Metroid Prime Pinball for DS

Whether or not you're a pinball fanatic, or a Metroid nut, this game is a great deal for a suggested retail price of $20. Included is not only the game itself, but also a Rumble Pak. The Rumble Pak is used in the game for various reasons, and can also be used in other games, like Clubhouse Games and Metroid Prime Hunters.

In the game, the pinball is replaced by Samus (in Morph Ball form). When in Morph Ball, you'll be rolling through tunnels and passages, fighting bosses, and laying bombs aplenty. You can also use Power Bombs in certain stages.

First off, there is an options menu. You can adjust the backlight (on/off) and the rumble (on/off). There is also one other unlockable feature, but I will not spoil it.

Primarily, you're objective is to obtain 12 artifacts in order to travel to the Artifact Temple, where you must restore the Chozo's Temple. You receive artifacts in various ways.

As far as levels go, there are many stages familiar to Metroid Prime fans. You'll roll from Tallon Overworld, to Phendrana Drifts, and then some. Each normal stage has some general similarities, like a Morph Ball bonus port (rolling into it and laying a bomb triggers a random selection of a power-up), bumpers, a multi-ball device (Pirate Frigate has a cloning chamber, Tallon Overworld has Samus' gunship.), kickback devices (prevents you from falling down the sides of the flippers), and many more.

For boss stages, you'll fling your ball into the boss, use bombs and other weapons, all while avoiding enemies and the boss's attacks. Depending on each boss stage, you'll receive a special weapon that is ideal for combat against the boss.

In addition, the normal stages have event modes, where you are given a time limit to complete a certain task, in order to obtain an artifact. Some events, like Metroid Mania, pit you against a number of Metroids. You have to defeat them in the alotted time to pass and get an artifact. Also, in Beetle Blast, you'll revert into your normal form, using your rapid fire arm cannon. Your objective is to shoot incoming enemies until they are all defeated. If an enemy hurts you, you'll lose one of four health units. Once your energy is depleted, the event will end.

There are a few options on how you can play this game. For game modes, you can choose between Multi Mission, Single Mission, and Multiplayer.

In Multi Mission, you'll set out to obtain the 12 artifacts, as stated earlier. Basically, you need to beat a/both normal level, a boss level, and then beat the level(s) after that. You have 3 Morph Balls that you can use to beat the game. You can also receive extra "lives" by getting a set number of points (usually in the million range), or by bonuses.

In Single Mission, you pick one stage to play on, and play until you run out of Morph Balls. In place of artifacts are Specials, which grant you 50,000 points. There is an unlimited amount of Specials you can obtain.

Finally, in Wireless Mission, you and 7 other friends play on separate stages (a multiplayer exclusive, Magmoor Caverns), each attempting to reach 100,000 points. By hitting special obstacles, you can "send" Metroids to pester other opponents. If instead you decide you want to play by yourself, you can just press start at the Player Screen to initiate Practice Mode. This is basically the same thing as with other players, except by yourself.

The music in this game, in my opinion, is pretty well composed. There are songs from the Metroid Prime soundtrack, and some that are not. Either way, they are all great tracks.