Geekcape Games Reviews Metroid: Other M

When all else fails, you go to the guaranteed franchises. Nintendo, having already milked Mario and Zelda to the point of nausea, decided that what the world needed was a new Metroid game in the form of Metroid: Other M. On top of that, Nintendo decided that Samus should become more “fleshed” out as a character for the new generations by giving the reins to Team Ninja. What we get is a mixed bag of good and atrocious.

Nintendo and Team Ninja decided to give people that never played Super Metroid (which I am guilty of never playing) a quick recap of the ending of that game. Not really caring about spoilers, I was enjoying the cut scene, but that didn’t last long. After the brief recap, you end up in a medical bay recovering from the prior events. Metroid: Other M gives you the obligatory tutorial to learn the controls for the game, if you call auto targeting, auto dodging (using the d-pad just as you are about to get hit) and a recharge mechanic for health and missiles. You know, everything short of the game just playing for you (*cough* New Super Mario Bros Wii *cough*). I can forgive the basic controls due to the way the game is designed, 2D view of 3D gameplay with a first person view by turning the Wii remote and pointing it at the screen.

This is the main thing I see wrong with Metroid: Other M. The forced first person view to be able to scan for a single pixel that it wants you to find and shoot missiles ruins the flow of the rest of the game. Fighting bosses by trying to space yourself from the boss, flip the Wii remote around to point at the screen, reorient yourself with the cross-hairs, then shoot a missile before the boss attacks (since you can’t move while in first person view) is an unnecessary challenge that hurts the game more than helps. What’s wrong with just using the Nunchuck?

The story has Samus investigating a distress call from a ship in a nearby sector. When she gets to the ship (oddly named Bottle Ship) she is surprised to see some familiar faces. During the flashbacks that occur next, you see Samus explaining how she use to be a part of the Galactic Federation Front before becoming a solo bounty hunter. During mission briefings, all of her comrades in her squad gave the thumbs up to the commanding officer after he gives out the orders. To try and make Samus have some sort of rebel personality, she always gives the thumbs down. I can’t tell you how much that made me groan in disappointment in how contrived that felt.

After the trip down memory lane with the inner monolouge of Samus complete, the soldiers have a hard time getting in the front door. Of course this is no problem for Samus and her cannon for an arm (why don’t they give everyone an arm cannon?). From that point on, she decides to work alongside her former team and find out just what is happening aboard the Bottle Ship (no, not the kind Mark Wahlberg made in The Lovely Bones!). The story comes off as dry and empty feeling with the voice acting non-existent. Most of the time Samus doesn’t talk out loud but instead has narration going on inside her head. Somehow, everyone is able to understand her without Samus ever uttering a word.

With the thought of her being a rebel still in your minds, tell me why Samus would need authorization to use any of her abilities and equipment? Instead of the usual method of finding your equipment throughout the game, you must receive authorization from Adam, your former commanding officer. Samus is an ass kicking, world class bounty hunter. She should answer to no one. With this poorly thought out design, Team Ninja failed in my eyes to get the character right and voice over wasn’t going to make up for it. Early in the game, you end up in a lava sector and the heat slowly drains your health. It’s not until you get to the boss that Adam tells you over the comm that he authorizes you to use your heat shield to protect you from the damaging heat. What?! Wouldn’t that make more sense to authorize use of the heat shield as soon as I step into the sector? Who are these incompetent morons? No wonder Samus left!

With all of that distaste, I still found some enjoyment when I was running through corridors and trying to find hidden areas. At least those parts of the game made me feel like I was playing a Metroid title. Still, there is too much wrong with the game for me to suggest buying this game unless you are a hardcore Metroid fan. Even then, it might be too hard for fans to stomach poorly implemented first person view, mediocre story and flawed mechanics.