"Metroid: Samus Returns" Review

Side-scrolling Samus is finally back, and looking not a day older than her prime.

Nintendo's 3DS gets its most impressive sequel in months in the form of long-demanded fan service.

Although it's based on the 1991 Game Boy title "Metroid II: Return of Samus," the original only provides the skeletal framework of this wholesale reimagining. The basic maps, item placements and bosses remain, everything else is new.

Wholly revamped graphics, enhanced gameplay options with new ways to traverse the labyrinthine corridors, new hidden areas, weapons and abilities abound. If you're a fan of old-school "Metroid" games, you will find much to love. The 2D entries offer a certain precision and demanding rigidity that the excellent-in-their-own-way 3D Prime spinoffs can't equal. "Samus Returns" excels in just about every imaginable way.

Here's hoping the subtitle signifies a symbolic return for the side-scrolling Samus to Nintendo's handheld arsenal. This revamped classic could serve as a launching pad for more of the iconic heroine's interplanetary exploration to come.

Publisher provided review code.