Nintendo Metroid: Other M

[Martel]

With the only thread regarding Metroid being almost two years old, and Other M looming on the horizon...is anyone as excited as I am? I came into the Metroid series a little late, starting with Fusion and Prime and working my way backwards from there, but this series rapidly became one of my favourites. Admittedly though, I didn't like the direct Corruption took - it felt like I was playing Halo, and it was a horrendously anticlimactic way to end an otherwise brilliant trilogy.

Now that Other M is confirmed as definetely coming out this year, does anyone have any thoughts or first impressions about it? My feelings are somewhat mixed - whilst a 3D 2D side-scrolling Metroid game is a brilliant way to take the series back to what it was, I do not like the idea of Samus (or any other character in the series, for that matter) talking. They just don't do the voices right, and Zelda has gotten along just fine with voice acting beyond the occasional "YAAAAA!" and "Heh heh heh!" so why should Metroid be any different? As I said, Corruption's voice acting was awful, and I really don't want a repeat performance in Other M. Developing Samus is good, but doing it with voices is bad.

...also, on a minor note: Kraid. BRING HIM BACK! They had plans to with Metroid Prime, but never did...now is the time!

 

[AddleBoy]

I remember watching the first trailer of this game, seeing Team Ninja come up and thinking, "what the fuck?" I just didn't know how Team Ninja could make a Metroid game. The result seems to be dynamic actions sequences, more of a story than the other game, more cut scenes and voice acting? At the very least I hope this doesn't lead to a Metroid: Extreme Beach Volleyball game.

What I wonder is how the gameplay will be handled, since it looks more like an action game, than a platformer like the older games.

 

[Rey]

Hmmm Metroid the Other M looks ok but what does the Other M stand for. If its the Other Metroid screw this game tbh. Oh and Samus's Boobs are gonna be much bigger because you know how team ninja are with there girls xD I wonder if we will finally see the Metroid Dread project Metroid Dread is supposed to be the strongest thing in metroid ever and I hope this is the game based off of it. Remember in corruption you can scan a file about metroid dread.

 

[West]

I'm a bit skeptical about Other M. I won't be getting it (at least not anytime soon, as I don't own a Wii), but I've been trying to keep an eye on its progress. I've been a fan of the Metroid series since Super Metroid, and I owned the first Prime, but never got into that trilogy, since I'm rubbish at first-person shooters. Also, it just didn't feel like the same Metroid that I loved. So going back to the side-scrolling angle immediately caught my interest with Other M.

But based on Joystiq's hands-on review, a few comments made me cringe a bit. Like the fact that Samus apparently can lock on to enemies as long as she's facing their general direction. I'm not sure what was so difficult with aiming that they needed to add that feature. They made wall-jumping easier, which isn't entirely difficult to pull of to begin with. It sounds like you're required to enter a first-person view in order to fire missles, and you can't move around while in first-person mode. And the reviewer commented that there were no health drops from enemies; instead, to regain health you had to hold a button to "focus", or something.

I realize that they should be trying new things to make an innovative experience from an older franchise, but it seems like they're making a bunch of obscure changes, and--in the case of the first-person stuff--some inconvenient decisions.

But, of course, the game isn't out yet, so there's no way to tell for sure how the final product will turn out. Hopefully it will be great and make me look back at this post and say "I was so silly for doubting them back then."

 

[Lirael]

So, I am getting this for Christmas from a friend; it's one of three games that shall bring my Wii out of hibernation.

Could someone tell me what it's like? Pros and cons? I've read some reviews, but I wouldn't mind hearing about more personal experiences!

 

[Martel]

I wrote a review for it, here, although my scoring was far too kind, because I'm the type of person to not let my personal feelings affect my judgement of games, because I liked writing unbiased reviews. But I'm going to give you my personal opinion now anyway:

Other M is an absolute disgrace, and I cannot advise you enough not to buy it. Don't let the concept fool you, it's an absolute disaster of a game. The platformer elements handle well enough, but the FPS sections are remarkably clunky, and worst of all is the storyline and voice actors. This game DESTROYS Samus' character, it's so painfully sexist it's remarkable that they managed to get away with selling it. Sure, the gameplay is fun enough, but I strongly recommend turning your volume down and looking away during the unskippable cutscenes.

