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Metroid Franchise’s Heroine Gets Personal. For decades, Samus Aran has been known as one of the first female protagonists in video games and one of the most enigmatic. Having traded her haunted past for the solitary life of a bounty hunter, Samus finally tells her own tale in this revealing, personal story of her failings, her flaws and ultimately her motivation. Metroid: Other M is an unprecedented collaboration that blends the slick, action-packed production of the world-renowned Team Ninja development team with the game design talents of the creators of the original Metroid. Metroid: Other M is a dramatic new direction for a legendary franchise and a bold new blend between cinematics, storytelling and the best in interactive entertainment. Read more
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Top Amazon Reviews
Good game, but has flaws.
I went into this game expecting it to be horrendous due to what I had heard from many reviews and forums. I'll go through it in detail. Gameplay: The gameplay is very fast paced and fun. As it is made by Team Ninja it is to surprising that it feels a little like Ninja Gaiden. It is fast paced and some of the kill animations are really cool. It's the typical Metroid where you go to new areas, get new weapons, and go to new areas (Although how you get the power ups in this game is different from previous games). This game has been called linear by many people but really it is no more linear than other Metroid games, its just that in this game the story is directing you more so it feels more linear. The combat alone while fast paced is a bit shallow as you just mash the fire button to shoot and it auto aims for you. You can push the D-Pad in any direction when you are about to be hit and you will dodge/roll out of the way. The games worst flaws in terms of gameplay are that it is too easy and that because it is so easy the combat can be repetitive. However it is pretty fun and if you like watching Samus annihilate aliens, its very entertaining. Graphics: Graphically this is one of the best games on the wii. The pre-rendered cut scenes naturally look amazing. In game it looks great too. Also the enemies feel very much more like the older Metroid games. Its pretty cool but it gives the game a more nitendo feel than the Prime series which felt like a more real take on Metroid. Its all preference, but I love both. Story: Now here is where all the hatred for this game come from. Basically, if you have played Metroid Fusion, do you remember how Samus talked about Adam sacrificing himself? Well this is the story of how that happened. If you didn't, basically Saums is really depressed after Super Metroid. It probably has something to do with killing off an entire species and then seeing the last of said species who protected her die. Anyway, she is flying around the galaxy and she gets a distress call. As she always does, our heroine answers the call and flies out to the origin of the distress call. Right from the beginning you can tell Samus is gonna be different from the one we know from the other games. She technically is the same woman, she runs around blasting the balls out of aliens and blowing up space stations, but she talks a lot more and comes off more feminine. The voice acting is not good but not as bad as people say. A lot of people say it is really bad, but those people have never heard REAL bad voice acting. Also Samus in this game gets her power ups by way of getting them authorized. Basically after Super Metroid she has all of her weapons but because the main commander of the marines present on the ship doesn't want the station damaged he tells Samus to only use the weapons he allows or to GTFO the space station. The biggest complaint I have heard about the story is that Samus is to whiny and that she represents a terrible, Women should be subservient and take orders from men. Honestly, the only people who could take the men>women thing away from this are feminist extremists. She not only works for the federation but the guy Adam was basically her human father after she joined back up with human society after hanging out with the chozo, so yeah she is gonna listen to him and only use her weapons when he allows it. (However there are times where this concept was executed in a very stupid way, like when Saums does not equip the varia suit to protect herself from heat until Adam allows it. Come on, Samus should just say, screw this and activate that thing. Plus that would open up a better conflict between Samus and Adam.) And Samus being whiny, it is true to a point but I think her lack of personality is the real problem. I don't really think she would have much of a personality given her past and if she did it would be more like a female version of Master Chief. But when she is talking and has no real personality it just comes off weird. The story all together is nothing special, but Metroid games have never been about story really, the real problem is how much it is forced on you through many monologues and cut scenes throughout the game. However as this game is very much more Japanese in terms of story telling, if you like anime, you will probably enjoy this