Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

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Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the tenth game in the Metroid series and is the third and final of the main installments in the Metroid Prime trilogy, excluding the two spin-off titles. It was released on August 27 2007 in North America<ref name="Chan" /> and on October 26 2007 in Europe.<ref name="EuropeRelease" /> Nintendo released a preview channel via the Wii Shop Channel on August 10 2007 in North America and on October 15 2007 in Europe,<ref name="EuropeWiiChannel">Modèle:Citeweb</ref> containing storyline and gameplay videos.<ref name="Chan" />

The game takes place six months after the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and follows bounty hunter Samus Aran as she assists the Galactic Federation in their fight against the Space Pirates, despite being slowly corrupted by the mutagenic material, Phazon. The game introduces a new control system based on the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

Gameplay

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a 3D first-person action-adventure game. The player controls Samus using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The Nunchuk controller enables the player to move Samus around, lock on to enemies and targets, perform scans, switch in and out of Morph Ball mode and use Samus's various Grapple abilities. The Wii Remote allows the player to aim and fire weapons, switch between visors, engage Hypermode, and pull up the Logbook, Map and Inventory screens to read detailed information about the various items Samus has encountered.

In contrast to the interchangeable beams used in the first two Prime games, Corruption features a stackable upgrade system more like that of Super Metroid or the Game Boy Advance Metroid games,<ref name="IGN Retro Studios Interview">Modèle:Citeweb</ref> in which successive upgrades to Samus's beam, missile and grapple systems add to the capabilities of those systems rather than providing more options. (For example, the Nova Beam retains the properties of the Power and Plasma Beams.) Samus is also equipped with a new Command Visor, which allows her to order her gunship to land, pick up objects and destroy various obstacles. The X-Ray Visor from Metroid Prime makes a reappearance and can be used in conjunction with a new beam to fire through phazite walls and track invisible enemies.<ref name="IGN Retro Studios Interview" /> Players can also use the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes variation of the Screw Attack.<ref name="Off-Screen Trailer">Modèle:Citeweb</ref>

Corruption introduces several other new gameplay features as well: The Phazon Enhancement Device, or P.E.D., allows Samus to use Phazon energy to greatly increase her attack and armor strength.<ref name="Spong information sheet">Modèle:Citeweb</ref> The Wii Remote functionality allows players to lock on and strafe around enemies and targets while simultaneously firing anywhere on the screen.<ref name="E3_conference 2007">Modèle:Citeweb</ref> Players can also flick the Wii Remote upward while in Morph Ball mode to perform a Spring Jump.<ref name="E3 2007 Developer Walkthrough">Modèle:Citeweb</ref> Additionally, a new checkpoint system allows the player to restart immediately at certain points in the game between save stations.

Before release, Nintendo announced that Corruption would not include a multiplayer mode.<ref name="GamePro Interview">Modèle:Citeweb</ref> The game instead introduces a system that rewards the player with three different types of tokens and "Friend Vouchers" for completing various tasks. The vouchers can be sent to friends via the WiiConnect24 service;<ref>Modèle:Citeweb</ref> when vouchers are received from others, they can be converted into Friend tokens. All four types of tokens are needed to purchase various bonuses and additional content. One of these features allows players to capture screenshots from within the game, which are posted to the Wii Message Board and can be sent to friends, and can only be sent within the Wii system, as there are no ways to transfer pictures to a computer.<ref name="IGNReport070822">Modèle:Citeweb</ref>

Plot summary

Corruption takes place precisely six months after the events Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, with the player again taking the role of Samus Aran. The story begins with a meeting between Samus and the Galactic Federation, in which she meets three other bounty hunters: Rundas, Gandrayda, and Ghor. The hunters help fend off a Space Pirate attack on the fleet, then are quickly dispatched to the nearby planet Norion and ordered to activate its laser defense system. During the mission, an asteroid-size "Leviathan Seed" is sighted heading to the planet. The Hunters, having defeated Meta Ridley and the Space Pirates and restored power to the defense system, rush to the control room, but are attacked by Dark Samus just before they can activate the system. With the other hunters unconscious, a severely wounded Samus manages to activate the laser just in time to destroy the Leviathan Seed.

