Retro Studios had what seemed like an impossible objective to acheive when Nintendo gave them the license to update the Metroid franchise for the Nintendo GameCube. Many thought it would be impossible to bring Metroid into the third dimension. Retro Studios went through rounds of layoffs, and huge projects were cancelled. Early screenshots didn't look promising. Somehow, defying all popular logic at the time, Retro did the impossible and brought Metroid successfully into 3D. "Successfully" is a huge understatement. The resulting product, Metroid Prime, was arguably the best game of the year, and even of the entire generation up to that point. Everything that made the Metroid franchise so incredible was brought to life on the GameCube in a way that nobody could have predicted. After such an amazing success, Retro set back to work on a sequel, and by playing Metroid Prime 2 Echoes it's safe to say that the first was no fluke, and that Retro is a development team that every gamer should keep their eye on. There is no reason to keep reading this review as long as you understand this sentence: You absolutely must buy Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, even if it means buying a GameCube in order to play it. Let's get one thing out of the way - while Metroid Prime 2 Echoes looks like a first-person shooter, it does not play like one. The difference in gameplay between a game like Halo 2 and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes is night and day. Rather than progressing from one room to the next and figuring out the optimal way to blast wave after wave of enemies that are trying desperately from getting to the next room, Metroid has and still does focus on exploration and adventure. The control scheme of Metroid follows this concept. Rather than giving players strafing options, Retro has chosen to instead make locking-on the intergral way of fighting enemies. Echoes also features the unmatched jumping capabilities of its predecessor, making jumping an effortless procedure that gamers accustomed to the problematic jumping featured in other first-person games will absolutely adore. While Metroid has always been about exploration and adventure, it's also been about isolation. Echoes continues the stylish visor view that other games have begun to emulate, which makes the player feel as though they're looking through Samus Aran's helmet. Furthermore, as in previous entries in the series, you won't be running into many other creatures to talk to. Samus has always been somewhat of a lone wolf, and while she does have a little more interaction with other friendly creatures in this mission, the feeling of isolation is still strong. The story of Echoes is largely told through the Scan Visor, which gives the player detailed information on creatures and fauna, as well as technology, log books, and more. Through these scans, and the increased amount of cinematics (much more than in Prime), you really get a detailed, engrossing story. The only potential problem is that players who are too lazy to scan and read might not get the full effect of the story, but then again, these players probably aren't going to be too fond of Metroid Prime 2 Echoes in the first place. Artistically, Retro Studios is proving to be a nearly unmatched talent. The environments in Echoes, as in Prime before them, are the most organic, interesting, and beautiful worlds ever put on a game screen. Forget crawling through generic corridor after corridor; Echoes provides a world that truly feels organic and absolutely begs to be explored. You have canyons, crevices, holes, pipelines, ravines, crumbling architecture and withering trees. The graphics are detailed and vibrant, the effects are dazzling, and you can't help but be sucked in. Similarly, the audio in the game is beautiful. While not all of the tunes are as memorable as some of those found in the original Prime, the quality of the music is all top-notch. It never detracts from the experience, but instead improves it. There is one exception to this rule, and that is that the music of the Space Pirates always comes on as you enter the room, so you anticipate their assault. It breaks up the surprise of it a bit, but it's not a huge problem. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes features several new beams, suits, and visors, at the expense of many of the familiar ones. The Ice Beam is nowhere to be found, for example, and this feels a little odd. The new beams, including the Light and Dark Beams, are not as satisfying as I would have liked them to be, for example. Fortunately for the Light and Dark beams, though they may less satisfying as some of the more traditional weapons, they do play a vital role in the Light/Dark dimensional system that the game features. I've avoided talking in too much detail about the story or the world in too great of detail in order to preserve the fun for you, but for the sake of this review I do have to mention some of the new systems in the game. The Light and Dark worlds of Echoes are an intergral element of the game, and one that plays a part in how you play the game and solve the puzzles of Aether, the world Samus is on a mission to save from destruction. Frequently, you'll have to transport from one dimension to the other in order to solve some rather intricate puzzles. Speaking of puzzles, the puzzles in Echoes feel significantly harder than those in Prime. The morph ball is much more prominent in Echoes, which is a good thing, as rolling around is still one of the most enjoyable things you can do in Metroid. It's not just the puzzles that are more difficult. I died more times playing Echoes in the first half of the game than I did in the entire game of Metroid Prime. Bosses are more deadly, as are the regular enemies, who are more plentiful. Furthermore, in Dark Aether, the very atmosphere is poisonous, which makes your adventure even more difficult. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way. Accomplishing objectives is even more rewarding than it was in Prime, and it gives the game additional depth. Still, newcomers to the franchise may have a bit of difficulty, so I strongly recommend playing the original Prime before taking on Echoes. It must be mentioned that Retro has included a multiplayer mode in Echoes. From playing it, it is evident that this mode was not the focus of development. That said, the mode provides a very enjoyable experience that still retains the classic Prime gameplay, and uses this to make multiplayer maps that are unique and enjoyable. Alongside the requisite deathmatch is a "Bounty Hunter" mode, which has players collecting tokens that spill out of players when they take damage or are destroyed. This mode should really only be played with four players, and would be a lot of fun with more if the game allowed it. Maybe when Nintendo finally goes online... Overall, you're not going to find many better games this year, or from this generation, than from Metroid Prime 2 Echoes. The game improves upon the original in nearly every area, which is saying a lot. From the moment you load the game, the presentation floors you and doesn't let up. Any self-respecting gamer must have this in their collection. There is absolutely no excuse. You must own this game. 5 out of 5 Morph Ball Bombs