Review: Metroid Other M – Plot hurts solid gameplay

By: Sergio Montealegre / Columnist

Metroid: Other M is a game for Nintendo’s Wii with tough choices for me.

Not in the sense that it had me stumped for long, but in that it has a hard time trying to decide if it’s a Metroid game or not.

Beginning during the final moments of Super Nintendo’s Super Metroid, Samus Aran recounts her battle with the tyranic Mother Brain as it killed a baby Metroid, a jellyfish-like alien, that saw Samus as its mother, trying to protect her.

Weeks later, Samus is still in a slump when her ship intercepts a distress signal from a research space station called the Bottle Ship.

On board, she encounters her old unit from the Galactic Federation including her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich.

Other M plays similarly to Super Metroid in its 2D platform jumping segments while incorporating a 3D plane into the mix.

First-person aiming, used by pointing the Wii remote at the screen, lets players shoot missiles and scan the surrounding environment.

While combat won’t deviate very much from firing energy blasts at enemies, battles are the fastest the series has seen, meaning players can expect to face mobs of enemies or fast-moving boss creatures.

Players also have the ability to quickly dodge attacks and to deliver devastating finishing blows to larger enemies, usually killing them instantly.

The game is also one of the largest narrative endeavours Nintendo has done with any of their major franchises, including full voice acting and a movie-like script guiding the game along every step of the way.

That’s exactly where it hits a snag.

Because of how ingrained the gameplay is to the plot, the player has very little opportunity to break away from the story, meaning the whole journey is a straight line.

Rooms are purposely locked and weapons prevented from being used until the player triggers an event. This leads to a few awkward moments in the game.

Yes, Adam. Let me run through a lava infested lake taking damage from the heat, only to finally give me permission to use an item that stops that near the end of the level.

The story is also suffering from being too melodramatic or wordy at times. Samus often interrupts gameplay to monologue about why she would give thumbs downs at meetings or why Malkovich called her “Lady”, each bordering on long-winded and more grating with the mediocre voice talent.

It almost felt like I was playing Metal Gear Solid 4 again with how often or how long some cutscenes ran.

Other annoyances come from “Where’s Waldo?” sequences where the player is forced to find clues in a scene.

I literally spent five minutes looking for one in the grass behind Samus.

While the game sports an orchestra performed soundtrack, these tracks are reserved for big battles, normal areas using ambient noise to set an eerie atmosphere in the game’s various levels in the game.

Visually, Other M is a nice looking game as far as Wii titles go, though the stronger emphasis on 2D gameplay means it’s not as visually impressive as the Metroid Prime trilogy.

Other M is a departure from the series’ largely silent roots, offering a more narrative driven experience than past games in the series.

While the story falls flat at times and will likely leave players cracking jokes instead of sympathizing with the characters, the gameplay is solid enough that the story could have been removed and the game would not have suffered.

The adventure is on the short side of the spectrum, a full run possible in about 15 hours at the most, leaving it open for additional quick plays.

With how tightly restricted the gameplay is to keep in line with the plot, the journey may not be as compelling a second time around.

SCORE: 7/10 – Worth a rental, though only major fans may enjoy the narrative.

Metroid: Other M was completed by the reviewer with a final time of 15 hours and 27 minutes with 100% item completion.

Press Start is a weekly column on video games. Look for it every Monday. The reviewer is not paid or compensated for positive reviews.