Alright! Yes! A console game review. Just what I wanted!
Yes, I know, that’s not what any of you were thinking. But please, for a moment, turn down your noses, so that your eyes may focus upon the review of one of the most enjoyable games (across systems) I have played to date.
Review, Nintendo Wii---Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption The Metroid series has been alive for many years, and has spanned many consoles over the decades. The “Prime” series, being the most recent, stretched across the tail end of the Nintendo Game Cube with the most recent installment (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption) being on the Nintendon Wii. In many cases, trilogies are said to pioneer the technology when they come out, but then lose their shine by the second and third installments. For the Metroid Prime series, this looked to be the case by the closing of the second installment Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Fortunately, due to the newly available technology on the Nintendo Wii, and a completely re-vamped take on user interaction, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a complete success.
Background Information:Phazon: Mysterious substance that was the cause of infecting the planets Tallon IV (first Metroid Prime) and Aether (Prime 2: Echoes). Subsequently, it spawned Dark Samus, an evil, powerful, and corrupt version of Samus, fueled by Phazon. The basic plot of this game continues from the first and second one. Samus Aran, lawful-good bounty hunter (player character) is still battling the Space Pirate threat, and combating the effects of the mysterious substance Phazon, from being spread across the galaxy. At the end of Metroid Prime 2, Samus appeared to have defeated Dark Samus, and restored peace to the planet Aether.
This brings us to the current state. 6 months after the events of Prime 2, Samus Aran accepts a call from the Federation (humans) base on the planet Norion, and proceeds to investigate.
Sounds like a typical Metroid game right? WRONG!
It is here that Metroid Prime 3 begins to deviate on one of many paths from its two previous brethren. In the two previous games, you started playing out as Samus with a considerable amount of gear searching some random level. This level served as an introduction to the game where you eventually fought a boss battle, and lost most of your gear when your ship crashed landed on X planet. In Prime 3, the first level is perfectly entwined in the plot, and also brings into play many important allies and enemies that become reoccurring characters. Additionally, you don’t lose any gear. On the contrary, you find cool new shit! Also, entirely new weapons were designed for this game, and that combined with the best from the previous games, makes for a perfect arsenal that fit both the character and the story.
Additionally, as was the case in both previous games, you don’t lose control of your ship at the opening cinematic. In the opposite fashion, your ship actually becomes a progressively more integral part of your arsenal as the game continues. It is this attention to detail and immersion that allows me to make, what I think is, the most complementing statement about Metroid Prime 3: Corruption:
While playing this game, I actually felt as if I was Samus Aran the bounty hunter doing her job across the galaxy, and not cross-hairs stranded on a planet.
Review, Nintendo Wii---Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Blast that Space Pirate you sexy, galaxy-saving Heroine! I could go on more about the plot in a who is who, what is what sort of fashion, but it unfolds nicely, and actually has dramatic elements that add to the game’s immersion, as well as interaction with many other characters to advance the plot (the other two games relied strictly on Samus’ scanning of her surroundings to unfold the plot, with minor interaction with one character).
What I feel is more important to this review is the functionality with the Nintendo Wii. This is where this review pertains, a little bit at least, to you die-hard PC gamers. Metroid Prime 3 reacts beautifully to the Wii’s remote, and puts itself as close to a “mouse-run” computer FPS that consoles can achieve so far. This success in creating a game that must function with position, direction, and elevation of the Wii remote, and does function in those ways, makes for a very enjoyable experience.
While playing previous Metroid Prime games, combat controls relied heavily upon your targeting/lock-on system to maintain focus on enemies. Due to controls developed for a console controller, you could not master the shooting mechanisms of Samus' suit like intended. In this version however,I noticed on many occasions that i was not using the target/lock-on system, because i had a higher hit ratio with the free and precise movement the wii remote gave me. Targeting was still useful, but because of th new functionality of the wii remote, I no longer felt limited by it.
