Back during the glory days of the SNES, a series of games appeared from Nintendo. Titled Metroid, the games starred a female bounty hunter named Samus Aran in her quest to rid the galaxy of the evil Metroid race. Blending bits from adventure games, platformers and shooters, the games were an immediate hit, heralded by critics and punters alike. When the N64 came, Metroid fans desperately wanted a new Metroid game for the next generation; Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong had their 64-bit outings, surely Samus must too. But despite rumors that just wouldn't go away, a new Metroid game never materialised, Samus had to made do with only an appearance in Smash Brothers. Samus Aran seemed destined to stay 2D, when at GameCube unveiling at Spaceworld 2000, a certain video caught Metroid fans' eyes. There was Samus Aran, there were enemies running up the corridor, there was Samus taking them out with a huge blast from her cannon. Metroid was back, Nintendo fans rejoiced, everything was great. But all was not as rosy as it seemed...

Metroid Prime, as it was called, was being developed not by Nintendo themselves, but a 2nd party; Retro Studios. This decision disgruntled Nintendo fans enough, but many were horrified at the announcement that the game would take place in a 1st-person perspective, things were bad, and got a whole lot worse. One by one, each of Retro's other projects were cancelled, Nintendo weren't happy with them and wanted more resources focused on Metroid, directing more money at the development. But this seemed to have no effect, high personnel left, many of the people working on the game were laid off, little materialised of the game, and what did didn't impress.

The development of Metroid Prime seemed in disarray, Retro Studios came under heavy fire from the gaming community, Nintendo looked to be the only one with faith in them. But since the end of last year, everything has changed. Shots released had Metroid fans foaming at the mouth, early playtests were wholly positive and then, came E3. When the games journalists got to actually play the game, we all forgot the troubles at Retro Studios, we all forgot the negative vibes, and instead we all became incredibly familiar with four simple words. Game. Of. The. Show. And with it looking this good, Game Of The Year doesn't seem so unrealistic either.

Before I start on Prime, it would probably be best to explain the plot leading up to it as the story plays a big part in the Metroid games. In the original Metroid, a scientific research laboratory is studying a strange floating lifeform recovered from a ruined planet, SR-388. The lifeform has the ability to suck life, and is responsible for the destruction on its former planet. A group of space pirates, lead by Mother Brain attack the lab, and steal the lifeform. Dubbed "Metroid", the lifeforms power is realised by the space pirates who then plan to use it as a weapon against the Galactic Federation; the law of the universe. After many battles, both sides eventually end up on Planet Zebes, the pirates' homeland. But try as they may, the Galactic Federation cannot defeat the pirates, so the call in a bounty hunter named Samus Aran to finish the job. Protected by her power-giving metallic suit, she goes to the planet and after a long adventure, kicks the pirate's ass. The Metroid threat is ridden; except for the one small Metroid Samus takes home with her.

The Game Boys Metroid game the follows, with Samus traveling to SR-388 again, and discovering to her horror that the Metroids have mutated and are more powerful and dangerous than ever. Taking no prisoners, she wipes the race out, killing the notorious Queen Metroid at the end. But an egg hatches, and the little baby Metroid that emerges from it is taken by Samus, who plays a significant role in the next Metroid. Super Metroid sees the Metroid being studied by scientists, as they've discovered it can be used for good because of its abilities. But unsurprisingly, things don't go too good. Ridley, an old pirate rival of Samus' is somehow still alive, and steals the baby Metroid. After chasing it to Planet Zebes, Samus sees that Mother Brain has survived and built the planet back up again. A quest to recover the Metroid ensures, while killing a hefty number of pirates along the way. The game ends with the destruction of Planet Zebes, and Samus' seems to have finally beaten the pirates and wiped the galaxy of the Metroids.

But Samus' vacation is short-lived, a few years after SM, the pirates they just never go away, do they?) still exist and are up to their old tricks. Solid details and pretty thin at the moment, but we do know how Prime begins. The bounty hunter is called this time to Tallon IV, a strange and mysterious planet. She discovers a seemingly abandoned space station floating in the planets orbit, and promptly investigates. And so Metroid Prime begins, with a gorgeous cut scene displayed Samus landing on the ship, having the camera spin around her, showing off every lovely detail of her suit, before dropping down into the ship to begin her adventure.

Something has to be pointed out about Metroid Prime. It is NOT a first-person shooter but rather a first-person adventure. Yes, it may have a 1st-person view, guns and enemies, but that is where the similarities end. It is more like Zelda than Turok. Now, at first I dismissed the whole "FPA" suggestion, thinking of it as a mere novelty to keep grumbling Metroid hardcores happy with the 1st-person view. But Retro Studios have worked hard to make sure that is no mere novelty, but the best thing to happen to 1st-person "shooters" since Goldeneye, Half-Life and yes, even Halo. No matter how hard Retro develop the adventure part of the game, and stress that it isn't a shooter, it is inevitably going to be compared to these games. Oh, and the fact that it's released around the same time as Die Hard Vendetta, Timesplitters 2 and Medal of Honor doesn't exactly help either.

Like 1st-person "shooters" Deus Ex and Half-Life, Metroid does things a little different to your average shoot-em-up. While Deus Ex introduced a fabulous RPG-like system and Half-Life was the first game to create a truly engrossing and clever game experience, Metroid has a heavy tone of exploration, adventuring and atmosphere. This makes it much like previous Metroid games, it seems as if Retro have taken the original Metroid game, put in 3D and given it a 1st-person view. Only far, far better.