I am a huge Metroid fan. I love the Prime series, as well as Fusion. But Other M ruins the entire thing. It doesn't qualify as a Metroid game. Seriously, avoid it if you can. It'll only upset you.

 

[Lirael]

Thanks for the link, Caius! It's a shame you didn't like it. My friend has already bought it for me (for about £5, so it wasn't too expensive).

It's kinda going to be my first Metroid game. =# I am hoping this will mean I can enjoy it as a game in its own right... If the controls annoy me too much, it'll end up being traded in.

The voice acting doesn't look too bad from what I've seen. The gameplay looks varied too...

 

[ribbit]

If it's going to be your first Metroid game, I strongly stress not starting with it I haven't played it, but I've heard a lot of bad things from Metroid veterans. Especially because they gave Samus a voice. I'd suggest starting with the Prime series or any of the side scrolling Metroid games (Fusion, Super Metroid, etc). You can either get http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metroid-Pri...Y7JE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322772551&sr=8-1 for the Wii, which is great, or if you would prefer to have the Gamecube versions, Metroid Prime and Prime 2 are on there. Metroid Prime is the best Other M... Not so much, I'm afraid :\

 

[Martel]

Actually, if you intend to play Other M, the only way to play it is to start with it. It's the worst game of the series, without a doubt, and thus you can only go up from there, with the excellent Prime trilogy and Fusion, and the older ones as well. Other M tears down the image of Samus as a strong female protagonist, it RUINS her painstakingly-crafted image as an independant woman; if you don't have that image already, then I think you'll enjoy it a lot more than you otherwise would.

Even without that image, the story, characters and voice acting are all horrendously mediocre, but you'll be able to have more fun with it than I did. I sold it, and I haven't played a Metroid game since...

 

[ribbit]

That's true But regardless, still play the Prime series afterwards I've never gotten to finish Prime 2, but the rest were amazing Not to mention that MP2 has multiplayer that was pretty fun

 

[Martel]

I found Corruption to very anticlimactic after Echoes, and the additional characters made it feel very...artificial, especially since they were brushed completely aside within the first five minutes and just turned into random bosses. It was still fun, but tainted somewhat by that; it didn't feel like a worthy finish to me. Echoes is definetely the peak of the series, and I can't recommend it enough. That said, there is definetely something to be said for the original Prime as well

There is a slight problem with starting with Other M, actually...it's the second-to-last game chronologically, just before Metroid Fusion, just after Super Metroid. The Prime games are set just after Metroid II, I think. Prior knowledge of Metroid is definetely helpful, or you're going to miss some things~

 

[Lirael]

That's alright! I do plan to go back and play previous games afterwards. When my friend asked what I'd like, I looked for a cheapish Wii game that might draw me in to a fantastic series of games... I had heard that Metroid was great, and have been intrigued by the character Samus ever since playing Brawl with said friend, who spoke a bit about her. I used to think Samus was a boy.

I probably missed a few things when I played Uncharted 3, but knowing that is making me even more fascinated by the previous games. I have no problem with being thrust into the middle of a story as long as there is information I can access about what happened before.


P.S. Love your sig, Caius!

 

[Martel]

I...suppose that's true. Although everything revealed in Other M about Samus' character completely contradicts every other game. It's painful to watch sometimes.

The Prime series would be much better for drawing you in though in my opinion, whether you went with the trilogy on Wii or the individual ones (I recommend them individually, the motion controls are alright, but the Gamecube ones are more fun to play...and cheaper besides) they're the much better games, in every way imaginable. They actually have MORE detail to them than Other M, thanks to the various things you can scan. They give a sense of the world and the mythology behind it, if not the character of Samus herself. The lore is actually a pretty interesting read if you get all of it~

So, if Other M disgusts you, give the other games a chance; you're playing the black sheep of the family first. xD