Game Pick

     Well, it has been a really, really long time since I've done a product pick, but today's is one of my personal favorites, So I hope it makes up for all the times I've missed.  Today's product pick is the ambitious trilogy of video games that started on the GameCube and ended on the Wii, only to be re-incarnated as a single entity available completely redone for the Wii console, the Metroid Prime Trilogy.

     For those who are not familiar with the Metroid series, it is one of the oldest and longest running video game series on the market.  Starting with the original Metroid on the NES, this series has had plenty of additions to its story line.  Chronicling the adventures of Samus Aran, and interstellar bounty hunter raised by an alien race of bird-like beings called the Chozo, the series shows the struggles Aran faces in battling the marauding band of baddies, the Space Pirates.
     The Metroid Prime Trilogy is a story arc taking place almost immediately after the first game in the series, straying from Aran's usual plight of stopping energy-sucking Metriods from being released on the galaxy, to hunt down an even greater evil, Metroid Prime.  Metroid Prime differs from the usual metroids in that it seems to be sentient, and has a voracious appetite for a radioactive material called Phazon.
     Reeking havoc on a colonized world of the Chozo that has been abandoned by its inhabitants, the space pirates came across the substance Phazon as well, and decided that it held untold potential for their military applications, and began using it in all sorts of experiments.
     Playing as Samus, you must battle both the space pirates and the many incarnations of Metroid Prime that continue to resurface through-out the galaxy, and get to the bottom of the mystery of the substance called Phazon.
     With refreshing game play and mechanics for a console, and amazing graphics, plus engrossing story to boot, this series is a must play for die-hard Metroid fans and neophytes to the series as well.
     This series has consumed more of my time since I finally got it last December for Christmas than any other game I think I've ever purchased on the Wii.  A fresh re-imagining of how a First Person Shooter can work, and blending in elements of a non-linear adventure game, the Metroid Prime trilogy is a Nintendo hallmark.
    Probably my favorite part about this particular set is the ability to get the whole series in one purchase, making it tons cheaper, and the fact that the original two games were not just tossed in for replay value, but were actually re-engineered to work with the Wiimote instead of the old GameCube controllers.  This made playing back through the first two games an exciting new thrill rather than a melancholy trip down memory lane.  Being able to face off against old bosses with better reactions and new tactics really made playing them again a joy instead of a chore.