Metroid Other M and the mixed reviews

Rely on Horror states: "This is something I just had to get out of my chest. It seems to be a growing trend among ‘professonal’ reviewers to compare the current iteration of a proven franchise to the crowning achievement of said franchise. For example, and as this article’s title indicates, Metroid Other M and Super Metroid. Other M is a full fledged sequel to one of the best games of all time, Super Metroid. Making a sequel to a game that has received such accolades requires not only a lot of guts but a lot of courage as well,courage to take risks. Reason being, honestly, chances are the sequel isn’t going to be able to capture that same magic that the original did back in its time."

[darkcharizard]

This game has turned out to be really controversial!

Wired, Worth Playing, D+Pad and Joystiq gave it 90%. Also, Cheapassgamer gave it "Outstanding"

However,
GamesRadar = 70%
1up = B-/A+
Destructoid = 65%

[UP]

G4= 2/5

[darkcharizard]

but that was an exceptional one;

Stupid complexed girl, hurt that the best video-game female too was a human and had emotions..

[UP]

wow i got disagrees for stating a fact G4 game the game a 2/5.

[NeutralGamer]

NO matter what the score I already played the game and its really good... Believe me!

Ther suckers at G4 probably didnt even play trough the first sector -.-

[eagle21]

G4 isn't metacritic anymore so they really can fu** off. :)

[Zechs34]

The game is solid all around, the voice acting can be iffy. But most of it feels like classic Metroid. I beat it in 2 days with regular play. PLEASE!!!! Dont turn it off during the credits. Stay till after! Trust me! ;)

[condorstrike]

wasn't that the best 2nd in-game ending ever....:)
a 10 in my book....11 hour game.

[Zechs34]

Yeah I felt more satisfied with it actually. And the ****Spoiler!**** fight before you get what she went back for is a great!

[condorstrike]

monumental...in other words, ahh Zechs34....:)
even I couldn't believe they could pull this off on the Wii, everyone needs to experience this game, even those doubters, trust me the reviewers are dead wrong on this one.

[Redempteur]

the only real problem is the monologues during the story and the lenght of the title ..

[xskipperx82]

If you want to rage: Watch Morgan Webb's video review of this game. She doesn't even talk about the gameplay. She gives it a 2/5.

[UP]

yea i know i thought they were going to at least give the game a 3/5 not 2

[oldjadedgamer]

I haven't read the manga, so I'm not in any position to judge the story. Any reviewers that haven't read the manga and review down because of the story are probably angry feminists.

Gameplay seems rather solid with a few smaller problems.

If you have read the manga and still bitch at the story, then power to you. But I doubt the butthurt G4 reviewer has.

[Venoxn4g]

don't take seriously to dumb woman's opinion :)

[lil boy blue]

ya Morgan Webb should get back in the kitchen. (I kid ladies)

[Jdoki]

The problem is that so many of the hack journalists around are either noobs with an attitude that they have to diss any modern game because they've played a few emulator versions of classic games and want to sound edgy, controversial and cool.

Or they are jaded, cynical hacks living in a bygone era of gaming and looking at it through rose tinted glasses.

I saw plenty of reviews of Dragon Quest 9 complain that it was a generic JRPG. Well not everyone has been around since the 8 or 16-bit era and played old school style JRPG's. There's a lot of new gamers experiencing the Metroid, Dragon Quest etc games for the first time. So to compare a current game with a previous iteration from a few console generations in the past rarely makes sense.

[wollie]

don't really like this guys perspective. basically he is saying that no metroid game is likely to surpass super metroid so we should be happy with what we get. How can video games go forward if they can't meet and surpass expectations? super metriod can be bested and it probably will be. just sounds like other m is not the game to do it. every game that is released in a series should be better then the ones that came before other wise whats the point of making them.

