Okay, so we should all know this game by now. Metroid: Other M, the game that dared to be different. It’s copped a fair amount of criticism for all kinds of reasons, and so the purpose of my review is to bring light to some of these “sayings†that have been floating around and give my thoughts on the game.
But quickly, why did I go out and buy this? I started getting into Metroid again, and ended up nabbing Zero Mission for the GBA. After that, I leapt onto Fusion, and then tackled Super Metroid, finally clearing some games I never got around to. Having experience with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid Prime Hunters, I had now shared experiences with the 2D and 3D chapters of the series. This game looked to be a hybrid of both, and a well-polished addition, so I checked it.
Metroid: Other M is a 3D platforming game created by Nintendo and Team Ninja (not Retro Studios this time, the people who helped with all three games in the Prime series). The game focuses on side scrolling action in a 3D environment.
It chronologically sits between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. So you could call it Metroid 3.5 if you wanted.
What also makes this game different from the rest is that we now have a talking Samus, as well as a lot more monologues (think of the things from Metroid Fusion where you’re in the elevator) from scene to scene.
So this game is pretty much all about: new Metroid control scheme, direct sequel to beloved Super Metroid, and lots more story than ever before.
When you start up the game, you don’t get asked to make a new save file. You don’t even get the menu. You get plonked straight into the story, and this little thing instantly impressed me for some reason. It made the story all that more exciting.
Onto the actual story though, we’re plonked right at the end of Super Metroid where a rampaging Mother Brain is close to finishing off Samus. That is, until the friendly neighbourhood Metroid saves the day, restores Samus’ energy and gives her the Hyper Beam to kick some serious brain.
After this flashback, we get sent back to the present, with Samus sitting in one of those fancy white lab rooms. This is now quite some time after the events seen moments ago. Samus is back at the Galactic Federation and (after some light training) is praised in front of hundreds for the destruction of planet Zebes, Mother Brain and all the Metroids (well, just the one this time, “the babyâ€).
She decides to head off, and as she’s zooming through space, she picks up on a nearby distress signal, commonly referred to as “Baby’s Cryâ€. That is due to the urgency of the message, trying to get as much attention as possible. She decides to go on and investigate, unaware of what is about to happen next.
The signal is found to have eventuated from what is known as a Bottle Ship. After a long and fancy cinematic which I rather enjoyed, Samus is on the ship and soon discovers that she’s not alone; the Galatic Federation is there as well.
Samus and the Federation members soon encounter one another by surprise. It’s revealed that Adam Malkovich and his 07[sup]th[/sup] platoon are on board the ship to investigate what’s going on as well. It turns out there are creatures running amok, and their aim is to find what survivors they can and figure out what is going on.
Most of what happens when Samus and the 07th Platoon come face to face.
Image credit to: CyberMoonStudios on DeviantArt, can't find link
After a lengthy overview of Samus and Adam’s past together, we figure out that Samus, once a member of the Galactic Federation, left her mentor Adam to become the independent bounty hunter we all know her as today. This, of course, leaves Adam a bit peeved in a way, initially rejecting Samus’ assistance.
After Samus saves the day with her trusty missiles, Adam agrees for Samus to help out, but under the condition she follows his orders at all times, including when and what weapons she can use.
After receiving her first order to investigate Sector 1, Samus dashes off into her latest fun filled adventure!
This game is controlled with just one Wii remote. No nunchuk, not classic controller, just the remote. And to be honest, I think they did a really good job at this.
You have two views, normal view, and search view. Normal view is where the camera automatically positions itself around Samus, and you use the D-pad to run about, using 1 to shoot, and 2 to jump. Pressing A will see you cramming into that Morph Ball we all love, and + will boot up the menu.
Now, point the Wii remote at the screen and BAM. You’re in search view. In this view, it’s pretty much like Metroid Prime, but with a few changes. Move the cursor around to aim. Move the cursor around while holding B to shift your view. Press A to shoot your beam. Press and hold B while an enemy is in view and you’ll lock onto it. Move your cursor over the enemy while locked on and you can shoot a missile. It’s pretty straightforward after you do a few test runs.
Some people weren’t too fond of the controls, and here’s a few popular reasons:
- The d-pad is hard to move with
- You can’t move in search view
Not being able to move in search view does suck a bit, I will admit it, but I guess you just have to take it into account when playing. You can only use missiles in search view, so you’ll have to back up a bit and charge one up rather than just zipping into it a few feet away from your mortal enemy, who’ll just smack you from side to side.
On the topic of controls, Samus has some sweet new moves which are surprisingly easy to pull off. You can jump on top of certain enemies and blast their heads out, or grab ‘em while they’re down for a bit and… blast their heads out some more! You can even dodge attacks with ease, just press the d-pad in any direction just before you get hit by anything and BOOM. Epic dodge, and if you’re charging as you dodge, you’ll be fully charged in an instant and ready to unleash total destruction.
You even have a few close up thrid person views, in which Samus walks around slowly, investigating the area. These aren’t frequent, but when they do appear, you just know something’s about to go down.
