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Metroid Prime Hunters is a first-person shooter / adventure game for the Nintendo DS developed by NST, a Redmond-based first-party developer for Nintendo and released in 2006. Like its prequel Metroid Prime, it is officially classified by Nintendo as a first-person adventure rather than a first-person shooter due to the large exploration element in the game. In the ''Metroid'' series, Hunters is the third first-person game, the second multiplayer game, and the first online multiplayer game. Chronologically, Hunters takes place between Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Plot Metroid Prime Hunters takes place in the Metroid series chronology after Metroid Prime and before Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. In the adventure mode, one plays as the primary bounty hunter Samus. In the introduction to the game, Galactic Federation empaths receive a strange telepathic message stating that "ultimate power" resides in the Alimbic solar system. The Federation commissions Samus Aran, the renowned bounty hunter, to investigate and retrieve (or neutralize) this power. Meanwhile, six other bounty hunters have picked up on the information and are also heading to the system to claim the power as their own. Upon arrival to the system, Samus finds that the Alimbic society has long since been destroyed. Investigating the two planets and two space station orbiting the Alimbic sun, she pieces together the history of the race. The Alimbics were a peaceful, spiritual, highly evolved society. Eventually, the Alimbic utopia was shattered a meteor struck, and out of it emerged a monstrous creature the they would name Gorea. Gorea copied the cellular structure of the Alimbics, physically mimicking them and their weapons, devastated the civilization. The dying act of the Alimbics was to seal Gorea away until another could destroy it. The entire race transformed themselves into focused telepathic energy, then confined Gorea into a "Seal Sphere" which they placed in a Starship called the Oubliette. The ship was launched into a dimensional rift called the Infinity Void, to be released only when eight keys called "Octoliths" were assembled. Warding off the competing bounty hunters, Samus retrieves the eight Octoliths from the powerful automated defenses in the Alimbic system, and opened the portal into the Infinity Void. Here, she and the other six hunters confronted Gorea, but the beast absorbs the power of all of Samus' rivals. Samus manages to defeat Gorea in the final showdown, in which she obtains the ultimate weapon called the "Omega Cannon". As she evacuates the exploding Oubliette on her gunship, three Alimbics appear to her and honor her with a salute. Characters Image:roaring kanden.jpg|Kanden: "A lab experiment gone awry, Kanden was created to be the ultimate soldier - ferocious, deadly, and unpredictable." Image:stance spire.jpg|Spire: "The last member of a race whose bodies are formed entirely of rock, Spire will stop at nothing to avenge the attempted extinction of his people." Image:trace metroid.jpg|Trace: "A young member of one of the most feared races in the galaxy, Trace is out to prove his worth during his rite of passage."' Image:action noxus.jpg|Noxus: "A spiritual being who walks a harsh, righteous path, Noxus administers justice to any criminal who dares cross his path." Image:sylux ready to shoot.jpg|Sylux: "A cold and efficient killer, little is known about this bounty hunter, save his intense hatred for the Galactic Federation." Image:weavel walk.jpg|Weavel: "A Space Pirate badly damaged in battle and reborn as a cyborg, Weavel must redeem himself and prove his skills are still supreme." Gameplay The Metroid Prime series is often grouped into the first person shooter (FPS) genre, although Nintendo prefers to describe these games in the more specific sub-genre "first person adventure", to illustrate the uncommon focus on navigation and discovery. Metroid Prime Hunters made this distinction much narrower with the removal of assisted aiming, more action-oriented gameplay, and the inclusion of multiplayer modes which are popular in FPS games. The top screen displays the view from the character's visor, including ammo for the current weapon and health. The bottom touch screen displays the radar. Using the default control scheme, movement over land is controlled using the D-pad, and aiming is controlled by dragging the stylus along the touch screen. The L button fires the weapon, and double-tapping the touch screen executes a jump as does pressing A, B, X or Y. Buttons on the touch screen are used to switch between weapons, visors and alt-modes. In most Metroid games, the functions of Samus' Power Suit must be obtained one at a time over the course of the game, but most such functions in Hunters are available from the start (including the Morph Ball and Missile Launcher) with the exception of the alternate beam weapons. The game is also compatible with the DS Rumble Pak. Weapons Metroid Prime Hunters has a significantly larger assortment of weapons that previous titles in the Metroid series. In addition to the traditional Power Beam and Missile Launcher, there is a weapon which corresponds to the nature of each of the six enemy bounty hunters (Noxus' Judicator, Spire's Magmaul, Kanden's Volt Driver, Trace's Imperialist, Sylux's Shock Coil, and Weavel's Battlehammer). In multiplayer mode, each special weapon becomes more dangerous when used by the corresponding hunter. There is also a new "ultimate power" weapon called the Omega Cannon, which can only be used in one multiplayer battlefield. Celestial Archives This space station was badly damaged by an unknown object and is currently in very unstable condition. The station holds all of the Alimbic scholars', scientists', and historians' knowledge. It is the first area that one explores in the game and houses the Volt Driver and the Shock Coil. Alinos A once-beatuiful planet home to Alimbic Elders, the planet's core exploded and all of the surface was drenched with lava. Most of its surface is covered with lava, with cities dotted around it. This planet houses the Alimbic Cannon and the Magmaul. Vesper Defense Outpost This small base far off in the Alimbic Cluster once operated as a refueling station. Subzero temperatures were used to prevent overheating, but structural failure left the station frozen with toxic fuel and was abandoned. The outpost was the Alimbics' defense and weapons facility, and contains many inactive bioweaponry mechanisms. The