If you want to check out the latest Metroid game on Nintendo 3DS, I'd advise you to do it soon.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force isn't really what you think of when you think Metroid. Nintendo's adventure game series has always been about exploring a vast, abandoned labyrinth of a planet or a space station, fighting off lingering creatures while upgrading your arsenal so you can explore more and more of the world. Save for one best-forgotten attempt at competitive multiplayer, the games have always been solo experiences. Federation Force is dressed in the trappings of Metroid, but it's really an odd spinoff: A cooperative multiplayer first-person shooter, split up into brief, discrete 10-to-15-minute missions.
If you want to play through it alone, you can do so. But it's a sub-optimal experience, for a few different reasons. The best way to play Federation Force is with partners, either in the same room or online. Since the active userbase of mid-tier online shooters like this usually drops off significantly after launch (and since I didn't even see that many people playing it this week), I'd advise you to play soon before the rush is over.
I played Federation Force on the "New" model of Nintendo's portable console, which means I had what I consider an advantage: I could use the system's second analog stick to aim my shots, rather than have to rely on motion controls for aiming. After a brief adjustment period in which I got used to the idea of actually playing a twin-stick game on the 3DS form factor, I found this worked surprisingly well. It wasn't as comfortable as holding a home console controller, but neither was it the hand-cramping experience I dreaded.
The controls weren't awkward, but the rest of the game design can feel that way. Rather than one large world, Federation Force is broken up into a couple dozen disconnected missions. Jump in, blast some aliens of varying sizes, jump out, get graded on a three-star scale because that's how all videogames work now. Along the way, you can find hidden "mods" that let you upgrade your warrior over time, adding to your inventory space, powering up your weapons, etc. So there's some value in repeating missions since you can keep finding upgrades.