So with the controls out of the way, there’s only one other element of gameplay here, and that is the flow of things. A lot of people have said the following:
- Too many cutscenes that drag on forever
The cutscenes only appeared during a boss or encounter with another character, and I found myself playing a few times where I didn’t have a movie for a while. It’s mostly at the start and towards the end that you get the longest cut scenes, obviously. In the middle they’re just scattered about, as you piece together the puzzle of the Bottle Ship and its mysteries.
As for one other thing in the game, the enemies have decided to be asses and not drop missiles or health replenishments. Luckily for Samus, if you hold the Wii remote up and press A, she’ll “concentrateâ€. You can replenish ALL your missiles with this handy trick, but as for health… you can only get a bit of it back if you’re in a spot of danger and have low health. The problem with this though, is that it takes about three seconds to do, and a lot of enemies can go wild and slice you to bits in those three seconds. It’s pretty freaky trying to concentrate and only JUST making it in time as you get hit in the face, but with a clean bill of health (well, not for long if you keep getting that noggin smacked around).
The bosses are amazing to fight up against, Samus pulls off some wild moves like grabbing things by the tail and slamming them into the walls, as well as blasting charged power beams down the throats of foes. She’s really getting messy this time around, and it’s pretty exhilarating to watch Samus run up the back of this giant snake thing and completely obliterate it. Even the short little scenes of getting swallowed head first by a worm and then getting spat out into the ground is exciting (though also frustrating).
The effects in the game are great too, all the beams look amazing, especially when charged, and the atmosphere is set really well by the stunning environments. Sometimes you won’t remember that you’re inside a ship and not on a planet.
All in all, the game plays well and flows well too. Switching from cutscene to gameplay is seamless, which I like a lot. There’s a variety of different control schemes, one for action, and one for investigating/blasting missiles. Only being able to shoot missiles in search view is a bit of a bummer, but hey, half the time a charged power beam will do the job better.
The music in this game is very atmospheric. You might not notice it at first, but when you’re running about and it hits that unexpected loud point, you can get freaked out a bit. The boss battle music can get very heated and make you dash about madly. I’ve picked out an example of the soft, suspenseful music and some great boss music:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uErpYJ9Obtk&feature=related[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6otsCMJrFo&feature=related[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5b0oRgjup4&feature=related[/media]
There are really only a few other things I feel like pointing out with this game, so here they are:
Item collecting is back, and as confusing as ever. Even with the search view, the creators have hidden these item pretty darn well, and I’m still working towards that 100% completion rate. Darn you, Nintendo… *shakes fist*
I quite enjoyed the cutscenes, but what can I say, I’m a man who likes to watch things. If you’re not a fan of watching cutscenes, then this might not be the greatest choice for you. The main reason they’re present is to elaborate on Samus’ past.
And on the topic of that, some people hate how Samus is portrayed with a passion, right down to the look of the Zero Suit and how she deals with certain situations. Even how she keeps mentioning “the babyâ€. To be honest, I didn’t really care about any of this, she’s still the same old Samus to me. I can't explain why she is the way she is, but when I'm planning, I still think of her the same way as I did in Super Metroid and all the other ones. My opinion of her (or Nintendo) hasn't changed at all. But now that they've created this personality for her, they'll have to be careful where they go with it next, I don't want a perfectly good character to turn out as an emotional train wreck who's completely lost their sense of direction.
I’ve read a few detailed articles on how the game has problematic sexism, feminism, all this other stuff. I don’t know if I’m stupid for not paying attention to it, but I just bought the thing to go nuts with my beams and get gobbled up a worm repeatedly and get spat back out. But hey, think what you want about the story and whatnot. You could say I'm just one of those typical consumers who eats what their given happily without noticing the flaws, but I enjoy playing the game without giving said flaws too much thought.
The voice acting? Sure, Samus’ voice was a little bland on occasions, but to be honest, I don’t think I would’ve liked a peppy Samus or a grunting Samus. I can’t think of another voice that I think she should have.
Her monologues CAN get long winded at times, but meh, it just gives you more Samus insight. We’re just getting a huge insight into her brain is the way I look at it.
In the end, I bought this game because I started to enjoy Metroid again. I had previously heard all the bad things about it, and how people are like “Oh God, rent before you buy thisâ€, etc. But you know what? I didn’t mind it. In fact, I enjoyed it. Just like any other game, you either hate it or love it. I don’t think the developers made a mistake here, this game has a lot of detail and I like the effort that’s been put into it. Would I like another game similar to this? Sure, I love the controls. But with every game, there is always room for improvement.
If anything, this game could be better by:
- Keeping cutscenes short and simple at times. I’m sure there’s a lot of dialogue that could be omitted with the message still being the same in this game
- Altering the control system. Use of the nunchuk could help out
- DEFINITELY reworking the upgrade system. This one had some funky logic in some areas. Refer to below comic for what I mean:
This was my reaction too.
Image credit to: http://dejitarudavis...nlock-179507979
I think it’s a good addition to the series. Like all games, it has a few things that we’d all like changed, but really, I don’t think it was as awful as others make it out to be. If you’re still hesitant, I suggest looking up some gameplay on the Internet, that’s what sold me (plus it was selling at half price and it was brand new, that sold me too). At least there was one amusing thing that came out of it:
This guy. Remember him?
In the end, I’m giving this game 8 out of 10 Anthony Higgs
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