August 31st, 2007 by AlmightyMax
Alone no Longer (cntd.)
Metroid fans will probably be fuming at the idea of Samus getting help from others, but those people should know that you will still feel quite alone on the numerous planets and other locations on your twenty-hour-plus journey. Part of this feeling comes from the sheer size of the places you visit; Retro has taken full advantage of the Wii's added processing power to create numerous larger-than-life locales. While a squad of Marines led by another Hunter could very well be waiting in the very next room, you still feel as isolated as ever.
Atmosphere
The one thing Corruption unarguably nailed is atmosphere. Yamamoto’s soundtrack is masterfully composed, from the haunting opening theme to the remixes of old classics like the space pirate song from the original Prime. As always, the soundtrack will help fully immerse you in the game’s alien worlds, which have a level of beautiful art direction the other two Prime games were unable to obtain.
Gone are the drab purple hues of Dark Aether, and in their place are vibrant colors which cover a number of different styles, from the Galactic Federation’s futuristic technological complexes to the fiery lava pits of Bryyo. Art direction for all these different planets has been taken down numerous paths. The result is so beautiful and atmospheric that you can almost overlook one of the few weak points in the game: texture problems abound. But even despite those, the game is one of the Wii’s best in the graphics department.
Metroid Evolved
Depending on your faithfulness to the Metroid franchise, you may have started to notice that Retro has taken the franchise down different avenues than those explored in the previous two games. This may infuriate you or make you happy, depending on where your allegiances lie. Even though I consider myself to be a 'hardcore' Metroid fan, I find myself absolutely loving Corruption despite its tendency to stray off the familiar track. Retro has done a brilliant job of both inviting new gamers to Samus' universe and making us hardcore folk still feel at home. Corruption has evolved the Metroid franchise like no other game before it, save for the original Metroid Prime.
If you can handle the numerous changes Retro has made to the classic formula, good for you. You will find that the finale of Prime is in many ways better than its predecessors, and is the perfect way to see what the Wii is truly capable of. Everything in Corruption, from the gorgeous locales to the haunting soundtrack to the best use yet of the Wii's controller is absolutely brilliant. If you are looking for a way to rest your other Wii remotes after plethoras of minigame collections and other multiplayer-centric games, then Corruption is the game for you. At the moment, this is the game to prove Nintendo's new console, and no Wii owner should be caught without it.
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