"A simple report, dull even...." Oh I wish I could say the same for this review, Samus. Metroid: Other M was said to be a re-imagine of the Metroid series, with Team Ninja in the works, it was said it'd take "risks." Though there's one thing with risks, they turn out good...or end up being a mistake.
(Spoilers are ahead)
Let's get right to it. In Metroid: Other M, you play as Samus, a bounty hunter who has saved galaxy numerous times and, in case you've forgotten, is a girl. Normally gender doesn't really play much into the story, but not in this game, but I’ll get to that later. The game takes place sometime after Super Metroid for the SNES and you battle your way through the BOTTLE SHIP, a research ship that, you discover over time, is doing bio-weapon research and testing.
The game plays out as an "enhanced" 2.5D game, as you can freely move around in the corridors. The camera is fixed, because it IS a 3rd person shooter, but don't fret, the camera is actually placed in well positions. I never had a problem with the camera. It also has first person elements, like scanning things and shooting missiles, but more on that later.
As mentioned before, the game starts off after the events of Super Metroid and you start off going through a quarantine process. Of course, since this is Team Ninja we're talking about, we have Samus in her Zero Suit and we're just staring at her boobs (which I first noticed they're rather large...). Then you hear a monologue from Samus about what's going on at the moment, like why she's there and how she feels about it. This, I believe, to be a both good and bad thing. Hearing Samus "discussing" the actions gives her more of human side to her; she is no longer just a killing machine. But yet she drones on and on and on about either the baby metroid from Super Metroid or about her former commanding officer from when she was in the Galactic Federation, Adam (who has an emotional range of a teaspoon).
Unfortunately, most of her monologues are about Adam and how she feels about him. They're mostly all over 5 minutes of her just focusing on Adam. Most of her flashbacks are about when she was in the Galactic Federation Army and shows a few scenes from few different missions, all under the command of Adam. She focused on how she wished she could be closer to Adam, wished to know how he felt and ways to have more connections with him. Though, when she was reading, it was also god awful. It was like Samus turned back to 13 and was reading off her livejournal entries to the public. (And yes, she ACTUALLY says "Confession time") However, when she was talking in the present, or commenting on the actual clues of the situation, she sounded older and mature. However, that all changed when Adam sacrificed himself and she turned into a 12 year old, bawling her eyes out to save Adam (I however was jumping in joy). Team Ninja DID say that the game was more focused on Samus' past and will give Samus some character, but I do believe they did it in the wrong way. If you wanted to show Samus becoming strong and gaining character, do it by showing her inner battles while saving planets before, or showing her victories while in the Galactic Federation, not her focusing emotionally on Adam. It seems insulting or even hypocritical to show the most bad ass and non-sexualized girl in gaming to be almost weak. I mean, she freaks the fuck out over facing Ridley and turns into a crying little girl, I'm NOT joking. By this time in the Metroid series, you've faced Ridley 5 times, and now, all of the sudden she gets paralyzed with fear just by seeing Ridley.
Back to the first person aspect, in order to go into it, you have to point your Wiimote towards the screen; there are a few problems with mode however. When you first point it, there's a tiny moment where you go "wait, where's my reticule?" On top of that, you cannot move while in this, so you're always a standing target when you go into this mode. When you have to go into this mode to fire missiles there's usually tons of enemies circling around you, so you have to wait for the right moment so you don't get hit from the side. It's a huge juggling act during boss battles. You WILL get hit; it's just how many times you get hit will measure how well you are. There's also a few minor issues with its aim. You look around the area with the B button held down and moving around the Wiimote around the screen, and if there's an enemy around, you lock onto the baddie with the B button as well. However, if there's more than that on the screen, it seems the lock wants to go to the enemy that's furthest away, which could and is a pain at the final "battle."
However, when you're not standing around, you'll be in third person mode. You move around freely with the D-pad and jump around with the 1 button and shoot like a crazy fool with the 2 button. As simple as the control scheme is, it REALLY works. You're forced to have auto-aim, which is a lot better than it sounds. After playing awhile, you can't really imagine playing this game any other way, even a true first person shooter. It really works; you see how Samus really battles baddies, and the athletic dodge is always very nice to have. Although the auto aim only starts when the enemies are less than 4 feet away from you, but that's pretty good, it knows which enemies to prioritize over (like the ones you can kill vs. the ones you can't). Another thing that works so well is the item gathering. It first sounded easy like, you can't miss it now, since its 3rd person, but yet they still hid the power ups so well. It actually made me want to play the game more, even after seeing the credits.
There are points however in the game that seems to not make any sense whatsoever. Beyond the cinematics that solely focuses on Adam and/or things that really move the story along, but there are points where you are forced to walk. The camera zooms up to Samus' robotic ass and you walk around. The camera is fixed on that angle and it's hard to move into a position you want to get in. I'm assuming you can only walk because it adds suspense, but i get tired walking like that in a rather large area and it takes 5 minutes to walk from point A to B. There are also bathrooms or something that has no purpose in the game. Also there are a few inferences in this game. In the forced tutorial portion the guy who's walking you through the moves says stuff like "Those are the moves I remember." And then "I even polished up your suit, so you look somewhat presentable," as he pushes up his glass like a giant pervert, focusing on her breasts and nothing else. There are also some hints that Samus' and Adam were doing more than what was said (which sickens me). There were also moments of sexism throughout the entire game. The biggest example is when you can't use your powers, not because you don't have the powers, but ADAM hasn't given you permission. Also, at the end, a head general dude calls Samus an outsider and doesn't belong around what the men are doing. Another thing is the ending. It's super anticlimactic. After 3 super long cinematics, you find sector zero, where all the cold resistant metroids and Mother Brain are located. You're all prepared for this final assault. But Adam appears and takes it out and self-destructs the entire section. And then when you face the real Mother Brain you just scan her and the game ends. The last portion of the game can be summarized as "Anticlimactic" Also, after you get the ice beam, which are your wave and plasma beams, can FREEZE enemies. One last thing, if you're low on health and/or missiles, you don't have to kill enemies to get pickups, you hold up the Wiimote and hold the A button you "concentrate," you replenish your ammo.
(End Spoilers)
All in all the game goes into Samus' past and focuses on it the wrong way. The controls are simple and seem natural. The story is in depth and worth getting into, including the side story, even if the ending doesn't seem to constitute itself. So, if you're a veteran Metroid fan, this game will probably NOT live up to the hype. However if you’re new to the series this will be a great incentive to play the other Metroid games to see how much of a badass she truly is!
The final word: it deserves a 3.5...out of 5. Which is strange to give, especially with this being my first review and all, but it deserves more than a 3 but defiantly less than a 4. It’s a good rental, but I wouldn’t buy it unless I’m really new to the series and need something to dust off my Wii.
