the gameplay elements that one would associate with Metroid. I'm just warning that as a typical Metroid game, it may fall short, but as a shooter, it looks to be excellent.

- WraithTwo -

Now here's hoping the other bounty hunters are unique and don't feel exactly like Samus ala SSBM clones. Sure, the moves were the same but Nintendo did a great job and making them feel different from the characters they were cloned off.

Maybe Rare will set up a subsidary company to release a Perfect Dark spinoff on the DS? In my dreams.

Well, the Metroid series has never been known for its groundbreaking narratives. But I am looking forward to this single player mode. A Prime-sized adventure on a pint-sized system gets me giddy.

Well, the additional hunters have vastly different morph forms, and they each specialize in a different weapon giving them additional abilities when they use it.

Samus
Morph: Morph Ball (not even gonna explain this one)
Specialization: Missile. Samus does a little more damage with Missiles and is the only one that can fire homing missiles (currently unclear as to if Samus must charge them for the missile to lock on)

Trace
Morph: Triskelion (fast, can partially cloak, only form of offense is a hard to aim lunge attack at enemy)
Specialization: Imperialist. The Imperialist is the Sniper Rifle in this game, no word as to what his specialization does for the weapon though.

Weavel
Morph: Half Turret (His body splits in half, with the lower half creating an immovable auto turret, and you control his upper half. While controling his form, you can use his energy scythe to attack opponents)
Specialization: Battlehammer. Not sure what this weapon is yet.

Sylux
Morph: Lockjaw (gains a degree of flight, drops mines. When an enemy approaches the mines, a beam of light connects the mine to the enemy, and the mine rides along the beam then detonates. can only have 3 mines active at a time)
Specialization: Shock Coil. Not sure what this weapon is yet.

Spire
Morph: Dialanche (turns into a huge boulder that can attack anything in a radius around him, and can scale vertical surfaces, but is slow for an alternate form. This form is the same speed as the bipedal forms)
Specialization: Magmaul. With his specialization, the beam when charged will set the target on fire, dealing additional damage over time.

Noxus
Morph: Vhoscythe (yay top form! spins like a top, hard to control, can attack all in a radius around his spinning form with a spinning blade)
Specialization: Judicator. Not sure what this weapon is yet.

Kanden
Morph: Stinglarva (turns into a bug that can fire missiles from behind with limited homing capabilities)
Specialization: Volt Driver. Not sure what this weapon is yet.

Well, nobody has posted anything about the game yet and it's March 20th, so has anyone played it yet? Recommend it?

It ships today, most stores get it tomorrow. I get out of school at 11 on Tuesdays, and am running by EB to pick my pre-ordered copy up right after.

- WraithTwo -

I thought the 20th was going to be the day I would be able to walk into the store and buy the game until one of my friends reminded me that the 20th is the shipping date. *sigh* I guess one more day of waiting isn't to bad, considering how long we've been held waiting ever since they delayed hunters from its fall release date. But tomorrow the first thing I'm going to do is pick up Hunters.

I have absolutely no idea whether to get this game or not. On the one hand, I am not the biggest fan of FPS's, and they don't last much long for me. Also, I have never played the GCN Metroid Prime games, so major complications there, especially if the skills between the three games are interchangable.

On the other hand, I had quite a bit of fun with the demo even with it's flaws and quirks. I am pretty sure that practicing the Demo version won't make me much better because of the seemingly revamped control schemes I'm hearing about in the main game, which is a GOOD thing. I don't want to be left behind skill wise because I didn't practice the demo often ;).

Especially because I have the chance to pick it up tomorrow (unless it's sold out), I have to think fast about this. There are so many games coming out in such a small period of time that I want, and it's not the holiday season WTF.

Well, I've played the NEW demo, and the main control scheme isn't any different, simply tighter and more refined feeling (with added sensitivity adjustment).

- WraithTwo -

There's still only one review of Metroid Prime Hunters on Gamerankings, they're taking their time to review this arent they?