games story more than most. If you want to play this game don't expect an amazing story, but don't avoid it because others have said it is the worst story ever written. Its not, and you may enjoy it depending on what you like i a story. Overall its a pretty great game. The game play is fun but it may get stale if you don't like action/hack and slash games. Graphically it is great and the story does what it needs to do, facilitate the setting of the game, nothing more. If you have never played a Metroid game I would suggest starting off with either Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, or Metroid Fusion. If you don't have a super nintendo or a gameboy advanced/SP or you just want a wii game as opposed to a GC game, go with Metroid Prime 3. Fun game, I really enjoyed it, but not the best of the Metroid series.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2013 by Sue Palermo
Very Cinematic
Loved the Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii. So I decided to give this one a shot. Here is what I thought. PROS. BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS: This game undoubtedly is the best looking Wii game (next to Super Mario Galaxy 2 I guess). While wii games are not rendered graphically top notch in general, this game changes that trend. Played it on my 1080p HDTV with component cable and the game looks gorgeous. Cutscenes in the game look no different than average PS3/360 games. While in game pictures has rough edges, they still look amazing. MARVELOUS 3rd PERSON GAMEPLAY: Metroid PRIME games has been great as shooter, so I was curious how Team Ninja develop this intp 3rd person action games. To my surprise they have done a great job. While game is still a shooter for most part, it has plenty of other cool 3rd person action such as dodging and physical combat by Samus. All of these actions work great to best of my knowledge.In addition to that you are given plenty of other moves through gadgets which will be described below. DEVASTATING WEAPONS AND INGENIOUS GADGETS: Just like previous metroid games you will have access for different beams and gadgets. As for beams your beam will automatically get upgraded as you progress in the game (no choosing between beam like prime series). And of course you will have also have missiles, chargeshot, supermissles, morphbomb and ALMIGHTY powerbomb.In addition to these weapons you will have access to cool gadgets such as morph ball ability, grapple beam, charged running and jumping, spacejump, screwattack . So plenty to look forward to in this department. Oh did I mention just like previous game, there are plenty of HIDDEN UPGRADES. VARIETY OF ENEMIES AND BOSSES: Just like previous metroid gams, this one has plenty of enemies and bosses. Where things get interesting is how you can defeat them. Of course you will have to use all of the weapons and gadgets creatively to defeat these enemies effectively while making use of dodge ability. Now once you wear enemy down you can deal devastating blow to them with finishing move provided (thanks to TEAM NINJA). This is where game gets very CINEMATIC. I HAVE JUST LOVED defeating different enemies with these moves. ESPECIALLY BOSSES. Don't want to spoil it, but METROID FANS be ready for some surprises in terms of bosses ( YOU ARE GOING TO SEE SOME FAMILIAR FACES :) DECENT STORY AND GREAT CUTSCENES: Really can't tell you much without spoiling, but as mentioned above, cutscenes look gorgeous whether they depicting fights or sentimental story about the main character Samus Aran. First game where Samus talk. Voice acting is not bad either. PICTURE AND VIDEO GALARY: Finishing game will allow you access to picture and video galary which allow you to see pics and cutscene videos from the game. This is something I loved as you don't have to play the whole game all over again just because you want to see some cutscene. BEST PART IS the cutscenes will also include in game footage. So say you are watching cutscene for a boss fight, it will have cutscene + footage of boss fight game play. JUST AWESOME. ADDITIONAL GAMEPLAY FOR COMPLETIONISTS: You won't be able to collect 100% of the items before you beat final story boss. ONLY after you beat final story boss, you will be able to collect 100% of the items and FIGHT ANOTHER BIG..... (Sorry don't want to spoil). CONS: ANNOYING JUMPS: Some jumps are annoying to complete just like previous game (especially to get some items). CAN GET STUCK: Campaign is not straightforward. There are parts where you can get stuck if you don't think outside of the box (more description below). In other words you will be confused where to go and what to do. FIRST PERSON/THIRD PERSON THROUGH WII MOTE: This was my BIGGEST PROBLEM. If you want to get into first person to 3rd person you have to rotate wii mote 90 horizontally and if you want to replenish your missiles and some of your health you have to rotate wii mote vertically 90. This work great for most part, but at times can give you SERIOUS PROBLEMS. Wii motion sensor is good, but not as good to sense these movement 100% of the time, PLUS YOU AS A USER CAN ALSO MAKE MISTAKE. So your character won't behave exactly how you want to. Honestly if they had just made use of nunchuck things would have been better. There are also some areas (especially for many hidden items) where if you don't look through first person you will never figure out the location of new path (whether it is for story or for the item). CONCLUSION: Contrary to the cons I described, the game is GREAT. It looks great and plays great. After you are done with the main story, GO AFTER THE SIDE STORY. After you are done with side story and 100% collection, play on the hard mode or WATCH AWESOME VIDEOS. A MUST BUY FOR METROID FANS.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2010 by Dev
