11-03-2007, 02:35 PM
Nothing in Nintendo's arsenal quite compares to the Metroid franchise. For over twenty years it has brought glory to Nintendo's many consoles and now it has blessed the Wii with what could quite possibly be its greatest game, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Hang on fans, here's the Rooster's Full Review of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
6 months have passed since Samus supposedly defeated Dark Samus. She awakens from cryogenic sleep to find herself being summoned to the hold of the G.F.S. Olympus by Admiral Dane. There she meets up with her fellow Hunters: Rundas, a hunter capable of controlling ice, Ghor, a technical hunter capable of interfacing with computers and other technology, and Gandrayda, a mischievous shaping shifter. There they learn of the mysterious Leviathans which are impacting on several different planets. But before they could get underway with their missions, the Space Pirates launch a surprise attack on the Federation Fleet and launch a Leviathan at the planet Norrion. Samus and the other Hunters are sent down to the planet to activate the planetary defense system. But before they can they are attacked by Dark Samus and knocked out.
About a month later, Samus awakens to discover something amazing: her body is now self generating Phazon and she can use its power to increase her own by several times! She is then sent on a mission to destroy the other Leviathans on several other planets!
It's nice to see that Retro put quite a bit of effort into the story, which is told usually in either the form of in-game cutscenes or through scanned logbook entries. Though the story is quite told as well as say Super Paper Mario where it is all presented in cutscenes and such, the fact that you must read the log book entries is nice. Now it isn't just another useless addition in an effort to extend the game's length.
Just putting the disc into the Wii slot and opening the disc channel is a treat. THe opening title is also a mixture of cool and creepy as phazon 'corrupts' the screen. It's almost like watching a high budget movie that you can control!
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption boasts some of the most impressive visuals on the Wii. Retro really put in the extra effort on this game, particularly with the textures which are beautiful and don't blur up close like other games (Resident Evil 4 for example). Particle effects are also improved with a trail of smoke finally following Samus' missles and realistic air distorment as her Arm Cannon is fired. Once again like its predecessors, Metroid Prime 3 doesn't try to wow you with everything looking great but puts in subtle things that you only barely notice yet still help to improve the experience tremendously. Often times I found myself just stopping to stare at the world, mesmerized by the graphical texturing, the shiny surfaces and the varied chracter models.
Where this game really shines is not its graphics (which are still shiny) but by its gameplay. Metroid Prime 3 has the best (FPS included) controls on a Wii game yet. Retro really made the Wii controls stand out as a necessity rather than an addition.
Controlling Samus Aran on her latest outing is not difficult in the least. You move her around with the analog stick on the nunchuk, aim her weapons with the pointer on the Wiimote. Other buttons such as C and Z are used for morph ball transformation and locking on respectively. You can customize the controls to have either A or B be the fire or jump button. Surprisingly, the best scheme seems to be with the A button used for firing and the B button used for jumping. It just feels more like the way you should fire her weapons as technically you aren't firing a gun with a trigger. The 1 and 2 buttons are used to bring up different maps and the D pad is used for firing missles. Pressing the - button will bring up your visors and its a simple flick of the rest to move the cursor over the visor you wish to use.
Some other welcome additions to the game are the motion controls. Retro once again has gone out of the way to make these, not a gimmick, but an essiential part of the game. Flicking the Nunchuk to cast out your grapple lasso feels great and is accurate more than any other nunchuk control on the Wii yet. There are also points where you have to turn switchs and press buttons, both of which are smartly implemented with the Wiimote.
Remember at the end of Metroid Prime where you had to step into a puddle of phazon in order to go into Hyper Mode to defeat the final boss? No longer is that needed. A simple press of the + button and Samus will (at the cost of one of your precious energy tanks) inject herself with a full dose of phazon and temporarily enter Hyper Mode. In this mode, the colors fade and power courses throughout the screen. Your beam is transformed into a deadly bolt of phazon charged energy which can eradicate even the toughest foes in a matter of shots. Some of your other weapons will gain special abilities while in Hyper Mode as you progress through the same such as the Super Missle being replaced by the Hyper Missle and the ability to become a rolling ball of phazon charged electricity in Hyper Ball Mode. The only downside to Hyper Mode is that too often you will find it impossible to kill a boss or even a simple enemy without resorting to going into Hyper Mode. Early on in the game this is a hassle as you don't have the energy tanks to spare, leaving you vulnerable to enemy attack after your uber power has subsided. Another downside comes out about halfway through the first level after you get the ability to go into Hyper Mode. If you stay in Hyper Mode too long, your body begins to overload with phazon and the meter begins to fill up by itself. If it reaches the top, you are destroyed. It creates a balance though, meaning you can't blow through the whole game in Hyper Mode.
