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Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

by Steven Rodriguez - July 13, 2007, 10:30 pm EDT
Total comments: 39

After an hour of Prime Time, is the game is the real deal? Read on to find out.

When E3 closed down for day two, Nintendo opened up its hotel suite and invited me to sit down and play an extended session of Metroid Prime 3. For that hour of bliss, it was just me, the game, and a widescreen display running at 480p.

All of the hype and anticipation for Corruption will be met. That's a safe claim to make after playing the game for as long as I did. It looks absolutely fantastic in motion. The action moves at the speed and fluidity of F-Zero GX on the GameCube. That's not saying it looks like a GameCube game, however; although the models in the game have a "GameCube Turbo" look to them (not a bad thing), the scope of the environments and the level of detail is astounding. Lighting and particle effects in particular look great, as do the heat effects that warp and distort the area around where Samus fires her arm cannon, which look a lot better than they did on GameCube. In one of the early areas you'll be in a space station while a battle underway outside. In the background big ships fill the view and smaller ships fly all over the place, shooting laser canons that streak the landscape. The speed and scope combined really give off the impression that Retro has the first real Wii game on its hands, at least graphically.

The Wii controls are fantastic, too. The three different pointer sensitivities are designed with different people in mind, and the game will not play that much differently as you switch among them. The two slower settings allow for easier free targeting for newer players, and the lock-on feature (the Z button) makes up for the slower cursor speed, making the game play similar to previous Metroid Prime games. By default, shooting is done with the A Button and jumping with the B Trigger. These two functions can be switched in the options menu, but after trying to shoot rapidly with the trigger I found that I can't pull a trigger faster than I can press a button. I switched back to the default, but kudos to Retro for making the option available.

Flipping the sensitivity to expert is what puts Corruption in a league of its own. The cursor is fast and responsive, yet you can still perform precise aiming without the cursor jittering all over the place. The expert setting also turns on the "lock-on free look" option by default, which allows you to shoot anywhere on the screen while still locked onto an enemy. This makes it possible to strafe around one target and shoot something else that may be threatening, like airborne creatures making a dive for you. This control option is a perfect fit for Wii remote pros, because the aiming controls are so tight that you'll want to shoot at stuff without locking on to anything. The Wii remote setup makes Metroid Prime 3 feel like a true first-person shooter. The only other game on Wii that you could compare it to is Red Steel, which absolutely pales in comparison to the fluidity of Corruption's controls.

You're also going to experience a "wow" moment when you first activate your scan visor and have a look around, but I won't spoil exactly why here. With no second analog stick to switch visors, this time you hold down the Minus(-) Button to bring up the on-screen visor select menu. To choose a new visor you move the aiming cursor into one of three wedges in the circular display. Scan is in the top zone, and the new command visor is in the bottom right. The command visor lets you control your ship from afar, provided you're looking at the proper terminal by a landing site. After playing through the first two Metroid games on GameCube, hitting a button to change visors is a little strange, but I'm sure I will get used to it.

In last year's E3 demo, the grappling beam's controls were strange. Flicking the nunchuk forward still shoots it out, but in the old version you were required to pull back on the analog stick to yank whatever it was you grabbed on to. That has been changed in the final game to a much more natural movement: you must simply pull the nunchuk back to clear debris or de-shield enemies. This really reduces confusion since you don't need to worry about mixing up motion controls with traditional inputs.

The coolest addition to the game is the ability to actually go into Samus' gunship. Being inside the ship is a first for the series, and fanboys will no doubt be drooling over the prospect. It's not just for show, either; Samus can interact with switches and controls inside with the Wii remote by placing her hand on a panel or press buttons with her finger. Pressing the A button while moving her hand around with the remote pointer will make her poke at whatever you're aiming at. It is possible to whiff a simple button press if you aren't paying attention—I did on the ship's numeric keypad—so don't take this activity lightly. It may be especially important later in the game if Samus encouters passcode locks. I just hope that doesn't happen as you need to escape a collapsing structure, because dying because of an errant finger poke would sure suck.

