August 31st, 2007 by AlmightyMax
Big Shoes to Fill
The Metroid series has held a special place in the hearts of gamers ever since Gunpei Yokoi and his crew published the original on the NES in 1987. It brought the gaming world a lot of firsts, like 2-dimensional adventuring and the first use of a woman as something other than a damsel in distress. The series has evolved a lot since then, but arguably the most important stage in its evolution was when Retro brought it to glorious 3D with Metroid Prime.
Not only did Metroid Prime look beautiful, it played beautiful. The seamless integration of Metroid’s classic exploration and puzzle gameplay with modern FPS controls made it clear Metroid Prime would be one hard act to follow up. Luckily for all Wii owners, Retro’s pulled a hat trick. Metroid Prime 3 is just as, if not more brilliant than both its predecessors. Prepare for one hell of a ride.
Wii Controls done Right
When the Wii was first unveiled with its IR aiming, one thought jumped to people’s minds: PC-grade console FPSs. Developers immediately started using the new software to produce numerous shooters for the system, but ironically the best FPS the Wii has seen before now was a minigame in Rayman Raving Rabbids.
What is it that sets Corruption’s controls apart from the rest? I personally think it has something to do with the tight camera control you get when aiming. Corruption gives you full control, letting you look slowly to the left or pull a quick 180 with ease. But Corruption’s excellent controls go beyond that - a new revolutionary lock-on system allows you to orbit around an enemy but still have complete control over your aiming. Other Wii specific controls include numerous motion-sensitive moments where you need to activate a pump or enter a code. These controls will be viewed as gimmicks -and they are- but they add a level of depth to the game that previous games have not been able to accomplish. Once you have played Corruption, playing a dual-analog FPS or even one with a traditional mouse-and-keyboard setup may leave a bad taste in your mouth. Corruption does it extraordinarily well, and we should all hope all Wii FPS games to follow will be this good.
Playing it hard
A downside of the magnificent controls work is that the game may seem a bit too easy. Enemies that could evade fire easily in the first two can be picked off easily with a well-aimed shot. To get an experience more or less equal to that of the first two games, I recommend starting the game in “Veteran” mode instead of “Normal” mode, or else you will find you can blow through the game without ever being in serious danger.
It will come as a relief to die-hard fans that -even with the more FPS-esque controls- the game is still an adventure at heart. You will be solving puzzles as much as you will be in combat, and bosses are definitely not those of a typical shooter; they are deep and require much thought before taking down. But the backtracking has been lessened in favor of larger, more accessible worlds, and though you will revisit locations to find those hidden expansions, it doesn’t feel like a chore. It’s great to see a Metroid game with all the exploration but without always drudging through locales you have already visited.
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