Fun Game but presentation needs work
Wow, I'm not even sure how to rank this game to be honest. On one hand I do not see anything that stands out in this game that I'm glad Team Ninja brought to the Metroid franchise, but on other hand it is still captivating me to play it through. Outside of this and StarCraft 2 I cannot remember the last game that captivated me enough to finish it. For example... I have over 9 DAYS playtime on Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer and I can't remember how much on Bad Company 2, but I still haven't finished the single player campaign for either MW2 or BC2. And I think that is why there is such a disparity between the reviews on this game. Just like the Prime series bucked the trend of the traditional 2-D Metroid games going into a First Person Action Adventure Shooter, Metroid: Other M bucks the trend into a 3rd Person Action Adventure Shooter. I was looking forward to the mixing of 2D and 3D, but the majority of the game is played in 3rd Person mode in 2.5-D space with minor stints of FPS. For the most part I found the switch into FPS mode pretty painless as I was switching into FPS mode to scan areas for weak points looking for power-ups instinctively. And in this sense the game was almost too easy as the new scan mode automatically gravitates towards Points-of-Interest thus making looking for hidden power-ups much quicker. Though I will have to agree with other reviewers that when the game FORCES you into FPS mode to scan for something it gets annoying quick as the area it is looking for you to put the target on is very small. In some cases it is obvious (like rustling leaves) but in other cases it's just downright a test of patience (a specific bug in a group of bugs) which kind of resulted in a buzzkill for what could of been cool tension building moments. Poor delivery. But where the controls got really frustrating is where I felt I needed it the most ...in boss battles. All of a sudden it was like the game refused to go into FPS mode and I'd lose seconds of time trying to get into FPS mode to fire a missle and many times I'd have to dodge and re-try again. I don't know if the Wii/Game had an issue trying to process thick battle moments with recognizing the switch in Wii-mote direction, but that is by far my biggest complaint with the game. As it made some battles really annoying. I also don't like only being able to fire missles while locked on (in FPS mode), thus also being forced to fire missles when locked on. Sometimes I just wanted to lock on the enemy and fire a charged beam shot ...oh well, lame but at least refilling missles was quick and painless. On the good side, you CAN dodge while in FPS mode. You have two methods actually - 1) flick the wii-mote, or 2) switch back Third-Person Mode and press a direction on the D-pad. I prefer method 2 as I usually wait for a break in enemy fire and find a better angle to attack from. Outside of the switching to FPS mode during battles there really isn't much I can complain about when it comes to the combat system. All the previous Metroid games have used a very simple combat system - Run, Jump, Shoot. That's it. But it works! Other M introduces finishing moves, dodge moves and counter-attacks. Yet in the end, it still boils down to a very simple combat system as non of the special moves require any complicated movements and they work very smoothly in combat. The charge beam is your friend ...and thankfully you start off with it. The G4 review paints this picture that Samus is some helpess little girl relying on THE MAN and can only move when he says so. Right. The truth is Samus has a bond with her previous superior officer (that honestly many people develop) that compels her to fall back under his command for this mission. This bond is so common it is more cliche' than the rest of the story is, yet the G4 review treats it as if the game is treading on un-tapped snow. Not only that but the G4 review never mentioned how the Marines welcome Samus back with open arms and never complain they have to work with her. At any rate... there is nothing wrong with the concept, but the delivery fails. While there is technically nothing wrong with how they chose for Samus to unlock her powers - the delivery fails to make the gamer believe it. The favorite example every review chooses is the timing of Varia Suit unlock. In all the previous Metroids the Varia Suit is almost always one of the hardest upgrades to unlock and you ALWAYS have to go through some Lava room that causes Heat Damage to you simply by being in the room ...thus making you appreciate the Varia Suit when you finally get it. The