Story and gameplay merge together in this new Samus adventure.
As soon as you start your adventure in the shoes of Samus you will be greeted by some nice CGI that depicts the last moments of the legendary Super Metroid. The CGI looks amazing and will make most fans nostalgic but the ingame graphics and artwork are also very good looking, on par with some of the best looking wii games but not quite in the level of the Prime series.
Yes, Metroid Other M is more story based than anything the series has seen so far, with plenty of cinematics and story sequences. While the story isnt as great as I was expecting, it still marks a step in the right direction for future Nintendo games. But dont worry, this is not Metal Gear Solid 1 hour cinematics. While it is true that there are many and cant be skipped, it is not a good reason to not get this game as most are at most in the 5 min range and then its gameplay all the way. In other words, you can play for about 1 hour or more, and then get a 5 min or less cutscene which it doesnt disrupt the flow of the game.
As many should know, MOM was developed by the famous Team Ninja and they have crafted a nice action oriented gameplay but with a lack of polish. You will only need the wiimote for this and it works but moving on a 3D plane with the D-pad can get weird sometimes. Theres also the auto-aim that also works but lacks precision in a few parts of the game as sometimes I want to hit one monster, but I end up attacking the other one. And theres the dodge mechanic that is also functional but sometimes it feels like you need to use button mashing instead of actual skill to perform the dodge mechanic.
What doesnt work too well is the finishing move mechanic, as it is not very intuitive and it just doesnt work all the time though you can live almost without it.
The other gameplay element that comes to play is the changing position of the wiimote to first person view, which I am glad to say it works perfectly. It is quite impresive how seamesly it is to just point the wiimote to the screen and change perspective. It is true that you cant move while in first person view, and in some heated battles you will get hit pretty easily, but I actually think it adds an extra element of strategy to the game, because you need to know when is the best time to use it. You can also point the wiimote up in order to heal some health and all bombs. My only gripe is that there are some parts of the game in which you need to find something by pointing with the wiimote but in this scripted sequences they dont tell you what, you just look like crazy, if you are lucky or a good observer you will find it fast, but sometimes it takes way too much time which slows the flow of the game.
And at last there is the classic metroid element which is as classic as it gets and its named power-ups, exploration and great boss fights. There are plenty of powerups scattered through the map waiting for you to get them to become more powerful. Massive boss fights deliver quite a challenge but there are checkpoints in case you get your butt kicked which is very likely to happen. Though there are a couple of issues, like the fact it is a little linear. They will tell you where to go and you will rarely be lost which is not great for fans that like exploring like crazy. But on the upside, there are some puzzles that will have you thinking every now and then.
Theres also the problem that Samus actually is fully equiped with all of her abilities but cant use them until Adam gives her the autorization. I mean really, you are right in front of a power-up but cant get it because you need autorization, that has to be one of the worse excuses to get Samus to not use her weapons. Yes, it is more of a story screw-up than actual gameplay screw-up but it still cant be ignored.
In the music department theres not much to say as the soundtrack is great with nice orchestrated tracks, but sometimes I dont feel as inmersed as in past metroid games. Theres a nice amount of VO that I think is quite capable but I can see some people not liking samus voice or how the story is told.
MOM is not the longest game in the franchise, but it will give you at least a dozen hours of ass kicking and even more if you decide to get every power-up.
In the end Metroid Other M is a great game by all means. Yes, there are a couple of gameplay problems that could have been avoided if they had added the nunchuk but still it all works but not as tight as it could have been. It is true that this is different from your typical Metroid experience, but sometimes change is not a bad thing, especially if it executed in a good way.