The gameplay is pretty tight. The only thing I am concerned about, perhaps unfoundedly, is the game's voice dialog. Since I've only seen about 15 minutes of opening cinematic, I am in no position to comment on the script or plotline of the game. So I won't. But I will say that I think having characters speak to Samus, knowing that she will never speak back, really bothers me. Mario has never been a vocal character, and all of his games have had limited voice because of it. Samus is much the same way, yet the conversations taking place between her and the people she interacts with, including other bounty hunters, made it feel as though the story were being force-fed down my throat. I must admit that this is really more a nit-pick than a serious issue, especially since I was playing through the story-heavy opening of the game. However, I do hope that there aren't very many one-way discussions as the adventure really pick up. And hey, who knows; we might hear Samus speak. Her face was the original mystery, so maybe her voice will be the next?

Personal annoyances aside, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is only a month away and it's time to get excited about it. I sure as hell am. Corruption is going to set the bar really high for first-person shooters that follow, which is a good thing for the genre moving forward on Wii. I can't imagine what future Wii FPS games will look like, especially ones out of the Nintendo camp, after Corruption. All I know is that I'm getting this game when it comes out. Will you?

Talkback

TJ SpykeJuly 13, 2007

You added an extra "c" in the paragraph about using the Nunchuk for beam controls.

Samus not talking would be a shame, but not a huge deal. As for one sided conversations, remember how the main character from Grand Theft Auto III never talked or even grunted?

WindyManSteven Rodriguez, Staff AlumnusJuly 13, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: TJ Spyke
Samus not talking would be a shame, but not a huge deal. As for one sided conversations, remember how the main character from Grand Theft Auto III never talked or even grunted?


Yes, but conversation had been a part of the GTA series since the very beginning. No one really spoke in any of the original Metroid games, so it's really foreign to me to see any kind of script at all here. But like I said in the impressions, that's a personal nitpick. I did want to try to say something negative about the game. Fair and balanced, you know.

Bill AurionJuly 13, 2007

How about in Zelda when Link doesn't respond to NPCs? Does that not bother you just because it's text-only? It's still the same basic idea... =)

that Baby guyJuly 13, 2007

The trick...at the end of the game, that Samus robot pulls of its head, and it's actually...Waluigi!

He stole her powersuit, and used his phenomenal cosmic powers to make it work on him. He's been out getting high on Phazon, and the game is called Corrupted because Retro finally realized what was going on in the prime series.

mantidorJuly 13, 2007

but what would she say? The only right thing would be "the last metroid is in captivity, the galaxy is at peace", and it wouldn't make sense in this game.

I hope you can switch the nunchuk portions like flip switching and lever pulling to the remote for us lefties, its not like you are aiming and shooting when doing those things, so it shouldn't matter.

that Baby guyJuly 13, 2007

It says, "Waluigi number one!"

MashiroJuly 13, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: WindyManNo one really spoke in any of the original Metroid games, so it's really foreign to me to see any kind of script at all here.


The best script and speech is the beginning of Super Metroid.

"The last metroid is in captivity . . . the galaxy . . . is at peace". lol =)

But yeah Samus interacting with people alone just seems weird.

Edit: Damn you mantidor!

Yes, one way verbal conversations are MUCH more uncomfortable than one way text conversations. Probably because your brain is much more active when you read than when you listen to a conversation, and "unrealistic" presentation conventions are more common anyway in books than in videos.

nickmitchJuly 13, 2007

Wasn't there narration is Metroid fusion? IIRC, there was also some dialog in there.

Yes, Samus had some text narrative in Metroid Zero Mission too. So it isn't unheard of for Samus to actually SAY something.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 13, 2007

I don't see the problem with one way dialog, there are quite a few games that utilize and it doesn't feel weird. In a way it kind of feels like they are talking to you directly.

