The most detailed review of Metroid: Other M you will ever see

Metroid: Other M is a worthy entrant in the Metroid series, a seriously fun game, and artistically and technically a great mixture of old and new.

I'd have to say the Prime series is stronger. However, I definately recommend Other M. Depending on your tastes, if you prefer a faster pace and more action compared to the slow pace and heavy exploration of the Prime games, you could very well prefer Other M.

Other M puts a lot of emphasis on platforming and action, and while exploration and puzzle solving are still present, it's not as prevailant (or as strong) as other entrants in the series. It is not entirely linear, but most of the time you'll be pretty sure of where you're supposed to go.

In regards to the gameplay, some were confused before the the release on whether or not the game is 2D with 3D aiming.

Well, much of the game plays like a two-dimensional sidescrolling platformer, like the original Metroid, and Super Metroid. The main difference with Other M, is that the environments are three-dimensional. Samus can move in every direction. Sometimes the camera view will change, moving to the back of Samus, or the front of Samus, but for the most part it is a side-view.





The Wii remote is held like a classic controller, but you can change to first-person view by pointing the Wii remote at the screen - this is done for firing missiles, or for aiming blasts at some particular point, or for simply looking around the environment.

Noticably missing is scanning, which was a big feature in the Prime games. Scanning revealed interesting tidbits of information about the technology, races, and story of the games. I was sad to see this was not present in Other M, but it would have slowed down the pace of a game that is meant to be fast.

In place of scanning are events which require the first-person view to spot some sort of key thing in order to progress. One or two of these were on the irritating side. It reminded me of that Blade Runner game that was on the PC, with the photograph puzzles, looking all over the photograph, trying to figure out just what on Earth you're supposed to find.

Switching between the side-scrolling view, and first-person view can be awkward at first. On numerous occasions, it is vital to use missiles to hurt enemies, and in the heat of battle when I tried switching to first-person, I found myself looking at the ceiling, while the enemies are kicking my ass. Frustrating, but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. And when you do get the hang of it, switching between the 2 perspectives is smooth and intuitive.

New to the series is the dodge feature. Simply tap a directional button at the correct time, and Samus will stylishly dodge enemy attacks. A very useful feature that I took advantage of to avoid damage many times, and it makes combat that much more exciting. Also new is lethal strikes. When an enemy has been sufficiently weakened, usually showing this by lying down, Samus can run at them with her gun charged which will activate a fancy finishing move.

The boss fights are very strong and what we've come to expect from the series. Bosses will have certain patterns and weak points, some bosses will be more granduer than others. I have no complaints with the boss fights. There is a good amount of them, and they're nicely varied.

One of the other big changes in the series is a voice for Samus, and the expansion of cut scenes. Typically in the Metroid series, you mostly just got to see Samus enter her ship and head to a location, then at the end of the game leave the same way (with stuff exploding behind her). Now, there is a fully fledged script, with multiple characters, twists and turns, and more character and history for Samus than we had ever seen.

I had some concern that this would interfere with the sense of isolation and atmosphere that I so love about the games. I'm happy to say that this wasn't the case. They balanced out the cutscenes well, and overall there wasn't actually that many of them. When they happen, they're fairly long (though not Metal Gear Solid long), and make for a nice change of pace before getting back into the gaming again. The cutscenes actually feel rewarding when they happen, it gives you another reason to keep gaming to see the next revelations in the story. And when you are gaming, there is definately the classic sense of isolation famous in the Metroid games. I was nicely impressed by the atmosphere they can create in what is for the most part a side-scrolling platformer. Certain events are activated which change the perspective or camera view that in a way reminded me of classic Resident Evil. I was at the edge of my seat.

There have been drawbacks to giving Samus more character. I will try to explain without spoiling anything. I'm not one of these nerds that believes Samus shouldn't have a voice. When I had the opportunity to play a demo a couple of months before the release of the game at a convention, a couple of nerds passed me and one said "dude I can't believe Samus just talked", in the most patronising nerd voice you can imagine. It was groan inducing. No, I don't mind Samus having a voice at all. However, at several points in the game, I felt they made Samus too weak. They overly emphasized a stereotyped feminity, without emphasising strengths as a character. They had the opportunity to show off a female badass that can knock heads as well as, or better than, any man, and they kind of blew it.

To be clearer - it is obvious to me that the Metroid series is very influenced by the Alien series. Ripley is the perfect example of a female character in which her strengths as well as her feminity are balanced excellently.



Sometimes, less is more. It was better, I think, when we didn't see much of who Samus is, it allowed us to project our own assumptions about the character onto her, while making the one or two small pieces of information more poignant. I recall an implication in the Prime games that Samus was raised by the Chozo, a bird-like alien race. So you kind of imagine her as this strong loner with tragedy in her past - her family died while she was young, and the Chozo are now extinct. In Other M, she acts in ways I hadn't imagined her acting. She is overly protective while at the same time relying too much on others, she allows herself to be bossed around at the detriment of her own safety and success of her mission, she is too sensitive to the words of others, her narration sounds like the diary of a 15 year old girl, etc etc.

The story was by no means terrible. But it suffers from the same cheese factor as many games, like the Resident Evil games. At least with the Prime games there was none of that cheese. There was much more room for subtlety. We went from hardly ever seeing Samus underneath the suit, learning sparse details about her, never hearing her voice, to this overly sexualized, sterile, child-like anime character.





