Samus Aran
Nevertheless, much of Samus' media reception came from her sex appeal. GameTrailers named Samus number one on a 2006 list of the top ten women of gaming, and number three among top ten "gamer babes" in 2007. GameDaily ranked Samus seventh on a list of the top "hottest game babes", describing her as "a refreshing change of pace, a tough, no-nonsense warrior that isn't afraid to remove her famous orange and yellow power suit and let her hair down, especially to reveal her skin-tight clothing." She was further listed on GameDaily's list of "hottest" blondes in video games, described as both one of Nintendo's most famous protagonists as well as a "curvaceous, drop-dead-gorgeous woman," and used to illustrate the "smart and sexy heroine" concept on their list of top video game archetypes. In 2008, Spike placed Samus on the top of their list of "video game vixen" as "a foxy broad that conceals her curves inside a weapon of death and destruction," while MSN India listed her as one of "the best-looking game characters with perfect figures." In 2009, UGO.com ranked Samus as 11th on a list of the top "girls of gaming" and as the "eighth-hottest sci-fi girl", also including her in the 2011 list of 50 video game "hotties".
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
While looking for the Marines near Aether, Samus's ship is damaged by severe lightning storms from the planet. Said storms have caused electromagnetic interference that prevented the Marines from communicating with the Federation. Samus finds the troops dead and surrounded by hive creatures called Splinters. The deceased Marines suddenly rise and attack her, apparently possessed, and she fights them off. Samus then encounters her evil doppelgänger, Dark Samus, for the first time, and after a small skirmish Dark Samus jumps through a portal. Samus decides to follow her through it and ends up on Dark Aether, a vile trans-dimensional duplicate of Aether, where she is attacked by a group of dark creatures called Ing, who capture Samus and after stealing the weapons from her suit throw her back through the portal.