MashiroJuly 13, 2007

Samus has a narrative before you begin playing in Super Metroid and she explains the events of Metriod and Metroid II.

But I know what Windy is saying. He said "No one really spoke in any of the original Metroid games" and that is true.

Metroid had no dialogue aside from the beginning prologue on the press start screen.

Metroid II was similar.

Super Metroid had the opening prologue but that was about it.

Metroid Fusion is really the first time we see an active conversation take place between Samus and another entity, in this case her C.O. and in that game it felt weird.

I can only imagine how weird it will seem with people talking to Samus. Not that that is bad but . . . it is different.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 13, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Mashiro
Samus has a narrative before you begin playing in Super Metroid and she explains the events of Metriod and Metroid II.

But I know what Windy is saying. He said "No one really spoke in any of the original Metroid games" and that is true.

Metroid had no dialogue aside from the beginning prologue on the press start screen.

Metroid II was similar.

Super Metroid had the opening prologue but that was about it.

Metroid Fusion is really the first time we see an active conversation take place between Samus and another entity, in this case her C.O. and in that game it felt weird.

I can only imagine how weird it will seem with people talking to Samus. Not that that is bad but . . . it is different.


I don't mind it because it makes her feel apart of a living breathing world.

MashiroJuly 13, 2007

I like having that disconnected feeling in Metroid, I always felt it was what made metroid well metroid. Samus is put into an insurmountable situation and she really doesn't have contact with anyone during the journey and that factor made it feel all the more creepy and epic.

Having the C.O. talk to you during fusion and give you instructions really killed the mood.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 13, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Mashiro
I like having that disconnected feeling in Metroid, I always felt it was what made metroid well metroid. Samus is put into an insurmountable situation and she really doesn't have contact with anyone during the journey and that factor made it feel all the more creepy and epic.

Having the C.O. talk to you during fusion and give you instructions really killed the mood.


I think you can balance the two which could benefit the Metroid franchise.

MashiroJuly 13, 2007

Yeah maybe . . . I dunno I just prefer no real dialogue going on through the adventure, especially when it comes to aiding Samus.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 13, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Mashiro
Yeah maybe . . . I dunno I just prefer no real dialogue going on through the adventure, especially when it comes to aiding Samus.


Like I said it is a matter of preference, I personally want to see Samus's world to be expanded to understand what is going on around her in addition to her adventures.

that Baby guyJuly 13, 2007

Meh, in an actual opinion, I think things do need to be expanded in the Metriod universe, but here's the thing: Metroid != Samus.

I'd like an combination game, with perhaps five games in it based on various things in the Metroid universe. Something where you play as an actual metroid and fight Kirby to see who eats more, a 2D Space Pirate Strategy/Action hybrid, where you are the commander of a Space Pirate troupe, and you assualt Space Stations for their technologies, a short game where you get to see some of the life of Dead Blue Suit Guy from Super Metroid, and perhaps some kind of operation-type game, where you collect Ridley's dust and slowly super-glue and duct-tape him back together. All-in-all, think Kirby's Super Star, only each game has different gameplay and characters, too.

JensenJuly 13, 2007

One thing that annoys me about MP3 in the videos I've seen is the way the view is moved. It looks like one of those RTS games in which you push your mouse cursor to the edge of the screen to scroll the view. The player is pulling Samus's view in different directions instead of just aiming the view directly. It just doesn't look as smooth, because of the delay when turning. I think I'd prefer to control MP3 like the GC games, at least as an option. I say this as a PC FPS player. Both control methods are better than dual-analog, though.

The free aim while locked on, on the other hand, is quite nice.

After MP1, I was disappointed with the visuals in MP2, but MP3 looks good. The "On Rails" video at wii.ign.com looks like it was taken out of a Myst game.