Samus wakes up a month later and learns that she and her fellow Hunters were changed by Phazon from Dark Samus' attack. The Federation scientists discover that their bodies now able self-produce Phazon and have installed a Phazon Enhancement Device (P.E.D.) that the GF previously developed that allows them to control their internal Phazon on a safe level and to enter Hypermode (Samus later discovers that the P.E.D. suit is not in fact safe, but is necessary for the defeat of Dark Samus). Samus further learns that the other three Hunters had left two weeks before for missions to three other planets where Seeds have been observed, but the Federation lost contact with them seven days earlier. Samus is ordered to destroy each Leviathan Seed and seek the whereabouts of the other Hunters.

Samus travels between the planets of Bryyo, a planet covered in fire, ice, and ruins of an ancient civilization, Elysia, a planet with a thick atmosphere containing SkyTown, an airborne city with a steampunk feel, and the Pirate Homeworld, a very polluted, mechanical, murky planet, to find upgrades to further enhance her abilities and destroy the seeds. However, she learns that the Phazon corruption initially thought to be benign can cause her body to overload with Phazon energy which she must dispel to prevent further corruption, lest she become another Dark Samus. She learns that each of her fellow Hunters fell to the Phazon corruption and to protect herself she battles each one in turn, killing them. As each Hunter falls, Dark Samus appears in a strange 'spectral' form to drain the Phazon energy from their bodies, with Samus powerless to stop her. After much work, Samus is able to destroy the source of Phazon in both Seeds on Bryyo and Elysia. She also helps the Federation lead an all-out attack on the Pirate Homeworld, and she once again faces off with a newly revived Ridley known as Omega Ridley and once again defeats him, allowing her to destroy the Pirate planet's Seed as well.

The Aurora Units (organic supercomputers used by the Federation) then discover the location of planet Phaaze, the source of all Phazon. It is impossible to get there by normal travel; the only way to get there is by a wormhole, which can only be created with the Leviathan. Unfortunately, Samus needs a special pirate code to operate it, which is only obtainable by exploring the G.F.S. Valhalla. Traveling with the Federation via wormhole, Samus arrives and descends to the planet. Upon leaving her ship, Samus begins absorbing dangerous amounts of Phazon energy from the planet's atmosphere. However, she manages to prevent this by venting all her available energy tanks and locking herself in permanent Hypermode. After venturing to the planet's inner sanctum, she encounters Dark Samus, who fuses with a stolen Aurora Unit from the G.F.S. Valhalla that is linked with Phaaze's core. Samus is able to defeat Dark Samus, which destroys the Phazon in her body and causes the planet to self-destruct. The Federation fleet escapes via another wormhole, but loses contact with Samus in the process. Eventually, though, her ship appears, and she reports that her mission is complete, then flies off into space. Should the player collect every single pickup upon completion of the game, a special extended ending after the credits shows an unknown ship following Samus' gunship as it flies off from Elysia.

Development

The game, when shown at E3 2006, looked similar in appearance to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes; however, according to Retro Studios, it would have a much more finished look when the game is complete. It was also slated to have much larger environments than in Echoes and targeted to run at 60 frames per second in the finalized version.<ref name="IGN Retro Studios Interview" /> The developers have indicated interest in using the WiiConnect24 feature to provide additional content.<ref name="IGN Retro Studios Interview" /> In a recent GamePro article in which members of the team were allowed to come to Retro Studios, comments on the game noted that, "The controls feel solid and precise," and that, "The graphics have had a huge overhaul since E3 -- vastly better than games like Halo 2".