Metroid Prime has been specifically designed for GameCube, so the controls are much different to your run-of-the-mill shooter, and the fact that it's more like a 1st-person adventure adds to this. The controls are modeled somewhat on the first game to do 1st-person shooting on a console right; Goldeneye. They are very easy to get into, but delicacies soon arise that add more depth to the controls. The control stick moves Samus forward and back, while holding L allows you to strafe, or, depending on the visor, lock on to and circle a target, not unlike Zelda. Holding R steadies your weapon arm, allowing you to aim, but this makes running and aiming simultaneously impossible, something sure to anger FPS purists. But then, Metroid isn't exactly a FPS.

The A button is used to shoot, no surprise there. But the main blaster doesn't use up any ammo, allowing you to fight without having to worry about wasting too much. You can charge up your blaster by holding down A, or just fire quicker, weaker shots by pressing it rapidly. Also, when you are in a ball, A drops bombs, of which there is no ammo. The B button jumps. Now, no need to get worked up with memories of those awful precision-jumping sections in Turok, I can guarantee we won't be seeing any of those in Metroid. But why have it included then? Well, like previous games in the series, you can use bombs in conjunction with jumping to lead very high, kind of like the rocket-jumps in Quake. The Y button is used to fire missiles, which can also be charged up for bigger (and cooler) explosions. These can be used to blow your way through debris blocking your path as well as seriously kicking enemy ass. The X button morphs you into a ball and the D-Pad switches visors (both explained later). The C Stick is used to switch weapons, and in a lovely effect in keeping with the franchise it isn't like a normal FPS where the gun in your hands changes, the arm of Samus' suit actually morphs into the form of the weapon. Very cool indeed. The controls have been perfected into tightness like little other shooters, and ensure you'll be in full control of Samus.

You may be wondering about the visors, so let me clear it up for you. Since the game is viewed in the 1st-person and Samus wears a suit, you see through her visor. There will be five visors available in the game, it seems you'll probably start with one or two and get the rest later on in the game. So far, Nintendo have shown us the Scanning Visor, Combat Visor (your default one), an X-Ray visor and an extremely cool Predator-like Thermal visor. The Scanning Visor scans creatures, telling you information about them which could prove helpful, and locked doors, giving you hints how to unlock them. The Combat Visor is the more common, displaying essential information like health, guns, ammo, a radar and a 3D map. But it doesn't end there, as well as being helpful they look damn pretty and show off a range of sweet visual effects. The visor can crack, get splattered with blood when things get a bit more hostile, condensation can gather in cold areas and sweat can trickle down the inside. The whole thing makes the game that bit more realistic and engrossing. It's like you really are Samus.

But top-quality graphics isn't limited to just the visor, hell no. Vast outdoor areas are present with gorgeous vegetation and textures. You'll travel through massive space stations, icy peaks, claustrophobic corridors, each lavished in jaw-dropping detail. Samus just looks beautiful, her suit displays minute detail, superb lighting on it that changes and distorts, all packed with great animations as she rolls, runs, jumps and shoots. Sparks shoot out as she rolls (more on that later), rain actually looks like rain, with each drop seemingly created and animated on its own, flames flicker as if they were real. The developers' imagination has been stretched to the limit, one bit sees the floor in a space station opening, allowing you see all the rooms, corridors and enemies below, each gloriously detailed. I dare someone to try and spot bad graphics anywhere in the game, I dare them. Top animation? Check. Glorious detail? Check. Superb lighting? Check, you have not witnessed lighting until you've seen Samus fire a huge blast down a long corridor, and seeing it light up every single little nook and cranny, casting real-time shadows along the way. Oh, and the whole thing runs at a constant 60fps, not one single drop in frame rate - at all. It would be no understatement to say Metroid Prime is the best-looking game on GameCube, It is certainly one of the best I've seen on any format.

But great graphics are no good if they serve no purpose, and Primes are to thoroughly draw you into the game, and create an atmosphere that makes you believe you are in Metroids universe, not our own. The audio side is as good too; the creepy and moody soundtrack perfectly sets the tone for the game, immersing you in the whole experience. And those of you with soupled-up gaming setups will be happy to hear that the game supports Progressive Scan and Dolby Pro Logic II. And be grateful, I'll be playing my Metroid Prime mostly on my portable.

Although most of the game takes place in 1st-person, there are some 3rd-person parts. These are the parts that are exciting the diehard Metroid fans the most. With a quick press of the X button, Samus morphs into a ball, with the camera floating up behind her. In ball form, she can whiz at breakneck speeds through tunnels, along pipes, even straight up vertically. She's well protected and faster in ball form so if things get a little too hectic, you can quickly escape the heat. Some puzzles require the use of the ball too, if you're trapped with not apparent way out then being a ball could find you an escape route through some debris or a small tunnel. Not only is it very cool, but very fun as well.

The weapons Samus has at her disposal are mighty impressive, and sure to strike a chord with the diehard fans. So far we've seen her normal blaster, Grappling Beam and Icebeam. Like in Zelda, the Grappling Beam option will be activated when you are in a situation where it can be used. You can used it to reach out-of-reach platforms or swing through the air like a certain web-slinger. The Icebeam displays some sublime graphical effects. When charging, an "ice-ball" forms on the weapon, with lighting around the weapon. When something is hit by it, the temperature around it plummets, freezing whatever enemy happens to be there and covering the area in ice and frost.

As you can probably tell, I am very exited about Metroid Prime. And you should be too. Retro Studios are doing no less than reinventing the way we think about shooting games, adventure games, games in general really. Everything about it is being polished to perfection, it is the game that is going to rocket GameCube sales, the game that is going to establish GameCube with the mainstream public.

But when exactly will the mighty Metroid arrive? A December release has been set in America and initially Europe too but there has been signs it could be delayed to early next year. But whenever it arrives, you can be sure it'll be one of the most awe-inspiring, breath-taking, jaw-dropping games made. Ever.

Make no mistake - Samus is back. And she's going to kick some serious ass.