Friday, October 19, 2012

Metroid: Other M (Wii)

It pains me to talk about this game too much.  Such potential was in this title and it turned into a terrible game.  From the lackluster story, that nearly ruined Samus as a character, to a set of gameplay mechanics that make it a pain to play.  This isn't a Metroid game, it's a Team Ninja mess.

Let me get this out of the way now, I am a huge Metroid fan.  I have played them all, even the titles most people would say are not strong outings.  This game left a terrible taste in my mouth.  One that I am hoping will go away in the next title.

Everything about this game is different from the norm.  Sure there is the standard shooting and running but it definitely has some issues.  First issue is the lack exploration.  You are guided to where to go for most of the game.  Sure the Prime series did this as well but they also left it up to you and didn't annoy you into getting to the next objective.

My second issue with the game is the story.  It proves that somebody wasn't thinking clearly when they thought it up.  It doesn't make Samus seem like a badass bounty hunter, like she is.  It makes her seem like a crybaby that hides at the first hint of Ridley.  I mean in one of the Prime games, she kills a fellow bounty hunter and doesn't shed a tear.  This one, she takes her suit off to try to keep somebody from doing what they need to.  That is not the Samus I know and love.

Lastly, the game ends badly.  Not storywise, it drops the ball in terms off boss battles.  The last boss is needlessly frustrating due to bad controls and bad indications as to what you are supposed to for it.  Having to watch that last stupid cutscene for an hour cause you don't know what you are supposed to do was stupid.  It was a bad mechanic and I really hope somebody realizes that having a pixel hunt is not fun.

I wish I could forget this game but it has forever stained my memory of an otherwise great series.  Sure I had a little fun with it and some of the bosses were pretty fun. But this game doesn't feel like a Metroid game.  It feels like somebody had designed an engine and then just slapped Metroid on it.  Team Ninja should feel bad about this.  Everybody should, killing a classic series with this.

1 comment:

  1. Other M features great presentation, design, and promise in certain ways, but falls flat in its attempt to appease hardcore Metroid fans from a story standpoint. I just collect METROID for mine at PIJ. http://bit.ly/METROIDOtherM

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