"Lets make a Metroid game, but take away all the exploration"-Pitchman "Brilliant!"-Corporate Exec

User Rating: 7 | Metroid: Other M WII
By azshorty2003 | Review Date:
Metroid Other M was one of my top 3 most hyped games of the year. When I saw this game shown for that first time at E3 I was blown away. After playing the game for the past 8 or 9 hours, that feeling has gone away. At first Other M seems like a great flip back to the days of 2D, and it is. the 2D platforming feels right back as it did during Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. But then you start to realize that there is no real exploration elements to this game. This game is so linear at times, it makes 2D Mario look open. Once again at the beginning Samus starts with nothing, however this is only because Adam, her commanding officer tells her to deactivate everything useful. This is the worse plot device ever in the history of video games and I really don't think I'm exaggerating. You have all your powers, but wont use them or turn them on until Adam tells you. This makes things even more frustrating because you know you have them, but cant use them. The worst part was running through the lava section losing life constantly because of the heat and it was completely unnecessary because all Samus had to do was turn on the Varia suit. I made it to the top of this peak finally with no extra tanks and 5 energy left and then comes Adam on the radio authorizing me to use the Varia suit! Where were you about 15 minutes ago moron?! Its this way with every item. So I'll end that portion there.

Next is the controls. 2D pretty good. Auto lock on for nearby enemies, but it doesn't always shoot at the one you want it to. Movement feels good. but then comes the 3D. Normally you hold the Wiimote sideways like an NES controller then aim it at the screen to go into first person mode. This is where the problems start. Aiming at the screen to turn to first person mode always gives you that 2 to 3 seconds of "Ok, now where the hell is the aiming icon and is the sensor bar picking it up?" feeling. and whats worse, the only way to shoot missiles is by going into 1st person mode, making boss battles that much more unnecessarily challenging. Plus you cant move in 1st person mode, so other then missiles, its only purpose is to scan the room for hidden items. Which you do a lot since the majority seem to be hidden places you cant see unless you search around for them. The camera is fixed, so using 1st person mode is a must for good item finding. Speaking of item finding, I said before that this game was pretty linear. The big draw to Metroid is exploration and going back to places previously visited in order to reach places you couldn't until you got the necessary item. Well, at times even having the needed item isn't good enough. Specifically, I was in Sector 3 having every item except the Power Bomb, tried to go back to the other parts of that Sector to get items I had missed, but couldn't because doors were locked off so I could follow a specific path in order to progress the story. Even though I had what I needed to reach certain areas I couldn't from before, the game made me stay on course for the story rather then let me explore to get more items. This totally goes against anything that a Metroid games has ever stood for. Metroid is all about exploration and making you figure out if you can go places or not.

Story. I guess there was a reason why Samus never spoke or had an in depth story before. Maybe its Nintendo's lack of experience with voice over work, but then again this game wasn't developed in house by Nintendo, so that argument is invalid. The voice acting is pretty weak and even bad at times. The overall story barely holds on. Conspiracy theory this, "oh noes, Metroids" that. blah blah. The cut-scenes are decent, the opening is the biggest, being a remake of the end of Super Metroid.

I guess I covered everything of importance, controls, story, game-play, power up, Adam being a total jerk for making me run through fire without my fire protected armor and keeping all the good items from me when I needed them most. I guess that covers it all. I feel I'm coming to the final portion of the game so I will see very soon how it ends, but unless it somehow redeems itself greatly, this game is a rental. This is for the people who play every Metroid game because they are true fans. I dont see how this game is going to bring new people to the series, but then again, I'm in the Fan category.

Oh yea, and the Ridley fight, meh. All I have to say

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