Another look at Metroid: Other M

With Metroid Prime, Retro Studios brought Samus into the third dimension, crafting an experience that recaptured the spirit of Super Metroid while still managing to make it feel new.  That accomplishment remains undiminished.

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With Metroid: Other M, Nintendo and Team Ninja have collaborated to create a game that feels more like Metroid Fusion, than it does its narrative predecessor.  There is fun to be had inside the walls of the Bottle Ship (Other M’s setting), but it’s hampered by odd gameplay/control decisions and an overwrought anime-style melodramatic storyline.

The first hiccup is the portrayal of Samus herself, a melancholy, emotionally suppressed individual with serious Daddy issues, juxtaposed with a misplaced maternal instinct.  Hardly the stoic and enigmatic figure we had come to know from previous games, drawn that way either by design or technological necessity.  The problem isn’t that she has feelings, it’s that she’s emotionally and—in terms of gameplay—physically stunted by them.

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At the beginning of the game Samus turns off most of her abilities out of respect for her former commander and current father figure, Adam Malkovich.  Later, he makes it official policy that she is not to use her powers until he gives her authorization.  It’s an attempt by the game makers to contextually legitimize Samus once again loosing her powers only to regain them one by one, but in this instance the context reads false.

Her power should be seen as an asset rather than an emasculating female presence.  Not using a more powerful weapon or protective heat shielding, when doing so would greatly increase her chances of survival, doesn’t make a lot of sense, and comes across as petty on Adam’s part.

But enough narrative and physiological mumbo jumbo, what about the game?  As a kind of throwback to 2D gaming, Nintendo and Team Ninja eschew the 3D first person adventure format of the Prime series (well, save for one aspect, but we’ll get to that in a bit) and focus more on creating a side-scroller that happens to take place in 3D space.

You hold the Wii remote sideways using the D pad for movement, which is about all you need given that the most common way to get from one point to the next is a straight line.  There is still need for exploration and you do have the ability to travel in eight directions but navigating three dimensional space is not this game’s strong suit.

Overall the experience is surprisingly linear.  Similar to Fusion’s design, the game is very guided rather than one that allows for the exploration of a more open world.  On several occasions doors that were previously open would lock inexplicably, forcing the player down a single narrow path.  If you’re the kind of player that likes to backtrack, looking for items you missed the first time around, you’ll have to wait for the game’s narrative to lead you back to those previously unreachable power ups.

As for the combat, you need simply face Samus in the general direction you want to shoot and her auto aim will take care of the rest.  The designers have also added a quick dodge move to evade incoming attacks.  In the Prime series you could dodge attacks at will, waiting for just the right moment; here you need only tap the D pad just before an attack makes contact.  This implementation can often lead to mashing the D pad rather than careful observation and quick reflexes.

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The game also sports a first person view which you’ll need to utilize in order to fire missiles, find secrets, and defeat certain enemies.  To do this you need to turn your remote, giving up the ability to move, and point it at the screen.  While the first person mechanic technically works, in practice it’s a hassle.  Often you’ll find yourself frantically trying to turn around in the middle of combat because you were facing the wrong way when you pointed at the screen, or taking a tremendous amount of damage because you’re stuck in one place.

Another new addition is the way the game allows you to refill your health and missiles.  No longer do health and missiles get left behind by defeated enemies.  Instead missiles can be replenished at any time by turning the remote upright and holding down the A button.

Health can be refilled by save stations, or, if it gets low enough, you’ll be prompted to perform the same motion you use to replenish your missiles.  This will give you back a little bit of health so as to keep the fight going, but you’ll have to find a place away from danger so your suit has time to recharge (one hit and you’ll have to start over).  It’s a new and interesting approach to health and missile management but it makes killing enemies less necessary.  Instead you may often find yourself just running past them rather than wasting time fighting them and potentially getting hit, as finishing the fight yields little benefit.

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Metroid: Other M is the logical progression of, and prequel to, Metroid Fusion.  It’s a more guided and narrative heavy experience than what one might expect from the offspring of Super Metroid, and that’s precisely what makes it hard to recommend.  New gameplay and storytelling mechanics have been added, but it is these very attempts to inject new life into a familiar formula that ultimately damages the foundations upon which Metroid is built.