Wii Hands-On: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Detailed hands-on with the all-new Wii edition of Metroid, with a ton of fresh screens included.

One of the first things that came to mind following Nintendo's dramatic display of their new, unconventional controller was that it could be used to significantly alter the FPS experience for consoles. So it was to little shock that Retro Studios, the minds behind the highly acclaimed Metroid Prime series, was hard at work on a third installment of the franchise to make exclusive use of the Wii's innovative controller - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Leading up to the annual videogame Mecca, the one and only E3, the only thing left to the imagination was if Retro's latest effort would live up to its vaulted namesake. And we're here to say - Wii believe.

Utilizing the nunchuck and remote, the control is surprisingly fluid and very intuitive, albeit with a few kinks. The player uses the nunchuck to move Samus forward and backwards, while the remote is used to aim and fire. The controller molds to your hands, allowing for a very natural playing experience. Retro has utilized the setup in clever ways, such as pulling back and motioning forward on the nunchuck to operate Samus' grappling hook. And making realistic motions with the remote allows the player to unlock hatches along the way.

That said, the controls still need to be tweaked. Once during the demonstration, the sensor bar lost track of the remote and took a brief moment to recalibrate the position of the controller. Not to mention that for a game that should benefit from the quick, precise PC-like control from the Wii setup, turning Samus on-screen is surprisingly sluggish. It doesn't quite hamper the experience, but it is something that should be addressed. And to the intriguing bystanders worried about the sensor bar, at no time does the player feel the need to focus on the sensor bar rather than the screen.

After you handle the learning curve of the unique control scheme, you can focus on the less exciting visual upgrades. Metroid Prime 3 doesn't look too much different than its GameCube brethren, but the silky smooth visuals have gotten a noticeable bump. Corruption boasts much larger environments, with sharp, clean textures and some extra polygons in architecture. The best eye candy is reserved for the beautiful particle effects, explosions and smoke trails that when combined with the smooth, insane action on screen can easily overwhelm the senses.

The demonstration also featured some upgraded enemies, with fierce A.I. that will not relent. One unique way of dispatching of certain villains is using the grappling hook to pull off shielding and weapons to make enemies susceptible to Samus' cannon fire. As you progress, you utilize the Wii control scheme to execute standard Metroid puzzles, complete with a healthy dose of patented morphball action. And just when we thought we couldn't take anymore – Retro threw in a heart racing boss battle.

Samus ends up face-to-face franchise stalwart Ridley, sending the heroine spiraling down a space shaft at hundreds of miles per hour, all whilst fending off Ridley in hopes of beating the beast before you go splat on the bottom floor. Combined with the interactive Wii control element, Retro and Nintendo may have lived up to the promise of redefining the videogame experience as we know it.

While the fact sheet remains barren, Nintendo has stated that Metroid Prime 3 is one of the few first party titles you can expect to pick up on launch day. Although multiplayer has been thrown to the wayside for Samus' Wii debut, you can expect to find a rich and polished single player campaign featuring all new words, suit elements and expanded spaceship features.

With Retro fine tuning the Metroid experience, all one can hope for is some launch day spit shine on the controls, and Wii owners can pride themselves on having a launch title that may end up being the best in recent memory.

Will Federman
Staff Writer, Kikizo