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Posted By Robert H. about 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Wii 25-in-25: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption,
Wii 25-in-25: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
When I first saw the motion control scheme for the Wii, I quickly thought about what kinds of games would benefit from it. In no time at all, it became very clear to me that the FPS genre could be better than ever with the added ability to point the weapon anywhere on the screen with the Wiimote. However, barely any game took full advantage of that opportunity and those that did oftentimes ended up with aiming that felt strange; something I always found extremely odd. This is especially strange because the game that, in my opinion, had the best first-person gameplay on the system came out more than early enough to be a shining example of how to do it correctly. Of course, I speak of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Grappling shields: One of the new common aspects of combat.
Following in the footsteps of two of the best games on the Gamecube, the third game in the Metroid Prime series followed Nintendo’s trend of using their hardware to its fullest and produced a really great aiming system. It felt extremely natural and many shots that would have been fairly difficult due to the admittedly clunky aiming of the first two became far easier. You know the system was a success when Nintendo decided they had to make Metroid Prime Trilogy and release all three games with the same aiming controls.
However, the aiming wasn’t the only thing Corruption introduced that worked well. In an extremely rare case, full voice acting was added into one of Nintendo’s long-running series with surprisingly good results. Samus herself didn’t speak, but a mission command and all the other important characters did without feeling out-of-place or awkward to hear for the first time. There was also the titular corruption, which manifested as an empowered state that could be activated at any time at the cost of an energy tank of health. It was an interesting concept, as Hyper Mode and the accompanying powers were all fun to see and use.
Still, even considering the newer additions, Corruption retained the classic Metroid experience of exploring alien worlds, getting new gear to unlock newer areas, fighting past numerous foes, and it was all done just as well as the previous games had done it. Instead of losing everything, Samus starts with and keeps her basic abilities. As such, the power-ups feel rather new and keep the game fresh, but familiar. The different areas still felt completely alien from one another and walking into any new location carried the excitement of exploration inherent to the series.
Corruption really feels like the end of a subseries, and a great one at that. If you haven’t had the opportunity to play it yet, do yourself a favor, pick it up and enjoy one of the best experiences on the Wii. In fact, you might as well get yourself the Metroid Prime Trilogy and experience all three Prime games at their best. You won’t regret it.
By the way, for anyone who’s played the game, can I get some agreement that Skytown is an amazing place to both hear and see? I can’t be the only one who thought the design there was really awesome.
Be sure to stay tuned to the Wii’s 25-in-25 to see more great Wii games.
I really wish people would stop complaining about how Other M, more or less, ruined their perception of Metroid forever. It’s been 2 years people. Even those that were upset with Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 are done raging about it.
Don’t even bother replying to this telling me how wrong I am. I don’t care what you think because I’m tired of hearing it.
God yes I loved Prime 3. I liked Echoes more, but mostly because I felt that splitting the game up between multiple worlds made each one feel a little small. Mostly Byrro got stuck with this though.
And yes, Skytown is one of my favorite areas in any videogame ever. It’s just so beautiful, and the music suites it so well! Just look at that design, and then compare it too Other M’s generic levels…
Sorry, couldn’t help but bring it up. Any mention of Metroid is bound to attract some Other M bashing/debating sooner or later.
I need to give this game a shot. I played Metroid Prime and I thought it was fantastic. Then I played Echoes and thought it kind of annoying, so I didn’t think the third would be very good.
But I have been hearing really good things about it so I think I’ll check it out for sure.
Also I liked Other M. It was fun to play, bad story be damned.
Loved that you chose this game well to compared to that other…
What other? Metroid Prime and the Prime Trilogy are the only Metroid games for the Wii and they’re great! THERE IS NO OTHER METROID TITLE ON THE WII!
What about Metroid: Other M?
I mean, it was pretty bad but it still exists in the end.
You must be coming down with some sort of delusional sickness Robert. No such game has ever existed…EVER!
Yeah…I like to pretend Other M never happened, too.
About Corruption:
Retro Studios has a very high spot on my favorite developer list. They actually managed to pull it off: Turning Metroid into a First Person Action Adventure AND still make it awesome.