The ability to change the 'dead zone' in Corruption is why many are hailing it as the best FPS on Wii yet (even though Metroid Prime 3 is technically an FPA, not an FPS). There are three levels of customization which change both the bounding box and the lock on feature. On the first level, the screen is the bounding box and lock on automatically syncs your weapon with the enemy, making all shots hit their mark. On higher levels however, the bounding box gets smaller make you turn quickly. Also the lock-on is changed and you can now aim and fire your weapon while still keeping your sights directly on your main foe. Its a nice feature which will hopefully be implemented in future Wii shooters (with Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 coming out soon, this appears to be the case).
Who could forget to mention the music in this game? Amazing is the best way to describe it. Fans of the series will recognize many tracks from previous Metroid games have been remastered and added at exactly the right times. Some get your blood pumping as a brigade of enemies charges at you, others relax you as you leisurely explore a forgotten ruin. It all only adds more to the staggering giant that Metroid Prime 3 is destined to be.
The game's time length can vary. I completed the game in about 25-30 hours on my first run through. Both Vetern Mode and Hyper Mode, which increase enemy difficulty, can extend your play time dramatically.
To the disappointment of many fans (even though it really wasn't necessary), Retro decided early on not to include an sort of multiplayer feature in Metroid Prime 3. While this may be disappointing, they redeemed themselves by adding a few new online features. First and formost, you can take screenshots in game at any time and send them to the friends registered on your Wii Friend Code (that's right! No seperate Friend Code List!). There are also semi-achievments in this game which give you tokens that can be sent to your friends (or that they can send to you) and used to purchase Artwork Galleries, Mii Bobbleheads, Bumper Stickers and other extras. Sure they won't help you complete the game, but many are just plain fun to look at and are a decent addition to this game.
Overall, Metroid Prime 3 is a stunning addition to the Wii's growing library. The light online extras may disappoint some but once you jump into the game and fire Samus' Arm Cannon for the first time you won't regret it. Skip the 'rent-and-try' stage, buy this game. I guarantee (even if you don't like shooters) that you'll instantly fall in love with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Story: 9.8/10 Retro has created an amazing storyline to the finale of the Prime series. Anyone who is following this story will not be disappointed.
Visuals: 9.9/10 Blazing through at 60FPS (with one framerate drop that I saw for a split second), along with high res textures and character models make Corruption a treat for all you graphic lovers out there
Music: 10/10 Amazing quality. Doesn't distract but is a must for this game. Without the music this game wouldn't be nearly as good.
Gameplay: 10/10 The Best Wii Controls on the Wii at the moment. Smartly implemented gesture, waggle and shooting controls make Metroid Prime 3: Corruption unavoidable when it comes to must-have games on the Wii.
Final Score: 9.8/10(not an average)
6 months have passed since Samus supposedly defeated Dark Samus. She awakens from cryogenic sleep to find herself being summoned to the hold of the G.F.S. Olympus by Admiral Dane. There she meets up with her fellow Hunters: Rundas, a hunter capable of controlling ice, Ghor, a technical hunter capable of interfacing with computers and other technology, and Gandrayda, a mischievous shaping shifter. There they learn of the mysterious Leviathans which are impacting on several different planets. But before they could get underway with their missions, the Space Pirates launch a surprise attack on the Federation Fleet and launch a Leviathan at the planet Norrion. Samus and the other Hunters are sent down to the planet to activate the planetary defense system. But before they can they are attacked by Dark Samus and knocked out.
About a month later, Samus awakens to discover something amazing: her body is now self generating Phazon and she can use its power to increase her own by several times! She is then sent on a mission to destroy the other Leviathans on several other planets!
We may need more guns...
It's nice to see that Retro put quite a bit of effort into the story, which is told usually in either the form of in-game cutscenes or through scanned logbook entries. Though the story is quite told as well as say Super Paper Mario where it is all presented in cutscenes and such, the fact that you must read the log book entries is nice. Now it isn't just another useless addition in an effort to extend the game's length.
Just putting the disc into the Wii slot and opening the disc channel is a treat. THe opening title is also a mixture of cool and creepy as phazon 'corrupts' the screen. It's almost like watching a high budget movie that you can control!
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption boasts some of the most impressive visuals on the Wii. Retro really put in the extra effort on this game, particularly with the textures which are beautiful and don't blur up close like other games (Resident Evil 4 for example). Particle effects are also improved with a trail of smoke finally following Samus' missles and realistic air distorment as her Arm Cannon is fired. Once again like its predecessors, Metroid Prime 3 doesn't try to wow you with everything looking great but puts in subtle things that you only barely notice yet still help to improve the experience tremendously. Often times I found myself just stopping to stare at the world, mesmerized by the graphical texturing, the shiny surfaces and the varied chracter models.
Is my arm supposed to be glowing like this?
Where this game really shines is not its graphics (which are still shiny) but by its gameplay. Metroid Prime 3 has the best (FPS included) controls on a Wii game yet. Retro really made the Wii controls stand out as a necessity rather than an addition.