Is anyone else frustrated about the fact that the R button doesn't shoot in the default controls? It works in the demo, but it doesn't in the retail version! My left hand gets sore from strafing and shooting on the same hand, but I was ok using the touchpad and shooting with my right for some reason.

Yeah, only Nintendo Power and Gamepro have even reviewed it. NP gave is an 8 and an 8.5, and Gamepro gave it a 4.5/5. Kind of annoying that we haven't even seen anything from IGN or Gamespot yet (IGN has even had a billion previews for the game, but no review).

- WraithTwo -

Okay I found some extra money in my wallet so I decided to get this game. Having never played a Metroid Prime game before, I had no idea what to expect. According to the first post, the missions are level based, so I assume that the GCN Prime games are all one big nonlinear map classic metroid style?

I'm having fun, though my opinion probably means moot. Haven't gone online yet, though. I just might be compelled to get the other Prime games.

My god, the box is so shiny... so sexy! I don't want to open it, ever!

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I got used to the demo, and it was actually pretty comfortable shooting with R and moving with the control pad. I have no idea why they removed that, since the R button now does nothing when you're in normal form. I guess I just need to relax my grip or something, but it still sucks.

Other than that, this game is really cool. I just played a wifi match against my brother, and the voice chat thing is really cool. Lots of game modes to play with, and the online interface is a little bit better than the one in Mario Kart.

I bought it today during my lunch hour and I've played about an hour on it. I think it's absolutely fantastic so far. When I played the demo when they had it on the DSes in the stores (and I don't know how much changed), it just seemed so unintuitive. Within about a minute or two of playing, it was easy to have the initial controls down. I can't imagine not playing this game in Stylus Mode.

They did a great, great job translating the whole game system from the GC Metroids to this one.

I definitely need to try out the multiplayer later.

I'm quite pleased with my buy. I would have bought Tetris too, but EB was the only place in town that had Metroid and it is selling Tetris for $5 more than Target will be selling it for later in the week.

yeah, I LOVE this game. Its soo fun, even though I'm not great at it. Is it just me, or are the bots pretty good? They run when getting whooped, aim better than I can, know when to morph and how to find strategic positions on the maps. Single player is great so far. I'm on the first visit to the fourth planet currently, and I have two of the beams. Will add my friend code as soon as I get online.

- WraithTwo -

Okay, I beat the 2nd world. I am actually impressed with the level design, it's very organized. Boss fights are more impressive then I thought would be. I'm not even gonna attempt Wifi until I get prolific at this, though. There's still so much I'm confused about in this game.

I'm using the default setting, so there's no problem with me not using R for shoot (That would just make no sense!).

Well I finally got my hands on the game and wow its pretty damned good. Very awesome game, I can now understand NP's scores that it gave to the game because of single player, since now that I've played it I throughly agree with their decision. But still a very very fun game nontheless.

this game's looking really nice. i haven't heard a whole lot of bad things about it.

more incentive to get a ds, along with "new super mario bros."

Hey WraithTwo, do you think you could edit the first post so it contained a list of all our friend codes in it? Not unlike what we had going in the Mario Kart DS thread before the crash? It would be easier than reading this entire thread for them, especailly if the thread gets HUEG.

Yeah, sure, I'll take care of it tonight after work.

EDIT: Friend codes have been compliled on the first post, so add away.

- WraithTwo -

I'm suprised that there are few posts about this game. I'm enjoying it greatly. Or is everybody just forgetting about the main game and battling on #nwifi already?

And the Slench Boss music is awesome.

Somewhat of a storyline question:

I haven't played a single game from the Metroid Prime series. Would this detract at all from my playing experience? If so, in what ways?

This game is very disconnected from all other Metroids, in story as well as gameplay. You'll enjoy this if you want a varied, fun fps on the go. The single player is good, but a bit repetitive. Its definetly good enough for one playthrough, but I don't know about 2.

In short, no you don't have to know anything about Metroid to play this game.