Battlehammer weapon is located here. Arcterra This frozen planet is located at the farthest reaches of the Tetra Galaxy. A barren arctic world with caves and underground catacombs, it contains the the Imperialist and Judicator weapons. Stronghold Void Each planet/space station has access to two Stronghold Voids, which hold the valuable Octolith artifacts along with biomechanical guardian bosses. These areas can only be reached by opening Stronghold Portals with three Alimbic artifacts found in the level. Oubliette The spaceship Oubliette was made by the Alimbics to hold the Seal Sphere with the creature Gorea inside it. The Oubliette was sealed in an alternate dimension to prevent Gorea from escaping. Multiplayer For up to four players, Metroid Prime Hunters features single-card play, multi-card play and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online play. Hunters is the fifth game for the DS to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Wi-Fi play shows numerous improvements over prior Nintendo Wi-Fi games, including voice chat with friends (being the first DS game to feature voice chat) and online stat tracking. Unlike Mario Kart DS, Hunters online mode does not have any restrictions on maps, modes, or options when playing against friends and rivals. Many game styles are available such as Battle, Survival, Capture-the-Flag, and King of the Hill (Defender). All of the bounty hunters are selectable for multiplayer (making the multiplayer mode the first time in the series where players can control a character other than Samus), but only Samus, Spire, and Kanden are available from the start. To unlock other characters, they must be defeated in single-player or multi-player mode. In a single-card multiplayer game, the player with the card can choose from any hunter, while the others can only play as Samus. A passive link function called "Rival Radar" is available, similar to "Bark Mode" in Nintendogs and "Tag Mode" ("Contact" in European versions) in Animal Crossing: Wild World. A player can set their copy of Hunters to Rival Radar, then shut the DS, and carry it with them as they go about their day. If they pass near another player with Rival Radar activated, both players will automatically be registered in each other's multiplayer rival lists, but only three rivals can be added at a time. The "Hunter's License" is the score card for play in multiplayer mode. The License displays a player's ranking, favorite hunter, Wi-Fi win record, wireless win record, play time, win ratio, longest win streak, luckiest arena, favorite weapon, favorite battle mode, and longest kill streak, as well as the number of bipedal, alt-form and headshot kills. On the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection website anyone can view a leader board of the top ten scores in many different categories. Tracked stats include most used weapon, favorite character, mode, arena, wins, losses, win percentage, total games played, biped, alt-form, and headshot kills, shots fired, and rank (US only), as well as the number of times the player has prematurely disconnected from a game. Production The first details of the game emerged at the annual Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) show in 2004. In August 2005, Nintendo announced that Metroid Prime Hunters would be delayed, to implement WiFi support. * Just before launch, an updated demo version, derived from the final version of the game, was released for in-store demo units. In it, players can play through adventure mode until they encounter rival hunter "Kanden." Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt A highly prototypical demo, titled Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, was included as a pack-in (now discontinued) with the DS launch on November 21, 2004 in North America, Australia and Europe. This demo was not released in Japan. First Hunt had a different layout to the lower screen, and a slightly different weapon system. There was a different default control method, in which the screens were transposed, and targets could be fired upon by tapping them with the stylus regardless of whether they were centered in view. The control schemes found in the final version were also available. The Power Beam had no charge function, and it had an ammo system. When Power Beam ammo was exhausted, the rate of fire slowed greatly. There was also a "Double Damage" pickup that caused Samus to cause twice as much damage with each shot (which reappeared in the multiplayer battles of the final version of the game) and only two sub-weapons, missiles and the "Electro Lob" (similar to the Volt Driver and Battlehammer, it lobs and explodes on impact but also can impair vision). Three training scenarios were present, as well as a multi-card multiplayer mode. Some of the multiplayer levels from Hunters were included in the demo. The single-player game consists of training scenarios, with no specific plot. Only four types of enemies appear: traditional Metroids and Zoomers, smaller less aggressive "Xenomorphs," and a green Samus doppelgänger. After obtaining a high score in each single-player scenario, a video is unlocked. In this video, Samus is about to be ambushed by a Space Pirate hanging above her, but someone else shoots it first. In slow motion and accompanied by the Space Pirate theme from Metroid Prime, Samus spins to see the silhouettes of three other hunters, none of which match the cast of the final version of the game (though one has a forearm scythe like Weavel and other Space Pirates). The camera then zooms in down the barrel of Samus' arm cannon as she fires. The video finishes with the tagline "The Real Hunt Begins", and the URL http://www.metroidhunters.com/. In later versions of the demo cartridge, the three armored figures and the URL do not appear. Instead, Samus herself destroys the Space Pirate. After being unlocked, the video can be watched any time by tapping a glowing dot on the main screen. Reception Metroid Prime Hunters received generally positive reviews, with the multiplayer mode (and Wi-Fi play) receiving frequent praise, and most criticism leveled against the single-player adventure mode. The game was criticized for having a relatively easy and linear single-player campaign with little variety in enemies and bosses. It is noted to be significantly different than other games in the Metroid series, with relatively simple, infrequent puzzles and secrets, and an increased focus on combat skills over exploration. * Reviews
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