Color me surprised. Despite the game only first being announced at least year’s E3, Nintendo has announced that the next installment in the Metroid franchise, Metroid: Other M, will be released on June 27th. Although I liked the Metroid Prime trilogy, it had lost me a bit by the last installment. So, I am excited that Nintendo’s description sounds like they are experimenting a bit with the game to combine both aspects of the original game’s 2D side scrolling and the Prime trilogy’s 3D rendering of the series:
While much of the game is reminiscent of 2-D side-scrollers, players can switch the perspective into 3-D at any time as they explore the twisting passages of a derelict space station and delve deep into a cinematic, never-before-told story of bounty hunter Samus Aran’s past. This new approach uses a new control scheme in which players use the Wii Remote™ controller held sideways to battle enemies and navigate the expansive, gorgeous environments in classic Metroid fashion, then aim at the screen with the Wii Remote pointer to blast foes in first-person and hunt the world for clues and hidden passages.