Metroid: Other M.

[Sydney]

I was wondering what your thoughts about it were.
I'm interested in buying it.
It was cheap, but also new which was good.

Can I request your reviews, please? ♥​

 

[DeletedUser9]

Other M's definitely not the best Metroid game (a title that I have to give to Super Metroid or Metroid Prime), but it's a pretty solid entry into the series. The game has fully 3D gameplay, but it's in a tight environment that, often times, is very reminiscent of a 2D environment. It's a brilliant balance between 2D and 3D gameplay, and it truly does feel like taking the gameplay of the 2D Metroid titles and putting it into 3D. It also combines some key elements from the Prime games, which are the 3D Morph Ball sequences, as well as first-person shooting. There's some annoyances with switching between the standard movement and aiming modes, as well as with being unable to move while aiming, but they're not something that you can't easily look past if you're enjoying the game.

From the game design perspective, this is one of the most linear Metroid games. The game's presented in a similar way to Fusion in that you're constantly ordered and guided along a set path as part of a plot, but it's even more restricting than Fusion was. Still, as you near the end of the game, pretty much the whole map is available to you. The similarities to Fusion continue in the plot; it's not the most original game out there, and if you've played Fusion it will feel very familiar. There's some cool fanservice for Metroid fans (such as my favorite boss from Fusion returning), but a lot of them come out of nowhere and don't make a lot of sense within the continuity of the series. Cool, but not intellectual.

As for the story... it's essentially good at base. There's a strange bio-engineering plot like there is in any Metroid game, with secrets to reveal like in the Prime series. It borrows Samus' history and many of her traits from the canonical Metroid: Zero Mission manga (the much complained about scene where Samus freezes up is basically a direct tie-in with an event in the manga; if you want to read the manga, you can check out both Vol 1 and Vol 2, the complete manga, on Metroid Database). The voice-acting is essentially good, though it's not the actual VOICE I would have chosen for Samus. The writing, however, is pretty bad. It's a cheesy, hokey story, not because the story itself or the events that happen within it are bad, but because it's mishandled by the writing team. It's still enjoyable, though.

The only serious problems with the game aside from that are the spotting sections -- in which you must use first-person view to spot some object in the environment -- which are frustrating and just not fun, as well as the final boss fight where your equipment is suddenly allowed to be used without any warning, and you have seconds to figure that out or die.

All in all Other M is a very entertaining game, and it's basically got a lot of its ideas down perfectly. There are most certainly flaws, but not enough to drag the game down and it's definitely worth a shot. I recommend it, especially if you found it at a good price.

 

[Sydney]

Other M's definitely not the best Metroid game (a title that I have to give to Super Metroid or Metroid Prime), but it's a pretty solid entry into the series. The game has fully 3D gameplay, but it's in a tight environment that, often times, is very reminiscent of a 2D environment. It's a brilliant balance between 2D and 3D gameplay, and it truly does feel like taking the gameplay of the 2D Metroid titles and putting it into 3D. It also combines some key elements from the Prime games, which are the 3D Morph Ball sequences, as well as first-person shooting. There's some annoyances with switching between the standard movement and aiming modes, as well as with being unable to move while aiming, but they're not something that you can't easily look past if you're enjoying the game.

From the game design perspective, this is one of the most linear Metroid games. The game's presented in a similar way to Fusion in that you're constantly ordered and guided along a set path as part of a plot, but it's even more restricting than Fusion was. Still, as you near the end of the game, pretty much the whole map is available to you. The similarities to Fusion continue in the plot; it's not the most original game out there, and if you've played Fusion it will feel very familiar. There's some cool fanservice for Metroid fans (such as my favorite boss from Fusion returning), but a lot of them come out of nowhere and don't make a lot of sense within the continuity of the series. Cool, but not intellectual.

As for the story... it's essentially good at base. There's a strange bio-engineering plot like there is in any Metroid game, with secrets to reveal like in the Prime series. It borrows Samus' history and many of her traits from the canonical Metroid: Zero Mission manga (the much complained about scene where Samus freezes up is basically a direct tie-in with an event in the manga; if you want to read the manga, you can check out both Vol 1 and Vol 2, the complete manga, on Metroid Database). The voice-acting is essentially good, though it's not the actual VOICE I would have chosen for Samus. The writing, however, is pretty bad. It's a cheesy, hokey story, not because the story itself or the events that happen within it are bad, but because it's mishandled by the writing team. It's still enjoyable, though.

The only serious problems with the game aside from that are the spotting sections -- in which you must use first-person view to spot some object in the environment -- which are frustrating and just not fun, as well as the final boss fight where your equipment is suddenly allowed to be used without any warning, and you have seconds to figure that out or die.

