'Metroid Prime: Federation Force' launches August 19th

It's been eight years since the last Metroid Prime game came out for the Wii, but a successor was finally announced for the New 3DS handheld system at the game conference E3. Today, Nintendo announced that Metroid Prime: Federation Force will be released on August 19th in the US and September 2nd in the UK, but players can get a hands-on demo at PAX East this weekend.

Instead of series protagonist Samus, the teaser trailer for Federation Force featured a foursome of bright, blocky-armored mech soldiers. Since the gameplay hinges on co-op multiplayer, faceless Federation grunts made better in-game sense than having four Samuses, Nintendo's Kensuke Tanabe said. The main story mode has players roam around shooting enemies and solving puzzles a la Four Swords Adventures, while Metroid Prime: Blast Ball acts as a fun, sportsy semi-tutorial.

While many fans clamored for a Metroid on current-gen consoles, Tanabe told Engadget last year that Nintendo considered a Wii U version but decided against devoting a team to its development. The New 3DS' omnidirectional C-stick was intriguing enough to build Federation Force for the mobile system. Developers changed the game's look to fit the smaller screen, shrinking players to bright, stocky chibi soldiers.