Manhunt 2 [Wii]

Rockstar releases this controversial sequel in an edited form after receiving an "Adults Only" rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, possibly losing the game's vision in the process.

While the original Manhunt game pushed a lot of people's buttons with its snuff video vibe and level of violence, the announcement of a sequel being released on Nintendo's family-friendly Wii seemed to be the last straw for many, and the game was largely condemned while still in development. Subsequently, the game has had some scenes edited out and a video effect superimposed over the screen when the player performs "finishing moves" on enemies.

The story revolves around Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper, escapees from a secret research facility. Controlling Daniel, it's up to the player to figure out what happened, with Leo as your guide. While the premise is substantial enough, some of the implementation is sloppy. Early on in the game Leo tells you to return home since "You left something there for yourself", without any explanation of what it is or how he knows about it, making for some fairly weak player motivation.

As you progress through the game, you'll encounter various adversaries who you can eliminate using various objects and weapons found along the way. Much of the game is based on stealth, which is well implemented, as you'll need to stick to the shadows, and even occasionally hold the Wii remote still in order to remain undetected. Sneaking up on enemies and performing finishing moves is the most effective way of dealing with them.

The play mechanic is nothing like what most people probably imagined though, as you don't control Daniel's movements in real time. Instead, icons appear in the corner of the screen showing a series of motions you need to perform. It ends up feeling much like the boss battles in God of War or even a bit like Dragon's Lair, and almost completely removes the player from the action. During these attacks, the player can barely pay attention to the violence unfolding on-screen, since the icons demand your attention, and the action is obscured by a red overlay, to the point where almost nothing is visible and blood is mostly camouflaged out of sight. It's also worth noting that this generally makes the game less explicitly violent than the original game was, with its copious amounts of arterial spray.

Graphically, the game appears to run on the same engine that the original did, which means it looks decent for a Wii title. The audio was a bit of a surprise, as there doesn't seem to be as much of an attempt to creep the player out and keep you on your toes. There's also an annoying sound from the Wii remote whenever objective notices appear on-screen that it seems you can't turn off.

While it's unlikely anyone will be taking this game at face value, the fact is that the editing of the content and the only partially interactive nature of the finishing moves do hinder the game. If the core gameplay had been stronger, with better player motivation and perhaps some non-lethal attack options to bring more of a morality struggle, this likely could have been a much deeper experience overall, and the editing wouldn't have taken as much away from it.

6/10

Mercury Meltdown Revolution [Wii]

Using the Wii's motion controls to maneuver blobs of liquid metal through obstacle-laden mazes makes for a challenging game that has more wacky twists to it than players would ever expect.

Using various laboratory-themed levels, players guide their blob(s) of mercury through various maze-like levels toward a goal against time. Along the way, structural obstacles such as ramps and bridges ensure the path is less than smooth. Mazes can also include a variety of interactive elements, such as conveyors, force fields, guillotines, and gravity benders that affect your blob in various ways. If that wasn't enough, some levels contain enemies that will eat, poison or zap your mercury. Players will also need to use various "Paint Shop" devices to change the color of their blob(s) to open color-coded gates, often mixing blobs of different colors to achieve the proper hue.

While the game does include a tutorial, and even a large "Playground" area to practice in, the difficulty starts at a higher level than expected and ramps up surprisingly fast. Younger players (or less patient adults) might find some of the mazes quite frustrating, even on the early levels. Luckily, you can skip on to the next maze if you like. Collecting bonus items in the main game boosts your score, and also unlocks a handful of party games, such as "Paint", where players compete to roll their blob around and cover the most area with their color.

While this title has appeared on the PSP and PS2 previously, the addition of motion control support definitely makes this title worth a look, even if you've played it before. It's more challenging and potentially frustrating than it seems at first though, and could have used some easier levels for younger players.

7/10

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption [Wii]

The third and final installment in Retro Studios' "First-Person Adventure" take on Metroid is finally here. This time, Dark Samus is corrupting whole planets with phazon, and Samus is ordered to stop the process.

While the story revolves around the corruption of planets, players will be more concerned with the corruption of Samus herself. After the first part of the story, Samus is outfitted with a Phazon Enhancement Device, which harnesses the phazon within her and enables Hypermode. This enables Samus to use more powerful weapons, but at a cost of life energy and the risk of coming under Dark Samus' control if it's used too much. Graphically, players will likely notice little difference from the earlier games, aside from perhaps some better lighting effects. This doesn't really work against the game though, since it gives the whole series a consistency that would have been lost. Same goes for the audio as well, and players will be familiar with the game's audio cues from the start.

The game uses the same type of challenge-based gameplay with bursts of shooting action as the previous incarnations and, as expected, uses the Wii remote to aim; Also giving several options for camera control. Players can choose to enable a lock-on system that also lets them freely aim for easier targeting without losing control. While this is a huge improvement over the GameCube controls of the first two games, it's still somewhat cumbersome to scan objects (holding the minus button brings up a visor-selection), and frustrating when objects, such as door switches, need to be scanned before you can operate them. It would have been nice to see Samus get an "upgrade" that allows her to scan objects on the fly. I also found that after switching out of Morph Ball mode, it occasionally took a few seconds to regain control of the camera. There are some other attempts to bring more interaction to the game through the controls, such as pulling and turning hatch controls, which are novel at first, but eventually feel like a nuisance. Probably the nicest surprise is using the Nunchuck like a fishing rod and "casting" the grapple beam onto objects, then pulling back to move the item. This can also be used on enemy shields to make them more vulnerable.

While this is a fun and challenging game that's a must-buy for fans of the series, it's definitely a big disappointment that there are no multiplayer options at all. After the stellar multiplayer modes Nintendo pulled off in Metroid Prime Hunters for the DS a year and a half ago, this would have been the perfect title to launch a more robust online service for the Wii and pay back the hardcore fans that kept the GameCube alive. Hopefully we'll see a downloadable multiplayer title at some point.

8/10