I spent quite a bit of time playing Metroid Prime 3 at last year's E3, so this year I only had two goals in mind: Confirm no one had fucked it up and check out this new free-aiming lock-on dealio. I am happy to report that the game still plays quite well and is a bit more of what it was at last year's E3.
The free-aiming, where you can lock onto a target and then roam around it, and still have to aim with your controller, seems to work quite well. I liked that it afforded me the ability to easily walk around a baddie without too much button jockeying, but that it still required a modicum of skill to actually aim and shoot.
It felt like it was the perfect balance for a light shooter, something that would go over well with both the hardcore and those new to the system and the idea of shooting things for fun.
The chunk of level I played through had a bit more of a puzzle element to it and worked quite well, it also showed off a bit of graphic flair (I particularly like seeing Samus' face reflected in her visor), but let's face it, the Wii will never be the PS3 or the Xbox 360 and, fortunately, Nintendo knows that, so it doesn't even try.
Metroid Prime 3 remains on my list of games I must get for the console when it hits, but isn't quite up there with such titles as Mario Kart (for it's addictive racing) and Super Smash Bros (because, I believe, I'm required to want this game).












