Game:

Metroid: Other M (2010)

Duration: 12:01

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Samus’s Log: “In my journeys across the cosmos I’ve made my share of enemies, been faced with unexpected challenges and faced steep odds, and yet I have always prevailed. I now embark on a new mission, though the scars left by my encounter with Mother Brain still linger. With each new mission comes a new lesson to learn. A new skill or ability obtained. The infant Metroid bestowed me with the Hyper Beam, and in the aftermath, it seems I can now generate energy and ammunition from nothing, an ability that laughs in the face of all known science and reason. And yet I have found that my Power Suit now lacks the ability to shoot Missiles and move at the same time. A debilitating design flaw that I should likely look into, but I’m sure it’s fine.”

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Welcome to the world of Metroid! With the release of Metroid Prime: Federation Force drawing closer, what better way to celebrate a game that is getting lambasted before it’s even out than with the previous Metroid installment that ALSO got lambasted?

Truth be told, I was beyond hyped for this game back in the day, despite having not played many Metroid games at the time. Upon release I enjoyed the title overall, and yet…the audience and critical reception wasn’t so great. I refused to acknowledge the criticism at first, but a subsequent playthrough had me finally admit that there were indeed faults to the game. Honestly, this is a flawed game for sure, even if it has it’s moments, but fans have attacked this game as if it’s the worst thing ever. In going back through it, I’d like to examine the game intimately and break down just what it gets wrong, and what it gets right. This won’t be a 100% run of the game, though. Most Metroid games are mazes, full of people getting stuck if they don’t know them backwards and forwards, however Other M is far more guided and linear, which really makes it a better LP candidate than a lot of the other games, at least for someone like me. That said, for the times where I DO get a little lost, expect some cuts.

Our story begins with a rather gorgeous prerendered cutscene depicting the heartbreaking climax of Super Metroid. Shame the rest of the game can’t hope to look that good (for the record, for a Wii game it looks OK, I think). And now we move into a tutorial. Right away, you should be able to tell this is a far more action-packed adventure than most games. Samus’s shots auto-aim, which is a fine concession I guess. Special instant-kill moves like the Overblast she uses on the Space Pirate here are kinda finicky I find, even if they are cool.

The REAL changes here come from entering first-person mode from third-person and back again at will. Point the Wiimote at the screen and Samus can look around with her visor…but can’t actually move from that spot. Here we see one of the early problems….having to find objects while stuck in first-person. Sometimes it’s obvious where you should be looking, sometimes
it’s not and the game will NOT advance until you figure it out.

Sensemove is…a highly-spammable dodge, but moreso with projectile attacks in the game, I find. Concentration…makes no logical sense AT ALL, but I do like not having to grind for more Missiles, honestly. The change to making Power Bombs work on a charge gauge also works fine for me. And hey, wall jumping isn’t that hard and looks cool! Controls for the game are a mixed bag, really. Some awesome ideas, some…questionable execution. For one: .no Nunchuck. In a 3D game where you can move in big open areas you have to use the D-pad. That alone is a big issue, but it factors into not being able to move in first-person either, and that makes using Missiles far more risky than they really should be. You CAN dodge from first-person, but I find its unreliable a lot of the time. I’m baffled by the decision, really.

We’ll have more time to talk about controls and the like later though. For now, our adventure is about to begin. Strap in! Hope you like clunky dialogue and tons of exposition bombs!

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