Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is playable at the Nintendo booth at E3. The demo version has a one player story mode and a multiplayer mode. We decided to get our hands on the multiplay, and it's a fun ride with a few Metroid twists.
The battle arena in the E3 version placed up to four players on a battleship similar to the one at the start of Metroid Prime. The game spawns players in different areas and there are various familiar weapons all over the ground, like missiles, lightning gun, and new weapons like the death shot and death ball. The deal shot sprays out a purple gas like substance and does some pretty good damage. Players can charge up most weapons for a bigger attack. The death ball, which is a lot of fun, rolls the player up into a rolling ball of death. One roll over a player and they see instant death.
There are several unique gameplay elements from Metroid Prime integrated into multiplayer mode. One is a ball slot where rolled up players will be sprung to a different area like a pinball. The action itself it similar to what you would expect if you had four Samus' shooting at each other. It's not anything revolutionary, but it's a decent experience.
The visuals are a little watered down in split screen mode. Each player's screen tops at 30 fps and the textures seem a bit less detailed than the standard one player mode. The special effects are good, with death beams and balls shooting out nice blasts.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes hits this fall on GameCube.
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