Samus.co.uk was an unofficial Metroid fan site that I created back in 2003 after the release of Metroid Prime for the Nintendo GameCube. Metroid Prime (MP), very quickly, became my joint favorite game of all time (alongside its younger brother – Super Metroid for the SNES). Once I had seen how well received MP had been in the US (as I read a lot of video game sites back then), I wanted to share what I had learned with other fans who were as passionate about the game as I was.
I purchased the Samus.co.uk domain name on the 23rd February 2003 (thanks WHOIS database!). I began coding the site and getting it ready for the UK launch (March 21st 2003). Thankfully, as I worked for a video game retailer at the time, I managed to play the game earlier as it arrived a week early at our store.
I immediately began to see what all the hype was about and it captivated me in a way that no other game had in many, many years. I enjoyed the game that much that I began trying to finish it as fast as possible (also known as “Speedrunning” to gamers). I joined the GameFAQs message board and began looking for speed tricks and for glitches in the game’s programming that could be exploited (to allow for faster times by moving more quickly, or by skipping items entirely).