Metroid Prime 2: Echoes begins as Samus embarks on her latest bounty, to locate and assist a lost team of Space Federation troopers stationed on the planet Aether. Upon arrival, Samus is soon assaulted by her "sworn enemies," the Space Pirates. This fight brings attention to the enhanced smoke effects, as dark clouds of smoke billow behind fired missiles. Making her way further into the base, Samus discovers, much to everyone's surprise, that the Space Pirates have been experimenting with Metroids again, trapping them in containment fields that don't permit sleep. As such, the Metroids are quite agitated. Luckily, the containment fields were holding, though when they eventually break, it will not be pretty.
Scanning has been made slightly easier as well. While the scan visor is equipped, scannable objects are highlighted. This replaces the box indicators from the last title, and works well in adding to the immersion.
Moving along, Samus catches a brief glimpse of Dark Samus as she enters a dark portal. Another battle and a few puzzles later, Samus enters the portal only to emerge on Dark Aether, a shadow version of Aether.
At this point, I should mention the two new beams in Samus' arsenal, the Light and Dark Beams. Like missiles, the Light and Dark Beam are exhaustible, that is, they can run out of ammunition. As in Metroid Prime, additional ammo can be acquired from defeated enemies and destroying boxes.
The dark world slowly drains Samus of energy. To avoid this, she must 'energize' (fancy talk for shoot) Xenotech crystals with the Light Beam in order to create a safe bubble. After exploring Dark Aether for a bit, Samus stumbles across the Warrior Ing, shape shifting spider-esque creatures made of dark energy. The Warrior Ing are the soldiers of the Ing Horde, who have presumably formed an alliance with the Space Pirates.
Traveling deeper into the depths, Samus happens upon Dark Samus draining an energy crystal. The destructive battle that ensues takes its toll on the room, as pipes fall from the ceiling and pillars are destroyed. After taking too much damage, Dark Samus disintegrates in a massive explosion that scatters Phazon particles into the air. As Samus looks around, the game cuts to black. Sadly, the demonstration is over.
Nintendo also had the multiplayer component of Prime 2 on display, though I was unable to put sufficient time into it. Those who did were generally positive about the experience, and the multiplayer kiosks were quite congested, indicating the popularity of the new mode.
Honestly, after Metroid Fusion, the Dark Samus bit sounds a little familiar. Nevertheless, after the experience of the original Metroid Prime, I'm willing to give Retro Studios the benefit of a doubt. Furthermore, a scan of Dark Samus reveals she is made of Phazon, much like the suit Samus lost during the final fight with Metroid Prime. Hmmm.
A trailer shown during the Nintendo press conference confirmed that the Screw Attack and Wall Jump techniques, both notably absent from the last installment, will appear later in the game. As it stands, fans of the first have plenty to be excited about as Echoes' November release nears.
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