I love 1st person shooters, so the fact that Metroid Prime 3's controls are supposedly an incredible revelation in FPS control, the game naturally piques my interest.  I bought, but didn't finish the original Metroid Prime on the Gamecube.  I really didn't like the controls.  Needless to say, I skipped the 2nd one completely.  The gameplay is obviously fantastic, but for someone like me, is MP3 worth a consideration or will the story be completely lost on me much like somebody who plays Metal Gear Solid 4 without playing the first 3?

Same here. Didn't play MP1 or 2, should I buy 3?

EDIT: I read the italicized, bolded bit incorrectly.

Bad analogy. You have to play EVERY MGS before you play Guns of the Patriots.

On Topic: There was no story to speak of in Echoes or in Prime. In Corruption, it's pretty much a sequel in gameplay aspects only. There is no "continuing" story. All you need to know is that Dark Samus is evil. Kill her. That's the story in Echoes.

If you want to play Corruption, go for it, you won't be lost.

You'll be fine. The story can stand very easily by itself, although some of it's key parts it draws from earlier games. The game explains itself well enough that it all works out if you haven't played the other ones.

I haven't played Metroid Prime and got about 3/4 of the way through 2 before 3 was released. I had no problem at all. Actually it was easier to get into than 2, the story is well explained. I'm not a big fan of FPS, but the controls made the game for me, I'd play more FPS if they use a similar control scheme.

And yep you should buy 3 it's great.

I bought and finished the 3rd game, but never played the original 2. Made sense to me.

MP3 doesn't need familiarity with the MP series to enjoy. If anything, the story seemed to be an extension of Metroid Fusion theme-wise.

I picked up a copy of MP after playing MP3 and was completely turned off by the controls after being accustomed to the pointer based shooting of MP3. I think I gave MP less than one hour of play time before setting it aside. I haven't bothered to pick up a copy of MP2 yet.

It would be much like playing RE4 if your introduction to the game was with RE4 Wii Edition.

MGS4 doesn't require extensive knowledge of the MGS universe to enjoy the game play segments although many will probably find themselves somewhat lost during the story segments since the series is so self-referential. Those looking for a casual gaming experience will likely be completely lost or completely turned off by the overblown narrative style of storytelling.

I never finished MGS, MGS2 or MGS3 (each played minimally) yet I was able to absorb enough to follow the story of MGS4, which has been the first MGS game I've played to completion after ten years of playing the series.

SOLD! Thx for all of the input.

you can read up the storyline if you wish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid_Prime
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid_Prime_2

I would still buy both games tho as they are brilliant :)

you dont need to play the first 2 to understand the third