problem with Other M is you already have it but its not activated until authorized. End result... poor delivery. Honestly it would have been better for Samus to receive this upgrade from defeating the boss, rather than it being authorized just before him. It wouldn't have been the only upgrade Samus received from defeating an encounter, and you wouldn't have that nagging doubt... why wasn't it authorized before this?! So yeah.. like I said, it comes down to... poor delivery. If you can get past 'how' you get the upgrades and just worry about 'when' the poor delivery begins to become a non-issue. Because you actually get some of the upgrades a lot earlier than you would have in some of the previous Metroid titles. When Metroid decided to go to FPS with the Prime series I knew the days of many wasted hours shooting/bombing every square inch of the walls/ceilings/floors were gone thus reducing the exploratory (masochist) fun of the game. In the first Metroid you litterally could get the Screw Attack (typically the final upgrade) as something like the 3rd or 4th upgrade if you knew all the secret passage ways. You could even bypass Kraid and Ridley if you wanted to. The Metroid Prime series made the game more linear, but I still found the Metroid Prime series (especially the 1st Prime) to not only be some of the best in the series but I'd also put the 1st Metroid Prime in my own personal Top 5 games of all time. The Prime series proved the franchise doesn't have to suffer by making it more linear than series was used to, but it was all about presentation. Speaking of that presentation, I find the graphics to be extremely beautiful in Other M for many parts ...and in other parts I find it to be lacking (lots of jaggies) or extremely cheezy. (Samus looks AWESOME ...but the Marines look like a Cartoon Network production) Retro Studios did a far better job at being consistent. In Metroid Prime I could go to any random out of the way corner, look behind a bush and see iridescent beetles crawling over fallen luminescent leaves. I mean who else but me thinks to look there?? And who thinks to even spend time putting that stuff there??? Retro did. In many ways Other M did a valiant job and I think (outside of the Marines) many people will be impressed by the graphics in this game. And when I play this game I wonder how good this game would look on my PS3 or 360 because it really does look good. The music (or lack thereof) I have to say disappoints me. In most of the game it was too understated to the point I had to pay special attention to even know if there was music to complain about. And in other parts it would finally ramp up and sound like a Metroid game to make it seem like something was about to happen. As a Metroid fan the iconic music has always been extremely important to me, as it made searching every room for the 200th time looking for power-ups and secret passageways more bearable. To the point I was annoyed Other M didn't include the victory music when you find a power-up laying around. That's my issue and preconcieved notion from previous games so I'm not knocking down the score based on that. I am knocking down the score of the game for the not quite so seamless transition from 3rd Person to FPS during battles. And even though I personally don't see anything wrong in concept for the storyline or Samus' charactization... I find the presentation to be lacking. While I loved the Prime series, I will also say I think it was time for a change. And for the most part I really like the fast paced, yet simplistic approach, that Team Ninja gave to the series. I really like the 3rd Person 2.5-D mode the best - but it leaves me wanting Nintendo to remake Super Metroid (complete with all the previous secret passageways and maybe even new ones) ...thus leaving me confused on this game. It's great, it's fun, it's almost reminiscent of the old Metroid games but only to point to where I want the old ones re-made with current technology ...even if they stayed 2-D. I will say that if I reviewed this game my first 1-2hrs I had with the game this review would be completely different and probably would have gotten 2 stars, or at best 3. But something about it kept me playing which tells me its a pretty good game since I usually lose interest quickly. This game DOES reward you for scouring the rooms/halls looking for power-ups which I think greatly affected my change in opinion of the game as I played through it. If you're unsure, try renting it or watch some gameplay on YouTube - KrazyBrawl has his whole playthrough recorded. But I can easily see why this is a hit or miss title for many. If they turn this into a series they need to revamp their presentation (both story and powerup unlocks), add the iconic music back in, put in hidden passageways that link from 1 room to another ...or even span multiple rooms like the original Metroid, improve the map system (go back to the Prime map system), bring back bomb climbing, and make more rooms that are bigger, taller with more side rooms/tunnels to give you a better sense of the world you're traversing through.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2010 by shadowed one
Don't Get Swept Up In All The Negativity, It Rocks.
