I rarely purchase games on the release date, instead opting to wait for the hype to die down and the truth be revealed by the masses before parting with money better spent on beer. In this case, I made an exception. I made the drive personally to GameStop the day prior to ensure my purchase followed by the day where I victoriously emerged from the store, clutching my prize unfettered by a bag to better display it to all who remained without.

When I purchase a new game that I feel will be a memorable experience I often wait before embarking on that endeavor. I make sure the room is just right; the windows shaded, the sound adjusted, the furniture in the right place, food and water made and placed at the ready. It is as if I am preparing for a sacred ritual that will thrust my consciousness into a state in which my physical body may not be allowed to move ever again. This day was no different. After preparing the Temple of Samus accordingly I let the title screen run while I adjusted the stereo to give the best possible space-faring effect and finally sat down to play.

The control scheme, as you may have heard, is rather intuitive. I would go beyond this assessment and say that it is downright natural! From the moment control is given to your hand, to the moment of full understanding of the controls is a good 30 seconds. Not only was it easy, but it felt right! No, no, that’s not it. It felt god damned awesome! No, that didn’t really convey what I wanted to say. Look, I have a freaking cannon - ON MY ARM! The experience was so immersive that if a creature not from this world were to burst through my living room door, I would undoubtedly point my Wiimote at it and press fire with no hesitation in my heart.

The game itself is great. The art is beautiful, the effects stunning, the creatures intelligent and challenging. In fact, there have been many times where I see some detail in a wall or in the sky and I just take a moment to look at it. One part in particular was a wall that had some tubes that looked like roots running in and out of it, only the roots were moving, like snakes. I switched my my scanner expecting this to be something significant and was delighted to discover that this was just part of the art. The normal fare of puzzles and power restricted areas are still prominent but the objectives of your missions are more linear and you are less prone to take fruitless detours. I would even say that the objectives were even more well thought out than previous iterations as you have an overall objective and some minor goals to accomplish before that final task can be achieved. With 1 and 2 it was really just item to item, the interim filled with back tracking to find the places you could reach with new abilities. You may think that this deviates from the traditional Metroid model but I feel none of the old flavor diminished. Instead I feel that some of the frustration has been removed with as little sacrifice as possible. There is a unique addition to the game with your ship. Remote communications can initiate everything from a landing site pickup to a remote bombing run. The inside of the cockpit is even interactive in that you are able to manipulate the controls for things like blast shields, maps, scanners, and limited ship control. The whole experience really takes the whole ship idea past a plot connector to a part of your character. Also, did I mention you have a freaking cannon - ON YOUR ARM? My shoulder is quite sore as a result actually.

The very few downsides I might site are in no way game breaking, but are worth mentioning. First, a lack of cardinal direction arrows on the maps leads to constant switching to the map to verify which direction you are going. Some of the controls to interact with switches and levers can be a little unresponsive if the Wii has to sense the Wiimote getting closer or further away from the screen. The reticule can be really hard to see at times. That’s about it.

The last point I will make about the game is that it has finally broken all of the stereotype comments about the Wii being a cartoon kids system with no possibility of a serious game. This game is dark, serious, challenging and may very well be the best FPS control scheme ever created. There is no doubt that a high-quality intense competition level shooter could be produced on this machine that would pit twitch gamers against each other, locked in deadly combat swinging their remotes with grim expressions and sweat on their brow. I await that day in anticipation, a gleam in my eye, a cruel smirk and a freaking cannon on my arm.

Freaking cannon on arm	No compass
Art makes Dali look like a panzy	Invisible cross-hairs
Space ships and explosions	Sore shoulder, from freaking cannon on arm

-Groggy