I would like to start by announcing that after a short sabbatical, during which I reconnected with my roots by playing a strict regimen of Atari 2600, SNES, and old-school RPGs, I have regained a faith in the gaming industry that I was starting to lose. The PS3 isn’t going to fail after all, companies aren’t just concerned with who has the best graphics, and Nintendo still makes more than just party games.

Am I the only person to notice that it seems like most of the games Nintendo is making for the Wii are heavily dependent on you having three friends to play them with? Seriously, what gamer has three friends? Especially three friends they can stand to have in the room together at the same time? Anyway, as long as they keep making single player games, I’ll keep playing them.Metroid Prime 3: CorruptionSystem: Wii Publisher: NintendoPrice: $49.99 Rating: T(Teen)Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is purported to be the last game in the Metroid Prime series. However, if it makes money, I can see them making another. First thing I noticed was Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (henceforth referred to as MP3:C) has no multiplayer component. Previous entries into the Metroid Prime series had a multiplayer VS mode. I have to wonder if it was purposefully left out, or if there was a time-crunch during production. So fair warning, this isn’t going to be a game you can or are going to want to play with your friends.

The story this time is that apparently three giant asteroids made out of Phazon (a radioactive and mutagenic substance introduced in the first game that is capable of generating high amounts of energy but is highly unstable) have crashed into three planets and are starting to affect the local flora and fauna. And there are space pirates involved in this somehow. Samus (the main character, AKA you) and three other bounty hunters have been hired to destroy these asteroids. Unfortunately they’re surrounded by a strange force field. And the other three hunters went AWOL right before you came on the scene.

Nothing is ever easy.

The controls are a lot like Red Steel. You use the Wiimote to aim, and the nunchuck to move around. However, you also use the Wiimote to push buttons, pull switches, and pump levers, all by swinging your arm around like you’re practicing martial arts while having a seizure. My main issue with the controls is if you’re a caffeine freak like me, who has a slight hand tremor, good luck hitting anything and be thankful that the missiles have homing capability.

While the graphics don’t match what the Xbox 360 or the PS3 is capable of, they are an improvement over previous Metroid Prime games. The controls are an interesting novelty but take a while to get use to. Once you get them down though, they become instinctive, but for some motions (such as using the ‘grapple lasso’) the controls require precise movements which sometimes don’t register – which will leave you in trouble if you’re in the middle of combat. Aside from the new controls this is also the first Metroid game to take place on multiple planets, at the same time nonetheless. For the first time Samus’ spaceship is more than a glorified save point, allowing you to fly to other planets at anytime as well as saving and reloading your weapons.

If you like the Metroid series, play this game. If you like First Person Shooters, rent this game, because the focus on puzzle-solving and exploration (Nintendo bills the game as a First Person Adventure) slows down the pace with combat serving to mix it up a little. There seems to be a combat situation for every two to three puzzles, keeping you on your toes and preventing the game from getting boring. I recommend that anyone who wants to see what the Wii can do should at least rent this game.