In a move that few, if anyone, saw coming, Nintendo announced a new spinoff of the Metroid Prime series on the 3DS in today’s Digital Event called Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Unlike more traditional entries in the Metroid series, the Prime series on GameCube and Wii focused on first-person exploration and combat, which Federation Force embraces. However, this game is atypical for even the Prime series, as it appears to feature no Samus or any of the traditional Metroid staples. Instead, the focus of this game appears to be on cooperative play as players can team up with three friends to engage in co-op missions in the Metroid Prime universe. Now, this might mean Ridley and Metroids may make an appearance, but they did not quite make the cut for the trailer. Nintendo likely would keep that under wraps until it releases.
Another surprise of this announcement was the revelation that Blast Ball, which was featured during the Nintendo World Championships on Sunday, is also a Metroid Prime spinoff game that is included with Federation Force. Metroid Prime: Blast Ball is essentially space soccer. Two teams of three go head-to-head to shoot a giant ball and score on the other team. From the competition at the NWC 2015, it looked like a lot of fun, but its reveal as a tie-in with Federation Force and additional spinoff of Metroid Prime was unexpected. The games are to release sometime next year. Check out the trailer below:
What do you guys think? Are you disappointed that this Metroid Prime game is more of a spinoff than a new title in the series, or are you looking forward to diving into the universe once more as a Federation soldier? Let us know in the comments below.
