E3 2006 News | Metroid Prime 3 Confirmed for Nintendo Wii Launch

IGN is reporting that in an interview with Retro Studios about Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the team confirmed that the game will indeed launch alongside the Nintendo Wii on Day One, just like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will! Apparently, just like the first two GameCube Prime games, this will not feature online play, yet consideration is being given to the Wii's 24-hour connection aspect, possibly allowing new content, levels, upgrades and so on to owners of the game that have wireless connections still active when the Wii is powered off.

Rather than the light and dark worlds of MP2: Echoes, MP3 will instead place Samus Aran in large areas across multiple worlds, travelling between them in her space craft (albeit via cutscenes, not direct control). The ship is set to feature largely throughout the game, with Retro hinting at a new visor being included that allows Ms Aran to command the ship whilst on the ground! This could be for blowing up large obstacles or clearing large bulk groups of enemies to aid with progress. It has also been confirmed that the X-ray visor will return for both combat and puzzles, plus take out certain enemies by linking it up with the new beam that can fire through walls!

For those that believe the game is not any more special than MP2 at the moment, you can rest safe in the knowledge that Retro is busy polishing up the game right now to make sure it IS a definite level above the previous games. The aim is for a more graphically intensive experience at a rock solid 60 frames per second.

Stay tuned to C3 for more details...