‘METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION’

‘METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION’

(Nintendo) for Wii

First-person Shooter; Rating: T

Grade: A-

“Corruption” is not going to blaze any new paths in terms of innovation like the original “Prime” game did, but this final edition in the trilogy gets high marks for closing out the saga in a strong and satisfying way.

Samus is back with a serious vengeance. A virus has infected the computer system of the federation and it is your job, along with the help of fellow bounty hunters, to be the cure ... with force. All the gameplay mechanics from previous “Prime” games are back, and a few new additions push it toward perfection.

This mainly comes in the form of the Wii controls, which should give other developers plenty to mimic when creating future first-person shooters for the Wii. The controls seem to be nearly flawless, and throughout the course of solving puzzles (using the morph ball and the grappling hook) and battling bosses, you’ll never feel out of ease.

The Wii has been lacking in adult-oriented fare, especially in the realm of FPS games, which allows “Corruption” to make a big splash. It is well worth every penny you’ll spend on it. Let’s hope that another new series of Samus adventures is not too far away.

‘TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 08’

(EA Sports) for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PS2, PSP, DS

Genre: Sports; Rating: E

Grade: B-

EA released “Tiger Woods 07” for the Wii much later than it did for the other consoles. For “08” to arrive now, it means that, first off, there’s not a lot of difference between the “07” and “08” editions. Still, what is different has been changed for the better.

Depending on which console you are playing on, the gameplay varies. For the Wii, the motion controls are much more fluid and allow you to better shape shots, although it’s nearly impossible to put any amount of touch on the ball. Things are much easier on the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions, but less fun than the Wii. All the versions suffer from an all-too-easy putting mechanic that makes dropping 60 footers and scoring in the low 60s a breeze. That makes the game way too easy.

The game has added several new real-life courses to make it more realistic, but it has subtracted some of the old favorites. It’s odd that this franchise keeps topping out at around 15 courses; there’s little excuse for not having nearly double that by now.

The 360 and PS3 allow you to upload a photo of yourself and avoid spending time tweaking the create-a-character to mirror yourself onscreen. It’s not always reliable, so hopefully this will be improved next year. The rest of “Tiger 08’s” visuals are solid all the way around.

If you hesitated to buy “Tiger Woods 07,” you’ll feel good about plopping down the money for this version.

‘BRAIN AGE 2’

(Nintendo) for DS

Genre: Puzzle; Rating: E

Grade: B

Sometimes you can’t get too much of a good thing. Gamers young and old who took test after test to see how their brain “weighed” in the original “Brain Age” can do it all over again in this more advanced sequel.

The meat of the game is, of course, the testing of your brain, and the tests are more challenging than before. Here they focus more on memory recall and visual cues, which makes the math sections particularly challenging without sapping the fun.

There are also many fun multiplayer games — the game can be played with up to 16 players using only one copy of the game, which is a huge bonus on top of its already bargain price.

“Brain Age 2” is exactly what it should be, a more robust extension of the first game and an excellent addition for any DS owner.

— Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard