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So this is what the Wii can do.

Wii developers stand up and take note. Metroid Prime 3 is now the official template for First Person Shooter controls on the Nintendo Wii.

Prime 3 finishes out Retro Studios trilogy that began a little over five years ago on the Gamecube. Introducing the series to a lot of firsts, the game has taken a well-loved 2D franchise and transformed it into an entirely different beast of a game. Metroid Prime 3 doesn't do much to deviate from the path set forth by the previous two titles, but with the introduction of the Wii's unique controller scheme it helps to place the player firmly into the space jumping boots of Samus (Metroid's heroine) for the first time.

Prime 3 picks up after the events of Echoes, and carries over a lot of stuff introduced in that title. There's also a slight nod to the DS Metroid title with four other bounty hunters introduced that work with Samus in the beginning.

One thing that Prime 3 does that other Metroid titles before it doesn't, is that it lets you start off with a lot of the gear Samus usually ends up losing early on. You'll automatically have access to missiles, a double jump, ball form and bombs, and very early on you'll also gain the ability to use your grappling hook. The hook also has a variety of uses in this title, and comes into play pretty often. Prime 3 still uses the visor scanning system to help clue you in on where you should be going, objects to interact with, and as a means of obtaining various background lore. You'll also gain a couple other visor functions later on that will be useful in overcoming the variety of puzzles you'll encounter.

Due to the simplicity of the Wii controller set-up, certain inventory functions are much more streamlined this time out. Your various weapons will stack on top of each other, so you'll never lose a function and you won't have to switch between weapon types. This keeps the action running smooth, and definitely lends credit towards the feeling that this is much more of an FPS style entry than the previous titles. When you start up the game you'll be able to choose from two control types. You'll want to select advanced though, as this is really the best way to play the game. It'll allow you to lock on to enemies but move your cursor about the screen freely, and it'll greatly enhance your ability to quickly turn Samus' view around.

Outside of the new controller set up and upfront item abilities, Prime 3 offers the ability to travel from a few different planets/locations, instead of being centered on one world with a variety of areas. Each planet you go to is roughly the same size of the area's found in the previous Prime titles, and while the graphics aren't a tremendous step up, the art style and over all environment really shows off what the Wii can be capable of under the direction of a solid developer.

Also, Prime 3 has a unique system for gaining unlockables like music tracks and concept art. There are 4 different colored tokens you can collect in game which you'll get for achieving different things, like killing a boss or scanning a particular item. At the start menu screen you'll be able to spend these tokens on the bonus features. Also, you can go online and trade tokens and vouchers with your friends to help you unlock more items. It's a neat little feature that I don't think anyone was really expecting to see, and it shows some initiative on Nintendo's part for trying to get some kind of online connectivity into their games.

As far as some of the negatives you've most likely heard about the game at this point, lets get a few out of the way. Yes, there is a late game fetch quest, but no, it does not take long to accomplish. In fact, by the time you've encountered it chances are you've come close to unknowingly completing it. Metroid games have always not only rewarded players for exploring to find the missile and energy tank upgrades, but have also required a fair share of exploring and backtracking for weapon upgrades as well. Nothing has changed here with Metroid Prime 3, and if this isn't your cup of tea in the previous games you won't enjoy it here either.

There are a few minor gripes I have with this game though. One is the inconsistent loading times between when you shoot a door and when that door actually opens. Sometimes it will be instantaneous, other times you'll notice a definite lag, which can be incredibly tiresome as you near the end of your journey. Also, the over all feel of the game isn't nearly as secluded as I've grown accustomed to in the previous Metroid titles. You'll often be patched in to someone who will provide you with updates on your current objectives, and you'll occasionally run into friendly forces as you go exploring. It's a bit off putting if you've previously enjoyed that alone in space feeling that the previous games have had.

Boss battles, while solid, aren't nearly as ingenious as some of the fights you encountered in Echoes. Also, the puzzles you encounter are all pretty simple, this is one of the few titles in the series that I had little difficulty with when it comes to getting stuck in an area, but obviously you can view this as either a pro or con when it comes to design. However, I enjoyed the music in Prime 3 over the music in the previous two entries, and while Prime 1 had the best variety of environments for me, I can't think of any location that tops Elysia in this one.

All in all, this is an incredible final entry into the Prime series, and a fantastic outing for not only Metroid, but also an FPS style game on the Wii. It makes the strongest argument yet for bringing over this style of gameplay to the motion control set up, and does a good job of washing out the horrible taste that titles like Red Steel and Far Cry might have left for early Wii adopters. If you own a Wii then you should definitely check this title out, even if you're not familiar with the Prime series. Also, if you don't own a Wii, I'd go so far as to say this game is nearly reason enough to buy one. While a lot of people would mark Twilight Princess down as the reason to own a Wii, this is the first "built from the ground up" title that can showcase how fun motion control can be to the hardcore gamer crowd.