Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

The readers post their own reviews.
feilong801
Posts: 2173
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby feilong801 » September 23rd, 2007, 3:37 am

Sometimes a game doesn’t get the love it truly deserves. Whether it be a matter of contemporary critical taste, silly, unsubstantiated biases and arguments, or downright bad timing, there are times when a game doesn’t quite get its due. The original Metroid Prime game released years ago on the Gamecube scored highly with critics and gamers alike, but its sequel, Echoes, didn’t do as well. This is partly due to the reasons stated above.

And, of course, it was released at the same time as a little number called Halo 2. Enter Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Supposedly the game that would finally give the “leet hardc0re” something to play on Wii, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption (MP3) was released with much fanfare in the final week of August 2007. It also marks the first release of the powerful Nintendo fall/holiday combo also featuring Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. Brawl. Would it escape the issues that kept Echoes from greatness? Is MP3 the stirring conclusion to the Prime trilogy that fans have been waiting for? In short, it is. It’s an instant classic in my book. So why isn’t it being treated that way?

First of all, MP3 was released a week after critical darling Bioshock. Triggering some of the most stupendously idiotic fanboy debates of all time, even certain critics weren’t immune to downgrading MP3 just because it wasn’t Bioshock. Obviously we are talking about two totally different subgenres within the broad spectrum of FPS games, apples and oranges. I kindly suggest that folks check their Bioshock goggles at the door when playing a Metroid game, please. Note: This is no rip on Bioshock, which I have yet to play. This has nothing to do with how great that game most likely is.

Also popping up in the enthusiast press is this usual culprit: The Sequel Penalty. This is where a game is downgraded because it is a sequel, even if it isn’t clear that the game is actually worse than the original iteration. Of course, I wonder if some critics understand what Metroid games are all about. There was one review that actually said that players would be confused by “the slower pacing.” Egad!

However, not every issue with MP3 is in the mind of fickle critics. Sometimes a game needs to understand what it is, and it shouldn’t try to be something it is not. MP3 tries to make itself a little more “uptempo,” and while some of this is effective (somewhat less backtracking and more dynamic combat are definitely appreciated), one thing is not: The voice acting. Yes, this game is the first in the series to have it, and while some of it is OK (your fellow bounty hunters seem well voiced), some of it is not (Admiral Dane in particular is pretty craptastic).

I have to downgrade the game a little bit for the music. No, the actual compositions are fine. But I do think it is time for Nintendo to fund a full orchestra, and not a sampled one. For some reason this didn’t bother me so much in Twilight Princess, probably because Koji Kondo was a little more skilled in using the sample library (there is an art to making it sound less “fake”). I do appreciate that Nintendo doesn’t just blast money down the development chute (like Sony clearly did for Heavenly Sword), but one would think that a little extra cash for a real orchestra and some better voice actors wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility.

This is especially true when a game is as refined as MP3 is. Make no mistake; Corruption is a masterpiece of game design, art direction, and precision control. Every area is carefully crafted in what could be called the modern “Nintendo Style.” This means you can expect thoughtful, intelligent puzzles, beautiful, stylized non-realist art, and epic boss battles that require a synthesis of learned skills and quick thinking. The fact that Retro Studios, an American developer, has mastered Nintendo’s own formula so well is really something they should be proud of.

As for the celebrated controls, yep, they are fantastic. Buttery smooth and almost 1:1, this is clearly the future of console FPS games. Far better than any attempt on Wii yet, the control scheme for MP3 will have you circle strafing with ease. Anyone who doesn’t think that these are the absolute best controls for a console FPS are probably “corrupted” themselves. All hail the new king.

Graphically, the game has already been described by noted game blogger N’Gai Croal as, eh, let’s just say he really liked the graphics (printing his remark would be slightly inappropriate for this family oriented blog!). He’s right. The game is gorgeous, and can really hold its own with anything else out there for any other system. Of course, a comment like that will probably anger the 15 year olds that say thinks like “this gamme lo1234k likes deh buttz.” Oh well.

Plot wise, MP3 does a very respectable job in telling its tale via “scans.” Each planet has bits of lore than can be downloaded, and you’ll be surprised how you’ll find yourself really looking forward to the next bit. Of course, Metroid has always been more of a comic book than a novel, and that flavor especially holds true here, with the cheeseball voice acting perhaps pushing things a little too far in that direction for my taste.

It doesn’t matter though, because Metroid games are really about Samus Aran, and the player’s love affair with this heroic woman. Never in the history of gaming has a female been so powerfully and respectfully portrayed. I found that I wasn’t really affected by what happened to the other characters in the story as much as I was affected by Samus herself. When she acts brave, you feel brave. When she turns her head in horror, you likewise flinch. Nintendo has really built a special character here, and I am hopeful that the future will allow for more adventures for her.

Another component that made this game feel very special to me is that I managed to collect 100% of the game’s pickups, thus unlocking the “best” ending. I don’t think I’ve ever been a completist in any game, usually just rushing to finish it as quickly as possible. Not so here, and once again Samus is to blame! My utter fascination with this character really pushed me to make sure I got to see everything that happens to her at game’s end.

