It's sad to see this trilogy end but Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a worthy ending to this futuristic adventure
Score: 9.7/10
Hours spent: 10-20 hours
Pros:
+ Beautiful environments that surpass Echoes' Dark World
+ Almost perfect gameplay
+ Epic and satisfying boss battles
+ Responsive Wii controls
+ You keep all weapons at the beginning
+ More cinematic
Cons:
- Grapple Beam is a little clunky
- Energy Cell Quest is a bore
- Loading times are present and often
- Easier than previous games in trilogy
BOTTOM LINE: With great controls and excellent gameplay, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the game that we and the Wii have been waiting for.
In 2002, the GameCube gave us the first Metroid Prime game that would be the first of a trilogy that would take eight years to complete. It was the first game that Samus Aran was given a 3D look in a Metroid game and it wouldn't be the last. 2004, the second installment to the trilogy arose and brought us back to Samus in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. And after some delay, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was on store shelves in late 2007 and the first game of the trilogy that appeared on the Wii console. Even though Corruption is the last installment in this trilogy, prepare yourself for the best game in the Prime trilogy.
The story follows famous bounty hunter Samus Aran who is assisting the Galactic Federation in its ongoing attack on the Space Pirates. Along with other bounty hunters, from Metroid Prime: Hunters on the DS, you are told to find an Aurora Unit, a computer, which has been corrupted on a nearby planet. But soon you, and the rest of the hunters, are knocked unconscious by Dark Samus. A month later, Samus awakens on a Galactic Federation ship where she is told that Dark Samus' Phazon based attacks have corrupted her. Samus' suit is upgraded with a Phazon Enchancment Device (PED) that allows her to use the Phazon energy as a weapon. Her fellow hunters, who have the same corruption, were told to destroy the Leviathan Seeds that are the main sources of Phazon on these different planets. Unfortunately, the Federation lost contact with them and tell Samus to complete their missions and locate them
The environments in the game are fantastic and succeed in every way that Echoes failed in. In MP2, planet Aether is visually stunning but the Dark World looked bland and not very different from the Light World (besides the poisonous atmosphere). MP3 takes us back into the original MP game. Each planet has its own environments. There are fire areas, snow areas, biological areas, high-tech, and alien areas (mainly where the Seed's are located). The details within the game are great to look at. By just looking at the walls of the rooms, the surrounding areas around you, the character models and animations, you can tell that MP3's design is the best in the series both visually and mechanically.
The game is more cinematic this time around. The game actually has human voiceovers for the troops and the hunters. Samus doesn't talk which is a good thing. Samus never talked in the trilogy before and it was a good move. It works just as well like the Zelda games where Link does not talk expect for giving the scream when he gets hit (which Samus does) and gives the nod when he understands something (Samus doesn't do that but she is in a body suit - no neck movement).
Like you expected for a Wii game, the controls work perfectly for MP3. The Wii remote and nunchuck are very responsive though the grapple beam is a hit and miss. You use the nunchuck as your grapple beam to pull objects out of their environments to reveal secret areas. By pushing the nunchuck out, you release the beam onto the target and by snapping back with the nunchuck you take the object out. I found that snapping back with the nunchuck can be a little tricky at times as Samus will not rip off the object and forces you to try again.
From the previous MP games, Samus looses all of her weaponry in the beginning of the game. It's not the case in MP3 as Samus keeps all of her equipment and never loses it. No waiting for the double jump or the missiles or the charge shot this time around. Though when you do receive a new beam weapon, the old weapon is replaced and you cannot switch between them. The D-Pad isn't fully used (only the down button is used for the missiles) and since there is only 3 beams the developers could've planted it in. But the final beam is a badass beam so not a big complaint.
Since Samus is using the PED, she can now use the Phazon within her body as a weapon by entering Hypermode. This is when Samus is at her strongest as her Phazon based attacks can kill or seriously damage enemies quicker than your regular weapons. You do find new attacks to use during Hypermode for both morph ball mode and regular standing position.
The boss battles in MP3 are epic and very satisfying. The difficulty increases from boss to boss though I did find that the final battle was a little too easy. You will see some old faces from previous Metroid games are your bosses. Dark Samus is one of them and truly brought me back to the MP2 battles with her. The other is Meta Riddley that is defeated in MP1. While not getting into the specifics of these boss battles, some are complex. The second leviathan seed is probably the most complex. In one stage you have to use you regular attacks, the next you will have to use morph ball, next stage is hypermode attacks and then back into regular attacks. The bosses will sometimes switch from just shooting to pulling off armor to open their weak spots. I can safely say that these are my favorite boss battles I have faced in a while.
One quest in the game is a bore unfortunately. It's a treasure hunt to find Energy Cells that are located in all of the planets you have previously visited. It's boring and not really needed in the game. It doesn't really move the story along. It's actually there to put more hours into the game just before the final level. Thankfully you only need five cells but if you are looking for the 100%, you have to find all nine cells in the game.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption does have problems with loading times. Though they are hidden very well within the game, but you can sometimes realize where they are hidden. In the game, you use your beam to shoot open doors. Sometimes, there will be a 5-10 second wait before you can enter into the next room. They do happen often in each planet. The other time is the ship sequences. When you use your ship to depart, arrive, or fly from area to area, planet to planet, the game is using them as loading times.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is an excellent ending to the Prime trilogy and it is the best in the series. The Wii does an excellent job of creating excellent gameplay even if the grapple beam is sometimes a little clunky. The game is a little on the easy side and the Hypermode can be a little over powering at times. But excellent environments, stunning cinematics and just plain fun gameplay brings this Prime trilogy to a superb ending.