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the first game in the Metroid series in which the game characters utilize full voice acting, although previous games in the series used limited voice acting to varying degrees. Most notable of the actors is the inclusion of Chris Sabat, best-known as the voice of Vegeta and Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z, as the hunter Rundas. Nintendo Power announced that Samus does not talk at all during the game, except for grunts like in the previous titles.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime stated in a 2007 interview that the game was "not going to ship by June"<ref> Klepek , Patrick

     (2007-04-03)
   
.    Metroid Prime 3 to be Released After June 
. 1UP.com 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. </ref> and set it at a summer 2007 release date at the earliest. Later he hinted, "when we release it, it will be perfect. And if that's a little later than folks would have liked, I'm hoping they're going to be happy."<ref> Totilo , Stephen

     (2007-02-16)
   
.    Where Are All The Wiis, DS Lites? Nintendo Exec Has The Answer 
. MTV 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. </ref> Some of the first gameplay footage to be shown of the game was seen at Nintendo's Media Release at E3 2006, where it was announced by Retro that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would be the last in the home-console Prime trilogy. Nintendo illustrated how Metroid Prime 3 would take advantage of the special abilities of the Wii Remote as demonstrated by a version of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, modified for the Wii, shown at the Tokyo Game Show in 2005.

In late April, 2007, IGN editor Matt Casamassina revealed that the game would be shown in detail during May of that year. He later reported that this event would take place the week of May 20 2007. The publication also announced that the title would be released on August 20 2007 in the United States.<ref> Bozon , Mark

     (2007-05-21)
   
.    Metroid Prime 3 Dated 
. IGN 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-07-02. </ref> Nintendo of America later announced to have moved the release date to August 27 2007.<ref>Modèle:Cite press release</ref><ref name="Chan"> Lindemann , Jon

  . 
 "
   Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Preview On Wii Shop Channel 
     
 " , Nintendo World Report , 2007-08-10
 
  . Retrieved on 2007-08-10
 . </ref> Nintendo later announced an "in stores" date of August 28 2007.<ref name="PreviewAnnouncement">Metroid Prime 3 Preview channel announcement: "In stores on August 28th"</ref> The game was released in Europe on October 26 2007.<ref name="EuropeRelease">   Partial list of upcoming Nintendo DS and Wii titles across Europe 
. Nintendo 
 
 (2007-07-11)
   

. Retrieved on 2007-07-12. </ref>

At the Media Summit held by Nintendo during the week of May 21 2007, Reggie Fils-Aime noted about Corruption compared to the rest of the franchise that players have "never played it this way before". He also noted that Nintendo employees who had seen the game in action claimed that it "will reinvent the control scheme for a first-person shooter" and that the game is the closest a console title can get to PC control, breaking through the lens of how the game is played.<ref> Casamassina , Matt

     (2007-05-22)
   
.    Nintendo Summit: Reggie Talks Wii and DS 
. IGN 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. </ref> IGN commented on an updated version of the game being played at E3, saying that it "plays better than any first-person console game ever... really."<ref> Casamassina , Matt

     (2007-07-11)
   
.    E3 2007: Hands-on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 
. IGN 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-08-10. </ref>

Marketing

Nintendo had initially been criticized for an apparent lack of promotion and marketing for Corruption. IGN's Matt Casamassina compared the minimal hype for the title to the large amount for the original Metroid Prime, which was marketed with its own live action advertisement. The publication assumed that Nintendo's recent actions were due to the company's new focus on casual game styles on their console. When questioned on this, Nintendo of America replied, "Nintendo fans will be surprised by the quantity and quality of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption information that becomes available before the game launches on Aug. 27. Your patience will be rewarded (or Corrupted)."<ref> Casamassina , Matt

     (2007-08-08)
   
.    Metroid Prime 3: The Anti-Hype 
. IGN 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. </ref>

Following this promise, Nintendo released the Metroid Prime 3 Preview channel on August 10, 2007 in North America. This channel, available as a free download via the Wii Shop Channel, allows Wii owners to view preview videos of the game. These include previously unannounced details on new characters and a battle sequence from within the game. The channel also enables the user to view promotional artwork by moving the Wii Remote pointer across the screen while holding the "A" button.<ref name="Chan" />

Starting with the Preview channel, Nintendo launched a "month of Metroid" in North America. It includes announcements of additional videos that would become available as well as a Virtual Console download of Metroid for the NES on August 13 2007. This would be followed by Super Metroid (SNES) for the service on August 20 2007 and the release of Corruption one week thereafter.<ref name="Chan" /> Casamassina stated that his critique of the marketing behind the game still stands, since it is only effective for the percentage of Wii owners who download the channel.<ref name="Wii-ik in Review Podcast 8/10/07">Matt Casamassina, Wii-k in Review Podcast: 08.10.07 IGN. Retrieved on August 14 2007.</ref>

