Picked up a couple of new games recently, and here’s my first impressions of both:

 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption  (Nintendo Wii)

I enjoyed but never completed Metroid Prime on the Gamecube, with its atmospheric alien worlds and intelligent sci-fi game play…yet it did get very tough towards the end, and I admit to feeling sorry I did not try harder to complete a game that has gone on to be a classic.  So maybe I’ll make up for it by giving this one a go?

It utilizes to great effect the Wii’s unique motion sensitive controls for aiming your gun, movement, solving puzzles and lasooing objects.  At first as a fan of console first person shooters, this felt rather strange but also refreshing, and the degree of control the method gives you is amazing.  Now I have only really touched the surface of this game, and couldn’t say if it’s intial quality and eye-cathcing level design remains throughout – but so far this is engrossing stuff, and easily one of the better games on Wii, considering how much crap seems to be out on it right now (with possible exception of Super Mario Galaxy…but thats a story for another time…).

 Assassin’s Creed  (XBOX 360)

Now this has been hyped for months with freequent internet sneak peaks promising a true-next gen experience.  Of course this is just clever marketing, and in the end what this comes down to is Prince of Persia on a much grander scale.  It’s obvious from the start that this has been a labour of love for the designers, and the art design is absolutely breath-taking.  Add to this a top-notch medievil setting and a cool-as-ice assassin for you to control, and the presmise could not be better.  What surprised me instantly, is that not all this game is set in the medievil times, and is infact also set in the near-future where an imprisoned man is being experimented upon as two scientists tap into his memories (and therefore the memories of his ancestors) as he lies hooked up to a machine.  This wierd sci-fi off-shoot in my opinion gives the designers an excuse to set further Assassin’s Creed games in whatever time period they choose…but it’s relevance to this one game remains a mystery.

Anyway so far I am slowly progressing through it, have done a couple of assassinations, and am enjoying how free it all feels, with the ability to more or less go anywhere and do anything, depending of course as with most games like this, on how much trouble you wish to course yourself.  I can see how some can knock it for being repetitive, but well when it looks this good, and you have such a degree of control over your character – it never really gets boring – so far, at least.