| A Brief History Of Prime
If you are new to Metroid Prime and its sequel then here is a brief run down. You play as Samus Aran, armor-plated beautiful blond bounty hunter of the galaxy in this first-person “so much more than just a simple shoot-em-up” shoot-em-up. Your missions basically have you exploring vast, three-dimensional environments, taking care of business against an array of foe and big boss foe alike, while solving various puzzles along the way to open all manner of hidden goodies and advance further along on your quest. In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, our fair haired heroine awakens from a cryogenic sleep to land on the military ship, the S.S Olympus. There her quest begins as a mysterious virus threatens to corrupt everything. Beyond that, I won’t go into the storyline, so as to save on spoilers, but anyone familiar with the Metroid Prime series will know what to expect from the third installment in the trilogy. For those new to the series, strap yourselves in for a high-octane sci-fi adventure. In fact, to label this as a first person shoot-em-up may give people the wrong impression. Metroid Prime 3 is so much more than just a FPS (First Person Shooter) – it is more on par with the Zelda series, only in space. However, no matter which way you want to slice it, MP3 most definitely ranks as one of the best Wii games available. |
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In Space No One Can Hear You Gasp In Awe
And what a space it is! The designers have really outdone themselves with this latest installment. As Samus travels through the galaxy on her quest she passes through all manner of weird worlds and spacecrafts, each one lovingly detailed with some of the best art work seen on the Wii to date. Whether it be exploring the claustrophobic confines of an enemy ship – complete with strobe lights and steaming vents of gas – or zooming across a planet surface deep with lava or falling particles, the production value is top-notch, with each level surpassing the previous in terms of quality and art direction. As with all previous Metroid games there is a certain amount of re-traversing to be done in order to make your way through the game but we’re happy to report that not only is this done a lot less in Metroid Prime 3, but the visuals are so spectacular you’ll be happy to do some backtracking just to get another look at the amazing structures and detailed machinery.
It’s safe to say that the switch to the Wii’s unique controlling system is the icing on the cake for Corruption. While previous Metroid adventures sometimes felt a little too structured in the control department, Corruption positively radiates under these new tools. The aiming and turning duties are handled by the Wii remote, while moving and attacking are dealt with by the Nunchuck controller - and the responsiveness of these two working side-by-side is outstanding. Using your nunchuck to move through your various environments, while aiming with the Wii remote is possibly the most comfortable feeling you can experience in first person gaming. There are even 3 sensitivity settings, from Standard to Advanced, to help you get used to the controls – although this is totally unnecessary as the set up feels so natural you’ll have no need to use anything but the very precise and quick-response Advanced mode. Anything less will just bog you down in frustration as you struggle with the far less-fluid settings. Other functions handled with ease are the switching of visors, the very cool grappling lasso, and Hypermode. Never before has a Wii game made such good use of the motion-sensory equipment than here on Corruption. Throughout the game you will need to press buttons, turn locks, pull levers and more using the Wii remote – with the gestures involved working so smoothly you’ll almost believe you’re doing these tasks for real. Samus’ grappling lasso is handled with the nunchuck and is great fun to use as you take aim, lock-on and throw the lasso, then pull panels off walls, rip apart an enemy opponent and other useful acts of destruction with a simple throwing motion. Compared to the previous two Metroid Prime outings this is a much easier-to-maneuver affair, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s an easier game. With the variety of challenges and puzzles to complete, as well as increasingly tough bosses to defeat before moving on to further levels, Corruption will still have your palms sweating and your heart racing from the action.
Downsides? What Downsides?
As far as downsides, Corruption has very little. The only one of note is the occasionally slow load time when it comes to moving to a new section. This is undoubtedly due to the increased production value adding to the workload and therefore making the transitions a little slower – sometimes. Quite a minor pick but worth mentioning only because when you’re pumped up and itching for battle a 5-7 second delay in a door opening can seem like a lifetime. Some people have also said that the mere fact that the game is a sequel, and therefore familiar in its game play, works against it. I disagree. I think the familiarity is a plus – like revisiting a place you love. If you haven’t played a Metroid Prime game before then it won’t be familiar at all necessarily. If you have then you won’t have to waste any time getting to know the gaming system. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has about 20-ish hours of game play to complete the main storyline, and much longer if you go about doing every little thing to achieve a 100% completion rating. The scanning mode adds even more game play value, as objects you uncover on your travels can bear anything from puzzle clues and unlockables, to missiles and energy tanks – with each find adding to your overall percentage. You can also earn various medals for performing certain tasks successfully. These medals allow you to purchase various add-ons such as concept art, a screen capture tool to send pictures of the game to friends online and a little bobblehead doll for Samus’ cockpit, to name but a few.
I never used to be much of a fan of first person shooter-type games, but the first two Metroid Prime games caused me to start thinking differently. Metroid Prime 3, however, has me totally converted (at least to MP3), and I think for the most part it comes down to how comfortable and natural the controls feel throughout the game itself. If you’re at all like I was then I recommend you give Corruption a go, simply because of how much more this game has to offer than a regular FPS. To me, all the aspects of what make a great game are satisfyingly supplied in spades here. Fantastic graphics and art design, ease of movement and functionality, brain-boggling puzzles to solve, a gripping storyline and some big ole nasties to bring down along the way. I haven’t gone into all the features available here as I don’t want to give everything away – but suffice to say that if the above review has whet your appetite for more then you’re looking at the best fun you’ve had on a gaming console in ages. Mark my words, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption will go down in history as one the best Wii games of all time – and the best right now. Now go and buy it!