Metroid: Other M

[Thalzon]

People are really blowing things out of proportion here.

As a bounty hunter, isn't Samus beholden to the rules and laws of her employer? It's less about being a strong, independent woman and more about staying within the confines of the rules to ensure she gets freakin' paid.

Which might mean she's gotta do what a man says once in a while.

But I admit Theophany's comment made me laugh a little.

[TheKrow]

Man, I don't understand some people at all. The game is amazing so far; beyond my expectations. The only real drawback I've noticed is the segments where you're required to look around and find a certain object to trigger a cutscene. I swear some of them it's like "Where's Waldo?", but I guess I'm generally bad at searching anyway. Still, everything flows very seamlessly.

Also, Samus wears heels now. I <3 Team Ninja. The art folio is pretty baller, too.

[Bleck]

my initial impressions;

Bad:

• - cutscenes are long and boring
  
• - samus' voice actor is terrible
  
• - ridley looks dumb (haven't gotten to him yet but I've seen the screenshots)
  
• - environment design isn't bad but it's no Metroid Prime either
  

Good:

• excellent controls
  
• fast move speed makes me happy
  
• fighting things is fun
  

[Zombie]

Well it looks like I wont be able to play this for at least another week because I shipped it to my moms house instead of the new place via Amazon. Bummer! Fortunately I have plenty of stuff to hold me over, but I was totally looking forward to some metroid this afternoon.

[EC2151]

I have a feeling I'm really going to like this game when it finally arrives tomorrow.

[Overflow]

Oh, Man.

SO I played and got to the end credits in around 9 hours today, with 43% item completion.

I LOVE this game.

While I agree that at some points, the story and voice acting is a little hammy, I never really found that it hit you over the head. The characters are all very natural and I found myself getting attached to some of them.

The controls take a bit of getting used to, and that "Finishing move" message comes up way to many times. It eventually goes away(sometimes it comes back in a boss fight to let you know you actually CAN do a special move, which I thought helped), but they didn't need to display it EVERY time I fought the same enemy for the first 2 hours.

also, as someone else said, those parts where you HAVE to find something in the room before you can continue are annoying. The things you have to find are so tiny, that it took me FOREVER to find a couple of them. More on that in the Major Spoilers section...

Time flies when you play this game, and the graphics are awesome. I am in awe at the way they got the cutscenes to blend into the gameplay. You literally have no idea when a cutscene could happen, or if it already is happening. No, seriously; there have been many times when I actually jumped in my seat at a totally unexpected event. Awesome.

tl;dr game is awesome. get it.

Minor spoilers:

I was a little disappointed that they never really went into detail about Samus' backstory. Not a single reference to the Chozo or her life on K-2L. The scene where she meets Ridley would have been much more powerful if they spent a few seconds showing a flashback to what actually made him become her nemesis.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The way they deal with Ridley is ABSOLUTELY incredible. Ridley 1.0 is just weird and creepy, and that cinematic battle with Ridley 2.0 is one of the most mind-blowingly awesome and intense things I've ever done in a video game. When I first found Ridley 3.0, my jaw hit the floor. So THIS is how a Ridley is born!

However, just before the battle with Ridley 3.0, you have to find some "magma flow cap" or something and it took me probably 5 minutes before I could find the stupid thing. It blended into the background too well and gave no indication that you could interact with it. Now that I know where it is, though, I'll be able to enjoy that battle much more.

The ending felt a bit rushed, and I was disappointed at not getting a proper end boss(I guess the Metroid Queen was the closest we got, and it was a pretty good fight.)

Ugh, I have a headache from playing this on a 47" LED TV with surround sound cranked up for 9 hours straight. I need to sleep.

[Arek the Absolute]

Told you guys this game was good.

[LuketheXjesse]

Watched my friend play it a few hours ago.

Looks fucking fun.

[friendlyHunter]

Good:

• excellent controls
  
• fast move speed makes me happy
  
• fighting things is fun
  

Well I'm sold. Sounds like the opposite of the Prime trilogy =D

[EC2151]

I have found that as the series has progressed (the classic series anyway) the Chozo have become less and less prominent and upfront in the Metroid mythos.

Game's coming for me tomorrow... can't wait!

[Devyn]

There are a lot of improvements over the prime games. The main downgrade is the graphics. Cutscenes are awesome, but the in-game graphics are less than what Prime 3 had to offer. The controls are very good, and there is a strong element of fear. I don't understand what people are saying about the cutscenes. They are cool. The map system is also dramatically improved from the prime games, and the transitions are also much better, like going from standing, to morph, and back. I think that if they would've made Prime 4, people would bitch about redundancy, and I think if they made Super Metroid 2, people would bitch about the game doing nothing new.

It's another Metroid game. You like Metroid? Get the game.

