Metroid Fusion

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Description

After an absence of almost eight years, Samus Arran is finally back in Metroid Fusion battling evil in a brand new 2-D arcade adventure that's one of the best GBA games so far.

Taking its cue from the SNES game Super Metroid, this all-new title starts with Samus infected by the evil X parasites and battling to rid a space station of their menace. Part platform game, part shoot-'em-up and part RPG, the Metroid games are some of the most revered in all gaming history.

With a gameplay not unlike that of the newer Castlevania games (although Metroid did it all first), Metroid Fusion forces you to explore the huge space station as you slowly regain your various bounty hunting powers. The game includes all the old Metroid power-ups, including the morph ball and screw attack and plenty of other new gadgets. There's also the chance to practise your wall bounce, which must rank as one of the most difficult yet satisfying moves to pull off ever in a video game. Another nice new twist is that all the enemies are infected by X parasites, so when you shoot them the parasites just fly off and infect another creature unless you catch them first.

As good as the game is, though, it's not as perfectly designed as its forebear--there's far too much dull story line and the game is (perhaps by necessity on a portable console) more linear than before. But even these slight foibles might be seen as positives by some, making this a game no-one will want to miss. --David Jenkins