If only my arm would just let me play it longer.
See, for as bad as the story was in Other M, the game itself was actually a blast to play, and really FELT like a Metroid title. I… actually prefer it, by leaps and bounds, to the unnecessarily-first-person Prime trilogy. In fact, I… really can’t stand the Prime games, as I find first-person action titles virtually unplayable, and Prime does nothing to justify using a first-person perspective IMHO (seriously, can you give me one good reason why a third-person mode wasn’t at least included as an option?).
I know it’s odd to condemn a whole trilogy for its viewpoint, but its viewpoint detracted SO STRONGLY from the games for me that I simply could never get past it. And I mean that literally — I can’t get ANYWHERE in those games, as I absolutely suck at FPSes and find myself dying CONSTANTLY whenever I play them, with the Prime trilogy being no exception to that.
For some reason there is no reply button under wyrdwad’s comment so I’ll respond to his thoughts through my own post’s reply button.
“for as bad as the story was in Other M, the game itself was actually a blast to play, and really FELT like a Metroid title.”
When I think of a Metroid game I don’t think of repetitive half-assed combat, linear uninspired levels, dodging animations with WAY too many frames of invincibility, a camera that knows fuck all about what it’s doing, badly remixed music, and regenerable health.
“I… actually prefer it, by leaps and bounds, to the unnecessarily-first-person Prime trilogy.”
The Prime Trilogy wasn’t put into a first-person-perspective for no good reason it was a very conscious design choice Shigeru Miyamoto wisely recommended Retro go with after they had trouble getting the 3rd person camera to work. I also never knew ‘first-person’ was an adjective.
“really can’t stand the Prime games, as I find first-person action titles virtually unplayable”
I highly question how much of the Prime games you have played if you qualify the series as just another bunch of first person action titles and something that doesn’t feel like a Metroid game. Most of the Prime games are spent searching for power-ups, solving puzzles, scanning monsters and scenery for information, and immersing the player into the Metroid universe. Primes 1, 2, and 3 are far more similar to Zelda or you know, METROID, than Halo or Call of Duty.
I think it’s far more loyal to the Metroid franchise than Other M in that regard. To paraphrase Eclipse Studio’s video on Other M (You should all watch it. The video kicks the ass of every single argument made by fans acting as if Other M wasn’t the catastrophe it was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4ww_NwjC0Q ),
“Calling Metroid Prime just another First Person Shooter is like calling Shadow of the Colossus another Hack and Slash title.”
Some valid reasons for why First-Person Action games are inherently bad would be appreciated too.
“(seriously, can you give me one good reason why a third-person mode wasn’t at least included as an option?).”
I can give many reasons. The 3rd person camera wasn’t functioning well during the game’s development according to Retro Studios, the 1st person view made an already immersive franchise even more immersive, it made shooting and auto-targetting enemies, scanning, and using visors more intuitive, and was all around a far better design choice. I’m not saying a 3rd person, 3D, Metroid game couldn’t work, but maybe if Other M didn’t botch its camera and gameplay so horrendously I’d be more optimistic towards the idea. Besides, putting the Prime games in a 3rd person perspective would do nothing to help them, it would only make them less atmospheric.
“I can’t get ANYWHERE in those games”
I figured as much, most people who have played the Prime games thoroughly wouldn’t classify them with other, “First Person Action Titles”. “I don’t know where to go” is a common complaint I’ve seen the 2D and Prime Metroid games get. I’ve always responded to the complaint in the same way. *shrugs* Use a guide if you get stuck? Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing Metroid since I was 4, but if stupid 13-year-old me could finish Metroid Prime, I don’t see what keeps experienced gaming enthusiasts from finishing them.
Metroid Prime 3 really was a delight. I appreciated how you could lock on to enemies and still be able to move the reticule around. The other Prime games benefited from being on the Wii as well. Some people may think Prime 1 & 2 were better on the Gamecube, but not me!
I love Metroid Prime 3! It’s one of the very few Wii games I think made proper use of motion controls, is my personal favorite Wii game, and would probably fall into my 3 favorite Metroid games. The surprisingly good voice acting is the cherry on top of it all.