Metroid Prime 3: Corruption:
Yup, I’m going to review the Metroid games! Well not all of them. I’ve played all the Metroid games before, but right now I’m just going to review three specific ones that stick out in my mind – whether for good reasons or… not so good reasons.
Keep in mind that this is the first Metroid game I ever played. While I always liked the Metroid franchise and the character of Samus Aran for some time, I never actually played a Metroid game for myself until Corruption (yes, I later bought the Prime Trilogy pack for the Wii. No, I won’t review the other 2 right now). So this review is from the perspective of me looking back at the noobie Metroid fan I was at the time, and the big Metroid fan that I am now.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
You play as Samus Aran, bounty hunter and long-time ally of the Federation. She is out to stop the Space Pirates and their plot to destroy the Federation. Samus and a group of Hunters are brought in to handle it. However, it is revealed that there is a Dark Samus out there, even more powerful than Samus herself. So Samus is upgraded with Phazon technology – a new technology used by the Federation to enhance soldiers. However, Phazon is slowly corrupting everything it touches – in including Samus. She has to defeat the Pirates, destroy Dark Samus, and save herself from being completely corrupted.
What I like about this story is the level of interaction with other characters. Does Samus talk? No, but that doesn’t seem to matter much. The story also seems deeper than most that have come before it. We see other Hunters, Federation allies, and enemies interact with Samus.
… but like most Metroid games, there’s not much story to comment on. So moving on.
Graphics are good. The environments are beautiful and the enemies are diverse. Of course, it’s on the Wii so graphics won’t be jaw dropping. But the graphics are not in any way bad and they serve well for this game.
This game, unlike any other game on the Wii, truly took advantage of the Wii’s controls. The only other game that sticks out in my mind like that is the Wii Sports package. It made Metroid into an awesome, immersive experience by incorporating the Wiimote and Nunchuk. Aim and fire with the Wii remote, cast grapple with Nunchuk, etc. Now unfortunately, it does have the occasional unresponsive moments that just seem to happen at the worst possible times. But it was still done well and made for a fun, intense experience. Also, unlike any Metroid game, you can control Samus’ ship. You can travel to other planets, tell the ship to land at specific areas, tell it to bomb an area, tell if to pick up something, etc. Now the travel thing is useful for saving progress. The other two you’ll only use for solving puzzles, but it does add another dimension to the gameplay that I liked. I love how easy it is to switch visor modes and I love how different each mode really is.
I don’t usually mention music, but I feel I must: this game has some truly epic music. The very second I got to the title screen, I felt OBLIGATED to listen to the entire song until it was finished. It sets the tone for the entire game and just makes me want to dive in and play the second I hear it. Look up “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption title theme” on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean. The other songs in this game are great, but the main title theme stands out as one of my single favorite pieces of video game musical masterpieces.
This was a great game. Perfect for the new Metroid player that I was at the time and good enough to make me want more. And I did indeed get more. Highly recommended – a must-have if you own a Wii. And by default, yes, I’m recommending the Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii. Just to drift briefly: the adaptation from Game Cube to Wii is very, very well done. The controls are just as good there as they are in Corruption. So yeah, buy all three as part of the Metroid Prime Trilogy pack if you can.
From me, this game gets a solid:
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