- WraithTwo -

Great game, I just picked my game up few hours ago and I am getting used to the controls right now. And when I clicked the Wi-Fi connection, it says that I don't NEED friend code? Awsome. And how about connection while online? Do you get to choose which players you get to play with?

EDIT: Is it me or takes forever to search players to play with?

Is anyone else having trouble finding full 4-player wifi games? thus far I have never been in a full 4 player game. Thus far out of the some 10 games I've played on wifi I've only been in one 3 man game, every other incidence has been 1 on 1s. Anyone else experiencing this or is it probably just my router.

Same here. And when I'm about to get 4 players, I get an 85050 error. I'm using an SMC router. You?

I have had one 4-player game, but I've played about 15 games or so online. Also, one time the instant the first green light lit up, it immediately proceeded to the character select screen! It's pretty confusing.

Plus, too many people pick Combat Hall.

Yea, I never got 4 players, and i gotten some weird error and couldn't play anymore >.>

I've been very pleased with the game so far. Multi play is smooth and fast, we just need more people playing now. Single player is just enough of a distraction to make up for not being able to find other players to multi with.

The ability to just play against bots is nice too.

I still have to test out the rival/friend system as well.

I use a D-link router, it has a WEP key on it but my DS is configured with they key. and like others I get all kinds of errors, 85020, 85050, 52001 so on and so forth. In anycase I just hope NFC's inability to get up to 4 players is a server side problem and not just the game's

I think the map is fine, its small size makes sure the guy who got the lead through luck can't just run away and hide. Plus the arena is pretty good against those bastard Trace snipers, although his alt-form on that arena is another problem.

I'm not sure who I'm suppose to notify with friend codes....but mine is 2191-1105-9620 FYI

Actually, it is entirely possible to play the running game in Combat hall! The powerups are placed in the best locations possible for it. If you're intercepted, you can get to the next health pickup before major damage is dealt. It's kinda annoying.

I thought there would be a lot of Trace users online, but there seems to be a nice balance of every hunter!

Double Post:
Okay, over at Gamefaqs, almost everybody is running into the same problem with 4 player battles, not only in search, but in Friends/Rivals as well. I think it's safe to say that there is something currently wrong with the wifiservers and lets hope Nintendo fixes it.

How is the MIC feature? I heard that it's pretty clear.

I tried out the mic/Voip function and its actually quite clear. Me and a friend used it to chat for over an hour and throughout the whole thing I could hear him clearly. Only downside is that only one person can talk at the same time I think. As for the runners on Combat Hall, when they start running for the powerups then just start pumping lead towards the powerup, meanwhile hogging whatever powerups you can get yourself.

Wow, I guess this game is going to be a biggie wifi game since you don't really need friend code to play. Anyways I tried the MIC and I didn't know how to do it... (on instruction booklet it says press X ? )

You cannot use the Mic on Search mode, it can only be between Friends, and I think Rivals.

Why is Piston Cave the best stage

I don't think you can the MIC against Rivals. I pressed X, the sound decreases but they never replied - on all times... against all 10 of my Rivals. Unless they're just antisocial douche bags (Well, they did play 200 games ._. )

The Mic only works with friends, you can't mic with rivals.

Man, that's total bull, I wish you could do voicechat 24/7 with anyone, then the communication might be better. But... it's only 4 players so it might not be needed...

I wouldn't be so sure I'd want to be able to voice chat with just anyone I meet online, especially considering the numerous jackases, dumbasses, crybabies, and just overall morons that roam the web. So unless they also incorporate a mute function into the game, then I'm happy with its voice chatting capabilities as they are.

Double Post:
and oh yeah, btw, has anyone heard of anything about hacks/cheats for MPH multiplayer, not that I want them or anything but just recently I played some guy named Brandon online and for one thing his Shock Coil (he was Sylux, I was SA) seemed to have done tons more damage than it should, and for some reason I couldn't get headshots on his ass. I know he didn't have the damage modifier thing on him because the stage that we were on doesn't have the powerup and I know that my aim wasn't off because I got up close to his face and simply pummeled him with shots to the face, which at the time took up pretty much all of my screen space.