After the release of a television advertisement for Corruption, Casamassina noted that introducing the game to general consumers as part of Nintendo's "Wii would like to play" ad campaign was counterintuitive, as in his opinion Corruption was not a game made for the casual gamer market and would not appeal to casual gamers. Casamassina went on to say that an ad that matched the tone of Corruption would have been a better way to sway the opinion of hardcore gamers who felt unsure about purchasing the game.<ref name="Wii-ik in Review Podcast 8/17/07">Matt Casamassina, Wii-k in Review Podcast: 08.17.07 IGN. Retrieved on August 30 2007</ref>

Reception

. Game Rankings  
 

 

. Metacritic  
 

 

Metroid Prime 3 has received very positive reviews. Nintendo Power gave Corruption a 10/10 rating, making this game the first to receive a perfect score from the publication since the introduction of their new scoring system. IGN awarded the game a 9.5 out of 10. The review noted that it was beautifully designed and is currently the best looking game for the Wii. It also praised the inclusion of "well-done" voice acting, in contrast to the lack of any voice acting in most other Nintendo games. Despite citing that the game is similar to the previous games therefore lowering its score by a small margin, IGN did conclude that it is the best game in the Prime trilogy. In fact, they stated that it could be worthy of the same score as the original Metroid Prime (scoring 9.Image:Cool.gif, had it not been for the aforementioned reason.<ref> Casamassina , Matt

  . 
 "
   Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Review 
     
 " , IGN
  , 2007-08-27
 
  . Retrieved on 2007-08-27
 . </ref>

Corruption scored a 9.6 out of 10 in a Gametrailers.com video review. Brandon Jones praised the more user-friendly and action-packed nature of the game compared to Metroid Prime and Echoes. The site also praised the superior motion-sensitive controls, stating, "After playing Metroid Prime 3 you'll never want to play a shooter with dual analog controls again, it's that good." They further added that those elements make Corruption "far superior to the original Metroid Prime".<ref> Jones , Brandon

  . 
 "
   Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Review: 
     
 " , GameTrailers , 2007-08-27
 
  . Retrieved on 2007-08-27
 . </ref>

1UP.com gave the game a 9 out of 10. The review highlighted the controls and said the graphics were "some of the best visuals in gaming, period".<ref> MacDonald , Mark

  . 
 "
   Reviews: Metroid Prime 3 - Back to the Future 
     
 " , 1UP.com
  , 2007-08-26
 
  . Retrieved on 2007-08-27
 . </ref> Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Corruption a Silver award with scores of 9.0, 8.5 and 8.5. The publication ranked the title as Game of the Month in a three-way tie with FIFA 08 and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.<ref>Review Crew, Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 221, pgs 98; 107; 114.</ref>

GameSpot, who gave the game 8.5 out of 10, stated the game possessed enjoyable puzzles, boss battles, atmospheric levels and smooth gameplay. Gamespot.com also explained that the game was so much less like an adventure shooter, and more like a plain shooter. They also believed that the motion activated actions were too unresponisive, but on the other hand they noted the great boss battles, the use of excellent shooting, even if only that, and other elements.<ref> VanOrd , Kevin

  . 
 "
   Metroid Prime 3: Corruption review 
     
 " , GameSpot
  , 2007-08-27
 
  . Retrieved on 2007-08-28
 . </ref>

Despite being released on August 27, Corruption was still the fifth best-selling game of the month, with 218,100 copies sold.<ref> Thorsen , Tor

     (2007-09-14)
   
.    US August game-industry haul nearly $1B 
. GameSpot 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-09-17. </ref> The game has sold over 500,000 copies in America since its release.<ref>Modèle:Web cite</ref>

References

External links

• Official Site (at Wii.Nintendo.com)
• Official Metroid series website
• Retro Studios Official Website

• IGN's Metroid Prime 3 page
• Game trailer from E3 2007
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption at GameSpy

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