‘METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION’

‘METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION’

(Nintendo) for Wii

Genre: Shooter; Rating: T

Grade: A

It’s a major video-game company’s flagship first-person shooter, a trilogy-ending space adventure that’s easily one of the most anticipated games of the year.

No, not “Halo 3.” For that, you’ll have to wait a couple more weeks.

But for a decidedly different take on the classic first-person shooter, you could do a lot worse than Nintendo’s “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption,” the final installment of the excellent series that stars intergalactic bounty-hunter Samus Aran, who again must save her people from the threat of the evil space pirates.

The difference this time lies in “Metroid Prime’s” migration to the Wii and its motion-sensing controls. Using the Wii Remote, you just move the targeting site around the screen and press a button to shoot. Pointing the site to the edge of the screen allows you to turn or look up or down. To run, you use the thumbstick on the Wii Nunchuck .

In practice, controlling Samus is much less complicated than it sounds. Still, it takes some getting used to. Advanced players also can take advantage of another wrinkle called “lock-on free aiming.” This allows you to lock onto a particular target — making sure it stays within your sight — but still aim anywhere on the screen.

The motion-sensitive controls are used in other areas, too, with mixed results. The best is the grappling hook, which you activate by locking onto a target and flicking the Nunchuck forward, as if tossing a lasso, and then whipping it back to yank the on-screen object toward you. Less thrilling is Samus’ interaction with such things as door locks, some of which require the press of a button to grip a handle, then pull the r emote back, twist it and push it forward, as if turning a giant key. Most of the time, it feels unnecessary.

Of course, two of the “Metroid Prime” series’ hallmarks are the puzzle-solving and the boss battles, both of which are as varied and enjoyable as ever. To help with both aspects, Samus can enter a state called hypermode, a result of her body being corrupted by an alien substance called Phazon. While in hypermode, she can shoot powerful beams and is invincible, but only for a limited time.

Despite “Metroid Prime 3’s” minor imperfections — it’s a bit on the easy side, and it fails to deviate much from the game play laid out by its predecessors — Wii owners should be happy with it.

— Monty Phan, Long Island Newsday