Gamecube Metroid Prime newbie

[NoahsMyBro]

So, last Friday (just over a week ago) I got a Gamecube from my wife as a belated Chanukah present. It's terrific; I love it.

I startted Metroid Prime last night. It looks amazing, and seems great. However, aside from Descent (if that even counts) I haven't ever really played first-person shooters. By the second room of baddies, I was down to 8 points of health. Not having found a save spot yet, and being tired, I shut the 'Cube off and went to sleep.

From you veterans, any tips or advice on how to improve my survival chances?

[PDorr3]

I havent played the game in a long time, let alone had I played it that long. It is not like mosty FPS's, the controls are alot different and take a long time to get used to. To me the game was pretty tough, and to my friends it is hard as well. Your best bet is to just get used to the controls.

[hydr0x]

if you have that much of a problem playing it then you should probably try invert the Y-axis movement

[whoisKeel]

Welll....this game isn't really a FPS (ie, there's no aiming). I'm playing Metroid Prime for my second time through right now. The first time I thought meh...but the 2nd go through I'm loving it for some reason.

Anyways, the general tactic for the game works like this. Lock on (L trigger) and keeped locked on. Then TAP the B button and direction to dash side to side quickly, in this way you can rotate around enemies while locked on. Most fights you can also hide behind scenery when they shoot (ala gun turrets and space pirates). When you are hiding, be charging up your charge shot (which you get early in the game). Don't be afraid to use missles either.

Don't rush through rooms full of enemies, take your time, look around with R trigger, and take out enemies before you fully enter the room (like the wasps at the beginning of the game). Also, early on those bugs like to charge you...tap L, fire, tap L, fire, etc. DO NOT fall in lava/acid pits, that hurts bad, take your time to jump...there's ALOT of jumping in this game.

You can save at your ship (jump on it you can reach it).

[NoahsMyBro]

Thx, I'll try that. As for my ship, it didn't look like I could return to it, but I tried going back to it anyway. I didn't try to jump, but when I tried to walk to it, I think a force field blocked my way.

[Dimitri]

While it's not really a gameplay tip, be sure to use the scan visor wherever you possibly can -- there's just so much backstory and peripheral information, you don't get the full experience of the game unless you scan stuff.

Have fun with it, and good luck. It's a tough game the first time through, and not really one to rush through, but don't get discouraged. I found it quite rewarding to play through, and it's one of my all-time favorites.

[calthaer]

Not only backstory - the scan visor can give you a heads-up about what's coming next. Clues about future baddies (especially with the pirates' scientific reports) and all sorts of things.

In the beginning there isn't a ton of strategy except lock on, dodge, and keep hitting the baddies. Later on, you will want to explore as much as you can to get the upgrades for your weapons (like the flamethrower, ahhh that one is nice). You will probably find that one of your best strategies is to freeze an enemy and then shoot it (for the enemies that that works with).

[SoulBlazer]

Once you get used to the first person view, it's AMAZING how much this game plays like a classic 2D Metroid game. Notice how much of the advice given so far can apply to eariler games? :P

I have'nt yet played the sequel -- I hope Echos is as good.

[Jasoco]

I als got this recently. I'll tell you it gets pretty tough once you get to the Mines. Also, the tip about the Visor is true. If you're stuck, use it. It will usually tell you where to go. Remember to look for brightly lit orange boxes while scanning. Those are things you must scan. A lot of the time, just scanning something activates it, so you could be standing in the right room with a dead machine not knowing what the hell to do. But if you scan around, you'll usually find out what to do.

Save often. Whenever you can. It also refills health.

Use the map. Remember to press A to switch to the entire area you've been in so you can switch between maps to see where you need to go.

When all else fails, try every Visor you have. Not just the scanner, but later on you get other ones, like a heat visor (Which you WILL need for later levels when it gets dark and you can' see, so the heat sensor makes stuff visible.) and apparently an X-Ray one way later on.

Just remember, you won't get every single add on right away. A LOT of areas will be closed off at first, but you will probably pass through them many times anyway.

