Neowin.net

Thanks to jago6498 in BPN for the heads up.

Gamespy has released its "Game of the Year" winner (and not surprisingly) it is Metroid Prime. Prime also was the winner of "Best Music" for a Gamecube game.

After a long development cycle and plenty of fan-based speculation, Nintendo and Retro Studios proved to the world that Samus Aran's first GameCube appearance was one awe-inspiring game. Forget all those message board threads and hyperbole because Metroid Prime is one of the best games released in recent memory.

Samus' new first-person exploration experiences on the GameCube are nothing short of legendary. A secret space pirate initiative is in motion to take over the galaxy by harnessing an extremely volatile and ancient power source known as "Phazon." The energy source -- discovered on the abandoned planet Tallon IV -- has the potential to create an army of enhanced pirate warriors that would be nigh on invincible.

News source: GameSpy

With no backup readily available, Samus will have to explore and conquer the remnants of an ancient alien civilization, the planet's angry wildlife, and of course, those sneaky pirate warriors.

Metroid Prime is an amazing achievement. Somehow, Nintendo and Retro managed to perfectly translate the signature 2D gameplay from the rest of the games in the series to 3D. This is no simple task. Everything about the game smacks of meticulous planning and design. The visuals are stunning, the graphics engine cranks out a super-smooth framerate -- with zero slowdown -- and the aural treats include excellent remixed Metroid tunes and awesome Dolby Pro Logic II effects.

Metroid Prime can be enjoyed in progressive scan mode for those of you lucky enough to have HDTVs, adding to the immersive feeling of the game as a whole.

There's so much to do and see in Metroid Prime that you'll be busy for a long period of time. Samus can scan data about pretty much every single creature, event, and item into her log book -- this feature then can free up secret hidden image galleries -- and there's also some really cool Game Boy Advance linkup features that are compatible with Metroid Fusion. Put simply, Metroid Prime is the best reason to own a GameCube this year.

BEST MUSIC

The finest musical score on the GameCube heard this year is, without a doubt, Kenji Yamamoto's Metroid Prime masterpiece. Fans of Nintendo's stellar Metroid series will feel instantly at home with this epic soundtrack as there are plenty of musical revisions based on Super Metroid to be enjoyed. The daunting Magmoor Caverns conjures images of a lava-hot industrial environment, while the subtly smooth ethereal tunes accompanying Phendrana Drifts will calm and sooth.

Classic Metroid music has also been reworked including Samus' legendary sonic intermission when she discovers a weapon power-up or acquires a new ability. Those of you lucky enough to own a Dolby Pro Logic II digital decoder will be in for even more of an aural treat. Metroid Prime really benefits from surround sound -- helpful when immersing yourself into the heady atmosphere of the game experience. The sound effects from weapons, creatures, and Samus are all perfect. It might be a while before another GameCube titles takes the musical crown away from Yamamoto and his epic Metroid Prime soundtrack. Perhaps next in line will be Koji Kondo's score for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.