KDR_11kJuly 14, 2007

Fusion sucked. Metroid is usually about "okay, I'm in this world, I got to kill some bosses, what do I do?", Fusion killed that by deciding what the player must do and interrupting him regularly. Samus should n't interact with other characters because NPCs are always limited in what they can do and most likely they'll just end up reacting to certain trigger events and talking to them triggers others, often with no logical connection (take e.g. having to convince people to let you pass in Zelda, in Metroid you can't pass because you lack something and it's just physically impossible without that something, having NPCs require arbitrary conditions to be met before they let you continue is dumb and probably reduces sequence breaks as well). I mean, either you make the NPCs completely oblivious or unimportant to the player's progression (i.e. they either don't care what you do or don't do anything for you) or you end up making them enforce a certain order of events on the player.

I think Fusion was an interesting experiment, and it's a fun game, but it's probably my least favorite Metroid game. Aside from the very linear design, I was disappointed that the Samus/Metroid combination didn't result in more gameplay differences. Fusion had what, one or two new abilities? The whole mechanic of shooting and absorbing the X Virus really wasn't a lot different from collecting energy and missile pickups in the other games.

OurBonesWereChalkJuly 14, 2007

I think, honestly, that Samus will talk within the game, even if its only at the end. She's not like most other Nintendo characters, so I think we should really expect to hear her and Ridley have an exchange, which would be absolutely awesome.

miedoJuly 14, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Jonnyboy117
I think Fusion was an interesting experiment, and it's a fun game, but it's probably my least favorite Metroid game. Aside from the very linear design, I was disappointed that the Samus/Metroid combination didn't result in more gameplay differences. Fusion had what, one or two new abilities? The whole mechanic of shooting and absorbing the X Virus really wasn't a lot different from collecting energy and missile pickups in the other games.


They started something with the whole getting chased by Sa-X ordeal, and kind of worked with that small part of Zone Six (I think) where you had to avoid the blue X parasites because they were freezing. Too bad that stopped with the Varia Suit, and the Sa-X chases were too rare.

As for Corruption, is there any way you can compare it to say Call of Duty 3 or even Resident Evil 4 Wii in terms of aiming fluidity? I've never played Red Steel, but I was quite happy with how Call of Duty 3 and RE4 Wii handled aiming.

tiamat1990July 14, 2007

Damn I can't wait for this game! It truly does sound awesome. IGN even went so far as calling it the best FPS controls on a console!!

GoldenPhoenixJuly 14, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: tiamat1990
Damn I can't wait for this game! It truly does sound awesome. IGN even went so far as calling it the best FPS controls on a console!!


Not like that would be hard to do.

King of TwitchJuly 14, 2007

IGN is lying as everyone knows, MP3 is obviously a FPA

TrueNerdJuly 15, 2007

Windy: Any worries that this game will feature more straight-forward and linear levels then the previous Primes?

Bill AurionJuly 15, 2007

Stop worrying about 1up's crappy impressions...Even IGN was making fun of them...

(If you watch some of the gameplay videos, you can see doors that Samus can't reach, and a spider ball track she can't use...)

GoldenPhoenixJuly 15, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: TrueNerd
Windy: Any worries that this game will feature more straight-forward and linear levels then the previous Primes?


EVERY Metroid game has a couple linear segments at the beginning (Well excluding Metroid 1 and 2). I think this game is no different, the opening level (or perhaps levels) will be linear but start to open up.

LuigiHannJuly 15, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: MJRx9000
IGN is lying as everyone knows, MP3 is obviously a FPA


Oddly enough, to tie this back to an earlier bit in this thread: Having NPCs talk at you as if they don't expect you to respond is a common occurrence in first-person adventure games.

"Hello, my friend. I'm so glad that you've returned..."

WindyManSteven Rodriguez, Staff AlumnusJuly 15, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: TrueNerd
Windy: Any worries that this game will feature more straight-forward and linear levels then the previous Primes?


Impossible to comment on based on the amount of time I played the game.