Controlling Samus Aran on her latest outing is not difficult in the least. You move her around with the analog stick on the nunchuk, aim her weapons with the pointer on the Wiimote. Other buttons such as C and Z are used for morph ball transformation and locking on respectively. You can customize the controls to have either A or B be the fire or jump button. Surprisingly, the best scheme seems to be with the A button used for firing and the B button used for jumping. It just feels more like the way you should fire her weapons as technically you aren't firing a gun with a trigger. The 1 and 2 buttons are used to bring up different maps and the D pad is used for firing missles. Pressing the - button will bring up your visors and its a simple flick of the rest to move the cursor over the visor you wish to use.
Some other welcome additions to the game are the motion controls. Retro once again has gone out of the way to make these, not a gimmick, but an essiential part of the game. Flicking the Nunchuk to cast out your grapple lasso feels great and is accurate more than any other nunchuk control on the Wii yet. There are also points where you have to turn switchs and press buttons, both of which are smartly implemented with the Wiimote.
It's all in the wrist.
Remember at the end of Metroid Prime where you had to step into a puddle of phazon in order to go into Hyper Mode to defeat the final boss? No longer is that needed. A simple press of the + button and Samus will (at the cost of one of your precious energy tanks) inject herself with a full dose of phazon and temporarily enter Hyper Mode. In this mode, the colors fade and power courses throughout the screen. Your beam is transformed into a deadly bolt of phazon charged energy which can eradicate even the toughest foes in a matter of shots. Some of your other weapons will gain special abilities while in Hyper Mode as you progress through the same such as the Super Missle being replaced by the Hyper Missle and the ability to become a rolling ball of phazon charged electricity in Hyper Ball Mode. The only downside to Hyper Mode is that too often you will find it impossible to kill a boss or even a simple enemy without resorting to going into Hyper Mode. Early on in the game this is a hassle as you don't have the energy tanks to spare, leaving you vulnerable to enemy attack after your uber power has subsided. Another downside comes out about halfway through the first level after you get the ability to go into Hyper Mode. If you stay in Hyper Mode too long, your body begins to overload with phazon and the meter begins to fill up by itself. If it reaches the top, you are destroyed. It creates a balance though, meaning you can't blow through the whole game in Hyper Mode.
The ability to change the 'dead zone' in Corruption is why many are hailing it as the best FPS on Wii yet (even though Metroid Prime 3 is technically an FPA, not an FPS). There are three levels of customization which change both the bounding box and the lock on feature. On the first level, the screen is the bounding box and lock on automatically syncs your weapon with the enemy, making all shots hit their mark. On higher levels however, the bounding box gets smaller make you turn quickly. Also the lock-on is changed and you can now aim and fire your weapon while still keeping your sights directly on your main foe. Its a nice feature which will hopefully be implemented in future Wii shooters (with Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 coming out soon, this appears to be the case).
Morph Ball + Highly Unstable Chemical = Pain
Who could forget to mention the music in this game? Amazing is the best way to describe it. Fans of the series will recognize many tracks from previous Metroid games have been remastered and added at exactly the right times. Some get your blood pumping as a brigade of enemies charges at you, others relax you as you leisurely explore a forgotten ruin. It all only adds more to the staggering giant that Metroid Prime 3 is destined to be.
The game's time length can vary. I completed the game in about 25-30 hours on my first run through. Both Vetern Mode and Hyper Mode, which increase enemy difficulty, can extend your play time dramatically.
To the disappointment of many fans (even though it really wasn't necessary), Retro decided early on not to include an sort of multiplayer feature in Metroid Prime 3. While this may be disappointing, they redeemed themselves by adding a few new online features. First and formost, you can take screenshots in game at any time and send them to the friends registered on your Wii Friend Code (that's right! No seperate Friend Code List!). There are also semi-achievments in this game which give you tokens that can be sent to your friends (or that they can send to you) and used to purchase Artwork Galleries, Mii Bobbleheads, Bumper Stickers and other extras. Sure they won't help you complete the game, but many are just plain fun to look at and are a decent addition to this game.
This isn't what i meant by 'i want us to be closer'...
Overall, Metroid Prime 3 is a stunning addition to the Wii's growing library. The light online extras may disappoint some but once you jump into the game and fire Samus' Arm Cannon for the first time you won't regret it. Skip the 'rent-and-try' stage, buy this game. I guarantee (even if you don't like shooters) that you'll instantly fall in love with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Story: 9.8/10 Retro has created an amazing storyline to the finale of the Prime series. Anyone who is following this story will not be disappointed.
Visuals: 9.9/10 Blazing through at 60FPS (with one framerate drop that I saw for a split second), along with high res textures and character models make Corruption a treat for all you graphic lovers out there
Music: 10/10 Amazing quality. Doesn't distract but is a must for this game. Without the music this game wouldn't be nearly as good.
Gameplay: 10/10 The Best Wii Controls on the Wii at the moment. Smartly implemented gesture, waggle and shooting controls make Metroid Prime 3: Corruption unavoidable when it comes to must-have games on the Wii.
Final Score: 9.8/10(not an average)
