Nintendo's biosuited bounty hunter Samus Aran has one heck of a history behind her. From the quaint old NES back in the 1980s, right up to the systems of today, this shiny space-farer has seen more adventure than you've seen sunlight. Long-time Metroid fans have grown used to being dragged back and forth along that Samus Aran timeline with each new instalment. Metroid: Zero Mission pulls the time-lever once again - taking us back to Planet Zebes and Samus' first meeting with the Metroids in a version of the original NES game that's been upgraded and improved beyond all recognition.

Samus is sent to Zebes to investigate recurring rumours of a new alien species - a species reported to have on its mind only one thing: death. And maybe a little destruction for flavour. When she arrives, rumour quickly becomes terrifying fact: the Metroids are floating bubbles that will sap your energy as soon as look at you - the spawn of a grossly distended brain dwelling somewhere beneath the surface of the planet. What follows is a supreme combination of exploration, platforming and out-and-out blasting, packed into a vast quest that greatly expands on that vintage NES debut.

Those new to the original Metroid will be gawping at every turn as Zebes and its many denizens and secrets appear before them; old hands will be taken by surprise by new challenges, power-ups borrowed from several Metroid games, and supercharged graphics and sound. As Samus treks over and under the planet, lasering up the natives and puzzling out ways to open up new areas, you'll inevitably be drawn inescapably into that compulsive Metroid item-grabbing tradition. As you take your first steps on Zebes, you'll spot ledges that lie tantalisingly out of reach, doors that can't be breached, and tunnels that are just too tiny for Samus' big old shoulders. But as you delve deeper into the Metroid homeland, you'll find items and upgrades that give our helmeted hero brand new powers. Suddenly, sky-high ledges can be climbed up to; solid barriers can be broken through; and - most famously of all - tiny passageways can be negotiated by rolling up into a skittering spinning sphere the size of a football. We don't know how she does it - but we love it.

As the planet opens up before you, stunning new scenery isn't the only thing you'll discover. Turns out that Samus isn't the only astronaut on the hunt for the Metroids: a band of evil-hearted Space Pirates has also landed on Planet Zebes, and crop up regularly to impede Ms Aran's progress. Their sinister plans involve kidnapping Metroids and converting them into weapons of mass pain - Samus must give her all to stop them. Alongside the Metroids, Zebes has plenty more in the line of defence. As you drop deeper into the planet's underworld, a whole army of aliens comes to meet you - some new to the series, some old friends. Armoured larvae; lava-dwelling serpents; bosses so big they threaten to burst out of the caverns they inhabit - all with your end on their minds. But of course, being videogame villains, they've gone and left the means to their destruction lying around their very own house - Samus will find arsenal of an evermore damaging variety as the game map grows.

Metroid: Zero Mission is as much about puzzling as it is blasting, however. Metroid veterans will be familiar with the using Samus' own bombs to blast her up to out-of-reach areas - just one of the satisfying solutions that will get you out of sticky moments, and give you the warm glow that comes with overcoming Zebes' many tricks and tests. And thanks to new power-ups like the Power Grip and Zip Line, even those of you who know the original Metroid inside out will be regularly scratching your brain. Surprises nasty and nice litter the game, many of them related to the chunky powersuit that Samus wears. It can be upgraded with new looks and new abilities as the adventure progresses - Samus is certainly fickle about future fashion - and this time many of the upgrades are borrowed from other Metroid games.

But don't expect to be tucked safe inside that protective shell for the whole game... More than anything, Metroid: Zero Mission is about atmosphere. Never has a Game Boy Advance title so effectively created the haunting ambience of a sinister other world, with every crater, corridor and cavern brought to life with beautiful visuals and a wonderfully eerie backing track. Metroid has always had the power to give you the feeling of paranoia and loneliness and that comes with exploring unfamiliar and hostile territory - this pocket title is no exception. Shedding new light on our heroine's first visit to Zebes, and revealing for the first time the full details of her first rendezvous with the Metroid species - including an all-new final twist that you have to see to believe - Metroid: Zero Mission must not be missed.