Metroid Prime 2 is in book at the same level of Metroid Prime, and I think some people should just shut up and stop exaggerating when talking about this game.
First off, the game is way less linear than the first Metroid Prime. Instead of holding your hand with signals, they throw you in an overworld just as big and complex as Tallon IV, giving it a more non-linear feel and enhancing the exploration factor. This aspect was one of the most notable when I first turned on the game, and I bet most people will agree with me on this. I remember many people whining about this game's non-linearity in the forums back in the day.
I also think that criticism regarding "technical" enviroments is way out of league. Sure, this game offered that type of enviroments more often than the first game, but still it doesn't change the fact that natural landscapes were present and were designed just as well as those in MP. Besides, I don't remember anyone whining about Phazon Mines. All in all, people should learn to accept change and adapt to the new things these games offer, specially when it comes to varied enviroments.
Very few things come to mind when I think about negatives. Maybe the biggest one was the ammo system, it sucked and forced me to use the Power Beam for most of the game. The NPCs just weren't that polished, although they didn't take away anything from the "loneliness" factor since you still were alone for 99% of the game. The light/dark theme was cliched but I just didn't care.
Overall, what most people don't seem to realize is that their criticism towards this game applies to MP as well. They're both extremely similar games, and on the same level when it comes to quality. Yet some people grow so sentimentally attached to the first game that they ditch out the sequel just because it has the number 2 next to it.
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Originally Posted by Mirren
It loved the more original environments, I loved the more serious and grim tone to the game, I loved that there was some kind of story going on, and I especially loved the more plentiful boss and miniboss fights. MP2 is without doubt one of my favorite games ever.
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I agree with you there. One of the things I liked about MP2 was the fact that the enviroments were more original, and not just the cliched elemental-themes ones. No matter how well excecuted, you could still say "oh, this is the snow world. Look, it's the lava world" in Metroid Prime. It made everything more predictable and less unique. On the other hand, Metroid Prime 2 played around with different palettes and delivered an overworld to call it's own.
When it comes to bosses, I also preffered those from Echoes. The spider guardian, the 3 worms, Quadraxis... they were more fun and unique than Thardus for example. I still loved the bosses from both games, but Echoes definitely excelled Prime in this aspect