[The Mutericator]

The problem with the cutscenes is that the Americans always imagined Samus - as a bounty hunter, and nearly-silent protagonist - to be the strong, silent type who gets stuff done, doesn't ask questions, and doesn't follow orders when they're bloody stupid. If anything, Fusion proved that Samus has her own agenda, at odds with the Federation - she wants to eradicate the X and the Metroids, as the Chozo raised her to, and the Federation wants to use them as energy sources or biological weapons.

And instead, in Other M we get a Samus who takes orders unquestioningly (including not activating the Varia Suit until given authorization), blathers on and on about THE BABY (whereas before she only referred to it as "the larva" or "the Metroid"), and who breaks down upon seeing an enemy she has completely wiped the floor with no less than FIVE TIMES by this point in the story (twice in Zero Mission, twice in Prime Trilogy, once in Super. That second Zero Mission fight is arguable).

On the one hand, you could argue that it's our fault for projecting this persona on her when there was no indication either way, but on the other hand, Sakamoto should listen to the fans and realize we don't WANT some weak-willed girl in an emotionally-powered suit of armor. I'm exaggerating, I know, and I apologize. But the story is the main thing keeping me from playing this game at all - I'll borrow it from a friend or maybe buy it used, but I don't want a story-driven Metroid, and Samus should stay silent if this is what her true character is.

[Schwaltzvald]

On the one hand, you could argue that it's our fault for projecting this persona on her when there was no indication either way, but on the other hand, Sakamoto should listen to the fans and realize we don't WANT some weak-willed girl in an emotionally-powered suit of armor. I'm exaggerating, I know, and I apologize. But the story is the main thing keeping me from playing this game at all - I'll borrow it from a friend or maybe buy it used, but I don't want a story-driven Metroid, and Samus should stay silent if this is what her true character is.

makes me wonder what Metroid: Other M would have been like had Gunpei Yokoi been around to direct it along side Sakamoto...

[Calpis]

Still haven't played it yet (no time) but I'll say this: I'm getting sick of reviewers and fans alike complaining about Team Ninja "objectifying" Samus when she's been wearing revealing (or skin-tight) clothing since the beginning, so to say that Team Ninja "screwed up" on Samus' characterization because of that is just ridiculous.

I also don't agree that making her "obey every one of Adam's commands" ruins the character either. Can't remember who mentioned it here, but Adam is her employer and you gotta do shit that your employer orders, or you don't get paid. Whether or not that was a good idea for the power up system is a different issue entirely, however.

But really, when it comes down to it, Metroid is about running, gunning, and exploring and this game sounds like it delivers in all three of those categories, so it really should firstly be judged that way, and any opinions about characterization issues should be a footnote rather than the bulk of the review.

[Tinus]

Finally got the game, but I haven't been able to play it yet. Most of the time when I insert the disc, the Wii will just refuse to read it.

I had the same problem with Metroid Prime Trilogy, but it's way worse now. Funny thing is, I don't have any trouble with other dual-layered discs like Brawl.

Anyway, after like fifteen minutes of trying it finally spinned up and... prompted me for a Wii System Update. After which the Wii had to be rebooted and the disc wouldn't spin up again.

Apparently in some cases this can be fixed by unplugging the Wii for a couple of minutes, and otherwise I guess I'll have to try a lens cleaning kit. I hope either of those will fix my problem since the warranty on my system must have run out by now.

---

Also:

I'm getting sick of reviewers and fans alike complaining about Team Ninja "objectifying" Samus when she's been wearing revealing (or skin-tight) clothing since the beginning, so to say that Team Ninja "screwed up" on Samus' characterization because of that is just ridiculous.

I'm pretty sure that's not the reason people are complaining. Even though the Zero Suit's new high heels are kinda stupid.

I also don't agree that making her "obey every one of Adam's commands" ruins the character either. Can't remember who mentioned it here, but Adam is her employer and you gotta do shit that your employer orders, or you don't get paid.

Adam is her former employer. The only reason she's obeying his orders in Other M is out of "respect" for him. Which is just dumb.

[KyleJCrb]

and who breaks down upon seeing an enemy she has completely wiped the floor with no less than FIVE TIMES by this point in the story (twice in Zero Mission, twice in Prime Trilogy, once in Super. That second Zero Mission fight is arguable).

You would probably have emotional issues if you saw that the monster who killed your biological parents kept coming back to hunt you down after you thought it was dead too.

[Overflow]

One thing that would have made the game better: IT SHOULD HAVE played 'OverGrown Brinstar' in Sector 1.

For the noobs who don't know:

[Devyn]

I have to agree with that one Overflow. Good call. Although the music has been pretty cool so far, the guys who did Super Metroid and the Hip Tanaka stuff was just untouchable. I didn't like the music in the Prime games, although it was good for atmosphere. I got to hurry up and beat this game. Metroid time.

[EC2151]

I played for four and a half hours straight (ok, one 5 min break), and I'm really liking it.

