Metroid Prime 3 : Corruption – Reviewed – Wii

By Philip Dunkley

I’m going to go out on a limb here to say that if you wanted to get an idea of how big and popular the Metroid Prime series is, kind of imagine it as the Halo for Ninty fans. It’s a series that dates back many a year, evolving from a 2D platformer to 3D shooter, with a relatively high level of brains needed to play the series. It’s pretty simple, if you enjoyed the previous iteration of Samus’ adventures, you’re going to love this game. If not, it’s probably not going to change your opinion in any way. I only got into the series on the GameCube, and I did enjoy the previous games.

What is notable about this game is the fact that everything has evolved in a good way, from graphics to gameplay all the way down to the pace of the game and the control systems. It looks fantastic for a Wii game, but still lacks any comparison to 360 and PS3 graphics. The control system is phenomenal, showing exactly how a FPS can behave on the Wii, and after the abysmal Red Steel’s controls, this is such a breath of fresh air.

The game is the conclusion of the Metroid Prime series, and starts a little faster than the previous two. Samus awakes from a cryogenic sleep, to land on one of the federations main ships. As the respected Bounty Hunter that she is, she is called in to help track down the Space Pirates that are currently hacking the federations network,  but very quickly all hell is breaking loose and Samus is fighting her way through vast worlds and some of the best and biggest level designs I have experienced. Eventually though, Samus needs to face the one and true enemy that has plagued her for so long, Dark Samus.

To go into more depth on the control system, this game truly shines as an FPS, and really kicks the crap out of any normal based controller action except keyboard and mouse. It also offers a variety of control schemes, from a basic system, which feels very sluggish, to and advanced system that accurately aims and moves really well. You will also use the Wii gestures to push buttons and open doors with levers, which will need to be pulled, twisted and pushed back in, and really gives the game a fantastic immersion factor. Also, upgrades on Samus are controlled via a single button on the controller, allowing all old effects to remain and new effects to be included. This makes up for the lack of buttons on the Wii controller.

The graphics in this game are also truly spectacular, for the Wii that is. The level design is really good, using some great effects on the console, better than I’ve seen in most games on the console. Like I said earlier, it does not match up to other Next Gen graphics, but it’s still bloody good. Notable is the artwork featured in this game. I would still love to see the Metroid World in full glorious HD though, as a game like this deserves to be presented in all its splendour. I still wonder sometimes why Nintendo did not opt for a better graphics processor, at least allowing for 720p, so the resolution could at least be scaled. The reason I say this, is because a lot of people have moved to HD TV’s, and unfortunately, the Wii does not look very good on an HDTV, even with the component cables. It just looks better on a Standard Def TV.

The pace of the game is noticeably faster than the previous games, and the game flows particularly well from area to area, except for a few time when opening a door can take a while as it loads the next level, but this only happens a few times.  I think the reason the game feels faster, I purely down to the control scheme.

In conclusion, sometimes I think I’m not the best person to write reviews for some Wii games, as I’m a relative noob when it comes to all things Nintendo, except for a short stint with the GameCube. But I seem to be getting drawn into a very new world, and games like this are seriously helping with that cause. It’s not the best game I’ve ever played by any stretch of the imagination, and maybe it would be if I had been a long time follower, but it’s still a great game nonetheless. It’s part FPS, part Adventure, and it mixes the elements rather well together. If you’re a fan of the series, you’re not going to be disappointed, and if you’ve never tried this before, give it a bash; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Scoring:
Graphics – 90%
Playability – 90%
Originality – 85%
Tilt Factor – 80%
Overall – 85%

We would like to thank The Core Group for providing the game, we really appreciate it.

Last Updated: April 9, 2008