This was the one game I simply didn’t have time to lay hands on at E3 (the lines were too long and our press tour had already been completed), so I settled for a heavy bit of observation and thought I’d wait for the August release date.
Well, here we are a week and a half prior, and I’m here to report everything I’m currently authorized to. Chances are, I’ve had a lot of the same questions about the game as many of you, most notably 1) Does it work and 2) Does it actually feel like Metroid? While you shouldn’t expect me to commit to those answers prior to the actual review (which goes live on August 27th), perhaps these impressions will leave you with some insight as to how I’m feeling.
From the beginning, it’s obvious that this isn’t Prime. In fact, it’s hardly comparable in tone and approach to any other Metroid title apart from, possibly, Metroid Fusion. There’s a much heavier social presence laced throughout the game, serving as sort of a wake-up call from the usual Metroid loneliness. Action-packed cut scenes and spoken dialogue are cornerstones of the storyline, and you’ll immediately feel the influence of Team Ninja.
Throughout the opening sequences (which are honestly about 50/50 FMV/gameplay), Samus narrates to provide her personal take on the events which befell her at the end of Super Metroid. In case you haven’t played it, now would be the best time: close this browser tab, go bust out the old SNES, and get down to it.
Samus cleans up in Sector 1
For everyone else, you know what I’m talking about: the baby Metroid returns to suck the life out of Samus at the end of the game, and at the very last moment, hesitates, is killed by Mother Brain, and then (unwittingly?) yields its power to Samus via its debris (tce points out: Duh, Steve, you missed the point; it sucks the life out of Mother Brain and then gives it to Samus). Other M picks up right after the completion of these events, with Samus awakening in the ER and, shortly after, suiting up and returning to action. She follows a distress call to a decrepit “bottle ship” nearby thanks to a gut feeling, and there, she encounters the Galactic Federation, who decides to accept her help in searching the ship for survivors.
You can get the plot on Wikipedia, but the more important thing here is what happens following this sequence of events. The E3 demo didn’t provide much beyond that in terms of gameplay, so it might have left you concerned that we’d be seeing a lackluster/generic third-person action/adventure title as opposed to another critically acclaimed Metroid. Fortunately, after all of the dust settles and the introductory boss battle against the weird purple blob-like creature is behind you, the exploration finally kicks in, and Samus sets out on her lonesome into the perilous depths of this enormous ship.
The music also dials back at this point and starts sounding more atmospheric and less action-oriented—again, more like Metroid, and while it might not be as memorable and melodic as some of Yamamoto’s stuff, it’s perfectly suited nonetheless (and at times, I actually think I like it a lot).
Phendrana, is that you? …No.
Upon reaching the Main Elevator room (as you’ll witness in one of our three exclusive direct-feed videos I’ve just posted), things really begin to open up. The first sector you’ll explore is Sector 1, which is very much reminiscent of Brinstar, though this time you’ll find more industrial undertones beyond the foliage, of course, as you are exploring a ship, not a planet. While this is where things really start feeling like a Metroid game, it’s still quite linear in design. Don’t let that bother you too much, however, as exploration is still a heavy emphasis and the dialogue immediately backs off and (finally) lets you suck in your surroundings. It doesn’t feel linear, and it finally at this point begins to resemble the Metroid experience we know and love.
You’ll encounter plenty of familiar life forms here, as well as some new ones, such as these nasty giant Venus Fly Trap relatives which are more interested in Samus meat than insects. There are a couple of rooms that actually remind me of moments in Prime as well, such as the one you’ve seen on our video with the gigantic pillar overgrown with vegetation in the center (it sort of resembles the tree room from Chozo Ruins). Thus far, the art design and environmental complexity doesn’t have me wowed like Prime did—it’s definitely a simpler game in terms of that stuff, so don’t get too excited about that. But also, it’s a totally different sort of game. Since it isn’t first-person, you’ll do less intensive examination and are probably going to be more interested in simply exploring anyway… so it’s not all bad. Just don’t expect any Phendrana Drifts visual “wow” moments going in and you’ll be all right.
“It’s feeding on the rays!”
The map constantly displays an arrow indicating the direction of your next target, sort of like Metroid Fusion. Again, it’s a mission-based game of sorts, and you’ll receive somewhat irregular spoken briefings from your former commander, Adam, to that end. Fortunately, much of the “getting there” involves classic Metroid explorative techniques, and I’m not ashamed to admit that there were at least a couple of moments where I’d classify myself as verifiably lost. The scope of the environments is never terribly overwhelming this time—in general, you’ll know what’s there to explore once you carve deeply enough into it, so that’s a little bit different also. But that isn’t to say that the game is small; on the contrary, even Sector 1 is pretty huge. And there are some pretty cool larger rooms underpinned by your typical morph ball puzzles and the like, so the game will elicit smiles from even the most unmovable purists.
Getting back to the story-driven elements for a moment here, Samus will occasionally (as in, not very often) interject with her thoughts/reactions to particular key moments. It’s a somewhat jarring thing at first, but you get used to it before long, and the dialogue isn’t as cheesy as some of the stuff you remember from the opening FMV that was floating around post-E3. There’s just enough of these moments to break up the explorative lull without ruining the Metroid sensation, so all in all, I’d say most fans will be pleased with the pacing and tone, as different as it may be. Again, just think Fusion.
Oh, and I know the design of this impressions article is sort of chaotic, so sorry about that. But I just remembered something else I need to address: the auto-aim system. At first I was pretty bummed that you don’t really have to aim much at all. In corridors, you can spam the A button and kill flying creatures with hardly any effort at all. However, when things open up, you’ll be thanking the Gods for this mechanic, as I really don’t think there was any other sane way to implement this from a 3-D isometric third-person approach. Yes, it’s different, but then again, maybe it’s yet another argument that we still need some more 2-D Metroid action in the future. It’s just a totally different type of game.
Besides, any time you switch to first-person by pointing the Wii remote at the screen, it’s obviously the best kind of aiming possible: Wii remote aiming. This switching mechanic works pretty well most of the time, though in the heat of battle it can be a little tricky (as there’s a short transitional delay between the viewpoints).
Samus probably used first-person view for this one
As for the difficulty, it’s definitely no walk in the park, that’s for sure. There are NO health pickups; if you get really, really low, you can exercise a technique where you sit still for a few moments and hold A while pointing the Wii remote upward; it’s called “Concentration”. This refills your missiles and your first energy tank. Thankfully, in between save points you will also find regular checkpoints, such as just before a boss battle or tricky sequence. I personally enjoy the addition of these, as the game doesn’t have to hold back on challenge at all as a result.
Anyway, that just about wraps up my thoughts for the first two hours of play. While the game doesn’t immediately scream Metroid, after spending some time with it, I think most gamers will find that the core formula is still alive and well, albeit encased in a more story-driven shell this time around. Sort of like Metroid Fusion, but with voice acting and an even heavier emphasis on plot, and perhaps, linearity.
Got questions? Leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them for you! Do keep in mind, however, that only the first two hours of gameplay can be discussed. Thanks for following our coverage of Metroid: Other M at DigitalChumps.com, and stay tuned for my full review this Friday, August 27th.