Nintendo's a fantastic company but it's also a bothersome tease. I first played the Metroid Prime Hunters demo when the DS launched in the US in November and I've been hungering for the final version ever since, but the constant delays and brief play sessions at E3 and various Nintendo events have only whetted my appetite, though it appears that the long wait for what is arguably the greatest portable FPS is finally coming to an end. Metroid Prime Hunters is due to be released on March 20, 2006 and the sooner it's in my hands, the happier I'll be.

Hunters is a multiplayer dominated FPS that can either be played ad hoc or online using Nintendo's WiFi network. Starring Samus Aran as well as different bounty hunter types, you'll select a character and enter one of several arenas and attempt to destroy up to three other people. The game runs at a consistent 30 frames per second and the action never lets up. Of course, the best part is the game can be played online as soon as you slap the cartridge into your DS and gravitate near a hot spot, which may or may not be your nearest McDonalds.

The reason why you're battling other people (aside from wanting to kill them) is because some extremely violent but now extinct alien race has left behind all sorts of cool relics and bounty hunters across the universe are after them, so Samus isn't alone. She'll actually be fighting against creatures known as Noxus, Spire, Sylux, Kanden, Trace, and Weavel, each of which has signature weapons and abilities, meaning that there will be some variety at the character selection screen.

Aside from Hunters' online aspect, the biggest topic of discussion around the office is the control schemes. Considering that the DS doesn't have a true analog stick, some of us were concerned about whether we'd be able to successfully maneuver about the playfield using the stylus and the d-pad. However, this set up works extraordinarily well and it feels very comfortable. Basically, you move forwards, backwards, and strafe left and right with the d-pad while firing with the L trigger and aiming by dragging the stylus across the touch screen. You can also jump by double tapping the touch screen and you can also activate Samus' morph ball by tapping an icon on the lower left portion of the screen. Finally, if you're left handed you can play the game using the Right trigger to fire and the face buttons (A, B, Y, and X) to move.

Thankfully, and if you despise this control scheme, there will be others to choose from. The demo has setups where you can use both the d-pad and the face buttons to play, and there's also one where you tap the touch screen to shoot, but both of these really suck when compared to the original controls. But, considering the demo was released over a year ago and I haven't had a chance to mess around with a recent build of the game since November 2005, Nintendo may have come up with some different ideas.

The actual multiplayer is extremely fast paced and enjoyable. The level that I played a few months ago resembled a piece of the Grand Canyon and there are plenty of caves to run into, jump pads, and hiding places. But there's also some wide open areas, so more often than not, myself and the three other players eventually met up in this "square" and just obliterated one another. It was lots of fun though and far more enjoyable than any FPS than I've played on both the DS (the horrid Goldeneye Rogue Agent) and the PSP (Coded Arms). Plus, the game also features microphone support. You'll be able to chat with your competitors before and after death matches, but not during play.

The multiplayer is great but I'm a little bit concerned about the game's single player component. Instead of crafting a stand alone adventure in the vein of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime: Echoes, Nintendo's elected to create a series of training missions designed to hone your skills and prepare you for online competition. The good thing is these levels play wonderfully and are quite addictive, as they challenge the player to maneuver Samus (as the morph ball) through a series of checkpoints or run through some alien world blasting metroids and other creatures, but they don't seem to combine to form one standalone adventure. I'm just wary of what may happen if Metroid Prime Hunters is a multiplayer dominated videogame. Being able to play against other people is fantastic, but I also want something to do when I'm feeling antisocial.

Despite my concerns, this game is still going to rock the DS and I can't wait to check it out when it's released on March 20. In the meantime, if you want to read a more in depth version of the story as well as look up biographies of each bounty hunter, be sure to visit the Metroid Prime Hunters Official Site.