Metroid Prime Pinball

Metroid Prime Pinball
Full Title	Metroid Prime Pinball
Developer	Fuse Games
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo DS
Release Date	US October 24, 2005 CA October 24, 2005 JP January 19, 2006
Genre	Action/Adventure
Gallery	GH Gallery

Metroid is given its first spinoff game in the form of Pinball. Not only that, but it's also the first pinball game on the Nintendo DS. This game was developed by none other than Fuse Games, known for their work on Mario Pinball Land. The game fuses the Metroid universe into pinball form, as has been done with many other Nintendo franchises. The game puts Samus Aran in her Morph Ball mode, but not for the entire game, and places her in familiar areas from Metroid Prime.

Gameplay

The game initially has Multi-Mission, Single-Mission, and Multi-Player modes. Single-Mission allows the player to play at a table and attempt to either beat the high score or beat the time record for completing the table. Multi-Mission is effectively the 'adventure mode' that has the player collect the twelve artifacts. By doing this, players can unlock four additional tables in addition to the default two. An added challenge to these four additional tables is the addition of a unique boss, all of which are familiar foes from Metroid Prime.

Earning Artifacts requires you to complete certain challenges. Most of these rely on performing this challenge in Morph Ball mode, whether it be multiball mode or hitting the jackpot. An added twist is the addition of modes that require taking out enemies, including Beetles, Parasites, Metroids, Space Pirates, and other enemies. Each of these challenges have three difficulty levels, so when playing the same challenge again, it will be harder to complete than last time.

Samus does not spend the entire game in Morph Ball mode. One challenge is Combat Mode. Combat Mode puts Samus in the middle of the stage where she fires a rapid power beam to defeat an onslaught of enemies. Wall Jump mode has the player pressing back and forth with the L and R buttons to make Samus reach the top. Along the way, Samus will even outfit some tools to her arsenal, including a missile launcher, power bomb, and one final weapon necessary for the final boss.

Multiplayer mode allows up to eight players to go into a pinball challenge. Thanks to the DS download play, only one player needs a game pack for all eight to play. Other DS features are slim, as the touch screen is not used at all. However, the dual screens become incredibly useful in emulating an actual pinball table in terms of length. The game itself is packaged with the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak, allowing the game to imitate the rumbling of an actual pinball table.