Man, this blog is quite overdue. I guess I procrastinate more than my videos for my blogs. But I still want to write down my thoughts for Metroid Other M even if I haven't played the game in over a month. That, and I want to show my arguments on the game that has gamers across the internet screaming in agony. To the point where they even call the game complete garbage and deem the Metroid series is now ruined.
"Face it! Breakf-I mean, Metroid is ruined!"
Really? Runied? I know this wasn't the amazing game Nintendo tried to market it as, but it's not the worst butchering of a series in my opinion. That honor belongs to Double Dragon V. Anyway, this blog will be my counterarguments against the aspects nearly EVERYONE complained about, but they are still a few things I'll agree with to a lesser extent.
Now as a series, I enjoy Metroid quite a bit. I have all the games and like them all, hell, I even got a kick out of Metroid Prime Pinball. So keep in mind that as a Metroid fan, I actually didn't mind most of the things people complained about. On the advise on my friends and knowing it's not very long, I rented it, but also mostly due to my usual lack of money. I may still get the game for Metroid collection sake once the price goes down.
I also don't mind the fact that this was made in collaboration with Team Ninja. Nintendo tends to have third parties make their games sometimes (see Star Fox after 64) and I thought Team Ninja did a good job in knowing how Metroid works while incorporating new twists on the Metroid formula. It's not punishingly difficult like the Ninja Gaiden games, but still challenging (well, unless you play the hard mode that's unlocked after beating the game) and Samus thankfully doesn't have her breasts ballooned with individual physics for each breast (which would be odd while Samus is wearing her armor, I'll admit).
Team Ninja could've made this MUCH worst, trust me.
First off, did I enjoy the game? Yes, I did. I thought it was a good game. Not the best Metroid game, but in terms of gameplay (which most people didn't seem to mind but STILL hated the game overall) I liked some of the aspects incorporated. I liked the idea of switching between 3rd person and first person as it combines aspects of classic Metroid and Metroid Prime. Though, the game isn't classic sidescrolling as I originally thought the game was going to be, sort of like how Shadow Complex on XBLA was. Other M has samus move in 3D, but with a fixed camera most of the time, which is a little awkward at first considering the entire game is controlled with only the Wii-mote and you move with the D-pad. But the level design does work okay for the most part with Samus's movement, though analog control probably would have worked a bit better for movement.
Aiming in first person is done by tilting the Wii point towards the screen and I found it to work pretty well. Aiming is the only way to use missiles as well as "scan" areas, which you find certain spots to find in order to progress the story or see what is required to destroy an obstacle. These "find the spot" segments are a bit annoying at times I'll admit, because sometimes finding things isn't always obvious. You also can't move during these parts and have to use the B button along with aiming to move your viewpoint. A little awkward I'll admit, but I got used to it after a little while.
Combat is handles a bit different this time around. You shoot with the 2 button with some semblence of auto aiming and you can charge your cannon for a large blast. Firing missile weapons is done by the aforementioned aiming at the screen and pressing A. You can also dodge attacks by pressing a direction on the d-pad just before an attack hits Samus. There are also context sensitive moments where Samus finishes off enemies with a point blank charge shot or even tossing enemies around like they were nothing. There are even certain scenes where Samus has to dodge something and the game won't prompt a button press. This makes it more seemless than other games that use simular context sensitive moments. It can be a little annoying if caught off guard, but these parts not nearly as excessive and obvious in games like God of War or Resident Evil 4.
The stories in the Resident Evil games are pretty stupid too if you think about it, although there are not nearly as many inner monologues...
Samus's other abilities are also intact. Morphball works pretty much like in previous games, and other equipment like the speedbooster and grapple beam work similarly with a few modifications to work in this game. The beam upgrades are stacked on top of each other much like the games since Metroid Fusion. One interesting change is that power bombs are actually infinite in this game, but has a large cool down time and you won't be able to use them until you're near the end of the game anyway.
Speaking of which, acquiring new abilities and upgrades is done slightly different than the traditional methods. You can still look through every nook and cranny to find upgrades for missiles, energy tanks, and the new charger accelerators to decrease arm cannon charging time. However, missiles are only upgraded by one missile and in addition to energy tanks, there are energy "parts" where you collect four to gain a new energy tank (Legend of Zelda Heart pieces much?). There are also recovery tanks that are used to recover health when you are low and go into "focus," another new mechanic introduced.
Focus is used to replenish missiles and health, the latter of which takes longer to replenish and will only be able to do when Samus's health is critical. You do this by tilting the Wii-mote upwards (not pointing at the screen) and holding A. Then it'll take a while for Samus to replenish ammo and health, leaving her vulnerable during combat. And since there are no replenishing item drops from enemies (I know, a little unorthodox compared to previous Metroid games, but this is how the game is designed) you have to be careful during battles (especially bosses) since you can only fully recover health in save rooms, which thankfully are not too far apart most of the time. And if you do die, you usually continue in the general area you started in.
Going back to upgrades, it actually turns out Samus already has all of her abilities, but is restricted by the commanding officer Adam Malkovich (which should sound familiar for those that played Fusion) who does this because he doesn't want Samus to accidentally destroy something vital to the mission he's on or get one of his team members accidentally killed, hence why you can't use abilities like power bombs early on.
Though some abilities are questionable to being restricted until Adam authorizes. I'll admit, it's a bit far-fetched to not authorize the Varia suit in the lava area until later on, but it's following Metroid logic. All the games force you to go through areas with lesser abilities, then gain them and go back to previous areas to progress or find upgrades. It's no different here except the reason is different other than Samus losing her abilities and having to regain them all, which would be pretty silly at this point.
