Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has a lot to live up to. The original Metroid Prime, released in late 2002, surprised a lot of people with its high production values. Particularly impressive was the fact that this feat was accomplished by an absolute unknown: an American development house named Retro Studios. While Echoes doesn’t attempt to redefine Metroid as Prime did, as of now it appears to offer a superior and refined version of Metroid Prime. I think any fan of Prime would agree that’s something to look forward to.

Metroid Prime 2 begins with Samus investigating a missing troop of Federation soldiers. Samus tracks them to a (new-to-the-series) planet in the Dasha system known as "Aether". From what we’ve seen so far, Aether’s a beautiful planet with fluctuating light patterns that very clearly demonstrate the light and dark world Samus is bound to encounter. Upon entry, Samus’ ship is struck by lightning, causing her to crash-land short of her destination. While the planet may look beautiful (both in the artistic and technical sense) - the introductory sequence is pretty disenchanting as a whole. It’s not that this preview's introduction was disappointing, but it seemed unrefined somehow. When you’re dealing with an engine as great as Prime's, it’s a bit strange to see something like this come out of it.

That’s not to say Echoes is somehow a downgrade in the graphics department from Prime - far from it. While the cinematic introduction wasn't particularly impressive, everything looks better once the game gets playable. Samus’ ship, Samus’ model, landscapes, atmosphere - everything’s looking ace. Realistic/dynamic lightning, improved character models, higher atmospheric effects (exhaust, gas, etc) all make for quite the graphical package.

As hard as it may be to tear away from speaking about how beautiful this game is, the game play has to be covered at some point. Samus still has the standard Power Beam, but this time two new weapons are introduced: the Light Beam and the Dark Beam. As one can imagine from this basic information, the Light Beam is more effective on Dark World creatures and vice versa. That isn’t the only use for these weapons, however. Echoes is set to contain puzzles revolving specifically around the Light and Dark Beams, for example: Light Beams may create life (such as plants), whereas the Dark Beam will shrivel and destroy it. In addition to this, these beams are both used as missiles and other weapons have in the past - to act as keys for certain doors and areas. Gamers can’t overuse either the Dark and Light Beams, however; both of them have limited ammo.

Players are likely very familiar with Light/Dark world settings from other titles (including Link to the Past and Castlevania series). While Samus can peacefully exist in the Light World, the Dark World is a hostile, poisonous place. Simply standing or moving in the Dark World eats away at Samus's suit - unless she finds protection in one of the abundant "safe zones" that appear to be based around crystals of some sort. Samus will likely attain a Dark World friendly suit infused with these crystals as the game progresses, but it's clear that hopping from bubble to bubble is going to be a challenge at least early on.

While Retro has mentioned that the Morph Ball puzzles will play a much larger role in Echoes, the demo which was used as the basis for this preview didn’t feature anything particularly new or innovative in the way of Morph Ball puzzles. Hopefully Retro’s going to pull through and make good on their word.

Those few who missed out on Metroid Prime the first time around will be displeased to learn that there still won't be any dual-analog control for aiming and moving at the same time. The unique control scheme of the original was controversial, but, in many ways, it was part of what made Prime the game it was. Many fans adapted to the original control scheme, so Retro Studios decided not to fix what they didn't see as broken.

Echoes doesn’t attempt to redefine Metroid - it simply refines the already fantastic and proven formula set forth by its predecessor. Fantastic graphics, intelligent design, classic game play refined: this is Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. With a confirmed release date of November 15, additional multiplayer options (not evident in this preview), players can anticipate a second dosage of Metroid goodness on their Gamecube a mere two years after the release of the original instant-classic.