Metroid Prime 3: Corruption set a new standard for first-person motion controls in video games. Now it’s bringing those controls to the rest of the celebrated series, allowing players to experience the entire Metroid Prime story arc with the precision of the Wii Remote. Metroid Prime Trilogy, is a three-game collection for the Wii console that bundles all three landmark Metroid Prime games onto one disc and revamps the first two installments with intuitive Wii Remote controls, wide-screen presentation and other enhancements. Each game maintains its original storyline and settings, but now Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes let players use their Wii Remote to aim with precision as heroine Samus Aran. Based on the breakthrough control system that debuted in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, these new Wii controls bring an entirely new level of immersion and freedom to these milestone games. Players can access the game they want from a unified main menu that ties together all three adventures. Through a new unlockables system, players can gain access to in-game rewards such as music and artwork by accomplishing objectives across all three games.


Gameplay

First Person Shooter games either work or epically fail on the Wii control wise. There have been some games with huge promise that failed to deliver and some that were a complete surprise. No one, I am sure, was surprised by the amazing controls of Metroid Prime 3 Corruption when it was released originally on the Wii. The controls were nearly flawless and natural for all of your basic and advanced combat maneuvering that Samus has to perform.

Bringing the two GameCube games to the Wii with full motion control support must have been a bit difficult, not just because you are changing the entire way each game is played, but you have to match the gameplay of the other Wii Metroid title. The good news is the developers hit the mark and did a great job. There are a few minor things I did not like such as hitting the map and changing your visor around but that has more to do with my hands being giant paws and the Wii-mote being so small.

Like most of the first person shooters on the Wii you look up and down, left and right with the Wii-mote, fire and jump with the Wii-mote as well and move around with the nunchuck control. You can tweak the controls to better suit your play style but I found the default for each game to work perfectly well. There is no need to explain the little differences on how each game plays because that is not the real point of the review, the point of the review is to say the games play on a near perfect level across the board.


Graphics

With the updated controls the game also was given some updated visuals, but do not think you are going to see the two GameCube Metroid Primes with updated Wii visuals. But you will see the games supporting 16:9 Widescreen support and a fancy new HUD to support the updated controls.

Beyond the basic updated visuals, all three Metroid games have some great visuals still to this day. Strong lighting support gives each area its own look and feel, great level design which takes full support of Samus and her abilities, plus some very creative monsters to blast with your weapons.

I wish I still had the two GameCube Metroid Prime titles for the GameCube so I could do a side by side comparison but if the graphics impressed you at all back in the day when you played it on the little console that could, then you should still be impressed at how well the game holds up side by side with its newest brother, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.


Audio

The Metroid Prime games have excellent audio across the board and what is most surprising is how the level of quality stays high for all of the music, sound effects and when you see finally hear it, great voice over work. While many games have a standard audio groove to them, Metroid has its own sound effects and music library of its own and does not copy other games which is always a good thing. Even the Dolby Sound has the classic games sounding like brand new games.


Value

The updated controls and HUD system of the original GameCube games is worth the price alone. With their great story lines and exciting action the games value is very high, but packed in with the Wii classic Metroid Prime 3 this Trilogy has a value higher than most Wii games. I loved the steel case that the game comes in with a well designed look and feel to it, the entire package almost has a Uber Collector’s Edition vibe. The manual is very well written and explains all three games controls, story and background. For once the manual was worth reading and adds to the overall value of the game.

Bottom Line

There are not many games for the Nintendo Wii with this much overall value packed into one tight package. All three games are amazing even if a couple of them are a few years old. This is a must buy for Wii owners who own any of the games and certainly a must buy for those gamers who have yet to dive into the Metroid Prime universe. The only way this package could have been better is if you could unlock all of the Metroid from the NES, Super Nintendo and Game Boy games but beggars cannot be choosers. This package will keep those Metroid fans happy until Metroid: Other M finally comes out and we can see how Team Ninja handles Nintendo’s great bounty hunter series.