Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

corupion on September 30, 2007

Five years ago, the first-person adventure Metroid Prime re-invented Nintendo's famous science-fiction franchise about a space-traveling female bounty hunter. Now, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has re-invented the way the series is played, unarguably for the better. If you were on board Samus Aran's Hunter-Class Gunship for the critically acclaimed first outing and its sequel, you will be ready for the third and final act in the trilogy because, at least from a design standpoint, there haven't been too many major changes. The heroine still explores exotic alien terrain and fights fearsome alien creatures, and the re-traversal backbone that has powered Metroid projects since the NES classic that started it all remains completely and thankfully intact. So if you've never liked these titles, Corruption probably isn't going to make you a believer, even with its enhanced graphics and spectacular new controls. If, on the other hand, you'd rather play with Samus than, say, Master Chief, Retro's Wii-overhauled new addition to the Prime family is going to take you on a great, satisfying ride that you won't soon forget. Indeed, as far as we're concerned, the Texas-based studio has made Wii's best game.

Corruption is the evolution of the Prime series and a game that is very highly polished in nearly every respect. It's got better control. Better pacing. Better visuals. Better cinematics. And better bonuses. Yet, even with all of these improvements, it still feels and looks very familiar to its predecessors, which is both a statement of praise and criticism. You will recognize the blueprint and style of a winning formula and at the same time you aren't likely to experience the downpour of surprises that overwhelmed you upon playing the original Prime -- an endeavor that brought Samus into the third dimension without sacrificing the guts of the 2D efforts. There is also no getting around the fact that 2002's Prime featured cutting-edge graphics for its time and Corruption instead boasts cutting-edge graphics on Wii. What Retro has done with Nintendo's underpowered console is nothing short of amazing, of course, but if you dare to compare Prime 3's visuals to games beyond Wii, you'll notice a chasm in technology. The artistry? We'd pit it against anything on the high-definition-ready consoles with confidence.

If you've never played a Metroid Prime game before, we'll give you the footnotes now. You jump into the armored shoes of Samus Aran, a stoic-cool blonde heroine who lets her beams do the talking. As the most trusted bounty hunter in the business, she's regularly contracted by the galactic Federation to do battle with Space Pirates, an evil race of menacing aliens obsessed with life-draining blobs called Metroids and a toxic substance called Phazon. Metroid games always start Samus off devoid of any major abilities and challenge you to upgrade her as you explore atmospheric locales. You'll see places that you cannot enter or reach along the way an