I was a bit wary about Metroid Prime. I'm a huge fan of Super Metroid, but that was a 2D side-scroller. I had trouble believing that the things I loved about it would translate into 3D.
Well, Prime is certainly different. It's also flawless.
Seriously: There are no flaws worth mentioning in this game.
No wonder it's ranked third best game of all time, a fact I did not know before I started playing, but which did not surprise me when I finished.
Prime basically takes everything about Metroid that made any sense in 3D, then combines it with an FPS. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Console FPS? It has to suck!" Yes, I thought that too. But apparently so did the developers, and they came up with a genius gameplay mechanic to make it work: in Prime, you are not required to aim. Instead, you simply point in the general vicinity of your target, then hold a button to "lock on". Once locked, you can circle-strafe to your heart's content. It's beautiful. Sure, it's a little cheap compared to the skills you'd need in a PC FPS, but I'll take this over aiming with the joystick any day. Although I still didn't feel like I had anywhere near as much control as I would with a mouse, battles were still a lot of fun.
Of course, shooting is only one small part of this game. Prime is really about exploring the world, gaining new abilities, then going back to places you've already been and using those abilities to reach new areas. As with all Metroid games (but few FPSs), you can always travel back to anywhere you've already been, and indeed you often have to in order to continue in a different direction or find items you couldn't reach before. I'm not completely sure why, but I really enjoy this "retraversal" style of gameplay.
Prime is also a game of puzzles, in the same manner as Zelda or Okami. None of the puzzles were exactly brain benders, but they were fun, and none of them were obscure enough to force me to read a FAQ.
The entire game is absurdly well-polished. For example: In some areas, it is raining. As you stand still, you see the rain falling and splattering on the ground. Start walking forward, or look up, and rain drops actually hit your visor, creating little refractive circles that look incredibly realistic. Talk about attention to detail...
In general, the graphics are beautiful, the level design is superb, and the music is not bad and is integrated well.
In any case, I am thoroughly convinced. Metroid can be 3D and still be awesome. And now I have Metroid Prime 2 and 3 waiting for me! I'm especially excited for 3, which just came out for the Wii; I want to see how the Wiimote handles in an FPS that doesn't suck for other reasons. :)