Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Review - Wii

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has a fair amount riding on it.  Since the launch of the Wii, avid gamers have been stuck with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as the sole traditional-game offering amongst a sea of mini-games collections, bad ports and other slight fare. Also, it’s the first legitimate example of how a first-person shooter designed for the Wii will play (Red Steel and Call of Duty 3 don’t count in my book), given that the motion sensitivity should be a perfect fit for the genre.   Well the verdict is, you can play FPS’s, but the experience has yet to be improved or enhanced by the Wii.

About a Girl and her Virus

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption’s story involves a virus that is threatening the stability of the galaxy and eventually Samus herself.  To say more would be giving too much away.  While I have basic concept of what’s happening in the game narrative-wise, the Metroid games always have such an intricate universe that it always feels impenetrable to anyone other than the designers and hardened few who have stuck with every installment and committed them to memory. Not that it matters because the Metroid Prime games are always about traveling to some really odd places and shooting even odder inhabitants.  In that regard, Corruption does not disappoint.  In terms of design and variety, Corruption is the best of the bunch, with the later levels outshining the more familiar environs of the beginning.

The Way She Moves

But the big question is with the controls.  They work fine, but at the end of the day I felt I was playing a Metroid Prime game with more opportunity for error.  The lock-on in the game is still there but on many occasions holding that lock can be a challenge.  This was present in the previous Prime games but here, with the new controls, it can be very difficult to reorient yourself.  A bad hand movement at a given moment can cause you to go spiraling around; something more aggressive players may find themselves doing in the heat of battle.  The way to play it is to stay focused with your hands, completely possible, but sometimes a little challenging on the wrists.  While not detracting from the experience, the motion controls don’t add much more other than a greater potential for minor error with the motion sensitivity.  I honestly couldn’t say that I aimed at hit my targets more accurately because I was using the Wiimote. Although on some occasions, there was a greater satisfaction with my success.

Perhaps this sense that the motion sensitivity isn’t enhancing the gaming experience is that Corruption doesn’t feel like it’s altered much in this iteration.  The original formula is an effective one - the sense of immense isolation, the uncertainty when a major battle may occur. These are all effective, but I had a desire to see the game retooled somewhat for the new control scheme so that the entire game could feel like a new, fresh experience.  In this case, the controls feel like they were applied to a game that could just as easily been played with the old GameCube controller.  Having said that, the degree to which the Wiimote does cooperate with the game is an achievement that should not be ignored.

Almost there…

At the end of the day Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a fine installment (and most likely a conclusion) to the series but it is still relying on a formula that has been in place since 2002.  Purists will applaud the lack of change in the game. I, for one, was expecting a game that felt as fresh as the Wii’s new approach to how you play.  While the Wii is making developers rethink much about gaming, we will have to wait a little longer to see the true fruits of those efforts.

Review by: Adam Sessler
Video Produced by: Michael Benson