It's probably because of internet memes, but I can't help but laugh every time Higgs opens his mouth. The REMEMBUH ME thing just totally and comedically transformed my perception of him.

The game plays great; and right after beating the lava boss, I can really dig the environments and bosses they've thrown at me thus far.

The cutscenes are a mixed bag, and I think we all weren't thinking about Samus the way Sakamoto was thinking about Samus, but I can live with it, since in every other game there's just about all evidence to support that she's just as much an ass kicker as she is a... baby-lover?

Already some things in the plot are starting to make the plot-holes in Fusion make a whole lot more sense (like namely: why were there Space Pirates on the BSL in Fusion?), and I really can't wait to see where things go. Don't wanna get spoiled!

The ONLY thing that has really pissed me off are the Where's Waldo segments... I mean, I thought the reviews were exaggerating, but finding a tiny green blotch in the middle of a FIELD is a little taxing on the ol' gamer's spirit. I wish they would have play-tested that a bit more. I do NOT like those segments.

The music is really good and profressionally made... I just wish they asked the guy who did the Macross, Monster, and Blue Gender anime soundtracks of ALL people to try to insert some more melodic flavor into things.

[Bleck]

the funny thing is how higgs' voice actor is better than samus'

[Overflow]

I thought the music was good for atmosphere, but I was really disappointed that there aren't any real standout tunes or remixes of old songs. It's good, but not memorable.

So I finished the game today, 100% in 11 hours, so, SPOILER TIME!

I LOVE the fact that they've got The Nightmare and Phantoon as boss battles, with the latter being the true final boss, I guess.

One thing that really bugs me is what happened to K.G.? I mean, I guess it's heavily hinted that he's the "deleter" but still, what happened to him???

I also didn't really get the whole M.B. thing. What was the point of Melissa pretending to be Madeline Bergman? That didn't really accomplish anything...

Oh, and the payoff for 100% isn't very satisfying...

[EC2151]

the funny thing is how higgs' voice actor is better than samus'

I'll drink to that.

[Overflow]

Oh, another thing: I like the way that the spacestation doesn't seem to be built specifically for you. Most of the other Metroids got by because you were exploring Chozo environments using Chozo armour, so it makes sense those items would be compatible and you could use their technology. But when you started going into space pirate places and found spider-ball tracks and bomb-slots(Seriously, how did that work? Did all the Chozo and luminoth just walk around with bombs to activate their conveyer belts?), it got a little hard to swallow.

In Other M, you don't find many items, and the ones that you do are simple enough that it makes sense they work with your suit. Also, there aren't any bomb-slots, per se; rather, you interact a lot more with the physical environment: Use bombs to blast cracked walls or pillars, use beams to recharge electrical equipment, and use missiles to blow the gates off air vents. Much more believable world, imo.

Time to start Hard mode!!

[Lemonectric]

The ONLY thing that has really pissed me off are the Where's Waldo segments... I mean, I thought the reviews were exaggerating, but finding a tiny green blotch in the middle of a FIELD is a little taxing on the ol' gamer's spirit. I wish they would have play-tested that a bit more. I do NOT like those segments.

The first night, I was playing with the volume pretty far down to avoid waking anyone up. I stopped playing at the sector 1 wasp-thingy nest after Where's-Waldoing for several minutes with no success. It wasn't until the next morning that I was able to hear some quiet rustling that helped me find what I was supposed to. Maybe my tv sucks, but it was incredibly hard to see.

On the bright side, those segments will be a lot less annoying on subsequent playthroughs.

Oh, another thing: I like the way that the spacestation doesn't seem to be built specifically for you. Most of the other Metroids got by because you were exploring Chozo environments using Chozo armour, so it makes sense those items would be compatible and you could use their technology. But when you started going into space pirate places and found spider-ball tracks and bomb-slots(Seriously, how did that work? Did all the Chozo and luminoth just walk around with bombs to activate their conveyer belts?), it got a little hard to swallow.

In Other M, you don't find many items, and the ones that you do are simple enough that it makes sense they work with your suit. Also, there aren't any bomb-slots, per se; rather, you interact a lot more with the physical environment: Use bombs to blast cracked walls or pillars, use beams to recharge electrical equipment, and use missiles to blow the gates off air vents. Much more believable world, imo.

That's a good point. I definitely agree with you there, even though I tend to suspend disbelief about 500% more often than other people. Little terminals built for humans make a lot more sense than bomb slots, and they accomplish pretty much the same things.

[JCvgluvr]

I'm freaking pumped to play this game, but I'm dreading the watching part. Hearing from reviews, and general player *****ing, the cutscenes seem to be JRPG-quality. I'm not gonna knock the people who like those games, but I think JRPG cutscenes are complete and utter crap. Please tell me that M:OM's cutscenes don't feel like something out of Final Fantasy or Star Ocean!