I've had second thoughts about buying this game over and over again, due to all the negative feedback I've seen here. Took the chance anyways and boy am I glad. I'm simply loving this game! I dunno why people rated this so poorly. The controls handle smoothly, the game looks great and supports widescreen, the story is awesome, the cast is cool, it's packed with above average speed action. I'm having fun all the way through. I've seen alot of new school cats who don't know about their gaming roots talk about how they messed it up by not making it a first person shooter. Oh please lol. I've been playing Metroid since the NES and let me tell ya, it was NEVER a FPS. Metroid was a 2D side-scroller. Only the Prime series adopted this FPS crap and to me, it ruined the game if anything. Anyone who knows where Metroid came from would love this game. You other guys should stick to Call of Duty. Don't get me wrong, I've played the Primes and it's good, but don't talk like that was Metroid's style. They've gone back to 3rd person gameplay and thank god! That FPS stuff doesn't appeal to everyone, they just made the game the way it was suppose to be originally. They even added in some FPS action into the mix which feels great. I've missed seeing Samus' entire body as she sprints and flips, dodges and battles. Prime pretty much destroyed that but it's back and it's better than ever! Another thing people have a problem with is the fact that this game actually has a story line lol. C'mon, seriously? They believe that Samus should just be this dark mysterious mute without a past, present or future as long as she's blowing stuff up. Again with the Call of Duty mind set. Samus isn't a robot, she's a girl in a suit for crying out loud. A GIRL. If you don't expect some sort of tenderness or frailness underneath that mask, you're in the wrong room. Go make a Rambo version of the game and play it instead. The story doesn't make her come across as a wuss, it just shows that even the toughest warriors are human just like everyone else, and have the same worries and problems. I'm very happy they shed light on Samus in this game. She never says it out loud, so she's still the strong silent type, they're just finally telling you what she's been thinking. She has more reason to pull the trigger in this game. Go out and get it people, it's a wonderful game, ESPECIALLY if you haven't played any Metroid game before, or haven't played any Metroid Primes to confuse your perception of what a Metroid game is.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2012 by Skitz
If you like Metroid you SHOULD play this game
Before I start rambling, I'll give a short review. If you like Metroid you SHOULD play this game. I, just as much as many of you, miss the days of the expansive 2D open Metroid world. But those days are gone, and we have to deal with it. This and the "Prime" series are the new face of Metroid games, and this game far outweighs any entry from the Prime trilogy. After reading some mixed reviews I decided to take a chance on this game, as it was only $19, and I am a huge fan of the Metroid series. I'm old enough that I bought the original Metroid when it came out in 1986, and I've played every subsequent game in the franchise (minus the odd Pinball game and Prime Hunters) since then. I for one, thought the game stood its ground very well; and while it may not be the best of the franchise (that honor falls to Zero Mission), it certainly isn't the worst (to experience that just play any of the "Prime" entries, which take place entirely in First Person). I'm not going to bore you with the story, if you want to know it read any of the other reviews or the official synopsis. Nor will I bore you with the technical details of how to control Samus (again read the other reviews or the game manual for that), but I will break down exactly what I thought of the game: The good: -While the gameplay itself may be considerably more linear than other Metroid games, this game gets points in my book for not being entirely in First Person like the "Prime" series. The Prime games were much more irritating when searching for hidden items, as you lacked any ability to see around Samus without turning and looking. Much like the side-scrolling games you have the ability to see portions of your environment and enemies that aren't directly in front of you. -The graphics were very nicely rendered, including the cut scenes. Yes some of the environment, such as hallways get a little boring and don't look very unique in and of themselves, but all around the graphics are very well done. -The controls don't take much to learn, which is good--Metroid games aren't supposed to involve 16 button combos like a Street Fighter Game. -New abilities. Overall I like that they added new abilities to the character, such as dodging, the "overblast" move, and the ability to reload your missles and some of your energy. Neither here nor there: -Some have complained about the game not being "open" enough (too linear), with doors often locking behind you, preventing you from re-exploring an area. If that bothers you, don't play Metroid Fusion. Fusion also takes place on a space station that is sectioned off and the doors continually lock behind you. Oddly enough (Spoiler?) Adam Malkovich, your squad leader in this game, is also in Fusion, and is the one who continually locks you out of sections of the space station. The "completely free to roam anywhere any time" feature hasn't been entirely present in a Metroid game since Super Metroid. Even in Zero Mission, once you have reached a certain part of the game, you are stuck there until the end unless you find the secret passage back to the beginning. And yes, the secret passage isn't exactly hard to find, but the point is that the way