a different but great Metroid experience
This game has put more of an emphasis on the story this time. We see Samus go from a 1-dimensional character to a 3-dimensional character, and therefore we get to hear her talk much more than we usually do, whether it be her talking amongst other characters or when she gives her own commentary after certain events. samus was pretty much how she was in Metroid Fusion, only more fleshed out than that. It's nice to hear Samus's thoughts and feelings on things as she traverses the now mostly isolated Bottle Ship and to learn more about Samus's younger years when she was in under Adam's command.
This Metroid game also added voice-acting, something that wasn't really in past Metroid games (unless you want to count all the "oomph's" and "aaahhhs" samus made in the Prime games). It wasn't bad, but could have done a bit better probably, but still, many of the characters had voices I could see them having, and none never really got on my nerves. So I have no issue.
The story overall is quite good considering it's one of the first metroid games to really put a large focus on story. There are interesting twists to spice things up, such as the occurrence of the "deleter." And it's also nice to get see what Adam is like, since we only got to knew of him in Fusion when Samus talked about him or when dealing with the computer Adam.
GAMEPLAY: Metroid Other M changed things up a bit with the Metroid formula this time. There's more of an emphasis on action now, and the game is more linear then most other Metroid games. Samus can now dodge by pressing any direction on the D-Pad right before an enemy hits. She can also pull off powerful finishers by jumping on certain enemies to kill them or deal heavy damage. There's also auto aim now, where the nearest enemy gets targeted for you. overall the action-based combat was pulled off very well. battles now feel more intense now that you have to worry about timing your dodges and fighting enemies is fun now with finishing moves along and the dodge mechanic.
Another change is that this game is now in 2.5. you'll be switching between two viewpoints, one being a third person view where you run and gun as Samus and jump around, and then a first person view like metroid Prime's you utilize by pointing the Wii-mote at the TV where you can use missiles, grapple beam, and scan stuff. And this brings me to another point, and that's that this game is controlled with ONLY the Wii-mote, no nunchuck. You'll be moving with the D-pad and the 1 and 2 buttons to jump and attack, A button to morph ball, etc.
Considering this is an action game controlled with ONLY a Wii-mote, the fact that game controls quite fluidly and the combat works well is quite impressive. I had no issues using all weapons or moving around. There were some iffy moments when trying to switch to first person and it's hard to get used to at first, but most of the time it worked well. team Ninja really did a good job mapping the controls to just the Wii-mote.
One addition I wasn't crazy about is when Samus was forced into first person view and had you trying to look for a certain thing in the surrounding area. These usually took me a while because a some of them were just so obscured and hard to see, that and sometimes I didn't know what to really look for. These parts of the game only ended up breaking the flow of the story and gameplay. It just ended up being an annoying, stale version of "I Spy", if anything.
Also, like most other Metroids, Samus starts out with none of her powers except her normal beam, though instead of her losing the abilities due to getting attacked (Metroid prime 1 and 2), or for no explanation, she isn't able to use them due to Adam having to authorize when she is allowed to use them in Other M. Sometimes it can be silly, but reasons for her not being able use all of her powers in past Metroids were silly as well, so it doesn't really matter.
Now while there were some changes to this Metroid game, this game actually still felt alot like a Metroid game. Many of the weapons, upgrades, and power-ups in previous Metroid games returned in Other M, plus some new ones such as accelerators for your charge beam. many enemies and bosses from previous Metroids also made a comeback in Other M. many of the areas you will go through will be like those of past Metroid games (Wildlife, nature area, ice wasteland area, magma, volcanic area, laboratory, etc.). There is plenty of ambient music along with these areas like past Metroid games. And most importantly, there is still exploration to be had in Other M even though it is more linear. There will be plenty of times you will backtrack to certain areas to get a power-up you may have missed last time due to not seeing it or not being able to reach it due to not having an ability authorized. There are plenty of secret passages or hidden spots scattered around the game with missile expansions and energy parts, etc. In the 11 hours it took me to beat the game I got only 65% of all items, so even after all that time there was still much more spelunking to do. This plus a hard mode gives Other M replayability. Ninja team did not forget the Metroid fanbase when making this game. I really felt I was playing Metroid game while playing Other M
PRESENTATION: The Graphics in this game are terrific. The game has a nice polish and shine to it and everything is nicely detailed. The way Samus runs through areas and tackles and pins enemies is also nicely animated, and the cutscenes in this game are very well done and look great. The music as I've already mentioned is ambient like past Metroids. Music wasn't quite as strong in Other M as it was in past installments, but there's still some good music.
OVERALL: While there have been some changes, most of which worked, this still felt like a Metroid adventure. Metroid Other M had really fun combat and it was interesting to go deeper into Samus's character. Not the best Metroid game but still a damn good Metroid game.