You'll have to wait to hear our thoughts. Here's why.
You may have seen reviews for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption going up at some of the major websites yesterday and today. Unfortunately, Nintendo has decided that we and many other major websites are not worthy of joining the chorus of early praise for this game. You see, final review copies of the game were not shipped to the press last week, as is the normal practice at Nintendo and most other publishers. Nintendo decided, for some arcane reason that we may never know, to hold review copies of the game until this week. (We have been trying for two days to reach a representative and ask why this happened with such a major release, but we have been unable to get a comment from Nintendo's PR agency.) Those sites that have already published their reviews were given special "lock boxes" on which to play a reviewable burn of the game, before it was finished being manufactured at the disc factories. This means they have had two weeks to play through the game and write their reviews in time for the launch date. The rest of us were not so lucky as those select few. If Nintendo was worried about spoilers or anything else leaking, they could have simply put an embargo on coverage of the final retail copies, just as they did on the "lock box" versions. We have never broken a media embargo from Nintendo or any other company, and we never will.
We did finally get to start playing the game today, August 28th -- yes, the same day as all of you will be able to pick it up at the store. Playing at full breakneck speed and rushing through the writing/editing process, the soonest we could provide a review to our dear readers is probably Thursday. But you won't see a review on that day either, because we're going to do the job right and experience the game as it should be played -- the same way those "big guys" got to play it during the last two weeks. We thought it was bad when we didn't get Metroid Prime 2: Echoes until the Friday before release, giving us only two or three days to play the entire game and attempt to write a clear and fair review. The situation is much worse this time, and out of protest and sheer practicality, and because we'd like a chance to enjoy and experience the game rather than view it through a haze of Red Bull and self-imposed deadlines, we are going to take our time. To put it in a context that Nintendo and Retro Studios should understand very well, our review will be posted "when it's finished".
We don't want to come off as elitist or whiny just because we got the game the same day as all our readers. We strive to deliver our reviews as quickly as possible, preferably before or on the launch date for major titles. Unfortunately, Nintendo's actions have made that impossible for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. We just wanted to explain the delay, since we have had such extensive (and timely) coverage of this game for over two years preceding its release. Whether you're enjoying the game already or waiting to hear more before deciding to buy it, please check back this weekend for our non-rushed review.
