14 DAY TRIAL // 
Early details about Metroid Prime 3: Corruption didn't do the game much good. Not visually anyway. The idea of motion-sensitive control was well received by the public, while some of the first screenshots proved to be a bit of a disappointment. Still, talk of the incredibly intuitive and fun-to-use control scheme kept fans going, and along with the game's release, every negative aspect surrounding it was vaporized. Now it is safe to say that Nintendo has accomplished everything we had ever hoped for with Corruption.
Story Metroid Prime 3: Corruption takes place six months after the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Planet Aether sees the Dark Samus attacking the Galactic Federation's Aurora Units (organic supercomputers used by the Federation). They've been hit by some sort of virus and only quick action will save the entire network from going down. Of course, Space Pirates are believed to be responsible for the attack, and so the Galactic Federation calls upon Samus Aran once more, but this time reinforcements are on the way.
A band of bounty hunters also jump in the action. They are Ghor, Rundas and Gandrayda. They soon discover what they feared the most: their enemy is something far more powerful than just pesky, annoying space pirates. The presumed-dead Dark Samus has indeed returned and now wants to corrupt the universe with Phazon. Facing Dark Samus for the first time, you and your companions become infected with Phazon. Think you can manage all this power and not become... well, corrupted?
Concept Just like with previous Metroids (and especially Metroid Prime Hunters), The Galactic Federation needs you, renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran, to do the impossible. No biggy, Samus is up to any task, and if it takes one or two more suit upgrades to accomplish, what the heck, it might be fun too, right? Gameplay hasn't changed much since Echoes, so rest assured, you're in for an Alien "re-resurrection" with this one, since innovative controls along with another great storyline simply couldn't miss.
Multiplayer game modes would have definitely given this game extra credit, but the multitude of rumors and demand from Metroid fans just wasn't enough to convince Retro Studios (the developers) to implement multiplayer support, be it a 2-player split-screen mode alone. Sure enough, it was Nintendo's call in the end. Shigeru Miyamoto has been quite picky about the project (in a good way that is) and didn't give the studio a green light to move forward with the game until they could present him with a perfect solution for the player to switch between first-person Samus and Samus as the Morph Ball (in third-person perspective). Anyway, I'm sure you can't wait to hear about those suit upgrades, but keep your pantyhose on, we're here to share everything with you.
Gameplay Everyone will agree that Corruption is very similar to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Nintendo felt that another first-person-Metroid was in order, this time using motion-sensitive controls. They weren't wrong, we can tell you that much. The game feels right from top to bottom, proving that the Wii version of Call of Duty 3 was just a big mistake, as far as controls go, and that the Wii Remote and Nunchuck can deliver great maneuverability and accuracy.
And since Corruption uses a motion-sensitive control scheme, you can only imagine that developers wanted players to put it to good use. As such, it's going to take a lot of pulling and moving objects to progress. For instance, the Grapple Lasso and Grapple Swing will come in very handy when it is required to remove heavy debris to reveal a path, or to swing your way up to a ledge, like Spider-Man. Doors open pretty much in the same manner as with previous Metroids - by just shooting at them. We can't mention this as something bad, since it has always done good for the game, but what we can count as a minus is the fact that some doors simply won't open after shooting them. You'll sometimes be standing as much as 4 to 8 seconds in front of a door in order to see it opened and whether it has something to do with loading the room behind it or not, it certainly feels like an annoying bug. Still, it doesn't happen often enough to become frustrating.
So, you want to know about those suit upgrades do you? Well, you're just going to have to see most of them with your own eyes (since we don't want to spoil your fun) but we can tell you that Samus' Varia Suit is nothing compared to what you'll be upgrading to in Corruption. Remember that substance the whole game revolves around, Phazon? Phazon will enhance your abilities to double or even triple their original state. The P.E.D. (Phazon Enhancement Device) allows you to enter Hypermode and control your internal Phazon on a safe level, but be careful though, Phazon may corrupt you... You're not going to have to search your brains out for upgrades, either. The first two are obtained within half an hour of gameplay, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. What it means is that there are plenty of upgrades to be had.
You'll be using the Scan Visor a lot again, interacting with almost anything, whether it's a living creature, or a cold piece of metal laying around. You can shoot or use objects to move forward. This freedom however is not just for fun. As you move forth through the game, you'll notice that forgetting to scan something as "insignificant" as a plant will have a negative impact on your progression. The creatures you interact with will also give you a good idea of what's going on at any moment, sort of like a non-stop personal log. For example, the Federation ship's crew acts as if everyone is doing some heavy computing at their stations, but once you press A to speak to them, you'll soon find out where the "bug" is and where you need to proceed in order to squash it!
