It's an exciting time right now, getting closer to the release of Metroid: Other M, the first console "throwback" Metroid design that brings back many of the classic elements from the NES, Super NES and Game Boy Advance side-scrolling designs. As we lead up to the game's August 31st release, Nintendo of America invited me down to their Redwood City office to play through a bit more of the game, this time a little later in the adventure to see that the adventure will take place in more than just enclosed space. 

For those that might not have been following the progress of Metroid: Other M, the only recap you need: the game is a collaboration between Nintendo and Team Ninja, and is a continuation of the story that capped off in Super Metroid. The game design brings players back to the game's side-scrolling roots, while advancing the gameplay to allow for more 3D exploration. 

A lot of what I saw in the latest, seemingly final build of Metroid: Other M was simply a recap of elements that have been seen in previous demos of the game. But the save file pushed us deeper into the storyline and showed Samus will be exploring areas that aren't restricted to the cold, metallic confines of the base that we've run through before. 

In this area I did experience a few new enemies, including an armadillo-inspired beast that rolled up into a ball in a patterned attack. I figured he was telegraphing his weak point so I, too, rolled Samus up into a ball and rolled around to attack him with bombs. Though this strategy worked, it was merely coincidental: he's weak outside of his rolled-up form and any form of attack will stun the guy. One lethal strike later (hitting the 1 button after lunging towards him) took him out. 

There are also beasts that are very chameleon in nature: they'll go invisible before they go on the offensive, and you'll have to enter first-person mode (point the Wii remote at the screen) to lock onto their energy signature. Blasting them with a missile will stun them back into a more visible form, and you can then attack them with a lethal strike to remove them from harm.

 One thing I learned about Metroid: Other M in this hands-on play: if you're in a room that has a hidden pick-up (missile, a piece of an energy tank or a full energy tank), you'll be alerted of its existence once you clear out the room of all enemies. A beacon "ping" can be heard, and it's up to you to find out where it's hiding. Many times it'll be in a location that'll require some strategic thinking (leave the room and find another way to access it), and many of them will be tucked away in such a way that you'll have to backtrack to it later – you might not have the skills necessary to snag it when you first encounter it. 

The game will be heavy on story, acted out in cutscenes that utilize the game's realtime engine. When you load a save file, you'll be given a summation of the story so far as the game loads, recapping everything you've seen and done up to that point. One situation of note during my demo: there was this strange and admittedly creepy chicken-like creature that leapt out of the shrubbery, stared with some very eerie jet black eyes, and wagged its tail in one of the more cryptic cutscenes in the game. I'm guessing we'll be seeing this furball later in the game. 

My demo was admittedly very short so I didn't get much of a chance to savor the moments, but I will say that the game, while visually strong, has a very "clunky" feel to it that hasn't gone away since my last hands-on. The game's been designed around the Wii remote exclusively, and while it's great to get a Metroid game that harkens back to the old-school NES and Super NES days, it's hard to ignore a lot of the stiffness of the game's control. Wall jumping didn't feel as fluid and natural in this game, for example. And while I can appreciate the Wii pointer control for first-person mode, it feels awkward to jump in and jump out constantly – not to mention that you can't move around while you're looking through Samus' visor -- only rotate from the spot that you were standing in when you jumped into first-person mode. 

It also felt like the game plays itself a lot of the time due to its auto-targetting system. When you run into a room filled with enemies, you can simply point Samus in their direction and simply fire away and know that they'll be taken down by random blaster shots. 

I'm hoping that the game's slight awkwardness will melt away when I play Metroid: Other M from start to finish, and even with some weird quirks the game felt like it will be a really fun and engaging Metroid experience. I'm really looking forward to sitting down with this continuation of the Super Metroid storyline in the next few weeks: the game hits shelves in the US in less than three weeks.

From IGN

I think the game looks awesome, however I have to admit I'm a little concerned about playing the entire game with the D-pad

yeah but you can switch to FPS

i just don't get why nintendo had to put in the autotargeting.  super metroid had the same control scheme and worked wonderfully with out autotargeting. 

Problems of the third dimension. You could've posted a similar complaint about why Sega added a homing attack when Sonic went 3D. Similar problem, similar solution.

Though i'll grant the auto-targeting here looks a little too helpful. It might have been better to just go with FPS-style aim-assist and not full-blown auto-lock

21 days

I'm really not bothered about any of the complaints.

1. Auto aim: I've never played a metroid game or a team ninja game that I didn't die a lot. So they probably will have a way to still kill the player a lot.

2. Can't move in first person view: Anyone ever complain that you couldn't move in first person view in Zelda or Metal Gear? It's just bcuz there already has been a FPS metroid that this complaint exists.

3. Movement feels Clunky: She's in armour! If it moves anywhere near what is in the trailers, that's good!

until what?

Till the game is out!

what else? he didnt say 11 days to go on this thread because he felt like it lol