I've heard a couple different cheating cases before, but none using some kind of hacking method. Weird. Mabye it was some case of lag?

And the Shock Coil... I've seen cases where it does far more damage then it usually does, but I don't think it's necessarily cheating. I'm gonna look more into it.

Oh, and I can't even connect to the WIFI anymore. 8 of every 9 attempts ends up with an error.

WFC has been notified of the 8XXX errors when attempting to connect with 3 other player and are trying to fix the problem... as it's happening to pretty much everyone. =/

Hey guys.
My friend code for MPH is:

3651
3986
6110

Im SexConker on WFC, too.

If you add me (ADD ME!) PM me or e-mail me or whatever with your code.

Here's my code:
Sepharite: 1503-9140-4093

Happy Hunting! =)

Hey, if you guys missed it, the friend codes are all in the first post below the pictures.

And the DS Friend code thread is here:
http://gamingforce.com/forums/showthread.php?t=586

So I got me Hutners today, and I just beat the second planet. Pretty okay so far... I hope it gets more... metroidish though.

Not gonna happen. As much as I love this game, it just isn't Metroid. This is a game made for multiplayer, the single player is not really up to par (although it is decent).

- WraithTwo -

How many planets are there, just out of curiosity. And... Is there a point to going to previous completed planets? Also, when you revisit a planet is the other hunter there in the room you first meet him? They are kind of annoying to fight. (Though ridicuously easy)

4 planets. They MUST be revisited in order to complete the game.

4? are you serious? =/ thats it? How long is this game? Is it really as long as prime?

Yes. Your first visits to each planet doesn't even cover up half of the game (if you're searching for everything).

Takes an average of 8 to 9 hours.

Reasonable then I s'pose. Not nearly as long as prime, but you can't fit Prime on these tiny little DS carts.

Meh, I was a little disappointed when I finished the game, its no where near the whole Prime 1 length thing they said. Then again maybe I just played it way to much and so it didn't feel like much. In anycase I'm going through the game a second time to try and get 100%.

I haven't tried the WiFi yet (mostly because I can't even connect), only been playing Adventure Mode, which has been keeping me busy. I'm used to Stylus mode now, at least. I haven't tried Dual Mode, seems unnecessary now that I've got Stylus pretty much down pat. I had to turn the sensitivity down, though. Samus was spinning around too fast and I was getting dizzy and walking her right off of platforms -_-

I'm up to my second visit to the Celestial Archives. I was fighting the 3rd Slench, but it made my left hand cramp so I gave up. Hate those friggin' things. And I'm pissed because I forgot to scan the other Slenches in their hovering form. I like the game so far, though. Bosses are redundant but fighting the other hunters is okay even though it gets easier after the first time. Guardians are a nuisance.

I like how the music for Alinos and Arcterra seem to be sort of remixes of the Chozo Ruins and Phendrana Drifts. I wish the ship wasn't the only place to save, but the portals make it less frustrating. The display in the ship is kind of neat, though. Oh, and I like Samus's reaction to the first Slench. Something about her fuzzy expression through her visor amuses me.

EDIT: Okay, I finally got WiFi to connect. Played a few practice matches with this one guy, won 4 out of 5 matches, and had 5 kills in a row with the Magmaul in one. It's pretty cool, can't wait to try more games with it.

My FC is 1289-1699-6864.

Aaaaaww man.

Funny story short, I headshot 2 guys with one imperialist blast.

Man that was golden.

FC is 1546-8651-6524

My hunters code is

1546 8677 4767

send me a PM with yours if you add me. It saves me having to look through threads to find em :p

Hmmm my DS got taken from my mom, so I am still on second level. How many levels are there anyways? And any tech you can use on metroid unlike most FPS you found while Wi-Fing?