Metroid Other M is a milestone for Nintendo. Their most cinematic game ever made. Is it good? Read on!
The cutscenes are used not only to tell the story, but keep you engaged emotionally. It is very apparent that was the goal of this game compared to the older Metroid games. Lets be honest here. Who would rather read pages of text to understand the story line or watch CGI video? Who would rather scan items in the vast Metroid world or fight more often? If your answer is the latter of those questions, you will enjoy Metroid Other M!
This game is very fun to play and you will love to use the execution kills that Samus can pull off. Switching to first person to third person can be difficult at first. Especially because Nintendo doesn't tell you how to dodge enemy attacks in first person! They have a tutorial at the beginning of the game but they don't teach you how to do this. So let me enlighten people who have yet to play. While in first person, when you are locked onto an enemy, shake the Wii mote and you will dodge their attack and switch back into third person mode! The last boss is very challenging so you better get used to this technique.
Is the game perfect? No. I'm not sure if I can consider this a negative but the way Samus was portrayed throughout the game will throw seem people off. You can definitely tell this game was made in Japan. They make Samus have a very girlie image, something you would not expect from a bounty hunter who has killed the mightiest of enemies in her past. They try to push emotion through the game, which is not a negative. I think it makes it more realistic. It makes Samus more human. The one problem I do have is that they left a big plot hole open at the end of the game. It was a major theme throughout. I really can't believe that was left out of the massive CGI ending.
Third person shooting uses an auto aiming system (Aim bot! Kick Samus out of the game! :D ) that works good for the majority of the game, but every once in a while it won't shoot the enemy that you want.
Nintendo and Team Ninja make great use of Samus' weapons and abilities throughout the game. Some places you might get stuck, but don't over think the problem, the answer probably lies in the room that you are in. One thing that stays true to the Metroid franchise is the exploration. You have to stay aware of your environment to solve problems. Something that is always fun in Metroid games.
I would have to say that Metorid Other M is a big milestone for Nintendo. They have never really embraced voice acting and CGI video to push a story line. Metroid was probably the best franchise they could have tested this out on because of the complex story line and plots. Did they do a perfect job of interpreting Samus? No, in my opinion. But one thing is for certain, the CGI video accomplished its goal. It told the story in a fun and engaging way. The CGI video is stunning and will keep you coming back to the game because you want to find out more about the story! I think Nintendo can take a lot of the positives and negatives of this game and improve upon it in their next Metroid game (whenever that might be). The 3rd person/1st person switching has its downfalls but it was fun. What should Nintendo do next? A pure 3rd person game? A 1st Person game? Or a continuation (and improvement) of the 3rd person/1st Person combination. I know I'll stay tuned because I can't wait to see what they decide. But YOU shouldn't wait for the next game, go and pick up Metorid Other M now and enjoy it!
Thank you for reading. :D