bit-tech Shopping: Nintendo Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: classic series. Nintendo fanboys love this game.

Weaknesses: metroid price makes me dizzy. I didn't play it that much. I didn't like the ball.

Summary: I didn't really give this game a try. I played it for a few minutes, but it made me to dizzy to play more than 15 mins. I wouldn't recommend it if you get motion sickness easily. I hear it is a really good game though.

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Awesome first person adventure for Wii, great graphics and control

Weaknesses: N/A

Summary: This is my favorite Wii game so far, even above Super Mario Galaxy. I enjoyed Metroid Prime on the Gamecube quite a bit but never finished it. This game I completed with 100% of the pickups and had a blast doing so. The graphics, for a Wii game, are amazing and the control is spot on. The game is in the first-person perspective. You move Samus using the Nunchuk controller and point the Wii remote to aim, turn, and of course, shoot. This works flawlessly and is a model for all future first-person games. There are additional Wii remote actions as well - you can pull on the nunchuk to rip shields from Space Pirates, and use various other motions to unlock doors and interact with other objects. While these are not as integral to the gameplay as the Wii remote shooting mechanic, they add to the immersion of the game. As usual with Metroid, as you progress through the game you pick up additional health tanks and power ups that give you access to more areas. The big new addition to the gameplay is the Phazon corruption. You can become temporarily more powerful but must be careful using it as it drains your health. As a result, some of the boss fights are fairly challenging (because they require the use of this power that you don't use in most of the rest of the game). Fortunately there are multiple difficulty levels so both the newcomer and Metroid veteran will be satisfied with the difficulty. All in all, this is definitely one of the best Wii games out there and one of the best games for all systems in 2007. Buy it!

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Perfect controls, excellent graphics, good learning curve

Weaknesses: Door-loading takes you out of the experience

Summary: Metroid Prime 3 is the first 3D Metroid game I completed, and will likely be the last. There's no way to return to the analog stick aiming of the GameCube games after experiencing the near-perfect Wiimote pointer. Controls aside, the action and story are top-notch, with the lack of fetch quests interrupting your exploring a huge positive. Wii owners and fans of the series should buy this.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Great controls, great graphics, great everything

Weaknesses: Loading takes too long at some of the doors...I think that's the only real weakness

Summary: One of the best games for the Wii. The controls are done fantastically, it's far better with the Wii remote than with a traditional dual-analog gamepad. The graphics are very well done, improving from Metroid Prime 2 and showing that the Wii has enough power to keep games looking decent. The game itself is a blast to play, especially for anybody who loved Prime and Prime 2. The formula is basically the same with some different controls and abilities. The stacking beams are much better than the beam abilities from Prime and Prime 2 since you don't have to bother changing them to get the right one for the door or ability you're looking for. The addition of ship control makes the game that much more fun. My only complaint is that it takes too long to load some doors and you have to wait for them to open to go on to the next section of the level. Other than that it's a fantastic game and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3

Strengths: (1) Excellent controls when "Sensitivity" setting is set to "Advanced" (2) A long game that never gets dull

Weaknesses: (1) None

Summary: Metroid fans know why the Prime series is so captivating and everything about it only gets better with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. For series veterans, it relies on much of the tried-and-true, if somewhat formulaic, gameplay elements but adds plenty of surprising additions. First off, I love the way this game controls! Though the story is not exceptional, I was totally immersed in the game due to its fantastic control and excellent level, combat, enemy and puzzle design. To that effect, this is the only game that pulled me in more than Bioshock did this year. If you have not played a game in the Metroid Prime series before, you are really in for a treat as the series-reoccurring power ups and abilities are simply awesome and well implemented but those who have played the previous games are well used to these old standbys by now. If you have played the previous games, I recommend playing on the "veteran" setting.