back is hidden. This also comes in to play with Fusion in more than one way--not only do you get locked out of certain areas, but the fake Samus will chase you from one area to another, and you have to move into specific rooms to avoid getting killed by it, with your previous path often being cut off, thus forcing you into a somewhat linear play. -The "auto aim" feature is new to the franchise. While some complained, it is interesting to question how exactly you would ever hit some enemies without it. This isn't a 2D game where all enemies lie along a straight line, and it's not a FPS like the "Prime" series, where you have the ability to track an enemy across the screen as it moves. While it is necessary to the game, I like that it doesn't work when in First Person mode, leaving you to your own abilities. At best they could have made it not work from quite so far away. As another reviewer pointed out there are areas where you can just run down a hallway and shoot, killing weaker enemies before you even see them. -The "dodge" feature is new to the franchise as well...sort of. You had some ability to dodge incoming projectiles in the Prime games. Despite what one reviewer said, you can not simply "avoid getting hit as long as you keep moving." Samus only has the ability to dodge so many projectiles at once, and she can't dodge things she has her back to. -Difficulty. I thought the level of difficulty was acceptable (I will note that I haven't started the Hard mode yet). Some bosses were a little more challenging and took more than one try, but ultimately most of the Metroid games really aren't all that difficult either. Just incredibly fun. -Controls. Some complain about the controls being "jarring" when you move from thrid to first-person. I don't get that at all, I think the transition is smooth and easy to control. The controls do lose points simply because you can't fire a missile while in third-person. In a room full of enemies this pretty much limits you to your charge beam, and I want my missiles! I also thought it was easy to control Samus in a 3D environment with the DPad. Yes it would have been easier with an analog stick, but it never became a sore spot in the game. The bad: -Ugh. While the cut scenes look cool, they took my badass one-woman killing spree and turned her into a 12 year-old with daddy issues. Boo. -Now Loading.....yeah, that got annoying when you were free to move around all you wanted. -Can't skip the cutscenes (I think...). -I really, really, really, want a new 2D "open" Metroid game. Oh well.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2011 by Sabrina S
Much Better Than Most "Fans" Will Have You Believe
I've been playing Metroid since it was first released back on the NES in 1987. I still own every game in the series (including remakes), except for the few DS games that were released after Metroid Prime (Pinball / Hunters). You could say that Metroid is one of my favourite franchises, and generally I find that every game has received exceptional treatment by Nintendo. Even more so than their Zelda and Mario games. I remember many mornings in grade school, trying to get just 30 minutes of Metroid time in to find the next power-up, or explore a new area. I also remember failing to write down a password or two correctly. Had to be careful with those O's, zeros, and Ds to make sure they were 100% legible. The Metroid series is awesome though, and has delivered countless excellent titles. For some reason, there is a tremendous backlash against this game. I will admit that this is not the best Metroid game in the series (most people give that award to Super Metroid, and rightfully so), but I do find that it does a good job at accomplishing its primary goals. Lets back up 25 years. In the original Metroid instruction manual, Samus is referred to as a cyborg, and is also referred to a "he". It is not until you actually complete the game in less than 5 hours that you find out that Samus is, in fact, a woman. Samus has been recognised as one of the most important characters in gaming, primarily because she has always represented the strongest female character in all of gaming and also represented one of the first female protagonists in a game series. Metroid fans are proud of this character. Metroid fans are so proud of Samus, that when the developers give her a shred of humanity after 25 years, they kick and scream. For 25 years, they've had a character that was essentially a robot. For some reason, they think that it's acceptable that we go another quarter of a century this way. But the truth is, without that "shell" of a power suit, Samus is just a human being like anyone else. Granted, she's been genetically altered by Chozo (an alien species) DNA, but she is human like any other character in the game. Which brings us to a key element of this title. I think that lots of gamers fail to recognise that this game tries very hard to emphasise "humanity" as a core theme. I won't spoil any details, but it's a key element for Samus and other characters. So there are two key points that seem to really bother fans. It's this "humanising" of Samus as well as some of her physical characteristics. Because apparently some people feel that the living being behind the mask should not look physically attractive either. It doesn't really matter to me, but I frankly don't find her to be any more offensive than any woman Hollywood action star. The series is, after all, supposed to appeal to Western gamers. Samus is, for all intents and purposes, a tank. When you get her out of the tank, she's just like anyone else. And we can't blame Team Ninja for what they've done to the character because she's essentially the same as she was in Fusion (which, ironically, is considered great by most reviewers). In