The cutscenes are gorgeous. I'd say they are easily on the same level as PS3/360 games. I'm sure some techno-geek could point out why its not, but at least to my eye, I thought the cutscenes were excellent looking. And I really liked the cinematography. I think it's clever how modern video game designers not only make video games more cinematic, but they keep up to date with filmmaking trends. In Other M, you'll see some fast zooms, soft focus, etc.

Some spoilers...

The comparisons between Metroid and Alien have probably never been stronger than in Other M. Samus is shown to be protective of female survivors in a similar way that Ripley was protective of Newt. There is that theme of lost motherhood, with the game opening up showing the baby Metroid that believed Samus to be its mother. There is a scene in Other M in which Samus enters a room full of hatched Metroid eggs, very reminiscent of the eggs from the Alien series, and there is a Metroid queen that has a similar transparant sac for hatching Metroids with, to the Alien queen.

I found it very strange that there was this build up to a confrontation with Ridley, but in the end, we're cheated out of a final confrontation.

In regards to exploration, the map system isn't as complex as it was in the Prime games. In the Prime games, you could move and look around a three-dimensional map which was helpful for showing off the different planes that existed in some of the rooms. In Other M, the map is a top down view, two-dimensional. There are one or two rooms where I would have found a three-dimensional map helpful, however, on the whole the level design in Other M is more simple. I remember as well, that every single corridor and room in the Prime games was labelled in some way. This is not the case with Other M. I like the smaller details, but this is a nitpick. I was frustrated by the presence of a yellow arrow in the top right corner of the screen where the mini-map is, showing the way to go. So many games now seem to be doing this. I don't want to be lead around like that. Let me explore and figure it out.

It's weird to me, that the level design of the Prime games were more complex, the maps more complex, the game a lot less linear, and they only set a marker on the map very rarely and only when it was clear that you were stuck. If you were wandering aimlessly for something like ten minutes, the game has some setup reason for showing you the way in the map ("scanners detect seismic activity!"). Even then, you still had to bring up the map screen, look at where the marker is, and figure out how to get there. In Other M, a much more linear game, you are always told the direction to go in. This is a Metroid game. I want to use my brain, and figure it out. It's not like it was ever THAT hard. Yeah, it was challenging sometimes in previous games, but challange is GOOD. Why are game makers forgetting this? Do easier games sell better? In Prime games it was a simple enough process of deduction - "Okay, I've just unlocked the super missile, let's bring up the map here and see which doors are unlocked with this". That's another thing that bugs me - the map screen in Other M doesn't tell you half as much, it doesn't tell you what doors are unlocked with which weapons, but the game is linear enough that it doesn't become a problem.

Slight spoilers here. One of the more ridiculous things in the game from a story perspective is that Samus doesn't use a lot of her weaponry because she has been forbidden to do so by a Federation commander, for really nonsensical safety concerns. Events will happen, and he will announce that such and such a weapon has now been authorized for use. It's somewhat insulting. During certain boss fights, it sure would have been useful to have super missiles, or the wave beam, or the screw attack, and so on. And this Commander is a person that supposedly cares about Samus. Sure, having Samus' suit get damaged or her weapons taken away is cliche but it is much preferable to simply being authorized to use certain weapons. In fact, in previous games there was a much greater sense of achievement when you unlocked weapons and suit upgrades. You really felt like you had earned it.

There is plenty of opportunity to explore, but there just doesn't seem like the same level of insentive. Sure, there are hidden items - but you're always told by a blip on the map when a hidden item is in a room. It's not as much of a challange to locate them. And for collecting them, you only really seem to unlock more stuff for the gallery screen (which is unlocked upon completion of the game). The Prime games made you work your ass off for unlockable content. From completing the game with no continues, to 100% items and scan collection, you would get secret endings. From what I've read, that doesn't seem the case with Other M.

There aren't as many puzzles, or as many complex puzzles. They are present, but definately lacking. You remember the intricate magnetic rail puzzles in the Prime games? Nothing remotely like that in Other M, in fact the morph ball puzzles have been completely dumbed down.

I can't decide if the mixture of classic sidescrolling and first-person view is a step up or a step down from Prime. From an artistic point of view, I think the Prime games look better. And while Other M achieves a level of atmosphere, I think the Prime games have more.

I even think the music from the Prime games was better, and much more memorable. The Prime soundtracks are wonderfully ambient.

You can guess that I'm fond of the Prime games. They're an excellent set of games, the first 2 certainly worthy of 'game of the year' type accolades. They're each in their way vast quests, with the 2nd game, Echoes, being the most challanging, ultra hard game in the series, while the 3rd game Corruption is the weakest of the series. I'd place Other M somewhere with Corruption.

But don't get me wrong.

Overall, this is a Nintendo game. Well designed, clever, intuitive, fun, well worth the money to play and complete. It's fast paced. Fans of the series will enjoy it. Fans of action platformers in which a little brain work is required will enjoy it. But for those expecting the same level of challange of the other Metroid games, or the same level of lengthy quest, will be somewhat disappointed and craving more.

It is my hope that Nintendo takes this game and gives it a meaty sequal. The pieces are certainly here for a bigger and much more satisfying adventure.

8.5/10