I was planning on evaluating Corruption with lots of technical words and detailed explanations of certain parts of the story, but I've decided I just need to tell it like it is since you can find the detailed reviews anywhere else on the internet. In a nutshell, Corruption takes the existing Metroid Prime series, abandons its old principles, and makes it the Metroid game I have always wanted to play. It couldn't make it at the launch of the Wii to drive the point home, but gameplay over graphics certainly rules all.

Like any normal franchise, the Metroid series has always tried its best to stay true to its original roots. Here's three of those roots for you: isolation, one large continuous world, and constant backtracking. It's true, and I hate all three of them. I'm sorry, but there simply isn't much fun to me in having one giant world I need to find my way through. Sure, this works great for games like Myst, but a first-person shooter? Please... That's why I was overjoyed to discover Retro Studios has nearly eliminated all three of those roots and still manage to make it feel like a true Metroid game.

No longer are you the single bounty-hunter roaming around a never-ending open area searching for upgrade items until you fight an end boss. Instead, the game kicks off with you meeting other bounty hunters, fighting alongside soldiers against the Space Pirates, and taking part in actual objectives. They've finally taken Samus Aran and put her in a game that has a story. Was there a story in the last two Metroid Primes? Sure there was, but only if you scanned every piece of computer literature with your visor. Corruption actually has the story layed out by interacting with other characters and watching incredibly polished cut-scenes throughout your adventure. Instead of going on a never ending quest for upgrades, you're actually traveling to new areas to take care of specific objectives.

You don't get there by walking backwards through the last six areas you've visited to get to the other side of the map. No, instead you find the nearest landing pad, enter your own ship, and fly there. No longer are you stuck on one lone planet, since you now have the freedom to fly to other ones and carry on with your objectives. This is a much needed addition to the Metroid series that makes the game much more streamlined and focused, without losing the ability to explore. In fact, the ability to control your ship using one of your visors adds another unique layer by allowing you to do bombing raids on enemies and transport large items with your ship.

The controls for the game are practically perfect, as I'm sure you've already heard, and it reminds you that it wasn't your Wii that was broken, it was Red Steel. There are three different settings of sensitivty for the remote, with "advanced" being my personal favorite, and it only takes the first level of the game to get you comfortable. Once you get it though, you won't want to go back to dual analog control. Yuck.

Just as all Wii games should be doing right now, Corruption only takes advantage of the Wii Remote's features when it needs to, but not because it can. Whipping your left Nunchuk forward to use your grappble beam feels great, and so does whipping it back when ripping off enemy shields. You'll also use the Wii Remote to twist and push in levers to activate them, as well as interact with touch-screen controls inside of your ship.

One reason the Wii Remote works so well with the game is because it moves at the expected 60 frames per second, meaning everything you do is smooth and responsive. It also feels quite amazing the game can run so well with such incredible graphics. Does it stand up against BioShock and Gears of War? Of course not - but it doesn't need to, either. Just because you don't have state of the art graphics doesn't mean the graphics won't look good. If anything, Corruption proves you can make a stunning-looking hardcore game. Would my Grandma want to play it? No, of course not. This game is not for her audience, and I hope Nintendo recognizes that. They need to make sure the titles on Wii are diverse for everyone, and not specificially targeted to the group that's never played games before. By the time Christmas is over, the Wii should have a nice balance of hardcore and softcore games, and all I hope is that they continue this trend.

The only complaints I have about Corruption are small. The X-Ray visor doesn't look as sweet as in the original Prime, and although you don't start the game by losing all of your power-ups, you certainly aren't starting with all of them, either. Yes, you have your double-jump, charge beam, and morph ball. But you still have to upgrade your suit with very standard items such as missiles, the grapple beam, and the Spider-ball. In fact, most all of your upgrades are still ones you've seen before. The other personal irritation is that you are given a new suit early on in the game, but then you're stuck with it forever. I always enjoyed getting new and unique suits to wear, so it's disappointing to be stuck in the PED suit for the entire game.