Metroid Prime was effectively dubbed an instant classic upon its release in 2002. Taking all of the classic side-scrolling action and translating it into a first person perspective was a risky gamble for Retro Studios, but one that ultimately paid off. The title was successful enough to warrant a sequel, 2004's Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, which lived up to its predecessor's hype. And now, in 2006, Nintendo Software Technologies has opted to pick up the dice and roll again, this time in translating Samus' first person adventures to Nintendo DS. It's been a long time in the wings, but now, Metroid Prime Hunters makes its bow on Nintendo's double-screened handheld. While it's got some quirks to it, it's inarguably both a great successor to the GameCube's legacy and one of this year's must-own titles for DS.

The storyline finds our intrepid heroine receiving a cryptic message that says, "The secret to ultimate power lies in the Alimbic Cluster." She's not the only one who gets it, either. Bounty hunters all over the galaxy end up in search of artifacts across the galaxy that lead to ultimate power. And no, there are no ninjas involved, so the hopes of any Space Pirates vs. Space Ninjas slugfest are dashed. But we digress.


In essence, Samus, representing the Galactic Federation, must get through ancient ruins to find the secrets before the other hunters get their hands on them. With a gameplay experience that comes fairly close to the first Metroid Prime, players will have their hands full with the single-player campaign, although it's not necessarily the main reason to keep coming back to this game. While it proves to be as exciting as going through the console experience and is quite excellent in its own right, it's really the multiplayer elements of this game that make it a winner.

Multiplayer, without a shadow of a doubt, is some of the best to touch down (no pun intended) on the DS. The other Nintendo Wi-Fi titles managed to utilize the technologies of the DS to a solid degree, but Hunters manages to trump other titles, and then some. Between game sharing to give other friends a taste of the action, and multi-card play, Hunters is great. But a game like this is designed to shine in the realm of online, which it does. To really get the most of Hunters it's going to take some friends. And some rivals.

Without playing with friends, players will have a tough time utilizing all that the game has to offer, including Voice over IP technologies with the DS' built-in microphone. Also, online play with random strangers is restricted to deathmatch-only, so in a way, NST is implicitly encouraging players to either make friends to use VoIP and the other modes, or play against rivals. The way that the Rival system works is that players can single out an opponent after a match has ended and mark that person as a rival. They'll be able to go head-to-head with the multitude of game modes, but won't be able to chat.