Two years ago, Retro Studios shocked the world with Metroid Prime, a spectacular sci-fi adventure that introduced us to Samus Aran in 3D, so for the sequel, the pressure was on to prove to the game community that the first time wasn't a fluke. Thankfully, Nintendo and Co. have once again delivered an amazing interactive experience, as Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has raised the bar for all action adventure titles. It's a slick-looking and spooky sci-fi blast fest that's a must buy for all action adventure fans.

Metroid Prime 2 takes place on the planet Aether, a mysterious world that's seemingly swallowed a team of Galactic Federation marines who were following a ship of space pirates. Fearing the worst, the Federation asks bounty hunter Samus Aran for help, but what she discovers is far more than what she bargained for. All of the marines have been slaughtered by evil creatures, and she soon discoverers that Aether is a site of a colossal war between two factions, the peaceful dwellers of the light world, the Luminoth, and the dark beasts from the parallel dark dimension, the Ing. Apparently, a meteor that scorched Aether's surface birthed an evil version of the planet where the Ing reside, and after gaining an advantage on the Luminoth, the Ing are very close to overtaking the entire planet and casting it into darkness. The Luminoth seek Samus's help to turn the tide, and, as the famous bounty hunter, it's your job to rid the universe of these dastardly creatures and bring order to Aether, lest you die trying. You're on your own, there's no one to help you, and to make matters worse (as if they couldn't get any worse), there's an evil dark Samus running about.

In order to defeat the Ing, you must travel into the light and dark worlds, completing puzzles and gaining access to various weapons needed to progress. Early on, in typical Metroid fashion, Samus loses most of her powers (though she thankfully retains the morph ball), and by defeating various bosses, you'll eventually get them back as well as gain access to new toys, in particular, the dark and light beams. Both these weapons serve special functions and are absolutely necessary to beat back the hordes of new enemies that, as you may have already assumed, aren't happy you're invading their space. The light beam serves a dual purpose: to open white hatches and kill the Ing much easier than Samus' conventional power beam. Similarly, the dark beam opens purple hatches and is effective against some enemies. Now what's different about these weapons is in their ammo, which can run out if you're not careful. However, that's rarely a problem since it's easy to find as well as conserve.

In addition to those weapons, Samus will stumble upon an annihilator beam that can damage both light and dark enemies, seeker missiles (allows you to lock on up to as many as five targets), and different suits. She also has different visors at her disposal that need to be earned. The dark visor lets her see invisible enemies and produces awesome special effects, and the echo visor is equally impressive, allowing Samus to actually view sound waves. If anything, Echoes' tough challenges produce some of the coolest rewards ever seen in a videogame.

Even with all of the new stuff, Samus has access to all of her old equipment. She still has her missiles, morph ball, spider ball, bombs, grapple beam, and screw attack. In fact, despite the new additions to the gameplay, Echoes feels very much like the first Metroid Prime. Retro Studios didn't reinvent the wheel, which will either comfort you upon the discovery that the controls and the gameplay have remained in large part the same, or absolutely turn you off if you were looking for a fresh, new experience (though, since this a whole new story, it's very new and exciting). In fact, the only real difference with this game over its predecessor is Samus' experience with both worlds and the management of her weapons. In the dark world, there are safe zones that you should stand within while shooting enemies. If you step outside these, the dark world will have a corrosive effect on her Varia Suit and cause Samus damage. Other than that, the game feels very familiar.

Of course, the fact that Echoes feels a lot like its prequel isn't a bad thing, because it's not always necessary to mess with a winning formula. Retro Studios has crafted a marvelous adventure that's more difficult and therefore more rewarding than its predecessor, and the game's various bells and whistles are simply amazing. The graphics are once again exquisite. Both the light and dark worlds have been expertly brought to life, and everywhere you'll go, from the Agon Wastes, the Torvus Bog, and the Sanctuary Fortress look absolutely fantastic. Lush alien worlds are brimming with detail, rich textures, and phenomenal architecture. It's simply a beautiful game, made even prettier when running in progressive scan. Even Samus herself looks more incredible than ever, and the same goes for the game's enemies and other assorted characters. Once again, it's been proven that the Gamecube's no slouch in the graphics department.

