I don't even know how I would rate Corruption due to conflicting feelings about it. On the one hand I think it's a great FPS, and on the other hand I think it's a shitty (yes, shitty) Metroid game (although in fairness from a
visual standpoint some of the environments are far and away be the most "Metroidy" of the trilogy). It's hard to say exactly how good the experience is without giving some context first. I wish Nintendo had just let Retro off the leash to do an original IP after Echoes, because when I play Corruption that's what it feels like they wanted to do.
If the gameplay wasn't set against the Metroid universe I think I'd enjoy it a hell of a lot more, but the never ending stream of generic FPS/Sci Fi conventions that snuck their way in drive me up the fucking wall, despite how undeniably polished everything is. I can handle changes that genuinely build upon the inherent strengths of the franchise, but those in Corruption represent more of a left turn. The bulk of them seem like Retro dittoed ideas from other popular first person shooters. Sure they're tightly executed- nobody doubts Retro's technical prowess, but the
direction itself was all wrong.
Anyway, I know the subject has a tendency to open a certain can of worms (namely the one labeled purist/elitist/nostalgia
) in Metroid Prime threads. It's just that BorkBork's post lightly touched on some of the sentiments I'm having as I replay the game and I had to get it off my chest.