Controls are absolutely magnificent in Prime 3! Don't think for a second that Corruption handles the same as other first-person shooters on the Wii, such as the above-mentioned Call of Duty 3. In fact, Activision's FPS has the worst controls ever (on Wii), we shouldn't even be comparing the two games from this point of view. You're going to need a steady hand at first, no doubt about that, even when doing the simplest of tasks, such as inputting a code that unlocks a door. For example, you'll often be required to activate mechanisms when dealing with puzzles, just like in Echoes. In Corruption, this is usually done by pulling an object and turning it clockwise or counter-clockwise, so using the Wii Remote to unlock doors or switching devices on and off will be very rewarding. You actually feel like you're doing everything with your own hands. It's pretty neat! But wait 'till you start interacting with objects using the Nunchuck's motion-sensitivity. Now that's something worth finding out for yourself.
Shooting feels smooth and it's a shame the game doesn't focus as much on the shooting as it does on the puzzle-solving and corridor-running. But the bottom line is that controls are so cursive and responsive that Corruption may just be the game setting the standards for a Wii FPS.
Another Metroid-specific aspect is of course the fact that you need to be on the lookout for everything. Sticking to the franchise's roots, Corruption has players searching for the smallest orifice or aperture where they can enter as the Morph Ball and get on with the mission. Ah, yes, the Morph Ball. Needless to say, controlling Samus as the Morph Ball is going to be loads of fun. Not only has control been improved, on a responsive level, but the puzzles you're going to have to solve in a "third-ball perspective," so to speak, are literally going to take your breath away. They're not as difficult as they were in earlier installments in the series, but still rewarding, nonetheless. It also seems that gameplay has been sped up a bit too. Metroid Prime 3 becomes somewhat of a racing game once you use the Morph Ball feature and start traveling through pipelines and different types of cracks within the walls.
Almost every object laying around is worth shooting and not just because it blows up in flames as if you were in the movies, but because it can hide stuff like ammo, or differently sized blobs of Phazon. Energy is replenished with every game save, just as with other Metroids, whether you enter Sammy's ship or step onto those things.. you know, the nice glowy thingys scattered around for save-game purposes. They tend to be "strangers" as you move further through the game, so you should be on the lookout for those too.
On the downside, there are some side effects to the whole motion-sensitive control thing. Moving around using the Nunchuck is easy enough, but play for one hour straight and your arms will become tired from all the aiming, pulling levers and moving objects around. But here's a tip: try placing your elbow on a solid surface so you don't have to move your whole arm. Basically, you only need to move your wrist to aim and shoot. Grappling objects using the Nunchuck or activating switches will be seldom required, so you don't have to play like you're dancing around the living-room all the time, even though commercials and trailers have you thinking so.
Graphics On a visual level, Corruption is everything you could ever hope for in a Wii game. Surely it's not your Wii version of Halo 3 or Gears of War, but as far as fans of the Metroid series are concerned, the visual experience doesn't fall behind one bit. Plus, everyone admits that the Wii isn't as powerful as Sony's PS3, or Microsoft's Xbox 360, so for a Wii game, we're getting nothing but quality visuals here. To put it in simple terms, graphics can't in any way affect gameplay, even when the player has to spot an object from a very great distance. Given the complexity of the game at certain points and the vast environments that Samus must travel through, the Wii does a good job by keeping good frame rates at a constant level, so rest assured, your eyes will not be tired by this game.
Sound Even if we wanted to say something bad about the game's score or sound effects, it would be virtually impossible. The Metroid series is one of those franchises that has its soundtrack featured in concerts and stuff, where entire orchestras play it like there's no tomorrow. Well, as it turns out, Corruption is no different, adding just another great score, very similar to the original in structure, yet different with every musical note. Needless to say, sound effects remain the same, such as the ones for completing an objective or health replenishing, with a bunch of new ones here and there, since we're dealing with a new Metroid game. The main theme is of course the bomb!
Multiplayer Unfortunately, the latest iteration in the Metroid series (although the most ambitious of all), doesn't feature multiplayer game modes, not via Wi-Fi, not split-screen, nada! That's not such a big minus, since the franchise focuses less on the shooting part and more on the exploring and upgrading part. So Corruption remains the great single-player adventure game it always was, although it wouldn't hurt to see it featuring multiplayer support in the future.
Conclusion Nintendo wasn't wrong going first-person-adventure on Metroid, even though it would have seemed like a bad idea for the series at the time Echoes was released. So even though Corruption isn't the first FPS Metroid, it certainly had fans holding their breath for the new control scheme which, in the end, proved to be a winner. Metroid Prime 3 Corruption has it all: great looks, great score, and the smoothest controls anyone could ask for in a Wii game. Go out and buy it, this one's worth every cent!
