Samus Aran, space traveling bounty hunter first, woman second. We all came to know and love the Metroid franchise protagonist not only as a badass soldier with a cannon arm, but also as one of video game lands only positive role models for women across the galaxy – and now she’s finally made an appearance on the Wii. Retro Studios Inc., developer of such fine titles as Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, introduces the long awaited Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Originally slated to be a Wii Launch title, the long delayed FPS (First Person Shooter) was to be the flagship title (along with The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess) that showed off the Wii’s graphics, control and implementation capabilities.

This entry into the legend of Samus has our hero pretty much doing what she always does. Fighting space pirates and trying to ensure that the flood of Metroid monsters doesn’t invade the rest of the universe. In this title, however, the story begins with Samus being welcomed onto a military space ship, where super computer Aaroru has been corrupted as have you and the other hunters on board. Utilizing a new Phazon reactor aspect in your suit, you have been saved. However, there’s a catch (there’s always a catch). The technology used in your suit is strictly experimental and no one knows its capabilities. At certain points in the game it will ‘overload’ with Phazon forcing you to unleash your Hyper mode (big blasts of energy, distorted vision, kind of like a rage mode) and thanks to the new Phazon addition, the other hunters that have been affected are acting strangely. It is up to Samus to travel to multiple planets in her trusty ship hunting down the other affected hunters and finding the true cause of all these issues. Oh ya, don’t forget to watch out for that pesky Dark Samus as well.

Corruption, while not looking overly amazing is one of the best looking titles on the Wii to date. Excellent particle effects, deeper vision into the landscape and intricate design makes this look as great as some other console FPS’s, not the best mind you, but still pretty impressive. Although not much has actually changed visually from Prime and Prime 2: Echoes, it’s the little things you notice when playing that may very well take your breath away. Running constantly at 60 frames per second, Samus’ fast paced fierce blasting battles with lens flares, shadowing and AI movement have never seemed as realistic and the final verdict is that these may be the best graphics the Wii will see for a long time.

Music in the Prime series has always tried for that epic feel, close your eyes and ask someone to play you Halo type music, or Prime type music and more often then not, you would not be able to distinguish the two. This is not a bad thing, however, as both are very similar and should have the same ambient feel about them. The music is well orchestrated and implemented into the game. With it, the sound effects of shooting, running, jumping, and blasting sound awesome (or at a minimum as awesome as lasers and missiles can sound). The voice acting (which is pretty rare in a Nintendo game) sounds great and feels as though the actors were chosen quite well to suit the characters and story.

To those who have played the Prime titles before, you’re ahead of the game, but for those who are new to the tale of Aran, there is a great little tutorial system at the beginning of the game to enter the army base. It’s not too detailed, but enough to get new players’ feet wet. Once into the game, you become immersed in the story taking you from planet to planet. From fire to ice to sky, each planet offers a totally different vibe to fight through, and as with all Metroid titles, you’re sure to come back to each on a number of occasions. The levels are designed brilliantly, from the architecture to shortcuts built into the walls. Retro has definitely spent a lot of time designing their worlds so that the player is fighting in a land which demands to be explored and the player must spend time analyzing the ways paths meet and intersect. Another Prime example (pun intended) of what makes the Metroid Prime series great is the weapon system. With each title, Samus gains a number of new weapons, moves and visors to help her complete her missions. Even though, in this title, there are fewer upgrades to gain, they seem a little more important then just the fun ‘mega weapons’ in past titles. For example, there is a certain weapon called a Nova beam that can only shoot through walls and not necessarily hurt bad guys. It doesn’t seem like much of a ‘weapon’, but trust me, you’ll be glad you have it later on in the game. As well, with the Wii’s capabilities, there are a number of maneuvers Samus can perform using the Wiimote. The boss battles are challenging and engaging, by far some of the best boss fights with massively outweighing monsters and hunters I have ever encountered in a video game. When you lay waste to them, not only does it give you a new item or weapon, but also gives you a great feeling of accomplishment. The puzzles in game can sometimes seem a little too simple, but whether easy or impossible, the majority of puzzles are well thought out and seldom on the annoying side.

A new aspect in the game of Metroid is that of more interaction with your spaceship shaped like your helmet. In this title, you begin the game with a new visor to control your ship and as such, there are certain points in the game where you can anchor your ship for easy access when revisiting different parts of the planets. This new addition to the game is greatly welcomed as it cuts down on the dreaded backtracking feature Prime titles are plagued with. On top of this, you can find new attachments and weapons for your ship to blast different blocked paths or carry heavy objects to different points in the game. You can even enter the cockpit of your ship and control certain things within it to further the game (hint: if you enter in certain codes while in the ship, you can get secret messages from Nintendo!). A negative point to tack onto the Corruption title is the loading times. I understand that games need to load and with faster frame rates and bigger stage designs there is more to load, but at certain points in the game you can find yourself standing, staring at a simple door as you wait for it to open. When trying to get to an area of the game you have visited in the past, and just want to get there as fast as possible, you don’t want to fight every enemy in every room. There have been a number of times when I would rush past five or ten bad guys shooting at me, hoping that I could blast a door, jump through, and get to where I needed to be without worrying. Instead, I would rush through the room, blast the door and stand there while the bad people with guns would shoot me as I twiddled my fingers hoping for an open door. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it is very frustrating.

As Samus’ first foray into the Wii world, people were quietly awaiting word on how she would play with the Wiimote, motion sensor, and everything else the Wii had to offer. Retro Studios did not disappoint. What can I say? The controls are what make this game special compared to the past two Prime titles. The basic set up is that you control Samus’ movement with the nunchuk analog stick while pointing the Wiimote at the screen to aim, lock on to things and look anywhere instantly. This setup is a lot smoother then the average two-sticked FPS and feels as natural as a sci-fi video game can. The button layout and setup are interesting and definitely unique, and you won’t get hand cramps or feel awkward when changing visors or weapons. A big part of the Wiimote’s arsenal is the grappling hook. Flick the nunchuk forward to grapple on or swing, and pull back to rip shells off of bad guys and doors. Other additions to the motions include jumping in ball mode by flicking the Wiimote up and a number of motions required to interact with charge stations, flick switches or open doors. My personal favourite is the switch in which you must pull the Wiimote back, rotate your wrist, and push forward, all while Samus’ arm does exactly the same. For those uncomfortable with the Wiimote style of gameplay, there are different modes and options to allow each type of player to enjoy the game. However, there is no 100% customizable control layout for this title (as would be expected with such elaborate controls).

Reaching over twenty hours, this adventure is definitely a story driven game, but once the story is over, is there a reason to keep playing? Thanks to Retro Studios, the answer is yes, yes, yes. Corruption brings back the scan visor, which lets you scan and store information about nearly everything in the game to complete your percentage rating and get background story. They even go one step further. Depending on what is achieved (from stylish kills to defeating bosses) you are rewarded with different coloured medals. Using these medals, players can go into the game menu and purchase extras like sound clips, art, a sweet snapshot tool, bumper stickers for your ship, and my personal favourite, a bobble head of your Mii! It doesn’t end here either! Metroid Prime 3: Corruption goes one step further and implements the Wii’s online connection system to trade player numbers and exchange friend vouchers for special medals required to purchase some of the cooler extras. If the extended story, scans, and plenty of extras to buy still aren’t enough to keep you satisfied, the old tried and true missile and health expansions are still strewn across the galaxy for Samus Aran to seek out and gather to reach that 100% completion rating.

Graphics: 4.5 / 5.0
Gameplay 5.0 / 5.0
Sound 4.0 / 5.0
Replay value 4.5 / 5.0






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