A fresh new entry in the series with fast paced action and a strong, story driven narrative has paid off!
Having picked up Team Ninja to develop Samus' outing this time around, we are presented with a much deeper and different Metroid. The core Metroid experience is still here with solid platforming and exploration and a much deeper experience with a strong story and narrative has been woven around this core.
The action in this game has also been stepped up a notch. Along with the simple staples run, jump and shoot, new gameplay mechanics have been added like dodging and a combo system. Also the ability to move from standard combat to a first person view has been added by simply pointing the Wii remote at the screen.
The music for this game has been amazingly crafted with full orchestrated pieces. Many of the cutscenes in the game are driven with beautifully moving songs that really build up the emotion.
The gameplay is reminiscent of older 2D Metroid games, only with added depth. You can run in a 3D plane but most areas are set up to feel like a side scroller, giving it that old school feel. The controls in this game feel extremely tight. I never once had a problem moving Samus about and handling combat. Unfortunately the first person sections of the game could have been done better. It's hard to get a lock on what you're aiming for. Many times you will find the system locking onto the wrong objects, or simply not locking on at all. That is probably my only gripe though.
All in all with a new direction and a strong emphasis on driving the story combined with tight controls, fun combat and a beautiful soundtrack. This is a Metroid that truly feels "next gen" and is also fun as hell to play!