"Samus, I'm authorizing you to lose all your abilities, then somehow regain them! ...wait, what?"
Also, taking orders from Adam when she's a supposed bounty hunter turned off a lot of people and that it took away from Samus's character. First of all, Samus has taken orders from the Federation before in previous games, so she isn't exactly a "do whatever she feels like" silent bounty hunter like a lot people seem to think. Second, Samus respects Adam and he is essentially Samus's father figure. Yeah, you heard me, F-A-T-H-E-R F-I-G-U-R-E, not in love! She even blatantly says that at one point! Third, later on in the game (minor spoiler), Samus actually activates abilities to progress on her own when Adam goes missing.
Now for the one thing that NO ONE. STOPS. COMPLAINING. ABOUT. The story and character of Samus. I'll get this out the way first: It's not well written. I think my friend SCR said it best in his Vlog of Other M. SHOW don't TELL. The dialog is written in such a bad literal sense it's baffling at times. At one time when Samus recollects about Adam, she literally says "I heard Adam's voice in my head." Really? Though the overall plot isn't necessarily bad for Metroid and Samus monologues to herself often on the current situation and her past, which gamers HATED the entire game simply due to the fact she apparently does it too much. You can blame Yoshio Sakamoto for this though, as he was a co-creator of Metroid and writer for this game, which pretty much makes him the sole reason most fans hated the game.
I will agree with everyone that Sakamoto tried too hard to bring back story and characterization for Samus and that it's not executed well. But I did tolerate most of it for whatever reason. Then again, I tend to tolerate a lot of games...with a few exceptions...
I didn't hate Other M, but this gets more riled up then those that did hate Other M, believe me...
Besides, the story takes place after Super Metroid but before Metroid Fusion, the latter of which introduced aspects and key story arcs that were expanded on in this game. Because of this, the story is a bit excessive I'll admit. But it is kind of bold for Nintendo to try and incorporate more story and characters in a series that, let's face it, barely had any most of the time. Plus, if anything, Nintendo will take note of the backlash and tone down the intensity of the story aspects and not have Sakamoto write ever again, hence why I don't think the series is exactly "ruined."
As for the characters, I don't mind them, even if most of them are just generic Federation soldiers to get killed throughout the game and Adam is your typical hardened commander. The best character BY FAR is Anthony Higgins, who is the typical, but lovable black character and the main reason why Metroid Other M is recognized by the memetastic internet.
He may be the victim of a meme, but he's still the best character in the game.
The character of Samus I don't think is THAT bad in this game. Yes, I know of the scene where she locks up and it's supposed to show that she still fears certain things despite being a bounty hunter. It's not executed very well and doesn't make much sense compared to previous continuity, I know, blame Sakamoto. But other than said cutscene (and maybe one other), I don't mind how the characterization was portrayed here too much during the rest of the game. I honestly don't think it's HORRIBLE like a lot of people said, I've seen worse in Japanese games in general, but I'll admit it could have been better.
If you ignore the "one" cutscene, Samus is still pretty badass.
In terms of voice acting, it's a mixed bag. Samus's voice is very monotone most of the time, which doesn't help with the bad writing and monologues and when Samus does emote, it's jarring due to the abrupt change of tone. The rest of the voice acting however, is adequate.
The graphics are very good for the Wii, having great looking CGI cutscenes, (if you can ignore the constant "baby Metroid" spouting during them, stupid Sakamoto writing...) and the in game graphics are nicely detailed and clearly show what the Wii can do even if it's not the most powerful console in this generation. Props to Team Ninja on that. Music is also good with original music along with faithful remixes of classic Metroid music.
Level design and gameplay, like I said, is good for the most part. But I do think the game is fairly short as I beat the game and found all the items in around ten hours. Plus, while the areas are fairly big, there are only about four areas to explore, which is kind of small compared to previous titles.
Overall, I thought this was an okay game. Yes, I know the writing is AWFUL sometimes and the cutscenes can be a tad long and over dramatic. But it's still not nearly as bad as some gamers say in my opinion as a game. I'm not saying they are wrong, just that the hate has been overblown and exaggerated to the point where apparently story and characterization is more important then the actual gameplay. I'll admit, I rolled my eyes at a few things regarding the story and character of Samus, but when I play a video game, I usually focus on gaming aspects first, THEN see how much I should analyze and judge a game's story (if there is one worth mentioning) depending on how it's done and how it effects the overall game's entertainment. Unlike certain other gamers...
"I played the game for 2 hours then watched someone else play it! My arguments are valid!"
This isn't the best Metroid, but still a decent Metroid in my opinion. Team Ninja did an interesting take on Metroid and Sakamoto...well, hire some writers please, you're not a very good writer. Seriously, it's almost as bad as Sonic Teams' story writers. I'd recommend a rental for this as it's clearly not for everyone. If you can tolerate the bad writing and monologue cutscenes, then you might still enjoy the game if you like Metroid, hell, there's even a couple bosses you'll recognize from previous games that will surprise you. If you're more like the snarky guy I just pictured above, well...you probably won't like it.
Well, that's about all I can think of for this game, thanks for reading and I'll try to post more game related blogs more frequently. (And please note that I only disagree with Spoonyone's opinion on Other M and do not mean any offense. I still enjoy his work. Irate gamer on the other hand...)
No comments:
Post a Comment