“Metroid Prime 3: Corruption” ($49.99, rated T for teen) for Nintendo’s Wii is hitting shelves this week, and it’s getting rave reviews. Normally I’d be all over it; I’m a huge fan of the series and I’ve played them all except for “Fusion” and “Pinball.” But I’m out of the game for a while. Why?

My Wii is broken!I just had to ship my Wii console back to Nintendo for the second time in two Wiiks. I’m getting disc-error messages up the Wii-zoo, even though all my games are supposedly in good condition. As big a pain as it is, though, Nintendo’s customer service rocks, and these kinds of hardware problems are nearly unheard of with them. (Unlike a certain maker of Xbox 360 consoles that shall remain nameless.)

But if you have a Wii that works, there’s more Metroid madness over at the Shop Channel with Virtual Console editions of the original “Metroid” (500 points) and “Super Metroid” (800 points).

And new this week on the Virtual Console:“Super C,” the sequel to run-n-gun arcade classic “Contra” (500 points)RPG smash hit “Breath of Fire II” (800 points)Monster mash “Ghouls’n Ghosts” (800 points)

All these games, with the exception of “Corruption,” are rated E for everybody.