MashiroJuly 15, 2007

Remember Metroid Prime 1's intro stage? That was really straight forward. I don't think people should worry. As GP said

Quote

"EVERY Metroid game has a couple linear segments at the beginning (Well excluding Metroid 1 and 2). I think this game is no different, the opening level (or perhaps levels) will be linear but start to open up. "


I tend to agree with that.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 15, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Mashiro
Remember Metroid Prime 1's intro stage? That was really straight forward. I don't think people should worry. As GP said
Quote

"EVERY Metroid game has a couple linear segments at the beginning (Well excluding Metroid 1 and 2). I think this game is no different, the opening level (or perhaps levels) will be linear but start to open up. "


I tend to agree with that.


Actually if you look back on the series, starting with SM there are a few segments that are pretty linear, I remember the crashed Space Pirate ship with the phantom in SM to be quite linear. My guess is that Retro wanted the most straightforward action sequences to show off at E3 because you wouldn't have much time for exploration, instead they wanted to show off the controls.

MashiroJuly 15, 2007

You know . . . as linear as that portion of the game was I couldn't find the second suit upgrade for some reason lol. I actually wrote Nintendo a letter asking for assistance and they mailed me back instructions on how to find it.

Ah the days before the gamefaqs (or at least the days before I had a computer that could go online).

CericJuly 16, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: WindyMan
Quote

Originally posted by: TJ Spyke
Samus not talking would be a shame, but not a huge deal. As for one sided conversations, remember how the main character from Grand Theft Auto III never talked or even grunted?


Yes, but conversation had been a part of the GTA series since the very beginning. No one really spoke in any of the original Metroid games, so it's really foreign to me to see any kind of script at all here. But like I said in the impressions, that's a personal nitpick. I did want to try to say something negative about the game. Fair and balanced, you know.


I would also like to point out that in the majority of Metroid games that there isn't anyone to have dialog with for most of the game. She could have an internal monologue like she did in Fusion. In that game she also had the ship to talk with. The rest of the games everyone is dead and I really don't think that the Space Pirates want to sit and have a chat with the great destroyer.

In the end Samus is another Siphon. Just like Link. You are alone in a moody environment and they do a well enough job captivating you into it so that you can have your own internal monologue. The real trick with conversations is that if your doing it one-way then you need to make sure its written in such a way that the player will naturally think of their version of the answers.

I'm on the other side of the boat on Fusion. I really enjoyed the games. I find the other ones to sometimes be arbitrarily frustrating. Anyway, out of all the Metoids I really do think that Fusion had the most Sci-Fi Novella type feel to it. I enjoy those types of stories. I really wouldn't mind MP3 having that same sort of feel.

Now on things I want in the Metroid Universe. An RTS that didn't have Samus in it.

TrueNerdJuly 16, 2007

Sorry about being a Nervous Nancy about this game. I can't help it. Thanks for the response anyways Windy.

GoldenPhoenixJuly 16, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: TrueNerd
Sorry about being a Nervous Nancy about this game. I can't help it. Thanks for the response anyways Windy.


Let me ask you a question, do you honestly think Retro would put less work in the final part of the triliogy? In fact they have put more work in this game than MP2. I have no doubt that Retro wants the series to go out with a bang, so I do not think you need to worry about many linear segments.

I hope there is a lot of voice acting and interaction at the beginning, but then Samus takes off to a totally deserted/isolated place with no communication at all. That dichotomy would be really effective. It would simultaneously push the series in a new direction and go back to the roots. Wishful thinking?

NinGurl69 *hugglesJuly 16, 2007

The media will just mention some crap about Metroid finally heading in the right direction, then ruining things just a couple hours later and stuff about how Nintendo failed to evolve the series and lack of bump mapping and pitch-black self-shadowing.

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Wii

Game Profile

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Box Art

Genre Adventure
Developer Retro Studios
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Release Aug 27, 2007
PublisherNintendo
RatingTeen
jpn: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Release Mar 06, 2008
PublisherNintendo
eu: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Release Oct 26, 2007
PublisherNintendo
Rating12+
aus: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Release Nov 08, 2007
PublisherNintendo
RatingMature
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