After three first-person games set after the original Metroid game (but leading up to the events of Super Metroid), developer Team Ninja takes Metroid back to its 2D roots (to a certain extent) while at the same time elevating storytelling to a new level for the series. The experiment is a success for the most part, and gives the hardcore Wii audience one of its best games of the year so far.
The most notable aspect of Metroid: Other M is the extensive animated cut scenes. Although Retro Studios pushed the Metroid series into a more cinematic direction in the Prime trilogy, Team Ninja has gone (or perhaps been allowed by Nintendo to go) further. For the first time in the series, the protaganist, Samus Aran, has a voice . . . and a good one at that. That well-acted voice work, the cinematic recreation of the events at the end of Super Metroid, and the glimpses of why Samus left the Galactic Federation to become a bounty hunter make her feel like a full-fledged character and give the series an emotional resonance for the first time.
The story is full of some great surprises that I will not reveal here. However, suffice it to say that it should satiate fans of the series while remaining accessible those who use this game as their first parlay into the series. Although a bit over the top at times, the story does a good job of both pulling together Samus’ past and continuing her saga. Samus receives a distress call from the Bottle Ship, a scientific outpost. She, of course, answers the call and lands on the ship to investigate. Samus quickly encounters Galactic Federation soldiers who have been sent as well, who eventually decide to enlist her capable aid to determine what went awry on the ship.
The gameplay occurs primarily in old-school Metroid 2D perspective. However, it’s not that simple. Sometimes the action occurs from the side, and sometimes it occurs from either a head-on or behind the shoulder third-person perspective. Moreover, Samus is not restricted to a 2D plane and can move in a 3D plane in all directions in the environments. Team Ninja maintains the 2D essence with an auto-aiming system that allows you to run and gun like in the classic 2D Metroid games.
There are also a few twists in the fighting mechanics. Samus is controlled using only the d-pad with the Wiimote held sideways in the classic NES controller style. In order to scan the environment and shoot missiles, however, you must point the Wiimote at the screen, at which point the perspective changes to first-person. You can also fire Samus’ regular beam in that perspective. But without the auto-aiming, it is not the most efficient way to dispatch the numerous enemies often bombarding you.
Given the control scheme, many fights require use of both perspectives. You might need to remain in 2D perspective to quickly destroy a wave of enemies, but then switch to first-person perspective while there is a lull in attacks to shoot missiles at the hive producing them. Or in boss bottles, you need to remain in 2D perspective to avoid the enemies’ various attacks, but then switch to first-person perspective to target specific body parts with missiles. It’s an unusual control scheme, but it keeps the battles fast-paced and leads to some tension that makes victories rewarding.
There is also a dodge technique that you must exploit in order to remain successful in battle. Just before an attack is about to hit Samus, you push the d-pad in the direction you want to dodge and you will jump out of the way and can perform a counterattack. Additionally, when stronger enemies are weakened, they will cower and pause for a period of time, which allows you to approach and push the d-pad in the direction of the enemy while pushing the attack button to perform a finishing move or a move that destroys some part of the enemy. These mechanics keep the combat fresh as the game progresses and you encounter stronger enemies requiring these moves to be destroyed quickly.
Although overall the control scheme is successful, it is not perfect. Because the control scheme is locked exclusively to the Wiimote, you control all of Samus’ movements with the d-pad. However, because Samus can (and indeed must on occasion) move in a 3D plane, the d-pad is not ideal and gets in the way in some sections of the game, especially those requiring tricky long jumps. The nunchuck would have been ideal in those situations. So, the decision to not include a nunchuck control option does not make sense in the context of how the game is structured and made some sections of the game overly frustrating.
Metroid: Other M continues many of the traditional mainstays of the series. Samus is stripped of her powers and must slowly obtain upgrades to gain access to new areas through exploration of the environment and defeating bosses with specific weaknesses in battles that are as much puzzle as fight. Those familiar with the series will feel right at home. However, the cycle of the game starting with the very strong and capable Samus stripped of most of her abilities starts to show its age in this series, especially because the premise upon which Samus’ abilities are stripped may be the thinnest yet. Samus simply does not use particular abilities because a soldier of the Galactic Federation orders her not to use them initially. When certain situations arise, the solder then informs Samus that she can use a specific ability again.
Admittedly, this makes sense to a certain extent. For example, Samus is informed that she cannot use her power bomb ability unless absolutely necessary because of the potential damage to the ship and scientific research there. That is at least tenable. The reasoning behind the prohibition on the use of other abilities is less understandable. Pushing the boundaries of imagination is the artificially imposed limitation on using the heat-resistant mode of Samus’ power suit when she is required to traverse environments filled with lava pools emitting heat that damages her over time. What could the justification for not allowing the use of that ability when the heat exposure is slowly killing Samus?
Despite the absence of a nunchuck control option and the somewhat aging premise that every Metroid game must begin with Samus stripped of almost all of her powers, Metroid: Other M is a must play for Metroid fans and Wii owners who like action games. The classic exploration and boss battle gameplay mechanics are done well and the cinematic storytelling will emotionally engage many players in the series for the first time.
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