The end of a trilogy will forever be a bittersweet affair. A story that started with endless possibilities siphons them out one by one, until your left with the single, finite possibility. Of course we’re ecstatic to follow our hero(ine) to their final resting place, but we can’t help but wonder if they had one more adventure in them. While Metroid Prime 3: Corruption may not be Samus’ last adventure ever, she will be leaving the prime series, and probably first-person viewpoint, behind forever.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (MP3) was an ambitious undertaking for the extremely talented Retro Studios. It was the follow up and finale to the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime series, it was one of the (if not the) first 1st party title built for the Wii from the ground up, and it eventually became the title that had to prove Nintendo’s one handed wonder: the wiimote, and his trusty sidekick: the nunchuk; which apparently came into fruition based on Retro’s request of Nintendo! With so much riding on a single title, it can truly be declared that Nintendo and Retro delivered on all accounts.

MP3 starts out with a typical tutorial-type first area, staying true to previous Metroid titles. However, it deviates straight away with your first NPC (Non-player controlled) encounter: he speaks! The voiceovers continue throughout the game, and I find them a pleasant and welcome surprise. The voice acting is above-par as far as videogames are concerned, though some of the bounty hunters’ voices can be overdone. Also, the music, while exciting at times, can be a bit drab. Regardless, the new features don’t stop there. The rest of the tutorial area finds you getting familiar with the new setup. The IR (infrared) aiming is, of course, extraordinary (more on that later). It eliminates some of the challenges found in previous Primes, but ups the ante by creating better ones. You’ll also be able to open doors via an intuitive motion of pulling out, twisting, and pushing back in (others are found in the game). Unfortunately, it can’t all be intuitive. Most would agree that the switching of visors, performed by holding down – (minus) and moving your cursor to the appropriate area, is clunky and could’ve benefited from a better setup. A minor qualm (its still perfectly manageable) with a major game is nothing to get hung up on though.

The scope of the game is staggering. With the ability to use Samus’ trusty ship to traverse areas, backtracking and collecting vastly improve. Gone are the days of frustrating dumb-foundedness as you realize you have to visit the other side of the planet, instead you simply hop into your ship (still used to save and fully restore health and ammunition) and take off. With several planets to explore, it helps the player feel that Samus really is a galactic bounty hunter, not a planet-by-planet one. Each planet is beautiful in its own right, atmospheric to a frightening degree, and populated with their own unique race of Samus-threatening creatures.

Enemies work, as in previous Primes, in a way that each weapon sees use. Some are susceptible to ice missiles, others fall to a concentrated beam blast, while others, seem unfettered unless Samus goes into Hyper Mode. Samus moves into hyper mode by discharging an entire health tank (done by using +). In hyper mode, Samus sees a significant boost in all attack abilities. However, if used too long, she becomes corrupted, which could kill her. Balancing hyper mode becomes a key component of completing MP3.

In fact, game design is similar to hyper mode in that it’s a balancing act, especially in sequels. You need to use enough of the previous versions so that its familiar, but introduce enough new content that it’s a fresh experience. You also need to play up the character enough that the player believes they’re capable of the extraordinary accomplishments they achieve, but make them human enough that they feel human, and are worth caring about. Retro struck this balance swimmingly in MP3, and I recommend this game to anyone and everyone who loves games.

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Visuals = 385
This is the best looking Wii game to date. A combination of art direction and pure inspiration make for an incredible visual experience.
Sound = 261
Excellent voice acting (with a few misfires) stands out, but a drab soundtrack doesn’t do much to make the player reminisce over the music.
Fun Factor = 377
A great, challenging game that will have you playing just to get to that next area.
Mechanics = 390
This game did what it set out to do: prove the controller. Amazing IR aiming coupled with intuitive motion controls immerse the player like never before.
Replay Value = 310
Beating the game on veteran mode unlocks hyper mode, which warrants another playthrough. Also, the token collection system will have you playing through again to get all the unlockables.
Total = 1723

Grade = A

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