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The Metroid series has been under the care of Retro Studios for a while, now Nintendo decides to give Team Ninja a chance. Can the minds behind Ninja Gaiden make a good Metroid game, or did Nintendo make a bad decision?
Metroid Other M takes place right where Super Metroid leaves off. As matter of fact even the closing battle against Mother brain is the opening scene for this game. Metroid Other M definitely appeals to the hardcore Metroid fans who have been enjoying the series for the past decades. New comers may feel a bit intimidated by this, but the story doesn’t really dive too deep to previous games.
Instead we get a book summary of Samus diary, throughout the all game we see what Samus is thinking and the events that lead her to this point. It is interesting new perspective of the Metroid series but it feels very awkward at times and it definitely doesn’t fit in to the all Metroid atmosphere. The story does set a good sense of mystery to the atmosphere, we won’t get into details but you will definitely get hooked at some points. If you are a hard core Metroid fan you will see a lot of events from past games, as well as some answers about the Metroid franchise.
Most of the story will be told through CGI cut scenes. The story felt quite weak at points, mainly because the voice acting is not too good, and there is no option to change to Japanese (which sounds a lot better). It also seems that they tried to rush the story too much, they don’t explain much until the very end, which makes the story look rushed and poorly written. All in all the story is decent, it has it’s high points but for the most part is quite average and it’s probably going to leave your head scratching at times.
For the most part the game plays from a third person perspective holding the wii mote horizontally, which many Metroid fans were just fine with. But the developers decided to add a first person perspective to add more complexity to the game, to change to first person, you have to point the wii mote towards the screen. While in first person mode you can’t move, which makes you an easy target for enemies. Many critics and gamers alike were unsure about this, but the controls work pretty well. First person mode controls smoothly and it feels quite comfortable after a while. However, these controls will vary by users some will enjoy it and some will hate it. For me it was something that not only felt natural, but also made us feel more like we were in the game.
While the object scanning aspect from the prime series is gone, sometimes you will be asked to scan a certain object in a region. These moments are few and far between in the game, however in order to scan said object you need to be pixel perfect and sometimes can be quite hard to locate what your suppose to be looking for. These parts felt quite pointless and the game would had been much better off without them.
Unlike other Metroid games where you have to find all your suit upgrades, in Other M you have your powers from the get go, except your not allowed to use them. Commanding Officer of Galactic federation Adam Malcovich has to allow you to use your power ups. They try to explain why exactly you can’t use them, but sometimes it doesn’t make any sense why Adam doesn’t allow you to use certain items at certain times. It’s a creative way, but it doesn’t quite fit in the all “I am free lance bounty hunter” thing Samus has set for herself.
Finding secrets is still an aspect of the game, but unlike other Metroid games it doesn’t play an important role. You can easily skip most power ups and have no problems with the game. Items will flash on your radar after you kill all enemies in one area, you may think that it makes the game easier but items are well hidden and knowing their position alone won’t help you find them.
The graphics in Other M are beautiful. This is by far one of best looking Wii games, as you ponder on that sentence it may not look like much but this game is very appealing to the eyes. Regions are well detailed and have their own art style (much like Super Metroid). Cinematics are amazing, and can match the quality of any PS3 or Xbox 360 game you can think of. This game definitely pushes the Wii’s puny hardware to the limit.
As much as the graphics are amazing, the music falls short on that department. Most of the time the background is silent, which doesn’t really help set the atmosphere for the game. The music feels awkward and doesn’t quite belong in a Metroid game. The music is suppose to bring you into the game, and Other M fails horribly at this. It sets the tone for an action game, but Metroid is not suppose to be about action, it’s suppose to be about exploration and feeling of isolation, something that can only be achieved by the right type of music.
Metroid games are well known for having a decent amount of difficulty, Other M is the exception to this case. The game is pretty easy for a number of reasons; the auto aim feature is very generous, and lethal strikes demolishes your enemies, you can dodge any enemy attack by pretty much just holding the D-pad in one direction, and save stations are everywhere.
One major change to the gameplay is how you replenish your energy and missiles, unlike every other Metroid game where enemies drops energy and missiles, this time around you have to enter “concentration mode” which is a process of holding your Wii mote facing the ceiling and holding the “A” button until your missiles or health is back up. You can only regenerate health when you have a critical amount of health left, so don’t expect this to save you all the time. While this new gameplay style makes the game easier, it also makes the game more exciting. Watching enemy charge towards you, while you recharge your health definitely will have your heart racing. Overall Other M is definitely targeted more towards the Wii casual audience instead of targeting towards the hardcore gamers (you know, the people that will actually play this game).
Metroid Other M is certainly a different step for the franchise even more so than the Prime series was. Team Ninja attempted to focus mostly on the action of the game instead of focusing on the exploration which is what makes Metroid games well…Metroid games. With that said it still is a pretty good game that will keep you coming for more. While Metroid fans will be a bit confused with the new direction, I could not suggest this game more for those who have been following the series. If you are not big into the all Metroid thing you should probably rent this game. Either way if you have a Wii you should definitely check out this one.
