11-13-2007, 04:45 PM
A "LMX" Review
So here we are at the end of an outstanding trilogy in an outstanding franchise (no… not Zelda). Hop in the Varia Suit and kick some more Space Pirate butt as Samus Aran steps up to the final stage in eliminating Phazon, destroying Metroid Prime (a.k.a Dark Samus) and bringing peace to the galaxy along the way. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, so please ensure that you are strapped in safely.
The game starts you off six months after the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and things seemed to be improving. Not until an old foe reappears in the form of Dark Samus and tricks the Space Pirates into an alliance against the Galactic Federation so she can take all the Phazon for herself while her silly pawns distract the GF and Samus Aran. What follows are twists and turns with new and old faces appearing here and there, more so new rather than old. We have new planets, new mission and a new style of suit to boot. It’s time for us to begin the final chapter that will end with a Samus vs. Dark Samus showdown. Let us begin.
Story-wise this game surprised me, I mean I was expecting a pretty good storyline but I’m not usually one to expect amazing things from Metroid games story-wise. But this one really blew me away. There was so much going on and the heavier inclusion of the Galactic Federation was a big help to the storyline. Even though it did have a very Halo-esque introductory section, it was still fun and that’s the main thing. And through the story it really opened a few new doors for the franchise to walk through next. I will avoid spoiling bigger ones but the one we all know about by now is the scan that discusses Metroid Project: Dread. Sounds nasty hey? Well, that’s one of a few doors they opened up. The story really can now be considered one of the games strong points and I was very impressed with what Retro were able to provide us, kudos to them. And yes. The ending will give you the closure you seek but still leave you craving more and more.
Fuel Gel = Lava.... but shinier.
As we are all well aware the Wii isn’t exactly the most graphically powered console, we all knew this upon purchasing our Wii’s. So it’s natural to come into games not expecting much especially because of how lazy third parties are (Sure Ubisoft, you can say you’ll be like Nintendo as much as you like it doesn’t mean it’ll happen) but it takes a Nintendo title to truly appreciate just what the Wii is capable of. Everything in the game feels polished and finally we have our first visually impressive Wii title since Twilight Princess. It’s odd that a Gamecube port beat out half of the “original” games for Wii this year. Every area that you visit gives you something new visually to stare at wonder at, whether you’re exploring the dark corridors of the G.F.S Valhalla ship or running and gunning across the high strung wires of SkyTown. Having said this, there are still times when you get too close to walls and you’ll see some of the uglier sides of the Wii’s power but in general its very impressive. But there is more to this game than the design of the environments, the character models are very significant, as they have decided to include more characters that aren’t Samus. I liked the designs of the characters and of course was impressed by the enemies as usual. I only had one minor complain, Ridley’s design making more focused on his four legs wasn’t what I had hoped for as classic Metroid’s (even Metroid Prime 1) showed that he was pretty much a bipedal character.
The art design in this game was incredible, I really appreciated the direction they took and much unlike Echoes I found myself encountered by world’s that felt original. Sorry Echoes but we all know Agon Wastes was really Chozo Ruins 2.0 you didn’t fool anyone. Heck Corruption was big enough to fit homage’s to Prime 1 worlds, Bryyo Ice could be seen as one for Phendrana Drifts (My favourite Prime 1 world) and there is a mine section on Pirate Homeworld which I likened to the Phazon Mines in Prime 1. I loved every moment of exploration in this game, it really satisfied my inner Metroid fan.
One of Nintendo's best villains strikes again.
With the much more epic storyline a new and much more epic score must be put together so that it can match the mood of the game. And the composers do not disappoint as we are presented with what is now one of my favourite Metroid scores to date. The music feels like Metroid music but on a much more epic scale, it also returns with a few more classics. Such as Samus Aran’s theme from Super Metroid and it sounds even better than before in its new form and I truly look forward to hearing its next incarnation. From the usual, epic, ethereal fanfare that plays as Samus steps out of her ship, to the Omega Ridley fight theme. There isn’t one song on here that annoyed me or that I thought was bad. I mean, it was a great blend of techno-style music and orchestration. And I loved every moment of it, if they ever release this CD I will buy it in an instant.
The sound effects are as top notch as ever, with some new ones here and there (for new creatures and environments of course). And Samus really lets you know when she’s in pain. Her scream of agony is now much louder and high pitched, I actually felt guilty when I fell in some Fuel Gel on Bryyo Fiery Dock, that’s how loud and noticeable the change was. I certainly got her out of there fast. The gun sounds are the usual as are all of Samus’ other upgrades. So there is not really much more to say about it, although the sounds in Hypermode are nice. Like the rapid fire Phazon Beam sounds painful, and using Hyper Ball sounds like it hurts as well. So the new ones are also a nice touch as well.
To drugs, Samus says, "no."
