Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a first person adventure title released for the Nintendo Wii in 2007. It is the conclusion of the Metroid Prime trilogy, and though it is a first-person shooter it focuses on exploration and adventure. Players control intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, who gets hired to do a job for the Space Federation. Corruption maintains many elements of the Metroid series. Players must collect weapon powerups as well as various health and ammo expansions hidden throughout the game, and earning new tools is often done by defeating gigantic, challenging bosses.

The series takes a few turns with this newest installment, as well. It's more story-driven than the last two, featuring a fully voice-acted cast and battles between space pirates and federation troops where Samus used to be totally alone. The game also introduces Hyper Mode, which players can enter by sacrificing a chunk of their health in order to become temporarily invincible and obtain increased firepower. This also plays into the storyline, as Samus becomes "corrupted" by this power.

The biggest change, as well as the most talked about element of the game, is the new control scheme. Corruption is the first FPS to use the Wii controls to really enhance the experience, and the effect is astonishing. Using the Wii Remote to look around and aim while moving with the control stick feels smooth and accurate, and most importantly, fresh.

Educationally, Corruption's strengths lie in problem solving and developer creativity. Players are challenged with both intense combat and clever puzzles, occasionally at the same time. The game also, like the first two Metroid Primes, features stellar art direction, impressive puzzles and awesome boss battles. Corruption is an impressive, immersive experience that will be a welcome addition to any Wii owner's library.

Corruption is definitely a work of fiction, and its strong sci-fi influences don't leave much room for classroom facts.

By the Player:

Player creativity is not a major part of Corruption. The game world is open to exploration, and the massive number of hidden items and enhancements allows players to be as thorough as they like, but that's pretty much where it ends. Players have a significant number of different weapons, items and attacks available to them, but most enemies - especially bosses - can only be harmed by specific weapons or attack sequences, forcing players to conform to certain techniques in order to succeed.

By the Developer:

Developer creativity is a strong element of Corruption. The fantastic art direction gives the game powerful sci-fi, fantasy and at times horror feels, and does an excellent job of surmounting the Wii's graphical challenges. The game is also a strong departure from the rest of the series, adding full voice acting and a more cinematic, action-oriented experience as well as adding new key gameplay concepts, including the integral Hyper Mode and the ability of players to land Samus' ship in different areas of various planets rather than limiting them to one specific area. The game also features an impressive original soundtrack and tons of unlockable bonuses including many screens of concept art.

Corruption does not feature business skills.

Corruption has players interacting with other humans, but only on the most basic levels. Members of the Space Federation will speak with Samus in regards to her mission, and the three other bounty hunters that Samus meets up with have their own distinct personalities, but for the most part the player has very little say in how various conversations or meetings go.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is the key factor of Corruption's gameplay. Players will have all sorts of puzzles to solve, and they usually take advantage of one or more of Samus' unique abilities. Every enhancement the payer earns will open up paths to new items and areas. Players may defeat a boss and earn the power to fire missiles, for example, and that might allow them to destroy certain barriers and reach new areas. The game revolves around these sorts of concepts, as players hunt bosses and complete objectives in order to gain new abilities and, thus, access to new areas and items.

Combat presents its own set of problems. While specific enemies and most bosses will require certain weapons or attacks to defeat, most enemies can be engaged in standard combat which - especially using the immersive, innovative Wii control scheme - becomes an intense and rewarding experience that never gets old. Players point at the screen to turn their heads and aim, and lock on to various enemies. From there the options are exciting and numerous. Players can circle around the enemy they are locked onto while firing and jumping around, but with the Wii controls players can lock onto an enemy and then circle that enemy while firing at anything on the screen. This allows a level of depth and control unseen in FPS games, and it doesn't end there. Players have many different attacks available, from missiles to the powerful Hyper Mode attacks, and they might even choose to whip their left arms forward to use Samus' grapple beam to disrupt, unshield or throw their enemies around.

In a sense, Corruption simulates combat form a first person perspective more than nearly any other game. Players must actually use their arms to swing across gaps, push and pull switches and aim at various enemies. And really, Corruption is the best simulation of intergalactic bounty hunting available.

Corruption has proved to be a significant popular title since its release, reviews landing mostly over the 90% mark.

Players can alter the control scheme to suit their needs and abilities, and besides there are three other basic difficulty setting to choose from.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption received a T from the ESRB with descriptors for Animated Blood and Violence.