Along with Mario and Zelda, Metroid is one of Nintendo\'s classic franchises. Like in the previous games, you play Samus Aran, the female heroine who surprised the male-dominated world of gaming back in the \'80s when the first Metroid was released. Instead of your main villain being a Metroid in this game, there are a few twists. You are infected by an unknown parasitic organism called X which kills and can take the form of it\'s victims. With their natural predators being metroids, and there being seemingly none left...

What is the gameplay like?

This is a side scrolling platform jump and run and shoot style game. While that may seem typical, it really is not as there are many complexities and stylistic differences. You explore a large area (while looking for secrets) and often you may need to go in all four directions to complete your goals or find secrets. In general, this game has a lot in common with other Metroids, in particular Super Metroid for the SNES.Though the grappling hook in particular is missing, there are a few new things to keep things interesting. Because of Samus\'s \'change\', she is a bit more agile than before, but she lost some powers, many of which she gets back throughout the game. As a result of all of this, she can now hang on the edge of cliffs with her hands and pull herself up. She can also, while in ball form, jump. Also, if she is pulling herself up into a ball sized crevace, she will automatically roll into a ball and enter the crevace. A lot of little things like this make the game easier to deal with on tedious things. Otherwise, it is mostly pretty similar idea and style.

How are the graphics and sound?

The graphics are quite good for the GBA, and certainly make use of it well. I found that the graphics are slightly better than the SNES game, though that may be partly due to larger sprites in some cases. The interface is slightly different in that because of the GBA\'s thinner screen vertically, there is no dedicated area with the health/missles/map, instead there is a transparent overlay there with that information. The game area is about the same size otherwise. All in all, I am very pleased with the graphics on this game. The sound is excellent as well. The sound effects work well with the weapons, etc. and the music is very fitting with the environment. The dreaded tone when you hear the SA-X approaching is unmistakable. :)

How appropriate is this game for Christians?

This game does not have too much to complain about. There is violence, but killing evil aliens is not too much of a problem in our view. The only thing is what a friend of mine calls \'fan waving\' - as is a tradition with this series, if you beat it in a certain time you can see Samus in a bikini in the ending. Other than that tasteless bit, it\'s mostly harmless.

Overall/Conclusion

This is a quite fun game that continues on an excellent tradition from previous games in the series. I highly recommend this to anyone who liked any of the earlier Metroids, or anyone else looking for a really good platform game. It is one of my favorite GBA games so far.