Metroid: Other M Options

[Scan_Man]

Decided to pick this up at the last minute yesterday.

First impressions.

LOL@ this game. It is so bizarre in a lot places. I don't think I have ever played a game quite like this. Where every other room I'm either getting stumped/stuck, frustrated, or a combination of both. It is like Team Ninja purposely tried to make the most frustrating game possible while still being accessible to non-hardcore gamers (by that I mean non-Ninja Gaiden gamers). It has to be intentional. What other reason would you put that in a game? No one would put certain elements into a game without realizing how players will react. I mean damn just play through your game, you will see how it tries your patience at almost every corner. Not really bad things, just bizarre gameplay mechanics.


That or I am totally spoiled by modern day games with hints systems, or objectives displayed somewhere, in place (Prime had two with the map and scanning, Metal Gear Solid has codexs etc). This game gives you no hints whatsoever, and hardly anything is apparent on first, second . . . tenth inspection. In some areas, the game will outright kill you when you encounter something for the first time. Traps and shit. Like it is Impossible Mario or I Wanna Be The Guy. It kind of works because the game gives you this fast pace, run & gun, feel. However, it will punish right when you think you can just coast through it. When you die it means you should of been more careful. Except when something one shots you randomly. . .


This game is more like Fusion, and to a certain extent Prime 3, than Metroid, Super Metroid, and Prime. Meaning it is linear. Exploration and backtracking is mostly for gathering hidden items. And trying to get hidden items is frustrating in its own right too. Freakin carrot on the stick. I've learned to ignore them because I realized most of them are put there to mock me.


The big thing in this game though is the boss and mini-boss battles. You get one every other room. And I love how the game plants seeds on the next boss you are going to fight, or fight for a 2nd time. Keeps you on your toes. You never quite know when you are going to walk into a boss battle. Don't be surprised if after boss battle you are at critical health with zero energy tanks left, and have to fight another boss in the next room.

The pacing is fantastic in the regard. Just there is this one part with the over-the-shoulder third person camera, and the part afterward, that is the dumbest thing in the history of all gaming. That part of the game, and Team Ninja can go fuck themselves. You will know this sequence of the game when you get to it.

Alright. Full review after I complete the game.

This post has been edited by Scan_Man: Sep 1 2010, 05:40 PM

[Scan_Man]

Yeah the dialogue and story reminds me of FFXIII. It is very Japanese. But, I actually thought the stuff ending was actually the best parts except Samus inner dialogue that goes on and on and on. Its like the 100+ endings in Return of the King, accept instead of showing it is just dialogue. And the whole time you are like "How does Samus know this." For the whole game I feel immersed as Samus, a trait that is present in the Prime games, then she opens her mouth. She speaks about things in a tone of "As you know" or "As you should remember." No Samus, I don't know. All this info is new to me

The cutsceens are well done though. Looking at the credits it seems they spent a buttload of money producing them. My main complaint though is if this were a Prime game the story would encompass the whole game. There would be no flashbacks that have nothing to do with the main plot because the gameplay would cover that. The Prime games are like 25 to 50 hours adventures. This game is about 10 hours. Obviously they thought Samus' days in the Galactic Federation.


As for the ending. The real ending is after the credits (which offers about another 3-5 hours of gameplay). What a surprise, and totally Metroidish. It probably the best part of the game. Weird that it is after the credits, as I think it should of been woven into the main game. But it seems they had the story, and made the gameplay around the story. Which is totally the opposite of what Nintendo does.


Oh and hardmode feels like a totally different game. This is another plus.


I have to say this game is somewhere on the line between purchase and really great rental. I'm mostly likely going to trade it in after I beat hardmode.