Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Quick, name a Nintendo franchise. What? No! Screw that mustache-toting red fat-ass and his skinny, idiotic green brother. And the hell with that pointy-eared elf who has been saving a pretty little elf from the same ugly bad guy for over two decades now.

No, my fellow gamer, the hottest weapon in the Nintendo arsenal right now is Samus Aran, heroine of the Metroid saga. This series has been redefining space adventure games since Samus first appeared on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, some 20 years ago. The little red bounty hunter brought new life to side-scrolling shooters, with vast levels and a plethora of power-ups that kept gamers busy for days. Each new installment has brought about some new innovation to both the series and its genre, with a multitude of copycat knockoffs trying to unseat Samus from the action-adventure throne.

I bid good luck to any developer who tries to emulate Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This game raises the bar for inserting players right into the thick of the action, making superb use of the Wii’s awesome controls in dozens of ways. Samus has come a long way since the simple A and B button scheme, and this game takes full advantage of the super-sensory Wii Remote.

The game requires a Nunchuk, an auxiliary controller that offers gamers a joystick and two additional buttons during play. The Wii Remote responds to every flick and swish of a Corruption player’s hand, aiming the target cursor precisely where you want it to, and the depth-field sensory that the remote offers is used to great effect.

Doors must be pulled open with a literal yank of the controller, hands must be curled around a handle with the turn of a wrist before a cart can be towed; even forward-motion speed can be controlled by moving the remote in a certain direction. There really is no way to explain the controls in full detail. This game must be played before the sense of complete control is understood.

The freedom and direction of Corruption’s story, much like the rest of the Prime series, is very nonlinear and requires a powerful sense of adventure. It’s not quite as loose as other Metroid titles, because some character or computer is almost always hinting at where you ought to go next, but younger players and novice gamers will probably appreciate this. Besides, it’s easy to get lost in this game and forget about the outside world, especially when the galaxies and nebulae of Metroid look so much prettier than the campus you’re trudging across.

Corruption’s graphics define a new standard for the Wii and competing consoles. Sure, they aren’t very realistic or a stark departure from other space-themed games, but what sets Corruption apart is the seamless motion of every character and object on the screen at any time. There is no lag to be found, and the transitions from one environment to another are butter smooth. If this game has just a single impact, I would hope for it to set the graphical standard across the board, from reality-based games like sports and first-person shooters or role-playing and fantasy games.

It’s not all roses, however. The sound, though done in fine quality, is nothing special next to the scores for other Wii titles like Super Paper Mario or Resident Evil 4. The sound effects are somewhat abrasive and distracting, and the voice acting quality might have been impressive a few years back, but here it just seems uninspired.

The game runs $50 new, and Corruption is worth each penny of its price tag. Despite the minor flaws of the game, there is enough innovation and gaming goodness here to occupy gamers from both the novice and professional fields. Sadly, Nintendo has been very covert about the future of the Metroid series, and the only known future appearance of Samus is in the forthcoming Super Smash Bros.: Brawl.

With no definite future Metroid title to look forward to, it’s recommended that you take your time with Corruption, and you know, study for a few hours after each hour of game play. Or at least break up your Corruption bouts with some social activity and cold beer. Happy hunting … er, bounty hunting!