All in all Other M is a very entertaining game, and it's basically got a lot of its ideas down perfectly. There are most certainly flaws, but not enough to drag the game down and it's definitely worth a shot. I recommend it, especially if you found it at a good price.

Thank you so much Axle!
I wanted to get it so bad, so I'm going to ask my Dad.
In addition I also want to get Twilight Princess! : D

 

[Ganondork]

Not sure if you want a second opinion, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm not the biggest Metroid fan around here, and I like the Metroid Prime Trilogy better, but I preferred this game's third person atmosphere better than first person.

I think Samus' talking was a quality that would have been better had she not sounded so dull. I think this is a mechanic they wanted to make her seem cold and distant, but for such an emotional background, she seems almost bored with telling the story. I think many games have made cold and distant characters better, and other games have made emotional backgrounds better, but Other M did a decent job on trying to make it seem sad, but distant. I've never been a fan of this form of storytelling, but this is the first time I ever heard Samus talk, and I still enjoyed it.

The combat was better, though. I found it nice to be able to hop around enemies, automatically lock onto them, and let off beam upon beam. I think the auto lock was a mechanic that had its ups and downs. It made it easy to never miss, but it also ruined the fun of a well-placed shot right to their face that Metroid Prime did so well with. I think the enemies were strong enough to keep it a challenge; you have to be ready to jump halfway across the room in a moment's notice.

Upgrading was a very nice mechanic as well. Nothing better than that moment when your beam is finally its best; plasma. The satisfaction of becoming the powerful bounty hunter you once were is quite nice. Samus is very much like Link; you see a huge change when she gains every item she will receive in that specific game. Enemies that once took three shots to kill will die in just one by the end of the game. This makes backtracking for those collectibles so much nicer than if you still had the same level of difficulty.

Graphics were also very nice when called for. I found the cutscenes to be vibrant, and much nicer than even Skyward Sword's. There was a great attention to detail when designing the game as well, which adds to the beautiful atmosphere of the planet. Enemies also have distinguishable features to them that make them unique. This makes the game all the more interesting to play.

Unfortunately, there wasn't too much I had to say on this subject without offering spoilers. I found the game to be good, not great, but much better when the price is cheaper. I know I get upset when a game that costs $50 doesn't meet my expectations.

 

[isaix]

Other M is a good game,but not as good as the others Metroid games,its too short,not very challenging (even in hard mode),way too linear,I didn't have that feeling of exploration like I had with the other games,but I still enjoyed it,the gameplay was his strong point,if the make a sequel to that game and fix all the bad things I just said,it would be my favorite Metroid game.You should buy it.

 

[guapo2003]

I have the game, but I haven't gotten the chance to play it yet.

 

[TF/HH]

A ton of people look down on Other M for being too different. I personally love the game. It's has an awesome storyline (although I'm sure many would disagree with me), beastly graphics, epic voice acting, and even better gameplay. I highly suggest getting it, especially if it is your first Metroid game.

 

[SNOlink]

I prefered the first person shooter mode of the Prime series over the third person in Other M. That's really my only major gripe with it. Other than that, it's a pretty good game and you should definitely get it.

 

[Niko Bellic 817]

I didn't like the game that much to be honest. I know the graphics weren't high resolution and the narrative wasn't skippable, but I didn't care about this. I didn't like the control setup that much in this game. Most of the time I would randomly fire shots hoping they would hit an enemy. Also, you have to point the Wii remote at the screen to pull out your missles. Not only is this a hassle, but you can't move in this mode so you're basically a sitting duck. Unlike in previous games, when you get a missle upgrade, your total missle count only goes up by 1 and not 5. This is mainly because of the new missle and energy refill setup they have now. However, I've heard that the game's story gets better as the game goes on. That and the voice acting is pretty solid. Even if the game only costs $10, I still don't feel these positive elements of the game warrant a purchase.

 

[Reaca]

I didn't really like Metroid: Other M. I felt that they didn't focus enough on the gameplay, and the game suffered greatly from that. The first person mode was hard to use, for me at least, and it was hard to control Samus with the D-pad sometimes.

 

[Roosterboy80]

Samus tellin us her opinion and back story was cool and a nice addition, but I feel it took away from her solid Bounry Hunter reputation.

 

[Sydney]

Thanks everybody for your reviews!
I just picked up the game and I'm excited to start playing it!

 

[Gordon17freeman]

I like it. Going from third to first person is disorienting, but once you get use to it, it's fine.

 

[NintyRift]

Metroid: Other M honestly has to be one of my favorite entries in the series. I really enjoyed although it gets TONS AND TONS of unnecessary hate from FPS noobs and people who hate emotion. I'd definitely pick it up, I preordered it and bought it for $50 and would buy it again for that much. It's worth your time.