And a tip a lot of FAQ's have is Scan Everything. If you want to go for 100%, you must scan everything. ESPECIALLY Bosses. The Bosses you only see once. It's not like BG&E where as long as you're on the planet, you'll be able to find an animal even if you defeated it earlier. This one will not allow you to go back to scan the boss again, so take a second and do it. But only if you really want to go for 100%.

This game actually got me into Metroid. A series I never touched before Prime.

[cr0n0]

I do not mean to sound rude or anything, so plaease don't take my advice in that way, but you could try learning the controls. Once you learn the controls, it helps out instead of just pressing buttons and hoping for the best. This game has many moves, but they are all helpful.

[Jasoco]

The controls only took me a minute to get used to. Sure, it's different, but the game's different. So it works. Most people who have a problem with them are too caught up in the FPS way of doing things.

[hydr0x]

The controls only took me a minute to get used to. Sure, it's different, but the game's different. So it works. Most people who have a problem with them are too caught up in the FPS way of doing things.

noahsmybro hasn't played a fps before and as it sounds he is still stuck in the tutorial!! and if you're stuck there than it hasn't got to do with not using the visor or whatever, it just has to do with not 100% getting the controls

[NoahsMyBro]

Well, I got past the wasps with no trouble - I didn't even realize they will actually shoot back or harm me until reading this thread. I shot them from far away. My trouble occurred when I encountered the first bad guys that are humanoid, and shoot at me with red glowing balls (assume it's some sort of 'pulse' weapon). They shoot fast, and I haven't mastered avoiding the incoming fire yet. The bit about pressing or holding down B sounds good; I haven't had a chance to replay the game since my original post.

I've been scanning everything. All of the specimens in the container areas - do I really need to remember all the clinical/lab-type info I'm reading about these things? Or is it just for ambience?

As I progress I'll post back future questions.

[downfall]

I've been scanning everything. All of the specimens in the container areas - do I really need to remember all the clinical/lab-type info I'm reading about these things? Or is it just for ambience?

As I progress I'll post back future questions.

Mostly just ambience - it's really just to help flesh out the story. You can unlock bonuses if you scan everything (100%), however there are items that you only have the opportunity to scan once (bosses and the like), so it's somewhat hard to do. Also, when you scan creatures or bosses - it often gives you a tip on how to defeat that creature, which is one of the few reasons I continued to scan things later in the game.

Personally, I scanned about 56% of the stuff when I went through the game and not scanning 100% didn't hinder my enjoyment of the game at all. I just got tired of scanning everything once I was over halfway through.

[goatdan]

I would greatly agree with everyone that said that if you like the 2D version, keep at this one. I didn't even like the 2D version because I was so bad at it, but I have fallen in love with Prime.

I'm guessing you are probably stuck somewhere in the tutorial. What I would suggest is running through it two or three times before you start the real game and getting very used to the controls. I loved the tutorial, and once I had played through it a few times I felt like I was set for the real game, and so far that has been pretty true.

I still get my Morph Ball and Missile buttons confused though :/

[Jasoco]

Just remember when you lock onto an enemy, you can move anywhere and you'll still be aiming at the enemy. Make a habit of locking and shooting, then when it's dead, lock again onto the next closest enemy and shoot. It also means you can avoid their incoming shots without taking your aim off the baddie you're aimed at.

Maybe it's just my years of FPS experience transferring over to MP.

[studvicious]

another reason to scan a boss is it will tell you it's weakness, and usually you can figure out how to beat it before you even start.

[grayejectbutton]

A lot of people hated the controls for Metroid Prime but I thought they were genius. It FEELS like Metroid... and not a lot of 3D games are able to pull off replicating this kind of sensation.

[Jasoco]

I'm surprise at how long and big the game is. Very nice. I finally beat that part I was stuck in for a while. It was hard, but it took many tries. Since there were no save points for a long time with extremely hard enemies, it was frustrating. Fortunately, it seems that if you back track and save, the next run through the area won't always have enemies as hard as before. Still, hard as hell.

[studvicious]

Yeah, I know what part you're talking about It also really sucks to have your thermal visor on to see the hidden pirates and then when they all decide to attack you have to switch back to the combat visor and see what color they are so you can switch to that beam It can get frustrating in a melee moment like that.