Sunday, August 29, 2010

Other M

Alright, going to just cut the chase here and get the ball rolling.

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I had the opportunity two days ago to play a few hours into Metroid: Other M.

I'm going to admit that I had my eye on this game and had assumed with my very honed (and sexy) gaming sense that it was going to suck really hard.

I'd not enjoyed the Prime series for ONE reason:
I think Super Metroid is one of the best games ever made.

That being said, I could not take any other entry into the series as a serious effort to evolve the Metroid series (naturally, Metroid Fusion and Zero are exempt from this extremely judgmental and probably unfair generalization).

ANYWAY.

I was expecting Other M to go the way of the Prime; good selling games, but not METROID games.

No.
I could not have been more wrong.
Other M is possibly one of the best games I have ever played.
And not for it's dialogue, or graphics... but for how the game fucking plays.

It's a direct sequel to SUPER METROID, which instantly almost gave me an erection.

From side-scrolling classic Metroid game play, to where the game forces you into an over-the-shoulder perspective when it's appropriate... to even smaller touches like pushing you into Samus' helmet and locking you in place until you find what plot element you're supposed to be looking at to propel the story in a new direction.
It's directed in such a creative way.
Along with the classic game play elements found in previous games in the series, a flurry of new features have made their way into Samus' moveset.
For one example, you can grapple enemies when your beam is charged, dealing out a good amount of damage while looking pretty goddamn awesome.

As for the atmosphere and tone this game sets, it's almost flawlessly 'Metroid'.

That lonely, desolate feeling.
Strange creatures, and enticing branching pathways (that you don't have access to... yet).

I simply wish more games were made this way, but then again.. if they were, I highly doubt Other M would be as good as it is.

It should probably be played by anyone who considers themselves a long time gamer.

5 comments:

  1. What other systems do you have besides Wii?

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  2. PS3 is actually the only system I officially own. I have enough experience with every console, though.

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  3. I hated being frozen in place and being forced to find what they thought I should look at. Each time it was something tiny and meaningless, and the 'lock on' thing wouldn't show up unless you stopped right on it. It should have just been a normal cut scene, or removed altogether.

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  4. At first I didn't like being locked in place and I actually thought the game glitched.
    Once I got the hang of it, though... it turned into a pretty cool element.

    And it's more about the developers being ballsy enough to introduce an element like that and forge ahead on new ground, which is exactly what the industry needs right now.

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  5. Yeah, it wasn't a terrible idea, but the way they used it was horrible.For one part it had me look at an insignia. The insignia was of no significance to me, and was barely visible. It's entire purpose was to take a break between cut scenes without actually letting you play.

    The one with the goo/blood would have been great though if it simply stood out more. That was a part of the game where freezing you and telling you to look around made sense.

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