The game also never fails in creating new ways to integrate the Wii remote’s (as well as the Nunchuck’s) functionality in the game you are playing, beyond the buttons on the surface. From unlocking doors, welding computer panels, shifting energy conduits, and using the grapple hook to pull shields off of armored troops; I never felt like I was just holding two controllers. Other games have tried this, but created a sort of, necessity to do things that became tiresome and boring. Metroid Prime 3 creates a feel where everything you do with the remotes, makes you feel like you are actually playing as a human being, and not just a cross-hair.
Review, Nintendo Wii---Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Pulling shields off opponents is an early acquired trait that only proves more useful in time. 
Review, Nintendo Wii---Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Samus, while entering her ship, can travel to new planets, communicate with other ships, as well as view her own stats.
Review, Nintendo Wii---Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Entering Hypermode is a unique suit modification that brings more power into Samus' arsenal, as well as endangers her. The responsiveness is what you would expect from an FPS on a console: not as precise as that on a PC. I’m not saying that the responsiveness sucks. I know that it can’t/won’t be as good as a mouse, but the designers did everything they could to simulate a mouse. Plus they even have three different control levels (basic, standard, and advanced) that act as mouse sensitivity levels for looking around, and targeting objects. Besides, where else are you going to be able to experience this game?
Alright, just so you know I’m not trying to hype up some stupid console game on a PC gamer website, there are a few things that puzzled/aggravated me.
One: as has been the case in all 3 of the series, doors are not functional some times. Yes, that’s right, I said
DOORS mother fucking designers! In the games, there are many different kinds of doors, all with blast shields requiring a “blast” from your arsenal to open. The generic door is opened with a generic blast from your blaster, while other doors are unlocked by rockets, or beams, or such, and then opened with your blaster. It seems there is a “zone” you must be in while firing a single shot to open the blast shield on doors, and thus letting you enter. In every game, I find myself standing in front of around 30% of doors I blast, as they refuse to open, usually with some vicious beast, or pestering metroid on my tail. (You know, having the series named after them and all, you would think they would be a horrible threat, but the average metroid is more or less a pain in the ass that I find myself running away from when I can.)
Two: The manipulation of the Wii remote has decreased functionality when used to open locks/pull levers. For example, you do this by turning the remote clockwise or counter-clockwise to correspond to a door lock, in which you must rotate the same way to open. When doing these things, turning the remote the "proper" way, did not always work. Sometimes you had to work the opposite way, or kind of twist it in no real fashion. I blame this on the newbie technology of the sensor bar. because of its small window of reception.. While this never once caused me to die, or sweat more due to incoming enemies (it was always some neutral place away from battle), nevertheless, it did occur (but was not a major annoyance).
Third, and final, was more of a curiosity, rather than something that made me upset. In a console that normally stages multi-tiered boss battles (of at least 3 or four variations to the final boss), this game was devoid of that. The final battle consisted of two “different” bosses (there is a link, but both are different things, opposed to some mutation of one thing) that shocked me upon defeating them, and seeing that there was no more. Again, I was not disappointed, but simply puzzled by this change of pace.
OH! Special fourth point that kind of made me a little flustered. Due to an event I will not describe due to possible spoilers, before the final battles, you lose all energy tanks (life forces, each carry 100 points), in favor of a (insert spoiler) system. While this fit perfectly for the plot, I was upset that my meticulous scavenging of the planets for every energy tank (I think I had 12 to be precise) counted for nothing in the final battle.
OK, there you have it, the review for the (sadly) last installment in the Metroid Prime series. DAMN! Just when they got everything perfect! That is a serious WTF moment, but I can only hope that the death of the Prime franchise is simply the death of the Phazon storyline, and more installments of Samus Aran, and her missions to save the galaxy, will continue on!
Final Score 9.5/10 ----
Go Get This Game! 
Review, Nintendo Wii---Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Or Dark Samus will get you!
