Five years ago, Retro Studios revolutionized the popular "Metroid" series by making a successful transition from side-scrolling adventure to first-person shooter. Critics hailed "Metroid Prime" as one of the best games of 2002, with its 2005 sequel faring less successfully.
Can this revamped "Metroid" style successfully make a transition to the Nintendo Wii? Other first-person shooters, such as "Red Steel" and "Call of Duty 3," have suggested that the console is not ideal for this sort of gaming experience. However, "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" not only confirms the vitality of the "Metroid" series on the new Nintendo system, but it also renewed hopes for using the Wii's unique controls in the context of a first-person shooter.
"Corruption" takes place six months after the events of the previous games, and the player again takes the role of bounty hunter Samus Aran. It turns out that a Metroid Prime, an energy-absorbing parasite who copied Samus' armor, becomes the main antagonist of the game - Dark Samus. Dark Samus is essentially going around the galaxy, corrupting whatever it sees fit. Samus will not stand for this, so she takes off in her spaceship to stop her evil doppelganger.
The crowning achievement of "Corruption" is the successful implementation of the Wii's unique controls. Players use the Wii remote to aim crosshairs and shoot while the Nunchuck handles movement. There is always a learning curve for a game like this, but with "Corruption," it is reminiscent to riding a bike: Players will always remember it, once they learn it. Switching visors is as simple as holding the minus button and flicking your wrist, and the buttons on the Nunchuck change into Samus' morph ball form to let players hold their view in place. Aside from allowing for a much more immersive game environment, the innovative controlling-style makes the first-person shooter much more user-friendly by not using a dozen buttons on a single controller, like other consoles.
Aside from the new controls, "Corruption" is essentially what any gamer would expect from a "Metroid Prime" game. Even so, Retro learned from their mistakes in the unsuccessful sequel, "Metroid Prime: Echoes," and removed elements that slowed game play, including frustrating item hunts and puzzles that were indecently complex. What is left in "Corruption" is a nearly endless array of things to do even after players have shot down all the enemies in a room. There is still a wide range of upgrades and items to discover, and the puzzles are engaging. "Corruption" will take anywhere between 15 to 20 hours to complete, which is an impressive feat, considering the short lengths of first-person shooter single-player story lines.
Gamers will enjoy a variety of things to do in what is easily the most graphically pleasing Wii title to date. Each planet has its own feel to it - from the filthy, polluted pirate world to Bryyo, a planet composed of fire, ice and ancient ruins.
The environments are beautifully designed and meticulously textured, and additional small touches, like debris flying through the air in the wake of explosions, make the game satisfying to look at it. Players can hear weapons go off with realistic discharges. Environmental noises, like rustling trees and bubbling lava, sound terrific.
A few small glitches prevent "Corruption" from receiving a completely perfect score. Load times have been almost completely diminished, but they're still present and can abruptly interrupt the immersive environment and make the player see a loading screen. While it's hardly the fault of the game, "Corruption" also feels very similar to its predecessors. That doesn't make "Corruption" bad, per se. But those who weren't interested in the previous games will probably find disappointment in this new addition to the series.
Still, "Corruption" is a fantastic game on nearly every level. Retro has crafted a game with unique controls, great level design and hours upon hours of things to do. This is easily one of the best titles on the Wii and debatably, one of the best single-player first-person shooters ever made.
