I can tell you I am very excitedabout the third installment in the Metroid Prime series. The combination of the new control scheme along with some amazing visuals and battles has really amped me up for the game's release. This game was one of the primary reasons I bought the Wii in the first place. I've played Metroid Prime and cannot express the satisfaction that that game's lengthy adventure, and truly immersively atmospheric graphics and sound have brought me. However, I'm starting to see that the series is taking a turn, whether it is for the better or not, I am not really sure at this point.

Ever since the preliminary screenshots and gameplay videos, it has more and more seemed to me as if the game is starting to resemble the Halo series. I am not one of those Nintendo fans that put the Metroid Prime series into comparison with Halo in an effort to assert that it is better. I am getting the sense that the game is starting to look and feel like a Halo title a little more this time around than the first installment. I know what you're thinking,it is ridiculous for me to make such a comparisonwhen there is still about a month until the title's release.However, even with the limited experience I have had with the game, it is really starting to resemble Halo in gameplay style (more of an emphasis on battle mechanics), and presentation. Nothing gave me more deja vu than seeing recent footage of the start up screen. The style of the title screen including the theme music is eerily similar to Halo 2. Compare it to the title screen in the first two games, especially in the first title and you might see my point. Furthermore, it seems that many like to believe that this game will have a similar impact on the First Person shooter genre that Halo did. Halo introduced a revolutionary control scheme that became the standard for all FPS games.

What this means? I can only give you a resounding "I HAVE NO IDEA". It might be percieved as unfaithful by existing metroid fans who's worst nightmare would be to see a "Metroid Halo" hybrid. On the other side, there might be those (including my cousin, Mikhailk5) who welcome the change. Maybe this is a way of Nintendo making Metroid play more like a traditional FPS in an effort to adopt even more fans as an extension of their efforts to expand the user base. Myself, I have mixed feelings on the matter. I would love another spectacular 3D metroid adventure in traditional form, but I don't know if I would be quick to reject it if it were modeled a little more after Halo. But I guess it will never really be close enough to Halo while it is solely a single player affair. After all, the online multiplayer is what made Halo what it is today.

PerhapsI'm just reading into it a little too much or might be mispercieving the game. All I can say is that is I am getting a very suspicious feeling and a different vibe from this installment than the previous installments.Right now I am hoping thatthis feeling is mistaken and right at the same time. Quite frankly, I guess I really wont know until I play the game and make a judgement then.