Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the final chapter in the Metroid Prime trilogy for the Wii and let me say I was not a firm believer and thought it would end up as a rehash of the Metroid Prime version for the Gamecube, man was I wrong! The game pays it’s respects to the GC version both graphically and stylistically but takes it to the next level on the Wii.

Presentation and Graphics: Environments and enemies look sharp and detailed. Samus different visors look great and effects of the environment on the visor are great. Metroid Prime 3 sets the bar very high for anything looking to be developed on the Wii from here on out. MP3 and the Retro Studios crew deserve some kind of award and in my opinion have a legitimate shot at game of the year. 5 out of 5

Sound and Music: The sound is spot on and the enemies and environment sounds great and add to the overall feeling of the game. 4 out of 5

Gameplay: There is a lot of substance in this game and a large portion of it stems around controls and gameplay. The controls in MP3 are spectacular, moving and strafing is done via the nunchuk and the Wiimote takes care of the rest. The innovation of using the Wiimote adds to the game experience and is the best use of the technology by far to date. The use of the remote to shoot is pretty standard but using it to open doors, scan things, press buttons and solve puzzles is awesome. You will actually simulate the motions on screen of ppulling, turning and pressing in door locks as well as wielding the new lasso, which you can use to grapple or steal an enemy’s shield.

You have the usual Samus action with jumping, firing and rolling into a ball, but the game sets itself apart with the puzzles you have to figure out to get you to the next group of enemies or room. Most of the puzzles are super hard, but do take a bit to figure out and provide some gaming fun, as you need to do different things to solve them, either using a missile, morphing into a ball or using your grapple hook.

Boss battles are fantastic, each requiring different things to bring them down. A new feature is the unleashing of the Phazon Enhancement Device, Samus can now wield pure phazon to cause ridiculous damage while losing health. Phazon in some cases is the only way to bring certain enemies down and adds an interesting new element to the series.

Another new element is that you will have your ship following you around from zone to zone serving as a save point and an energy fill point. This is actually pretty kool since you can move the ship around and set it at different locations through the worlds.

Awesome gameplay! 5 out of 5

Online: This I s the only department that Metroid Prime 3 let people down in. There is alack of Bounty hunter on Bounty hunter action. If this would have been added in, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would have been a game for the ages. N/A out of 5

Lasting Appeal: There is a lot to do in the game, ranging from collecting all of the various missile upgrades and energy tanks, to scanning all of the items in the game. There will definitely be reasons for you to play thru again and try your luck at a higher difficulty setting. 4.5 out of 5

Final Word: My biggest fear with the game was the controls and I quickly learned that they were spot on and not all wonky. The controls via the Wii mote and nunchuk actually add to the game and I can only hope that other games will adopt similar styles. For the most part Wii games have had lack luster controls, lack luster graphics and silly gameplay, but MP3 really blew me away in a lot of respects and is a must have for any Wii owner! If this is the only game for your Wii, make it happen. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption really gives any next generation game out there a run for their money.

Overall: 5 out of 5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.

2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.