Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime  is an  action-adventure  video game developed by  Retro Studios  and published by  Nintendo  for the  GameCube . Metroid Prime  is the fifth main installment in the  Metroid  franchise and the first game in the series to use  3D computer graphics  and a  first-person perspective . Since exploration takes precedence over combat, Nintendo classifies the game as a "first-person adventure" rather than a  first-person shooter . It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe the following year. One day before its North American release, Nintendo released the  Game Boy Advance  game  Metroid Fusion , marking the return of the  Metroid  series after an eight-year hiatus following  Super Metroid  (1994). Metroid Prime  is the first game in the  Metroid Prime  saga, which takes place between the original  Metroid  and  Metroid II: Return of Samus . Like previous games in the series,  Metroid Prime  has a  science fiction  setting in which players control the bounty hunter and series protagonist,  Samus Aran . The story follows Samus as she battles the  Space Pirates  and their biological experiments on the planet Tallon IV. The game was a collaboration between Retro's staff in  Austin, Texas , and Japanese Nintendo employees, including producers  Shigeru Miyamoto  and  Kensuke Tanabe , the former of whom suggested the project after visiting Retro's headquarters in 2000. The game garnered universal praise and commercial success, selling over 2.8 million units worldwide. It won a number of Game of the Year awards, and is regarded by many critics and gamers to be one of the  greatest video games ever made , remaining one of the highest-rated games on  Metacritic . In 2009, an enhanced version was released for the  Wii  as a stand-alone game in Japan, and as part of the  Metroid Prime: Trilogy  compilation internationally.