metroid prime 2, in my opinion, is a game riddled with flaws and missteps, but underneath said flaws is a really enthralling experience akin to the first entry. the atmosphere is just as strong - if not a little lessened due to the presence of the luminoth, but it is still just as bleak and alone, with the stakes seeming just as high as you try to uncover the mystery the game sets before you. the game has less worlds than the first prime game too, having only 4 main areas opposed to the 6 present in prime, which leads to a more "linear" feeling experience, although the linearity isn't a promise fully-delivered on as the game seems to shift from more linear to more open-ended in the latter half which feels kind of jarring.
there are two parts of this game which require you to go off the beaten path and backtrack for seemingly no reason, to acquire an item or a power-up which will aid in progressing the beaten path; it just seems odd to format it this way. the original metroid prime had backtracking too but with the less linear structure and more open map, it feels a lot less tedious in that game, even if not perfect. the game attempts to rectify this issue by giving you a fast travel option during the final fetch quest, but by this point for me, it was already too late and it had gotten old to me.
regarding the fetch quest, it felt very much thrown on top randomly towards the end, just to pad out play time a little more. what reason in there for more to backtrack even MORE through these areas than what i already had? i didn't feel like i gained anything from going through these areas yet another time, and just added to the tedium i was already feeling traversing through these areas. again, the aforementioned fast travel thingy helped to alleviate this feeling, but still.
speaking of padding out time, the game would force you to fight these dumb enemies which take way too long to kill, every single time you enter a certain room, completely padding out the play time as it never even felt like there was a reason for them to be there. sure, the dark visor helped slightly, but still, with how backtrack heavy this game is, having enemies that you are forced to kill every single time you enter a given room was... not fun.
on the topic of fights, the boss fights the game presents you with are super hit or miss, some of them were really engaging and fun, such as the spider guardian or the first encounter with dark samus. but the majority of the boss fights in prime 2 were the most monotonous, tedious fights a developer could come up with. seriously, what is the deal with the grapple guardian? or the mess that is the emperor ing? i don't want to get into specifics of each individual boss as that would make this review even longer than it already is, but just know the vast majority of the bosses in this game were simply boring as fuck to get through, and was only made worse by the tank controls of the gamecube verison; they aren't BAD, but they aren't great for fighting in tiny, enclosed areas, such as the boost guardian's arena. the tank controls felt great for general exploration however, and aided in the feeling of being a heavy unit bounty hunter exploring some new territories.
these admittedly big issues aside, the game is at its absolute best when it allows you to just go forward and not backwards, every single time i would enter a new area (agon, torvus, sanctuary fortress), the game felt alive and fun again, but as soon as backtracking was introduced it just became a slog. exploring aether and its environments is a truly amazing feeling, just like the first game and if anything, i'm glad that feeling of being lost on a new planet wasn't lost from the first prime entry. i'm still looking forward to playing corruption eventually, but i'm going in with caution.
there are two parts of this game which require you to go off the beaten path and backtrack for seemingly no reason, to acquire an item or a power-up which will aid in progressing the beaten path; it just seems odd to format it this way. the original metroid prime had backtracking too but with the less linear structure and more open map, it feels a lot less tedious in that game, even if not perfect. the game attempts to rectify this issue by giving you a fast travel option during the final fetch quest, but by this point for me, it was already too late and it had gotten old to me.
regarding the fetch quest, it felt very much thrown on top randomly towards the end, just to pad out play time a little more. what reason in there for more to backtrack even MORE through these areas than what i already had? i didn't feel like i gained anything from going through these areas yet another time, and just added to the tedium i was already feeling traversing through these areas. again, the aforementioned fast travel thingy helped to alleviate this feeling, but still.
speaking of padding out time, the game would force you to fight these dumb enemies which take way too long to kill, every single time you enter a certain room, completely padding out the play time as it never even felt like there was a reason for them to be there. sure, the dark visor helped slightly, but still, with how backtrack heavy this game is, having enemies that you are forced to kill every single time you enter a given room was... not fun.
on the topic of fights, the boss fights the game presents you with are super hit or miss, some of them were really engaging and fun, such as the spider guardian or the first encounter with dark samus. but the majority of the boss fights in prime 2 were the most monotonous, tedious fights a developer could come up with. seriously, what is the deal with the grapple guardian? or the mess that is the emperor ing? i don't want to get into specifics of each individual boss as that would make this review even longer than it already is, but just know the vast majority of the bosses in this game were simply boring as fuck to get through, and was only made worse by the tank controls of the gamecube verison; they aren't BAD, but they aren't great for fighting in tiny, enclosed areas, such as the boost guardian's arena. the tank controls felt great for general exploration however, and aided in the feeling of being a heavy unit bounty hunter exploring some new territories.
these admittedly big issues aside, the game is at its absolute best when it allows you to just go forward and not backwards, every single time i would enter a new area (agon, torvus, sanctuary fortress), the game felt alive and fun again, but as soon as backtracking was introduced it just became a slog. exploring aether and its environments is a truly amazing feeling, just like the first game and if anything, i'm glad that feeling of being lost on a new planet wasn't lost from the first prime entry. i'm still looking forward to playing corruption eventually, but i'm going in with caution.