Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

What is it?

The eighth in the core Metroid series and the final part of the first-person Metroid Prime trilogy, which started in 2003 on the Gamecube.

Is it better than the last one?

On the whole yes, although it’s another one that divided gamers. From the moment the Wii was announced we wanted to play an FPS on it, so it was perhaps inevitable that Metroid Prime 3 was going to walk a more bullet-strewn path than its more puzzle-oriented predecessors. And possibly as a reaction to complaints that Prime 2 was too similar to the original game, Corruption ditched the solitary, stranger in a strange land vibe of traditional Metroid in favour of an epic space opera which grounded Samus in an expanded game world. A fairly big shift then, but were the changes worthwhile? Absolutely.

Some Metroid purists might not have liked the more gun-heavy approach of Prime 3, but it was exactly what the Wii needed at the time and it worked brilliantly. The Wii remote and Nunchuk gave us the best way of removing alien head from alien shoulders since the keyboard and mouse, and even made using the shootertastic Xbox 360 controller feel like riding a dead elephant in comparison. Next to the clunky shooting mechanics of the Gamecube games, the genuine FPS control Prime 3 gave us was refreshing, empowering and a big shiny bagful of fun.

And then there was the non-shooting side of things. Turning the controller to operate door controls or prodding it to press buttons was a revelatory experience. Though a little awkward at first, it eventually added a scary amount of immersion to the whole game. Still unconvinced by the Wii? Try physically yanking a shield away from a bad guy with your left hand before blasting him in his stupid, gurning face with your right. You’ll be converted, we guarantee it.

Did the Wii really help?

Without doubt. The re-jig to the Metroid formula was welcome, but it was only a tiny part of what made Corruption great. The Prime trilogy’s last bow was really all about giving us the best FPS control ever seen in a console game, and it delivered admirably.