[JBoc973]

What I meant when I wrote this is like people seem to have expected this to exceed Super in terms of gameplay. So people are going to go in with high expectations only to have them crash and bring about disappointment. What I’m suggesting quite simply is for people to pick this up , whether a long time metroid fan or not, with the only expectations being to expect a unique and awesome Metroid game. There’s no need to go into a sequel with hopes, even before beating it, that it’ll surpass the high point of that series. Apologies if I gave off the wrong message.

[condorstrike]

Metroid, has always raised the standards, and this one doesn't fail, I remember when I first found out Samus was a girl...:) boing.....
Maybe this so called journalists don't know what to do with a female heroine that is not mute or dumb, they should be ashamed, this game is GOTY contender, in my view.

[condorstrike]

maybe, but the one thing reviewers bitched about was control/camera for some, this game has done what few can...like being able to switch from 1st to 3rd to side_scroller and then to over the shoulder view seam-lessly ala uncharted style while keeping great frame rates, guessing 60fps with no loading times, beautiful and diverse graphics and epic monsters, while captivating you in the story.

which in my point of view opens up the characters more, and they don't stay stale repeats like so many Nintendo owned IPs.

oh, and lets not forget the soundtrack is awesome, with original content, and blending CG with in-game footage which sometimes you have to squint your eyes cause, yes they do look that good on the Wii.

I really love Zelda, but take that 10 away from Twilight princess and give it to other M.

[SeraphimBlade]

Great article. game comes out tomorrow, but since I'm going to college I'm abstaining from new games until I can get in the swing of things. Otherwise, I'd be getting it sooner. This guy makes excellent point about reviewing sequels. There are plenty of allegedly "meh" sequels out there that hold up well on their own. I'm always around to defend GTA IV when people say it isn't as good as older entries, (i actually just did that a few minutes ago) and that's because it was my first GTA game and I didn't compare it to anything.

Hell, Metroid Prime 3 is an example of this. It greatly simplified the Prime formula and was far more linear than the gamecube titles and had smaller worlds. (multiple planets, but each was about the size of an area in prime 2) But it was still great on its own.

[kesvalk]

for me... this game really tops al other metroid, even super metroid.

i hope this becomes a trilogy, or at least they remake metroid2 on this engine...

[condorstrike]

I completly agree, you get that vibe of Super Metroid, but they took it to another level, best Metroid game. and Wii game, in my humble opinion, oops ran out of bubbles....not enough bubbles for this great game...:)

[fossilfern]

Sadly Other M isnt out here in the UK until friday but I should get it a day early, but if its as good as you say ( and super metroid is my favourite game of all time) it sounds like the wait is worth it.

[kesvalk]

if you are a fan of the series, this is like a love letter from nintendo to you

[swice]

This article nails it. Perfectly

I'm ready for another Metroid game. Not another Super Metroid (yet)

[EvilTwin]

Most of the reviews have been positive; they just haven't been as high as the Prime series got (but even Echoes and Corruption didn't score as well as the original). There have been a few mixed ones, and one very negative one (the laughable G4 one).

I have no doubt I'll have fun with Other M, but it was always going to be a bit divisive because of its quirky game mechanics and choice of delivery for the overall narrative. And that probably also lends itself to slightly lower scores. Think about it...

Other M is a third-person action/adventure/platformer/sh ooter/brawler/sidescroller/fixe d camera non-sidescroller; with first-person shooting/minimal scanning/investigating. All with simplified/streamlined controls that combine the digital movement of the NES' D-pad with the Wii remote's IR pointer function.

You could argue that there hasn't been a game this ambitious in its gameplay mélange since the original Metroid. Whether that makes for a great game, or a jack of all trades and master of none, is dependent on how many ingredients you like in your dishes.

But to the larger point, there's a reason that Super Metroid is remembered more fondly than the original; it's harder to create a brand new gameplay template. Once it has been put in place, you can go about polishing it.

[deno]

Never ever have I cared about the reviews. They get payed to speak, so what's new.