Like I said before, this is an outstanding game that will get a bit overshadowed by other releases that surround it. It is also created in a certain style that is viewed perhaps as a bit stale by some in the West; but I don’t think it is. I suppose if you are dead stone addicted to super fast action games like Gears of War, you won’t like this. But for real adults, this is a meaty, substantial endeavor that is not to be missed. Despite wanting a bit more in terms of presentation, I loved this game, and absolutely recommend it.

Grade: A- 


User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18074
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 23rd, 2007, 2:02 pm

Feilong,
I like your review, but there's one point I don't agree with, and that is your contention that Metroid 3 cannot be compared to Bioshock.  Why not?  You need some kind of basis of comparison.  All first-person shooters are pretty similar in terms of core gameplay.  It seems like gamers only cry "apples to oranges" when their game does not compare favorably.
Dave


Steerforth

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby Steerforth » September 23rd, 2007, 3:04 pm

Haven't heard it yet, but I agree full orchastration would be great. Screw CG, screw voice acting, but throw yourself full blown in the music. Music is on all the time, and is as important as graphics in setting a tone of the game.

*note - bought a Sunday Paper today - Best Buy add has Halo on the cover, Halo bundles with no Halo, Halo on every TV screen. HALO HALO HALO YOU CANNOT ESCAPE TEH HALO.......

When does Halo even come out?,  I want a 3 game throwdown - HALO vs Metroid vs Bioshock. Also I have it on good athority Gamespot only gets a limited amount of 10's to dole out each year, and I hear they have been saving them for....Halo!

Seriously, nice review Rob - how much better does this control than Red Steel? I think I could have got used to Red Steel, if the game had made me want to play it a little more, but I hope this is a lot better anyway.

m0zart1
Posts: 3117
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby m0zart1 » September 23rd, 2007, 10:39 pm

[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]Feilong,
I like your review, but there's one point I don't agree with, and that is your contention that Metroid 3 cannot be compared to Bioshock.  Why not?  You need some kind of basis of comparison.  All first-person shooters are pretty similar in terms of core gameplay.  It seems like gamers only cry "apples to oranges" when their game does not compare favorably.[/QUOTE]

I agree with him to a large extent.  I don't consider Metroid Prime a first-person shooter.  It has shooting elements, but like 2D Metroid games vs games in the 2D shooting genre, the primary aspect of the game isn't to go around and shoot at things with precision using ranged weapons.  I realize it is a first-person game with shooting elements, but that isn't where the game sets itself apart.  IMO, it would be like comparing Bioshock to point-and-click adventures, simply because Bioshock attempts to tell a complicated story.  Gameplay-wise, they don't really compare.

I realize from some of your past comments that you don't agree with that.  I just wanted to state my position on the matter.  I play a lot of games that are told from a first-person perspective, and which have some heavy shooting elements -- Call of Cthulhu, for instance, but I don't think it would be fair to compare those to Bioshock either.

Lately though I've come to think that some comparison with the first-person shooter genre might be in order.  I've talked to some people who played MP for the first time recently, and though most of them enjoyed the game, they didn't really like it as an FPS.  Since an FPS was what they were expecting, it would be nice if a review out there could explain the differences reasonably enough.  I read a very good user review on Gamespot recently that made the comparison about as fairly as I thought it could be made, and it helped me to see that it can be done well if done fairly.

[QUOTE=Steerforth]When does Halo even come out?,  I want a 3 game throwdown - HALO vs Metroid vs Bioshock. Also I have it on good athority Gamespot only gets a limited amount of 10's to dole out each year, and I hear they have been saving them for....Halo![/QUOTE]

Gamespot giving out a 10 to any game, even Halo 3, would be a shock.  They recently reviewed a PC game which they had NOTHING bad to say about.  It was the first time since they introduced "The Good" and "The Bad" headers in which they left out "The Bad" altogether.  Yet that game still only got a 9.5.

I am beginning to think they want to treat the 10 as an impossible goal.  Only four games in their history have ever gotten one, and they were years in the past.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18074
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 23rd, 2007, 10:53 pm

I understand that first-person shooters can be dramatically different and difficult to compare, but by definition, Metroid Prime 3 is a first person shooter (FPS).  It's played from a first-person perspective and you shoot stuff.  Yeah it has other elements, but you can say that for just about any FPS.  Hell, you even have to shoot the frickin' doors to open them for Pete's sake! 

m0zart1
Posts: 3117
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby m0zart1 » September 23rd, 2007, 11:10 pm

[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]I understand that first-person shooters can be dramatically different and difficult to compare, but by definition, Metroid Prime 3 is a first person shooter (FPS).  It's played from a first-person perspective and you shoot stuff.  Yeah it has other elements, but you can say that for just about any FPS.  Hell, you even have to shoot the frickin' doors to open them for Pete's sake![/QUOTE]

I don't consider that to be an altogether reasonable definition of an FPS.  It is etymologically correct, at least in terms of each element in the name being there, but FPS as a genre has never been just about shooting from a first-person perspective.  An FPS is, to me, a game that concentrates on the skilled use of tactical long-range weapons, concentrating primarily on your ability to use those weapons effectively without much in-game assistance (such as lock-on).  The skill is in the hands of the gamer using the controller effectively.  The FPS genre started in that direction, and has had more than a decade of time to cultivate it into its own niche.  For a game to come in and just have shooting elements from a first-person perspective doesn't cut it.

