Video Game Review: Metroid Prime Trilogy(Wii)

Now comes the review of the whole package! Aside from the three amazing games, there are several additional extras in this set. Metroid Prime Trilogy comes with a special booklet which contains concept art for each game. It also comes with a special booklet detailing Samus' past, the history of Phazon, and the basic outline to the plot of each game! There is additional content on the disk as well. In each game as you complete certain objectives and beat certain bosses you are awarded credits pertaining to each game. These credits can be used to unlock additional artwork and concept art as well as the soundtrack to each game so you can hear them at any time. The disk also comes with the multiplayer component from Metroid Prime 2 Echos. However this is just an afterthought. Not many people play so it is really just a passing novelty.

Despite the few flaws with the overall package this is one amazing collection! With three groundbreaking Metroid games, concept art, unlock-able soundtrack and some of the best game play in the history of video games, this set is a must own for ALL Wii owners! Do not miss out!

Metroid Prime Trilogy score: 10/10

--------------------FanBoy

Video Game Review: Metroid Prime 3 Corruption(Wii)

***SPOILERS AHEAD!***

Metroid Prime 3 Corruption is the last game on the Metroid Prime Trilogy disk and it closes the book on Phazon and Dark Samus in grand fashion! While not AS good as its predecessors, it still stands out as one of the best and innovative games in the series! This was the first Metroid game tailor made for the Nintendo Wii's motion controls and it makes excellent use of them, being the first first-person shooter for the Wii that really works!

The story takes place six months after Metroid Prime 2. Once again has us following Samus Aran as she is summoned by the Galactic Federation. She and her fellow(and rival) bounty hunters Ghor, Rundas, and Gandrayda are tasked with curing Federation AI supercomputers known as Aurora Units of a computer virus as well as finding the stolen Aurora Unit 313. Before the mission is to begin a massive Space Pirate fleet attacks. It is revealed that Dark Samus has gained control of the Space Pirates and now uses them to help seed worlds with meteors infused with Phazon called Leviathans. After the attack Samus become infused with Phazon by Dark Samus. As the story progresses, Samus must find and cure all infected Aurora Units, defeat her corrupted bounty hunter comrades and her old nemesis Ridley, and destroy Dark Samus and all of Phazon for good! The way the story is told lends the game a more cinematic feel than previous entries in the series and is the first game in the Metroid franchise to feature voice acting. Luckily for purists like me Samus still says nothing! :P

PED Suit Samus

Dark Samus

Omega Ridley

Gandrayda

Ghor

Rundas

Most of the game play has not changed from the last two games, not that it needs to! :P But there were several changes made that fit well into the overall story as well as those that make use of the Wii's motion controls. One of the biggest changes is how much more open ended and grand in scope the game is. Where previous installments in the series had us traversing only one massive overworld on one planet, Corruption has us exploring up to 8 different planets, ships and space stations! Doing so is done by entering Samus' gunship which is no longer used JUST for saving the game. Players use her ship to travel to different planets and ships at there own pace, with some eras on different worlds locked out until you find certain items or upgrades on other worlds. Each planet has its own unique feel from differing wild life and enemies to battle, different ways to use your weapons and gear, and differing logbook entries to find. The overworld for each world is just as massive as and diverse as the singular worlds in Metorid Prime and Prime 2 making for one very lengthy journey. Traveling from world to world is done by using the motion controls inside Samus' ship to select the destination of your choice from a galactic map and telling your ship to fly there. Sort of gimmicky but not a bother really. Unlike other Metroid games you are only given one power suit to use through out the game. The PED suit makes use of Samus' Phazon infection by allowing you to sacrifice one of your energy bars to send you into Hyper Mode, granting you temporary invincibility and making your attacks stronger. Some enemies and areas can not be accessed without Hyper Mode. Samus still scours the environments for Energy Tanks but her weapons and missiles are are no longer interchangeable. Once a beam and missile upgrade is obtained you can not change back and all puzzles from then on are only solved by the weapons on hand. You still make use of different visors such as the X-Ray visor and the all new Command Visor. The Command Visor allows Samus to look at key points in the environments to find objects of interest. It also allows Samus to call her gunship in to demolish certain objects or lift them to be taken to different areas to solve puzzles. The Scan Visor still allows you to find out details about the environment, wild life, enemies and gather entries into your logbook.

Combat is also roughly the same as before. You use your beam cannon and missiles to fight Space Pirates and the local creatures on each world. Boss fights are among the best the series has ever seen especially Omega Ridley and Dark Samus! However motion controls are also used in combat. The Grapple Beam is no longer used to just swing from grapple points to travel in certain areas. Grapple Points now appear on certain enemies, using the Grapple Beam on them allows you to remove chunks of armor or shielding from creatures, enemies, and bosses. Doing so requires you to flick the Wii remote back once you have grabbed onto an enemy to remove armor and shields. This adds a nice level of interactivity with the game that does not feel gimmicky at all. The boss fights in Corruption are the best the series has ever had! Ridley returns with not one but TWO epic boss fights as Omega Ridley and the final battle against Dark Samus on the Phazon home world of Phaaze is the stuff of legends! This series has never let me down when it comes to combat!