Something else, which now must be evaluated under the audio, is the voice acting; now not having many other Nintendo games with voice acting allows Metroid to gain a massive advantage by having it. Lets face it, these games will have to move forward eventually and all this game lacked was Samus having a voice. On the general talent used, I was impressed I mean they managed to rope in Chris Sabat who plays Vegeta and Piccolo (to name a few) in the DragonBall Z English dub. In this game he plays Rundas and does a pretty good job of it in a game where I expected that if it actually had voice acting, that it would be pretty damn poor and would sound like a Final Fantasy game. I think the main reason this succeeded was because it was in English first and there was no need for script translation and second rate dubbing to be done. So let’s hope Nintendo’s other franchise can follow in Metroid’s footsteps and cave into the voice actor. And for crying out loud, give Samus a voice. If all goes well she’ll have one in Brawl.
I left it til later in the review so you’d read the rest to find it, that’s right, time to review the main reason everyone boasts about how good Corruption really is and that is the control scheme. What can be said, they essentially have reinvented Samus’ controls thanks to the revolutionary Wiimote and Nunchuck style. And they work perfectly (until apparently MoHH2 which apparently tops Corruption, now that I need to see) and found myself completely adapted to them by the time I was on the surface of Bryyo.
But when I did adapt to them, they felt so natural, almost as if Metroid was meant to have a control scheme like this from the beginning. I believe they were that good.
The only complaint I (would) have had is that the A button to fire and B button to jump felt a little weird. But lo-and-behold there was an option to switch the two around so that was no longer a problem. Actually aiming the Wiimote around the screen to hit your enemies was so much fun, it really made the combat much more engaging and I will honestly find it hard going back to the Gamecube incarnations of the Prime trilogy. And let’s not forget simple things, like throwing the Grapple at your enemies by thrusting the Nunchuck forward then ripping it back to rob them of their shields, pure fun. Even using switches and computers is fun now. Swapping Visor’s by holding the “-“ button and choosing which one with the Wiimote is more time consuming that using the D-pad but its not too much of a disadvantage. All of the simple little things that Retro has somehow worked the controls into are pure genius; I am hard-pressed to find any flaws to the control scheme they decided. One problem I had was the Map button and using Missiles sometimes was annoying, but they aren’t big queries, just my hands still adapting to the Wiimote (I haven’t exactly had many Wii games worth playing thus I’m still not entirely used to its layout yet) so all-in-all the controls are as perfect as a control scheme has been for the Wii (until MoHH2 and SMG, of course)
Samus takes a page from Galaxy's Bowser and gets electrical powers.
The replayability of the Metroid games has always been one of the franchises largest strong points. Especially compared to some of Nintendo’s other franchise, and Corruption delivers a standard replayability experience. Equal to that of Prime 1 and 2 definitely at the very least. At some points it feels like less though because to my knowledge the logbook scans do not count towards your completion percentage. Someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. The expansions are similar except if you want to be lazy (and I mean real lazy because the expansions aren’t very well hidden in this game) then there is a room in SkyTown to download a thing for your map that apparently shows them all. I wouldn’t know because I personally didn’t get it. I thought it was easy enough to find the expansions as it was. By the time you reach the end of the first planet you can easily find yourself with 2 spare Energy Tanks. Anyway the replayability is still relatively strong, the extras that can be bought with tokens are definitely a nice little feature, which add a little bit of length to its replayability.
The reward system is nice, and I definitely liked its addition to Corruption and really hope more franchises jump on board. Of course, we all know it’s a lot like XB360’s reward system on Live but who honestly cares? I think all three consoles should incorporate it into their online functionality, as it’s definitely a cool little thing to let you know your doing an awesome job at playing the game.
So overall what does WiiLoaded’s Resident Metroid fanboy say about Corruption. He says that its definitely the Wii’s best game til date but will probably be outdone by Galaxy. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Mario needs to redeem himself. Samus has been doing very well for herself since Metroid Prime 1 revived her franchise. Of course with Metroid and Mario both with a new, stronger name it appears the pressure is on Zelda to take a new direction after the disappointment of Twilight Princess.
Anyway, buy Corruption if you haven’t done so already.
See you next mission.
Pros
+Amazing conclusion to the trilogy.
+Even more amazing environments.
+Score that suits the mood.
+Lots to scan.
+Voice acting is a bit positive.
+The usual expansions to collect.
+Omega Ridley is the definition of awesome.
Cons
-One word: Easy.
-Samus had no voice.
-A bit too much like Hunters.
-Not enough Ridley.
The scores.
Story: 9/10
-Lives up to the hype of being the game that ties the Prime trilogy together whilst opening new doors.
Visuals: 9.5/10
-The best on the Wii until Galaxy.
Gameplay: 9/10
-Classic tried and true Metroid Prime style. It still rocks.
Controls: 9.5/10
-The Wiimote really recreates the Prime franchise, shooting, grappling, using computers and switches. All fun. All good.
Audio: 9.5/10
-Score suits the mood of the game excellently and the sound effects are as good as ever.
Replay Value: 9/10
-The usual. Collect all 100 pick-ups, get all the scans, beat all the modes, buy all the extras. Go nuts. Multiplayer wouldn’t have hurt though.
Overall: 9.5/10
-Amazing game, the Wii’s best. Galaxy will be hard-pressed to top this. Where Corruption edges out Prime 1 with better controls, Prime 1 edges out Corruption by being more original. Which makes them equals with Super Metroid still on top.
Review by LemonManX
