While Other M is an interesting title, too many of its ideas fall flat on its face.
GRAPHICS:
On a technical level, the game is amazing. Samus herself is rendered really well, and the enviroments are detailed and convincing. But aside from that, the game looks rahter generic at times. The fire and ice sectors are too similar to those of Super Metroid and Fusion, and the main hub is Fusion-esque, lacking any creativity. Still, what we got is a very good looking, if uninspired game. 3.8/5
SOUND:
The music in the series is normaly amazing, and Other M is no exception. The music pieces get the mood right for the game and are just all around very well made. That being said... there is barely any freaking music in the game. Most of the areas are silent, and while it creates an interesting atmosphere, it also makes the game empty in comparisson.
This game also introduces voice acting in the series, however, it isn't a good start. Samus sounds lifeless and bored and the other characters are just incredibly average sounding. Their delivery can range from pretty good to downright "really?". It isn't as good as, say, Final Fantasy XIII, but also not as bad as Resident Evil 1, where you can poke fun at. It is just... bad. 2.2/5
STORY:
This game is without a doubt the most story heavy game in the series so far. Cutscenes are a plenty and we get a bunch of character development. But to start of, the basic premise is that Samus has recived a distress signal form the Bottle Ship, a research facility run by the Galactic Federation. Her mission is to investigate the place along with her former commander Adam Malkovich and his team form the GF, which have also been asigned to this place.
While being story heavy is a noble thing, specially for a Nintendo game, this game's story is just... average. There is nothing special that comes from it, and while it gets the continuity after Super but before Fusion, we don't really get that much information that we needed, besides Samus' backstory and characterization. More on that latter. But the characters introduced aren't very memorable and the whole plot just doesn't really have anything special to it. It is underwhelming and, while not horrible, isn't impressive. Cutscenes are also a pain, since they are unskipable and unpausable, so even if you have to go to the bathroom really bad but want to see the cutscene, you have to decide either way.
The most controversial aspect of this game is Samus. We discover some of her backstory in the Galactic Federation and her relationship with Adam. And... I don't really know how I feel about it. On the one hand, we finally see her as a human being, with feelings and emotions. On the other hand, her backstory presents her as pedantic and basicaly gives her an Electra Complex with Adam. I am also not fond as to how she treats him during the game, as while respecting your FORMER commander is good and all, she blindly follows him, even though she could very well solve everything alone. He also gives her some bad orders, but that will be said in the gameplay part.
So, Samus feel like a person now, and while I don't really think the game is sexist or ruined the character, since she barely had any development before, I think it is handled slopply, as the game doesn't really try to make her life and herself as an interesting character. Part of that is, again, of the story, which is sloppy on itself.
I of course have to mention the scene where you find Riddley, and before you fight him, Samus is paralyzed with fear, reminicing of when he killed her parents. Even though she has beaten him about 5 times before this game. What the heck. I have heard many times that it accurately portrayals post-traumatic stress disorder, and if that was their intention, I aplaud them. But regardless, it just feels so... weird for it to happen now, and doesn't really fit with what has happened in the other games. So that scene feels kind of incongruous.
To close it up, it was a noble attempt, but a generic storyline with an uneven protagonist hurts it badly. 2/5
GAMEPLAY:
The game is a third person action adventure. You control Samus, as she explores the Bottle Ship and its sectors, trying to uncover what is going on.
You use the Wiimote alone, which creates some very interesting controls, since it is a 3D game with a D-pad. It isn't a problem, and the control setup is really good. Although, there is the issue to switching to first person view, done by pointing at the screen. And since it is only with the Wiimote, you can't move while in first person. It is awkward to say the least, and being able to fire missiles and using the grapple beam only in this mode are more annoyances. But overall, you get used to it, and it doesn't become an issue.
Like other games in the franchise, you do not have many power ups in the begining, and you get them as the game progresses. But the way you obtain them is utterly stupid. You have to wait before Adam authorizes the powerup before you can use it. Which makes some sense storywise, as he says they do not know how her weapons will damage the ship, but it gets incongruous when you deactivate your defensive stuff for no reason. The two most inexcusable moments in the game are going half way the fire section only then to activate the Varia Suit, which protects you from heat damage, which makes zero sense; and activating the grapple beam only when you can't progress to save an ally, even though you have to basicaly figure it out yourself that you have to use it. Moments like activating the wave beam to take down enemies behind walls is okay, but it still comes off as weird and annoying.
The power ups themselves are pretty much the standart. The beams are really cool and look awesome in the game. Others like speed booster and screwattack/space jump are also pretty cool, although too "context sensitive" in this game, as you only use them when the game has you too. Which brings up another thing in this game, its linearity. I myself don't care for it too much, but the game is basicaly running down a hallway all the times, since you have barely any branching paths, and you normaly can't progress just because of a locked door. And the above mentioned power ups get used only when the level design needs them to be used, which makes them less apealing. Again, I don't care for it too much, but I know some players that get bummed from it.
The gameplay it self is basicaly a 2D Metroid in 3D. You shoot, jump and run. Since there is not manual aiming, like in the Prime games, the game auto-locks on the closest enemy, and it works well, no complains there. What sucks though is that enemies do not drop health or missles when defeated, which makes it rather pointless to kill enemies at times. The combat in the game also suffers from enemies that take too long to kill, and since they have simple patters, it gets boring easily. While fun when it is fast paced, having to kill three enmies that take forever to die is not. Boss battles are another story, requiring you to think before doing anything, and they can have to interesting strategies to them, and are overall really fun, if not a bit too easy to fight.
Okay, I have being rather negative all over this review, but the gameplay faults are rather inexcusable. The stupid power ups system, small annoyances that drag and combat that can become boring really hurt this game. It is at least a long entry in the series, as it will last around 10 hours, long by the 2D standarts of the series, but short for the Primes series.
3.5/5
OVERALL:
I was really disapointed with this game. I wanted to love it, but instead it has too many small problems that stack up to stand up on its own. It isn't as good a 3D game as the Prime games, and its style is inferior to the 2D games. It sure is worth trying out for yourself at least, but proceed with caution.
The good:
-Visuals are impressive
-Music, when there is, is pretty good
-Tries to convey a story and to characterize Samus as a human
-Combat is fun when it is fast paced
-Thrilling boss battles
The bad:
-Has a rather genertic look to it
-Barely any music to it
-Voice acting is bleh
-Story comes off as cliched and simplistic
-A lot of issues with Samus characterization
-Combat can get boring
-Power up system is idiotic