Ok, so yesterday I caved to the hype… caved in to the Metroid nostalgia and great reviews I had read. So in true lemming form I found myself at the sales counter dropping my $49 plus tax on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Here are my thoughts after 2 hours of play…

Now before I get into my “impressions” or whatever, let me do say that I loved the 2D Metroid’s. I played through the original Metroid back in the days when it came out on NES. Also finished it with the “JUSTIN BAILEY” code. I also completed Metroid II on the Gameboy and throughly enjoyed Super Metroid on the SNES. As a 2D side scroller I loved Metroid and never had a gamecube so I did not play any in the Prime series when it came out initially.

Earlier this year after beating Twilight Princess I ended up buying Metroid Prime for the Gamecube (along with a wavebird) and started playing through Metroid Prime. I got about one third through it and totally lost interest. It was definately the controls that just didn’t seem right. I totally lost interest and never could get into it as a first person shooter.

So for me getting Metroid Prime 3: was a gamble since I already had a predisposition to not liking the first person shooter aspect which is a core aspect to say the least. I generally don’t like first person shooters or first person anything. I like to see the car when I play Ridge Racer and I like to see the person I am controlling even if its a view of their back like in Tomb Raider or Resident Evil… you know I am that dude. So I was a bit surprised on how great controls worked on Metroid Prime 3.

It lived up to the hype. Moving around was intuitive and easy to pick up after a few minutes. The controls never seemed tacked on or gimmicky. Battles are very fun and engaging. The game kept my attention and I ended up playing it for 2 hours straight my first time popping in the disc. I couldn’t even tell you the last game I played for 2 hours straight. After an hour I am usually ready to save and cut a game off but the storyline in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and events as it unfolds in the game made me just want to keep going to get to the next point. The action and puzzles were clever and there was enough action to keep me excited. The 2 boss battles I played through were great and the events/storyline not predictable.

So 2 hours in I am impressed. The graphics are the best I have seen yet on the Wii. They managed to work in crisp textures and nice colors and managed to avoid jaggies which plague almost all Wii games. Graphically it does noticeably raise the bar. The music and sound effects are also great and totally creates an experience. Theres nothing like that classic Metroid sound when you get a new energy tank or upgrade. Its fresh and nostalgic all in the right proportions.

If the excitement stays at the same level (raises hopefully) as what I have already played then this is a must have purchase and a classic game. At this point I don’t regret dropping the $49 at all.