The Metroid Prime series is a 3D realization of the Metroid series, which itself was never about long-range tactical shooting as some 2D games actually were.  Metroid was an adventure game with shooting elements.  That is what I generally consider Metroid Prime to be -- a first-person adventure game with shooting elements.

It all hinges on the meaning of "FPS" to the gamer who is reading a given review.  I am sure not everyone has as verbose a definition as I handed out, but not everyone has a simplistic a definition either.  Practically every FPS fan I've encountered who didn't like Metroid Prime didn't like it because the controls weren't suited to skilled use.  They were expecting a different kind of game.

If all "FPS" is supposed to mean is like you said, a game with shooting elements from the first-person perspective, then it would be impossible not to include MP in that genre.  I've just not seen too many who are willing to limit a genre more than a decade in the making to such simple components.  I think Metroid Prime Hunters and MP3 are about as close as the series has come to being about skilled use in that manner.  I can easily call MPH a first-person shooter, for instance, based on that definition, if only because the skilled use of your weapons was almost the entire point of the game, with adventure elements kept to an absolute minimum.  Until I've actually had time to play it through MP3, I don't want to make a judgement about that particular entry in the series, but it makes sense to me though that this would be the case, given the use of the controller is intended to be highlighted for this purpose.

feilong801
Posts: 2173
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby feilong801 » September 23rd, 2007, 11:29 pm

While I do agree with m0zart here 100% in regards to Metroid Prime not being an FPS "as most people understand it," I was also articulating my disgust at some of the immature fanboy debates on the internet between the two games (although I did say that it seeped into some of the critical press).

In particular, there was an atrocious article written on IGN.com that compared the two games, written by the enormously biased Xbox 360 editor. Of course he gave almost every edge to Bioshock, including controls, saying something like the Prime 3 controls were not the best first person controls on a home console. Anyone who's played Prime 3 knows that is hogwash. It was a piece designed to enrage 15 year olds.

You can definitely make an intelligent comparison between the two games, but I think any such comparison ultimately falls into the realm of taste and not really value or artistry. You can certainly say with the Metroid Prime series, "meh, not really my thing." But as we've talked about before, if a purpose of a review is to give something of a recommendation to a potential consumer, then you really shouldn't potentially deceive them for knocking it for being basically really good at what it is. You just have to accurately describe what the game does well (and not well), and leave it to the reader to decide.

I do admit, Dave, that you are correct on one point: It is a little irritating to me that perhaps Bioshock might overshadow Prime 3 (although this has been disproved by actual sales at this point). I'm man enough to admit that I've fallen in love with the modern Nintendo style (sans their refusal to record real musical instruments) and want to see more games with that methodology. So I do "stick up" For Prime 3, in the same way that I've stuck up for Twilight Princess on these forums.

Of course, all that goes out the window if you don't think of a review as a recommendation, but rather as your subjective opinion regarding a game's worth and artistry.. and I suppose I do a bit of both when I write about games like this.

Anyway, I'm happy that my review has caused a little discussion... I sacrificed some sleep writing that puppy! 

@ Steerforth: The controls for Prime 3 utterly destroy Red Steel. RS wasn't bad, but it had real technical problems with "jitters" and doesn't really allow you to shrink the "bounding box" like you can in Prime 3. They are so responsive, in fact, that my first reaction was to be almost repulsed by it for the first hour, only to have totally mastered it and have it be second nature.


MigAlley

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby MigAlley » September 24th, 2007, 6:11 pm

Nice review although if you truly wanted to get away from the "bioshock versus MP3" perhaps you shouldn't have mentioned it at all. Ya know, base MP3 on its own merits. Personally, I don't care what the sales numbers say, Bioshock is my game of the year. By all accounts, it is selling very well anyway. I think MP3 is a good game but it isn't very original. I enjoyed your review I just think it would have been much better if you left the comparisons out.


feilong801
Posts: 2173
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby feilong801 » September 24th, 2007, 6:19 pm

[QUOTE=MigAlley] Ya know, base MP3 on its own merits.
[/QUOTE]

I wrote ten consecutive paragraphs dealing exclusively with the game, which I think pretty much does the trick on that point. I write long reviews when I wish to cover peripheral issues, which is what the introductory material is for.

-Rob

qubit

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Review

Postby qubit » September 25th, 2007, 9:56 am

Love this game, but I agree about the voice acting.  How much do you wanna bet that "Damn!  They're targeting the planetary defense-system!" will be the next "Do a barrel roll!"?



Return to “Reader Reviews”