t’s the little things. Watching a flying droid melt out of the sky after you’ve blasted it with a charged plasma shot. The puff of light and smoke a mine leaves behind after it jumps into your face. Seeing the husk of a dead soldier – frozen on a drifting spaceship – disintegrate to ash as you move it out of the way to use a console. These little moments stack up to make Metroid Prime 3: Corruption an unforgettable experience. But you may not notice them right away, because they weave together so well that it’s hard not to be distracted by the bigger tapestry they create.

Corruption is a visual dream. Wii games aren’t supposed to look this good, but someone forgot to tell Retro Studios. I’m not just talking about graphics, either. A game doesn’t look this good based on polygons alone; Corruption’s art direction is top notch. From the storm clouds and distant spires of some Jules Verne-inspired forgotten floating city to the acid rain-drenched sci-fi dystopia of an alien homeworld, all of the game’s environments, no matter how ugly, drip with beauty. How deep Retro Studio’s art team has tapped the Wii is a testament to their skill.

But Corruption isn’t just the best-looking Wii game to date; it’s the best Metroid Prime game period. This is due in large part to the fluid controls. The highly debated, stubborn lock-on aiming system has been replaced with something far better. You can finally look around while moving by aiming the Wii remote. This simple system alleviates the major problem many had with the GameCube titles and even manages to feel better than many console shooters on other systems. Throwing switches and using your grapple also makes creative use of the Wii’s motion controls and immerse you further into the Metroid world. In short, Corruption delivers on the Wii promise that some of us have been waiting for since the system launched.

Only a few things in the game are far from perfect. Corruption has the closest thing a Metroid title has ever had to a story, and while it may be passable, it still sits far below the bar set by the rest of the game. Instead of adding to the series’ classic haunting atmosphere, at times, the script actually takes something away from it. Corruption also isn’t much of a challenge; it’s much easier than any of the previous titles. This isn’t something I really fault the game for, but if you like a challenge, play the game on the veteran setting with the hints turned off.

When Metroid Prime first came out on the GameCube in 2002, it had been eight years since we’d even seen a Metroid game, and on top of that it was the first time the series had been realized in 3D. It’s hard to compete with something that long-desired and fresh, but Corruption refines the Prime formula to its pinnacle. Nothing should stop anyone who loves a good adventure from snatching up this amazing game.