fact, the stories are two parts of a whole. But the complaints don't stop there. People go on to the script (which I actually appreciated) and the gameplay. I won't dig into the story, but I would say that it's the most story-driven Metroid game of all so far. The series deserves it. It can't go on forever with a robot heroine. I appreciated Samus' monologues, and explanations for why she did some things, and how she felt about others. It's a new dynamic to the series. I won't debate that the first person aiming was difficult in some scenarios. But generally, when necessary, it's a matter of being strategic about it rather than trying to aim from out in the open. Most of the first-person aiming is generally only necessary when examining a room for secret passageways or switches, or trying to use the grapple beam. General game control was mostly solid, but the pseudo-2D perspective can be a problem when trying to jump between platforms. There are some legitimate things to not like about this. I find it excusable because "Other M" is lost somwehre between Prime and the classic 2d games. It's trying to find its niche in a 3d gaming world. But in general, I had no problem with the gameplay. It might have been improved upon though if they hadn't insisted on an NES-style of gameplay and allowed use of the analog stick. It's almost as though it blatantly tries to give you sore thumbs. The sense-dodging works well but is far too easy to exploit by just repeat tapping on the keypad. Lastly, the linearity is a huge downer for some fans. The designers deliberately tried to take exploration out of the game. It's just like Fusion in this respect. Frankly, I don't mind, because I appreciated that I could finish the game within 10 hours and focused more on the story instead. Overall, I really enjoyed this game and feel that it was great fun to play. I think that it took the series in a very critical direction and will get a lot of flack for it. There are others though, like myself, that will appreciate the game. I wouldn't rely just on reviews to determine whether or not to pick it up. It's a steal at its current price.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2012 by ZeeZee
Not for everyone, but definitely for me.
I had been looking forward to Other M for quite some time, and was both excited and nervous each time a new trailer or gameplay clip was released for it. Some previews of the game said that the controls felt natural, while others said that they were a bit forced or clunky... I was afraid that I'd end up getting the game and not liking it, which would be horrible considering that I've been a Metroid fan since I got the original game new as a kid. During the initial cutscenes, I found myself wanting to get straight into the action... not that I minded the cutscenes, of course, as I always like games with actual story to them. I just wanted to get into things so that I could see whether or not it really felt like Metroid. The cutscenes are well-rendered, though the voicework could use a little bit of work. Samus seems to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and while some people think that she just seems "mopey" or "depressed", I think that the story overall does a good job of showing that just because someone recovers from something physically doesn't mean that they're ready to jump head-first back into things. The controls didn't seem that bad to me. When moving around, they function similar to the classic side-scroller's controls with the exception of being able to move "up" and "down" in a 3D environment. I had been worried about the switch to first-person, so I tried it out and found it to be much more natural than I thought it would be. It's not flawless, as there have been a few bosses that needed to be shot with missiles and I was almost afraid to switch over because I didn't want to get blasted while aiming, but I didn't really have much trouble getting my shots in when I did switch over. The graphics aren't the best that I've ever seen, but at the same time they're by no means bad. Some of the effects in the game are fairly amazing, and the rest of the game looks pretty good. There are several places where they've got the mood just about right for the game (with things such as a lack of enemies in certain sections making you worry that a huge beasty is going to be waiting in the next room) and the visuals help out with this. There have been a few points so far where my response to something I've seen has been, "This doesn't look good...", and lo and behold it turned very not-good soon after. As far as gameplay goes, there are a few things in the game such as auto-aim, the "goomba stomp" attacks where you jump onto enemies to shoot them, and some of the dodge mechanics which some players may not like. I personally think that they fit the game pretty well, especially since Samus is by no means supposed to be a pushover. Sure, every killed enemy isn't a direct result of the player's aiming skill... but these features translate to fun-to-watch gameplay where Samus has above-average aim and athleticism and is basically the badass that she's supposed to be. The game isn't perfect, of course... there have been a few parts where I've gotten stuck for a few minutes because the solution to a puzzle or a needed passageway wasn't immediately obvious; I even had to look up a solution online once when the game defaulted to "scanning mode" but I couldn't find anything that I could scan in first-person made. So far I've made it without any sort of guide or walkthrough, though, with the exception of that one spot so I'm not going to fault the game for having a few difficult spots that I was able to figure out after stopping and looking at the situation for a few moments. So that's my review. The game isn't for everyone, and isn't even for every Metroid fan... but I personally think that it's quite enjoyable and I hope that you will too.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2010 by John Casteele
