The Official Metroid Other M Thread

[SHMUPGurus]

Quick review of the game from me:

( ) Pluses:

- Love the ship and armor in the game, at least there's light on the visor like in Super;
- Theater Mode is a great feature. More games should have a mode like that (MGS3 is the only other one?);
- I love the fact that Samus is as weak as in the old games. Two or three hits and you already have an Energy Tank used! Ouch;
- Lots of cool bosses (always too easy to beat though, but at least there are a lot of them);
- The environments are great, though you can't see most of the good looking stuff because the camera is sometimes too far away from Samus' model. First-person view comes into play!

(-) Minuses:

- The final part after defeating that giant green lizard thingy I won't spoil;
- Speaking of that part... Oh wait, that was the ending? WTF was that all about? Who's that Colonel dude? Who's the Deleter (I just want a confirmation of who or what it was, I have my idea)?
- Samus freaking out when she sees that purple lizard again (trying not to spoil here). I can assure you that I wouldn't have made Samus act like that when she sees him again, I would have made her attack him until he's dead FOR GOOD;
- Another thing about the story, it sucks that they tell you Samus' past is going to be revealed to us in this game, but it felt like they selected some random past events and put them in the game only so this game's story could make sense. There was no backstory about the Chozos and she only tells us that she lost her parents when she was very young once at the beginning of the game... to who again? We, the long time fans, know about it, but we never saw a cutscene about it or anything. Maybe it would explain the part about the purple lizard a bit better if you ask me;
- In other words, the story is pretty disappointing. A lot more telling than showing. More of a retake of Fusion's story than new stuff it seems too;
- Cartoonish style of graphics is a bit disappointing, but no deal breaker for me;
- No music at all. I mean, there are just none and we all know the Metroid games have excellent music all the time;
- It doesn't feel satisfying when you get the upgrades. Also, NO TYPICAL "ITEM GET" FANFARE! I was mad when it never played in the game;
- The game was extremely short. It felt like a handheld Metroid, but on consoles;
- The controls could have been a little bit more dynamic. Luckily, they slow down time when you switch from sideview to first-person view, but it can still get tricky sometimes. A little more "Sin & Punishment" style of controls would have worked great for this game I think. I mean, the nunchuk gets bundled with the Wii, no?

 

So anyways, I didn't have lots of expectations from the game because I only spoiled the E3 trailer. What I got was an interesting take on the Metroid gameplay and story, but in my heart I consider this game like a spin-off more than anything. It's like the Legend of Zelda: Oracle games made by Capcom, they're different views on the top-down Zelda games with lots of tricky features added like the rings and all. I just can't believe they'd want to make this game canon. Though I'll say this, if they decide to make a Metroid movie, this is how I'd want to see it. The format they created is great and it's one of the best first cinematic experiences on the Wii. But next time Nintendo, stay Nintendo and try not to copy the PS3 or whatever?