As far as how the visuals stack up to the original Metroid Prime's, Echoes' graphics are improved, but the differences are subtle. In fact, you'd have to be running both games side by side to even notice the biggest of differences, and even they are sometimes hard to spot. Metroid Prime 2 features better textures and particle effects than its prequel, but until you go back to the first game, you may never notice.

Metroid Prime was graced with a fabulous soundtrack and Echoes' is no exception. Hauntingly beautiful and full of foreboding, it is an exquisite collection of aural delights that'll dazzle the senses. However, it still comes off as feeling a little too computer-composed and sterile.

What I love the most about Metroid Prime 2 is its seamless transitioning. The gameplay and the cut scenes are expertly merged to produce an even flow that never takes you out of the experience, nor does it lead you to believe that you're playing a videogame. The lack of levels also contributes to the production value, as Aether and its dark, alter ego are presented as one huge world. It's something that's rarely done successfully (even Halo 2 faltered in this area), and Metroid Prime 2's flawless handling of it makes it stand head and shoulders above the competition.

Echoes is going to take you well over 20 hours to finish, and that's mainly because the game's more difficult than its predecessor. The boss difficulty has been ramped up, making the giant behemoths you'll face even more dangerous, and the puzzles are better designed. Thankfully, Nintendo and Retro Studios have catered to my biggest vice, which has always been the morph ball. This time around, you'll use it a lot more, and just as it was in the last game, it's fast, easy to use, and tons of fun.

The first Metroid Prime was cool for a lot of reasons, one of which being Samus' ability to scan just about everything, and that's been carried over to Echoes. You can uncover info on just about everything, and things are a lot more interesting this time around, especially when you pick up the various marine logs. They provide you with first-hand accounts of what the soldiers were going through, but they're by no means the best stuff you'll dig up over the course of your adventure. The history behind the planet and the war between the light and dark creatures is very extensive, so if you love sifting through lots of information, there's plenty to soak in.

In addition to the single-player campaign, Echoes features a multiplayer mode for up to four-players via split screen. There are two options (deathmatch and Bounty Mode), and for the most part they're fun to play. Death match is your standard run-an-gun frag- fest where you can pick up various weapons and use the morph ball to your advantage (I use it to make daring escapes). There are also morph ball cannons scattered about the various levels that allow you to get out of harm's way or follow opponents on the run. There's also Bounty Mode, where you need to blast one another to pick up dropped coins.

The multiplayer modes are certainly a novel idea and the gameplay is solid, runs well for the most part, and there are a handful of maps to explore, but it's not enough to really stand on its own. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but let's be real here: Halo 2 has created a standard, a gorgeous, single screen, lag-free (98% of the time) bench mark that makes four-player split screen look passe. I'm not saying that it would've been better that Nintendo left out the multiplayer, but to give us a product that was cool a few years ago while the competition is making strides towards the future of gaming is a little strange. Chances are, you probably won't be inviting your buddies over your place to play some four-player Metroid Prime 2, and even if you do, it won't be for very long.

Metroid Prime 2 is a fantastic sequel to one of the greatest games ever made, and if you're a Metroid fan or just looking for a quality Gamecube adventure title, Echoes is the best of the bunch. However, if you despise 3D Metroid, this sequel won't convert you, especially since it doesn't really bring anything new to the table, which in a sense is its greatest flaw. Rather than walk the line, I would've liked to see Nintendo and Retro Studios at least attempt something radically different with the single-player campaign, but what's here is still golden. We've been blessed with a phenomenal Metroid title, and it just happens to be one of 2004's best games. Buy it.