Epic fail
If you've ever had the pleasure of playing Super Metroid on the SNES, The Metroid Prime series on Gamecube and Wii, Metroid: Zero Mission and Fusion on the GBA or any of the other great games in the Metroid series, you are no doubt familiar with the concept of "fun". Well, I'm here to tell you that "Metroid Other M" is the exact opposite of that. Words can't describe just how much I truly hate this game. Let me just start by saying that this is the most disappointing entry in the Metroid series by a long shot. That is a given. Even the nut-busting difficulty of Metroid Prime 2 is no match for the abomination that is "Metroid Other M". I pre-ordered this game assuming how incredible it would be as has been the case with every Metroid game that has preceded it. Shame on me. This is the first game in the series I considered abandoning and selling promptly while it still had a high resale value because I was having ZERO fun with it. The biggest offender of "Metroid Other M" is the controls. They are "clunky" to put it mildly. Why you are forced to use the Wii remote only-with it's hobbit sized control pad, is beyond me. Why no nunchuck control? We've been using this crazy little thing called an "analog stick" for well over a decade now with good reason. My left thumb would often protest after even the shortest bouts of slogging through this game. it's pretty much like using your entire hand to operate a door bell. Also, the forced switch between 2d and 3d by moving the remote is awkward at best and completely jarring at worst. It doesn't work. Fail on Team Ninja, fail on Nintendo. This is the sloppiest control scheme I've seen on a Wii game for some time now. And considering the sheer amount of garbage games available on Wii-that's really saying something. Also, certain segments of the game were just plain clumsy. Climbing up elevator shafts for instance was an unnecessary chore. Not because it was difficult mind you, but because 90% of the time you can't make a jump without falling down a few rungs. No matter how many times you try, you can't connect the jump-then all of the sudden it works, even though you didn't do a thing differently. The next "Other M" offense is the graphics. I know some reviewers have commented on Other M's "great graphics". Surely they must be referring to the cinematic scenes (which really are great) or the graphics of Samus and the Federation officers themselves, because everything else in this game looks like puke. The environments in "Other M" are uninspired, flat and "ugly" looking atrocities that probably wouldn't have looked good even in the N64 days. The bosses (besides Ridley) are also very uninspired and weak. The Metroid queen for instance looks like something out of "Ocarina of Time" circa 1998. Even the original Metroid Prime for gamecube which has eight years on "Other M" runs circles around it in the graphics department. Even for a Wii game, this game is truly ugly. Offense number 3 is game play. First off, the enemies just aren't fun to kill. They don't leave bits of health behind for you to collect either. I was amazed at just how much I missed this small detail-but just like most of Metroid's other hallowed trademarks, this too has been unceremoniously dumped from the experience. The game play is also linear to a fault. No more serious exploring folks. Exploration is discouraged in Other M which pretty much goes against the grain of the entire Metroid series. No more unlocking weapons. No more colored doors. It's all scripted and you are shoved from room to room with your ability to explore and find secrets all but taken from you. Activating your weapons because "Adam" finally allows you is a ridiculous gaming device. This just smacks of lazy game development. Was progression through the discovery of new weapons too much to ask of team ninja? I guess just like everything else associated with Nintendo this generation though (outside of maybe the Mario Galaxy series), cutting corners is the name of the game. You may want to skip this next offense, as it has no bearing on the experience-it is just a personal quip. It concerns the art direction. What happened to Metroid? This game bears very little visual resemblance what-so-ever to the Metroid series outside of Samus herself. That in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing in gaming as the same can be said for "The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker" when compared to the rest of the Zelda series. However, unlike that game-this game doesn't even feel like it's part of the same universe. It's such a complete variation of the Metroid cannon-and the creatures here just don't seem to fit visually at all with what we know of the Metroid series. It would be like putting Jar Jar Binks into The Lord of the Rings. The universes just don't jive for me. But like I said, that is more of a personal gripe-it's nothing that affects the gaming experience. Overall, I found the whole "Other M" experience a completely un-fun drag. I slogged through this game and even played the epilogue only to justify my investment in pre-ordering it. Trust me though, the minute I finished, I literally went to my computer and listed it on amazon in the used games section. This will be the last time I pre-order a Nintendo game without playing it first. I've never been burned by Nintendo before given their track record, but this game was pathetic on just about every level. Boo and hiss to the biggest dud in Metroid history. Fail.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2010 by Pikminfan