Metroid: Other M Review

Other M is not your typical Metroid experience. The tenets of this venerable franchise are desolate feelings of loneliness coupled with an emphasis on exploring an alien world, but Samus Aran's latest adventure goes in a much different direction than most of its forebears. Intense, close-quarters combat is the backbone of this journey, and the linear level design ensures that you're continually pushing forward. This action-oriented approach removes many of the elements that are core to the franchise, but those holes have been filled with refined battle mechanics that make every fight a thrill. Combat is exhilarating, forcing you to move with precision if you want to stay alive against the swarming alien horde, and the gigantic bosses you square off against test your skills in unpredictable ways without ever feeling cheap. Drawn-out cutscenes do interrupt the breakneck pace of your adventure, and small graphical blemishes and control quirks keep this from reaching the dizzying highs its predecessors are known for. But Other M is still a great adventure that is sure to please longtime fans and bright-eyed newcomers alike.

One day, while cruising around the galaxy in her state-of-the-art rocket, Samus happens upon a distress signal from a nearby ship. Although the setup is typical for the franchise, the manner in which the events are told is anything but. Story is a huge aspect of Other M, spelling out every moment on board this cursed vessel in exacting detail. It's a jarring contrast from most other games in the series, but it's not without its bright spots. Samus' mysterious backstory is finally fleshed out, and the beautifully realized CGI scenes are a joy to look at. However, these interludes have a tendency to overstay their welcome. Story segments stretch on for upwards of five minutes, which puts a halt to the hectic pace of the core adventure. Furthermore, the voice acting is so stilted, and the dialogue so wooden, that it's hard to accept these characters as believable. This is also the first game in which Samus has been given a voice, albeit a squeaky and annoying one that makes it tough to take her seriously. Change is not inherently bad, but the overabundance of story in Other M is a negative step away from Metroid tradition.

Things become a lot more interesting once Samus shuts her big yap. The action in Other M plays out primarily from a third-person perspective, but its controls are far from traditional. You move Samus around the ship holding the Wii Remote horizontally--there's no classic controller or nunchuk support--and it does take some adjustment to move on a 3D plane using a D pad. Aiming is handled automatically, so you blast whatever creature is in your line of sight, whether it's above your head, below your feet, or dead ahead. Rolling into a ball and performing wall jumps are just as easy, which makes roaming this desolate ship not only painless, but fun as well. But the most interesting aspect of this control scheme is the implementation of a first-person perspective. When you point the remote at the screen, your view switches so that you're staring through Samus' visor. This allows you to freely look around the environment or fire missiles, although you cannot walk around. This switch can be jarring at first, but it becomes second nature before long. Pelting enemies with your ice beam and then switching to a first-person view to finish them off with missiles is incredibly smooth, which makes this control scheme not only unique, but quite satisfying as well.

Samus can avoid getting wet by curling up in a little ball.

Samus does have one new move that ratchets up the intensity of confrontations: a dodge mechanic. By tapping the D pad in any direction the moment before you're hit by an attack, you dive gracefully out of the way. If you are holding down the fire button at the time, your weapon receives a full charge, which allows you to avoid a glancing blow and to counterattack against any enemies dumb enough to think they can take down a trained bounty hunter. You can also initiate a melee strike on weakened foes to finish them off in style, but this isn't quite as responsive. Some enemies require you to jump on their head to kill them, which is difficult given the inherent imprecision of using a D pad to move around on a 3D plane. Aside from that small control quirk, your actions in Other M are incredibly smooth. Furthermore, a threat of imminent death keeps you on your toes. Unlike in every other game in the series, your enemies do not drop health power-ups when they die. You can regain a little health by concentrating for a few seconds when you're in a critical state, but to get filled up you must enter a save room. This makes health conservation hugely important, so you can never let your guard down.