The graphics are definitely a step up from the graphics of the two GameCube entries. Metroid has never looked better! The sound design is also top notch with great voice acting! Once again the music really sets the mood for each world, environment, and battle. This game just impresses on all levels!

There are some slight issues with the game however. The fact that you need to travel from world to world makes backtracking even more tedious than before. Having fewer items and weapons to discover also lends the game a slightly stripped feel. The voice acting, while good, kind of breaks Nintendo tradition(hey I'm a Nintendo purist :P)

Despite these nitpicks this is still one outstanding game! With innovative use of the Wii's motion controls, great combat, epic boss battles, some of the best puzzles the series has ever seen there is just so much to love in Metroid Prime 3 Corruption! Finding all logbook entries and getting 100% completion also unlocks a secret ending while introducing the world to the beautiful and sexy Zero Suit Samus! :D Metroid Prime 3 Corruption closes the book on Phazon in grand fashion and is a great way to finish the Metroid Prime Trilogy! Do not miss out on this game!

Metroid Prime 3 Corruption score: 9.5/10

----------------FanBoy

Halloween Video Game Review: Dead Space Extraction(Wii)

***SPOILERS AHEAD!***

A rail shooter game released for the Nintendo Wii in 2009, Dead Space Extraction is one of the best horror games around! Extraction is actually a prequel to the original Dead Space for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. It takes place several days before the original game and eventually leads in to the opening of Dead Space. The story takes place on the colony planet Aegis VII. During routine mining operations the colonists discover a mysterious artifact known as the Red Marker. As the miners attempt to transfer the Red Marker to the planet-cracker class ship, the USG Ishimura, the Marker activates sending strange ear-piercing signals throughout the colony. You play as P-Sec officer Nathan McNeil throughout most of the game as you witness the colony's strange and terrifying decent into madness, as well as the emergence of the deadly Nechromorph creatures. As you progress you will encounter(and play as) several interesting and plot-important characters such as the P-Sec officer Sgt. Gabe Weller, the strangely Marker immune woman Lexine Murdoch, and the "mining executive" Warren Eckhardt. Many twists and turns abound in this great story as you try to discover the cause of the colony's madness and the source of the Necromorphs while discovering dark secrets relating to the cult-like Church of Unitology.

The gameplay to Extraction mat be simple, but it is just as polished and fun as the amazing story and characters! Being a rails-shooter all one has to do is point the Wii remote at the screen, aim with the reticle and shooting with the B trigger. Shacking the nunchuk allows you to use a mining pick as a melee weapon. Useful for pushing away Necromorphs that get a little too close. Like in the original Dead Space you also have use of kinesis and statis. Kinesis is a tool used in the series to pick up objects like crates or ammo and pulls it towards you. Some objects like flame canisters and crates can be used as make shift projectiles to use against your enemies instead of wasting ammo. Stasis as another useful tool, shooting a ball of energy at any enemy instantly slows them down giving you ample time to line up perfect shots! This is useful as unlike most enemies in the video game world Necromorphs can only be killed by strategic dismemberment! Cutting off the arms, legs or other limbs of the Necromorphs is the only way to kill them, head shots are completely useless! And believe me Necromorphs are very tough and sturdy adversaries!

The weapons in Extraction are returning favorites from Dead Space. Most weapons are basic mining tools like the ever reliable Plasma Cutter, Arc Welder, Flame thrower, and Line Gun. The only military grade weapons in the game are the P-Sec pistol, and the Pulse Rifle. All weapons and guns come with a useful and unique secondary fire which is activated by twisting the Wii remote side ways. All weapons are effective and useful but you still may find yourself favoring some over others.

As with Dead Space there is a fair bit of exploration to be done in Extraction. At some points if the game you are given the chance to look and aim with the Wii remote. Doing so gives you very little time to scour an environment  for health, ammo for your many different guns, and audio and written log books. These logs are used to shed more light on the back story of the Dead Space universe and are fun and challenging to collect!

Now on to the most important aspect of Dead Space Extraction: the horror! I am happy to say that Extraction is just as terrifying as the original game! The top notch graphics(for a Wii game anyway) and perfect lighting help make for an intense and unsettling experience as you traverse the ruins of the Aegis VII colony and the dark confines of the Ishimura! There were at least a dozen times when I jumped at the game! >.<  Then there are the memorable and disturbing moments, such as having to crawl through the Ishimura's cramped, Necromorph filled vents! But the one moment that really stands out for me is during the games last boss fight. I will never forget having to use your mining ax to cut off your own arm to escape the boss monster, all the while your character screaming bloody murder at the excruciating pain! This is horror gaming at its finest! :D

Extraction also comes with a fair bit of extras. There are timed attack modes where you and a co-op partner fight against hordes of Necromorphs. The entire story mode can be played with a friend at any given time, adding a bit more relief to the hordes of enemies in the game! The best extra comes in the form of a digital version of the comic book Dead Space. Taking place even before Extraction the comic follows new characters as they deal with the threat of the Red Marker and the Necromorphs! It also helps that the comics are fully voice acted!

All in all Dead Space Extraction is one fine game! Not only is it one of the best Wii games around it is an all around outstanding horror game! This is a game that must be played by fans of Dead Space and horror games in general! Do not miss out!

Dead Space Extraction(Wii) Score: 9/10

---------------FanBoy