It’s been out for a while, but we delayed getting the latest in the Metroid series because our television was not worthy of it. Seriously. So in an orgy of consumer spending, we bought a better television, and lots of expensive goodies to go with it, including Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. I’m glad we did: On a high-def television with the Wii Component cables to bring the progressive scan the game looks absolutely beautiful.

Metroid fans have been waiting for the final installment of the Prime series since the Wii was announced. first images of Samus blasting her way through yet another maze enticed us to think that 3 might be a launch title. Oh, how wrong we were. But the wait appears to be worth it. Every level is intricately crafted — the world seems exceptionally alive around you as you work to save it. As well, Nintendo has implemented an achievement token system whereby detailed interaction with the world is rewarded with access to hidden content. Along with Twilight Princess and Super Paper Mario, I would call this game a must-own title for the Wii. You just need to get accustomed to the controls.

The game is going to be a lot different from what fans of the series are used to. Despite complaints from previous reviewers, this is easily the most sociable situation I have ever seen Samus in. You start off in a huge starship getting orders from generals and tips from engineers and guards. After learning the rudimentaries of walking around, firing, and using your scanner, the starship is quickly attacked by Space Pirates and you are flung into action and ordered to go down to the base below and help drive the Pirates back. You’re constantly running into other hunters who chat you up after encounters. This is a huge difference from simply landing on Brinstar and running around until you figure out how to advance to the next area.

I admit, at first I hated the game. In fact, I threw down my Wiimote and nunchuck in frustration because the controls were sluggish and clunky. It wanted to play like a first person shooter, but she was slow to respond–imagine playing an FPS on the PC when you’ve turned your mouse’s sensitivity all the way down. However, after setting the controls to “Advanced” in my options screen, I find that I have a much easier time with the game. The sensitivity of the Wiimote is really showcased in this game–anyone who complains that the Wiimote doesn’t have good response and that the accelero-widgets and gyro-meters are overstated needs to try this game out.

There is absolutely nothing to say about this game that any feminist gamer doesn’t already know. Samus is a (perhaps the) patron saint of women gamers everywhere and despite some rather frown-inducing promotions, they’ve treated her in-game with the respect she deserves. At the start of the game she is seen awakening from a stasis-nap, wearing her zero suit (not to be confused with the birthday suit) and then her armor goes on. Samus’s armor is wonderful–it’s a space suit and so there are no little patches of flesh to entice the boys, but it also does a good job of implying that her suit is like a living part of her body by making some of the simple lines of the body visible. The armor hasn’t been sexed-up (unless you have a shoulder-fetish) and the gender ambiguity of the protagonist is kept intact. Showing a trailer to a neophyte gamer-in-training, it was met with a lukewarm response — she wasn’t necessarily able to distinguish anything about the game other than it appeared to be a sci-fi shooter with another space marine running around in armor that would inexplicably roll into a ball at times. However, upon instruction to watch the visor carefully during a second trailer, the moment when the lighting allowed a glimpse at the hero’s eyes elicited an excited “It’s a girl!” — it’s a testament to Nintendo that they haven’t just assumed that everyone knows that Samus is a woman by now and made efforts to make her all wriggly and jiggly to give the boys what they want.

The Prime series has distinguished itself from the other Metroid games in that it has departed from the “first, kill all the Metroids” (or motherbrains) philosophy. The universe is now much more ancient and faceted than the early dichotomies put forth. This game distinguishes itself yet again by taking away Samus’s leisure time. The first few hours of the game you will be tasked — heavily — to help save the planet Norion from a space pirate invasion with a series of linear tasks to complete. Once you’re through with that, you have a little more leisure time: you can drop off on one of the outer planets and set up to explore at your leisure.

The only reason to avoid the game is if you don’t have large chunks of time to devote to it. The save points are ridiculously far apart in this game and you can go through a number of cut-scene battles before you can get from Save Point A to Save Point B (or back to Save Point A). If you have less than an hour to play, you’re likely to feel frustrated and trapped when you need to find the way out of a room and it’s some tiny little rock that needs to be blown up in the corner that you don’t see your first seven trips into a room. There’s no “pick up/put down” aspect to this game. You need long weekend afternoons to rescue the planets (and Samus) from Phazon corruption.

There really isn’t any question about whether or not this game should be purchased. Unless you absolutely detest first-person perspective games, this game should be on any Wii-owner’s list to buy. It’s not difficult for an FPS, and it’s still got lots of exploring and scanning and puzzle-solving for the old-school Metroid fan. The graphics, sound, and themes are absolutely wonderful and once you get comfortable with the controls, it’s really a treat to play.

Mighty Ponygirl posted this entry on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 8:11 am and filed it under Games, Nintendo, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.