2/2

Drop the Drama, Fire up the Beams!
The action is mainly made up of close-quarter battles with colourful and often silly alien life forms. Metroid: Other M has its moments where it brings in some tense battles deserving of the action titles legacy. However, once you battle a new creature, the thrill dissipates and you will simply be going through the motions. Of course this is expected as Metroid has never been one for advanced A.I. behaviour. Other M is all based on patterns and once you have them down for each type of adversary it’s a cakewalk. This isn’t the case for the boss battles, which for the most part is appropriately more difficult with enlarged set-ups. These battles help to make weeding through the clones worth the effort and sever up some of the best moments in the game.

Breaking things up from the combat is small, but important exploration breaks where you have a chance to absorb the atmosphere before moving on to the next promoted skirmish. Team Ninja did an excellent job in the design of the ‘Bottle Ship’ margining it with the narratives lore while keeping enough diversely in the locations to keep the game fresh. This also includes searching out hidden power-ups and rolling around in her morph ball form throughout the structure. Other M could be considered more linear and restrictive, or you could see it as more focused and driven. That part is up for interpretation, for me, the game was a little slow to start, but picked up the pace once it (or should I say Samus) got rolling.

Authorize This!
One issue I had with Metroid: Other M is how they set up Samus progression regarding her weapons. Samus was restricted to her standard weapons until Adam “authorized” that new weapons could be used. This would be understandable if Samus was part of the Federation forces, but she’s not. I understand the game wanted to build your sense of progression and power simultaously, but this storyline wasn’t the way to do it. Samus is still a bounty hunter, isn't she?! Auhtorize this Adam!

Another issue I had with Metroid: Other M was the use of standard save points rather then an auto-checkpoint feature. The save points do come along every so often, but given the nature of a shooter, it would have been more conducive if they included auto-checkpoints and balanced the game more towards quick play sessions for all the gamers who don’t always have enough time to find and save points in tthe game. This “older” execution of save points isn't a major deal in the grand scale of the game, but it is worth mentioning.

Metroid: Other M might not be exactly how you expected the Metroid series to evolve, but by no means does that mean Metroid’s new direction of a more story-driven action shooter isn’t the way to go. Initially it might be a little too sappy for some, but once Samus gets rolling her melancholy shadow starts to drift away. Saved by a quick paced combat system, some thrilling boss battles and the intricately designed Bottle Ship, Metroid: Other M comes out on top. This isn’t quite the jump like Prime was, but it is still a Metroid game that all fans should check out. Lastly, if you haven’t played a Metroid title in the past, Metroid: Other M is a great place to start as it offers the most insight the character of Samus while being firmly rooted in the fast paced shooting action that started it all.

		Enjoyed a more serious (and talkative) Samus (even if it was over sappy) Although slow to start, the story really picks up near the end The overall production and graphics are above expectations Fast action with several satisfying battles and boss encounters The Bottle Ship is intricately designed
		When did the Metroid series become a Soap Opera? A few of the bosses look more cute then scary Counterproductive stuck in 1st person mechanics Filled with brainless, generic enemies Save points, auto save check points would have been nice Samus has to be “authorized” to use her weapons, huh?!

Similar Games: Metroid Prime: Corruption (9.5)