The perennial summer software dirge is finally coming to an end and, as Potter, Shrek and a badly dented Optimus Prime carry their ill-gotten gains into the distance, the weighty doom and gloom of the last few months looks to be dissipating.

Indeed, while GamerSquad certainly enjoyed the summer arrival of 2K’s enthralling The Darkness, and had a tensely exhilarating time with Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, the fairly barren release lists have been crushingly disappointing… though they now look to be revealing a steady stream of worthy candidates.

If you’re a regular to GamerSquad’s pages, you’ll be no stranger to us banging on incessantly about BioShock, the sumptuous underwater FPS/RPG hybrid from the boffins over at Irrational Games, which is due to mark the coming flood of potential excellence when it arrives on August 24. However, another – perhaps even bigger title – has been quietly making its way to release without the same degree of pomp and ceremony. That game is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

While Corruption got a brief (but impressive) run-out at the recent E3 Media & Business Summit in Santa Monica, the final action-packed episode in the ongoing adventures of Samus Aran has received fairly modest hype coverage in the countdown to its release. And that’s kind of unusual considering the series’ stellar reputation and the placement of the newly innovative Corruption on the hot-selling Nintendo Wii platform… especially as the game will hit retail on August 27.

Is this a case of poor advertising and marketing by Nintendo? Relying too heavily on Metroid’s history and established fan base? Or merely because Metroid has been overshadowed by the likes of BioShock, Medal of Honor: Airborne, and Guild Wars: Shadow of the North?

Whatever the reason for Corruption’s rather subdued arrival (following tons of early development interest), GamerSquad is duly blowing its golden trumpets for Samus as she fights through one last mission while also struggling to control her own potential destruction as Corruption battles to destroy her from within.

It’s gonna be huge – perhaps not Halo 3/Killzone 2 huge, but huge nonetheless. Check out the latest cinematic trailer and a chunk of newly released in-game action. Our money is already set aside, how about you?

Footage provided by GameTrailers.com.