Developer Retro Studios certainly took its time polishing up Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the latest first-person adventure starring Nintendo's sexy-under-all-that-armor heroine Samus Aran. This Wii follow-up to 2004's MP2: Echoes was originally supposed to launch alongside Nintendo's funky wand-controlled console last fall. Of course, all that time hasn't been squandered -- several key changes and enhancements make this the most refined Prime to date, and Nintendo is reportedly proud to be releasing it up against another spacey shooter hitting around the same time: Microsoft's Halo 3.
But is that really a fair match-up? Although the previous Metroid Prime titles may have looked like Halo-esque first-person shooters, the underlying gameplay (heavy on exploration and platforming) stayed remarkably close to the oldschool 2D Metroids of yore. However, in moving Prime to Wii, Retro Studios has made it more of a FPS than ever before by giving you more direct control over your combat actions.

The control scheme has been completely retooled to take advantage of Wii's unique technology: Now, the analog stick on the Nunchuck controls Samus' movement while the Wii Remote offers pinpoint weapon aiming. The basic controls work great -- you can choose to map jumping and shooting to either the A or B buttons, C switches Samus into Morph Ball mode, and Z locks on to targets. But some of the auxiliary commands suffer from unwieldy button placement, as hitting down on the tiny D-pad to launch homing missiles feels too imprecise and choosing visors by holding down Minus (and then moving the cursor to a specific screen quadrant) becomes way too obtuse in the heat of battle.

Skilled players will immediately want to opt for the new Advanced Aiming system, which allows you to move freely even after locking onto foes with the Z trigger. This shift completely changes the game's basic flow for movement and battle, forcing you to actually target enemies manually even after locking on. (Novice players can still opt for the simpler classic lock-on method.) Freeing up the moving and aiming lends combat a tense new vibe that takes some serious getting used to. Expect to be disoriented early on, as you're routinely struggling to re-center your view and switch between targets during firefights. Often, you'll want to roll into a Morph Ball and zoom to safety just to get your bearings. Once you've come to grips with the learning curve (it could take up to an hour or two), you'll likely find that the new controls actually add a lot to the Metroid Prime experience -- your interactions with the world now feel less constrained and automatic...and truthfully, a lot more like a real FPS.

The manner in which Corruption presents its narrative feels like a step forward for the franchise, expanding the previous game's underwhelming realtime cinemas with interactive voiceovers and scripted events delivered Half-Life style. The story itself -- a seemingly predictable follow-up to Echoes that has the villainous Dark Samus infecting good Samus and her bounty-hunting buddies with Phazon -- amounts to little more than a premise for some old-fashioned space spelunking. Honestly, the presentation and scripting seem amateurish compared to what's going on in megabudget productions such as Halo 3 and Heavenly Sword.

Similarly, it's tough to stack Corruption's graphics against what you'll see in first-person games on other consoles. As expected, the same sublime artistry and cohesive aesthetic sensibility from the previous Prime titles return here, but at the same time, this looks awfully close to its GameCube forerunners. A few new blur effects and a rock-solid frame rate give it a negligible next gen sheen and crispness, but one look at the hyperdetailed, evocative visuals in BioShock will make the most ardent Wii-faithful envious. So, given the hardware's innate graphical limitations, Corruption generally makes the best of it and stays the course, delivering an eye-pleasing, imaginative quest through wild alien worlds. Likewise, the appropriately otherworldly soundtrack carries on the same moody Prime vibe we've all come to love, remixing classic themes and layering on the foreboding choruses.



For returning Prime fans, the familiar audiovisual trappings may help to offset the shock they'll feel when they begin the game with a ton of equipment -- Varia suit, space jump, morph ball, and two visors -- that you actually get to keep. That's right, no scene in which Samus loses all of her goodies, only to later recollect them piece-by-piece. Newbies might find all this stuff a tad daunting at first (the game never even explains that you can jump as a ball by shaking the Wii Remote), but we're stoked that the game hits the ground running.

Norion, the game's meager first area, serves as an on-the-job tutorial. With its shiny surfaces, helmeted space cops, and crates aplenty, this area looks pretty damned Halo. Here, you'll get a taste of the Wii Remote interactions as you must mimic key turning motions to interact with some puzzles. These actions feel simple and clever, yet might get repetitive if overused. After a briefing with the Aurora class computer in charge (yeah, mass producing more Mother Brains and putting them in charge...that's gonna work out great) a surprise Space Pirate attack has you defending the embattled transit hub.

Truthfully, there's not much to do here: After a few simple skirmishes, you jump aboard Samus' newly remodeled ship for some interplanetary exploration. But before you take off, you get to explore the intricate cockpit by laboriously moving Samus' finger around with your remote. Seriously, these multilayered interactive submenus feel rather over-the-top. For example, it probably takes a good 15 seconds (and three different motions) to bring up Samus' Phozon scanner.
The small, clinical world of Norion doesn't seem very Metroid, but the second planet, Bryyo, pulls double duty. This surprisingly expansive world combines various different environments -- lava-filled caverns, futuristic buildings, and a forest made of giant prickly kiwano melons -- into one massive, interconnected labyrinth. It's an immense area (with three different landing pads for your ship) that introduces a host of gameplay innovations, such as Ice Missiles (a disappointing twist on the Ice beam), the revamped grapple beam (activated by thrusting the Nunchuck forward -- perfect for snatching enemy shields), and the new Phazon Enhancement Device (a special hyper mode that requires you to burn an Energy Tank). Mastering these new techniques becomes crucial, as tricky puzzles and complex, multipart boss encounters specifically center on utilizing these new implements. One unexpected element that comes into play is Samus' ship itself: You'll need to use the new Command Visor to summon it to new landing pads and to have it take out larger targets.



Considering the size of Bryyo, skeptics worried that Corruption would do away with the series' established level design philosophy have little to worry about. Re-traversal still occurs frequently, and you'll spy plenty of inaccessible areas that you'll be dying to return to later in the game. You're still hopping around like a fool, as platforming remains a gameplay mainstay. But because the game is now modular and mission-based, it actually feels a bit like a hypermodern Zelda game, with colossal space dungeons and very traditional Nintendo bosses. And truly, why judge this game based solely on the first few hours of play? Considering our memorable hands-on time with the incredibly unique Sky Town planet at this summer's E3 summit, it would appear that variety may be the real secret to Corruption's success.