Review - Metroid Prime 3

One of gaming’s biggest mysteries is how Samus can be a tough-as-nails bounty hunter that saves the galaxy many times over, yet she constantly loses her suit upgrades. We may never know why Samus is so clumsy, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to save it again in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Wii).

The story takes place months after the events in Echoes and has you, as Samus, meeting up with the Galactic Federation. The Federation has assembled the best Hunters in the galaxy to activate the laser defense system on Norton. During the event they get attacked by Dark Samus and are knocked unconscious. When the Hunters awaken, they go on a search for Dark Samus with new Phazon upgrades.

Many Wii games tend to fall short in the controls area, but Corruption plays very well. With a similar set-up to the previous installments and entertaining use of the Wii’s motion sensing controls, Samus can rip shields away from enemies with a tug of the nunchuk while blasting away at foes with charges shots, missiles, or with the new hypermode (where Samus goes into berserk mode by draining one bar of health for a large massive boost) added to game. The controls are very responsive, but you can’t slouch around when you play this game and you must stay focused. Since turning is based on where your Wiimote is pointing, Samus can find herself in a pirouette if you get distracted.

The game looks absolutely stunning for a Wii game. The Prime look and feel is left intact, and the game makes great use of particle effects. However, many fans will be disappointed to find that Corruption is more linear than the previous games. The game is still rather large and contains plenty of little secrets to find, but it is by no means as labyrinthine as Prime and Echoes.
Corruption also has a problem that is rooted in the other games in the Metroid Prime series. While the Scan Visor is a nice touch that gives more background to the game, it eventually feels like a chore to keep up with every little scannable object, from enemies and computer screens to plants and health pick-ups. Early on you will feel like quitting, but you won’t because you want to unlock the bonuses in the Extras menu. The Scan Visor is time consuming and quits being fun really fast.

Corruption is easily one of the must-own games for any Metroid fan or and fan of FPS on the Wii. With frenetic action, highly interactive puzzles and some of the best graphic on the Wii, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is worthy of bringing Samus’ current adventures to an end.

Rating: 8/10
+ Good Graphics and impressive environments
+ Great use of Wii controls
+ Very challenging boss battles
- Too linear for a Metroid title
- Overuse of the Scan Visor