Could have been a lot better but instead you have the worst Metriod game released.
- Metriod
- Metriod II - Return of Samus
- Super Metriod
- Metriod Prime
- Metriod Fusion
- Metriod Zero Mission
I was really looking forward to this game when I was seeing the previews and jumped out and got the game when gamespot give it a good review. Figuring that hey gamespot likes to rate wii games low I figure it's going to be better than the rating states.
Boy was I wrong:
Graphics/Sound - 9.5
Let's start with the good however. This is one of the best looking wii games out there and at times this can be mistaken for a HD console game. I don't remember having many slow down issues with the game at all and the cutscence are pretty good graphic wise. The sound is good as well.
Music - 7.0
Now that I got that out of the way let's start with the bad. I'm not a fan of the music used in this game. There is too much of a Metal Gear feel to the music which just seems out of place to me. Late in the game they get it right and the remixes are good, but there is nothing original here like with the other Metriod games I've played (e.g. - Super Metriod & Prime).
Story - 4.5
Yep, that's right. The story is pretty bad in this game. They even put a label on the game package stating "With voiced movies." Say what? Why would you need to say that. Anyway, the story is just really bad and Samus sounds monotone and emo. I think they killed a lot of what people would perceive as Samus personality would be. There is also a piece of the story about a "deleter" that never get resolved and your just wondering what the hell the story writers were thinking. Other times Samus' monologues are about completely very obvious things that makes you wonder why the hell did I need to hear that just shut up and let me mindlessly kill monsters with deathblows. There are some illogical moments as well like when Samus runs into Ridley that you may have heard or read about already. Bear in mind that this game is timelined after the events of Metriod, Metriod II, the entire Prime series, and Super Metriod. This would mean that Samus would have defeated and killed Ridley over 4 times by now. This particular scence would have made more sense in the original metriod, but definetly not in this installment. There are other issues like her interaction with Adam which can make you gag (Or want to Jesus Face Plam yourself like when your literally dying from heat because Adam hasn't authorized the varia suit yet), but really refer to the many blogs and videos like G4's review or Zero Punctuation's review for that.
Gameplay - 7.0
This is actually one of the redeeming qualities of the game, however, it's also flawed. For example, for some odd reason the developers thought it was a great idea to have you play this game with the d-pad only instead of implementing nichunck support. This is essences makes moving around a bit odd at first, but the biggest gripe I have is this kills any ability to move in 1st person mode. You have to go into 1st person mode to fire missile which is extremely lame and I'm not a fan of the autoaim feature. It would be a lot better if there was a lock on feature where you had the ability to run/strafe and shoot at the same time but instead your normally standing around and firing your just madly tapping the d pad so you can auto-dodge. Look past all of these gripes though honestly if the game completely lacked a story and this is what I had to play this would be a lot better game for it though that isn't saying too much. I really liked the morph ball in this version of metriod though. I wish they worked on it more like how they did with the first Prime game. It would have also been nice to get the power bombs earlier in the game to play around with or have them involved in the morph ball areas.
Replay Value - 6.0
Once you beat the game there isn't much too it. There are no secret boss, no alternative endings, no customs to unlock. Really for the price of admission games like Shadow Complex which is a $12 Xbox Arcade game offers a hell of a lot more, the same sub-par story line, but with great gameplay and the same exploration and free-roaming your used to in other Metriod titles. The game lasts about 12 hours which is high for a Metroid game, but it just doesn't feel as great as the other installments.
Overall - 6.5
This game is by far the worst Metriod game out there. I guess it's not that bad though. Other Nintendo characters like Link and Mario have done a hell of a lot worse, but this is a sub-par outing by Nintendo. I personally think some reviewers gave Other M a slight rating hike because it's a Nintendo branded character, but I'm not giving Nintendo a pass for this title. This is more of an action game. When I think action games, I think games like God of War, Metal Gear, Devil May Cry, and Bayonetta. All these games are far more superior than Other M. Hell of I compared female characters Bayonetta is way better than this Other M characteration of Samus which is pretty funny because Bayonetta is definetly more of a Team Ninja type of character except with smaller boobs. I guess my gripe is more because I played Bayonetta right after Other M and realized how crappy of a game Other M was as an action game.
Do your self a favor and skip this title or just wait until it's really cheap in the bargain bins. Or just wait until Prime Triology hits the bargain bins and buy that instead if you want to play a next gen Metriod game.