In Control
Let's get this out of the way first, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's controls not only work well, they prove the Wii can potentially provide the best FPS controls on a console. While the Wii remote and Nunchuk combination still can't compete with the good old keyboard and mouse, it's still a vast improvement over standard dual analog controls. Unfortunately, beyond the controls, the latest Metroid comes off as stale adventure that adds nothing new to the formula.
FPS not FPA
The big marketing strategy with the Metroid Prime games has always been that they aren't truly first person shooters, but rather first person adventures. The only problem with this is that the latest "adventure" lacks a good story, has no puzzle elements, is relatively short for an adventure, and really fails at sharing any characteristics of a true adventure game. Let me tell you a secret. The Metroid Prime games have always been first person shooters with some adventure elements thrown in, not the other way around.
The problem is that the latest iteration is only a mediocre shooter and a less than mediocre adventure. Yes, the shooting controls have improved, but the enemies, the weapons, the upgrades, and the overall progression have taken a few steps back.
Strategy Not Required
Change was definitely needed as a rehash of the previous two Metroid Prime titles would have resulted in a stale experience that would have likely disappointed gamers. Unfortunately, most of the updates to the gameplay are actually features and depth being removed rather than added. For example, all your weapons are stacked, meaning each time you get a new weapon, it's really just an upgrade to your existing weapon so that you don't actually ever change weapons depending on the situation. Also, you're given fewer visors and fewer suit upgrades, leaving you really with no really new substantial gameplay additions, which may be the most disappointing thing about the game.
Actually, there is fairly big gameplay mechanic added - the Phazon suit. Sadly, the Phazon suit is actually one of my biggest gripes of the game. By turning it on, your attacks get supercharged allowing you to do maximum damage to pretty much all enemies. This upgrade comes at a price though, as each shot diminishes your health. This mechanic may have looked good on paper, but in practice, it has adds two very significant flaws to the gameplay.
First, the lack of strategic depth. While past Prime games presented you with situations where you'd need to strategize and plan your attacks to defeat increasingly difficult enemies (such as maneuvering behind an enemy to attack its weak spot or having to switch visors to see weakspots), Corruption never truly mixes it up with enemies as they usually require little more than "switch to phazon, zap zap zap, switch off phazon". Bosses add nothing more than "shoot glowing part, switch to phazon, zap zap zap, switch off phazon" with an occasional grapple beam required. You won't need any fancy hand-eye coordination or strategic planning - merely point, aim, shoot, rinse, and repeat.
The second big flaw with the Phazon mechanic is that with Phazon attacks being required so frequently (and with just about every boss), the game is forced to provide health in rather enormous quanities. There's an incredible amount of objects to blow up to refill your energy as well as the fact that nearly every kill you make will reward you with more than enough health to keep you going strong. This problem is even more evident during boss fights. With most bosses requiring you to use your Phazon attacks, you're being forced to sacrifice health to do any significant damage. As such, bosses are then forced to continuously feed you health so that you'll be able to damage them with your Phazon.
Doors Wide Shut
The Metroid Prime games have always disguised load times by delaying the opening of doors between rooms, but Corruption takes this mechanic to all new frustrating levels. The average door loading time is likely over 5 seconds with them frequently taking 10+ seconds to open. This is unacceptable in today's world of load free gaming. The door loading mechanic constantly takes you out of the gaming experience and often proves to be a nuisance if you ever just want to duck into another room while being chased by enemies, only to find you have to stare at a closed door for 10 seconds before proceeding.
Depth Corrupted
It really is a shame that great controls on top of a great franchise could be tarnished so badly by a few key missteps by the developers. With shallow battles, frustrating loading times, a relatively short play time of about 15 hours, no online, no multiplayer, and a lack of any real upgrades to the franchise other than the controls, Corruption, unfortunately comes up way short of its potential.
In a world of Half Lifes and Halos, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the estranged cousin that attempts to hide its shortcomings by denying its relation to the FPS family.