Great combat continues with main heroine Samus Aran in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - only available on the Nintendo Wii. As usual, Samus starts from ground zero, so players must amass abilities and power as you progress. She’s also a bounty hunter, so you’ll experience some “friendly fire” battle if you start trying to hurt your hosts. One great new element is definitely Samus’ ability to use her ship. The navigation/aiming controls take some adjustment time (it helps to have a television that handles light and dark well) and you need quick observation skills if you want the maximum benefit the first time around. The sensitive controls only require minor movements, no huge sweeping motions here (which might save you some property damage it you get deeply involved in the game.) Players who want replay time can conquer the game quicker in normal or veteran difficulty (try extra hard after completing the game.)
The dark themed storyline is part Aliens, part Halo, part Star Wars and part…Pirates of the Caribbean? This time the baddies are Space Pirates and the all knowing Aurora Unit is your guide during your interplanetary travels. The boss fights represent a good chunk of the memorable action as challenging players will get their fill (it takes approximately 25 hours to complete - not at an 100% completion rate). The new phazon powers will be needed during the boss fights, but don’t let the supremacy go to your head. These new powers can hurt as well as help.
The puzzle elements provide a lot of mentally challenging action as well. Inexperienced players (in this series or action/puzzlers in general) will need breaks to avoid frustration. There’s an especially frustrating errand quest doesn’t help the experience (keep checking your inventory), but overall, there’s plenty of punch in this title, making it one of the best Wii titles currently available. Producers create particularly memorable cut scenes among the action sequences, and the sound/miscellaneous production values remain strong.
Article comments
1 - mark
What a bad review. The conclusion is missing saying why this game gets 4 stars. Reading the review the game must be the superb ... but the stars tell a different story, strange.
2 - Matt Paprocki
He mentions mission frustrations, tough to latch onto controls, and lack of explanation for new players. It could have been more in depth, but there's enough there to justify the score.
3 - Jimbo
Short and sweet is good sometimes. Thought the review was solid, not long winded like some reviews. Got right to the point and told you what you needed to know (even a hint).
4 - Andy
All three games have featured the Space Pirates.
5 - Ken Edwards
Yes, all the new Metroid games have had Space Pirates in them. Oh well no one is perfect.