Metroid: Other M... A.K.A the Metroid game that wasn't

[dashv]

So I've finally sat down and played Metroid: Other M.

I'm only about 2 hours into the game but already I am reminded of another VGCollectors comments in another thread:

I thought Other M was awesome despite how much hate it gets from the core Metroid fanbase.

It wasn't just the core Metroid fanbase, but also women and people who respect women, as the game is sexist as hell.  They might as well have had Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball girls in the stupid thing. 

Plus, it's the only story I've ever trudged through where the main character didn't even affect the hole-filled plot at all.  She just stood around while a terrible story happened around her.  Not to mention that somehow, somehow, they turned the heroine protagonist into a damsel in distress in her own damn game!

Now I'm all riled up. *huffs n puffs n such*  Just one of the worst things I've ever played in my life.

Duke Nukem Forever was less sexist.

Only 2 hours in... I see exactly what you are talking about.

Why does Samus have a sexy walk? Why does she have daddy issues? Why is she on display and holding back her true power and seeking the permission and approval of a man to do her thing?

Oh, wait. I know why. Team Ninja made it. I'm a fan of what they've done with Ninja Gaiden and I admit DOA is a guilty please of mine. But I'm not at all digging their interpretation of Samus. I can see why many want this rejected as canon.

I'm torn because the game looks great and plays okay (I prefer the Prime controls). But this story... I loath to think I have to slog through more of it to finish this game. But finish it I will.

I do like how it picks up from the end of Super Metroid. Leaving the Prime series pretty much untarnished.

No spoilers yet please.

[kamikazekeeg]

I think they were on the right track, working to give Samus more character and story, but you don't get the guys who have been like the pioneers of game boob physics, to write a story that would emotionally invest people into this fan favorite female character lol

I actually picked the game up cheap a while back, so I might get around to it eventually to see the full picture.

[dashv]

I think they were on the right track, working to give Samus more character and story, but you don't get the guys who have been like the pioneers of game boob physics, to write a story that would emotionally invest people into this fan favorite female character lol

I actually picked the game up cheap a while back, so I might get around to it eventually to see the full picture.

Yeah. It's worth the 6 bucks I paid for it. But I'm very glad I didn't pay full new price when it was first released.

[abe]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Other M wasn't canon. Now that I look, I can't seem to find the article. Maybe I'm just imagining it.

[retroone]

I never understood Metroid: Other M. I is the only Metroid game I own/played and every time I play it I always find myself getting lost with no clear reason. I understand Metroid games are like a rat in a maze but this one made it so difficult to jump into those little vents impossible.

[bikingjahuty]

The story and Samus' character development in Other M never bothered me really. Part of it is because my experience with other Metroid Games is limited (have actually only played Metroid on the NES, but have never beat it) so it is all I know. The thing I enjoyed the most is the more action-based gameplay that Team Ninja instilled in this game. Because of that I was able to finish thinking it was a great game, not one of the best games I've ever played, but still enjoyable overall.

[argyle]

The story and Samus' character development in Other M never bothered me really. Part of it is because my experience with other Metroid Games is limited (have actually only played Metroid on the NES, but have never beat it) so it is all I know. The thing I enjoyed the most is the more action-based gameplay that Team Ninja instilled in this game. Because of that I was able to finish thinking it was a great game, not one of the best games I've ever played, but still enjoyable overall.

Snake fights Revolver Ocelot in pretty much every MG game, right? Well imagine if there was a new MG game that timeline-wise came after all the others, except this time when Snake is confronted by Revolver instead of fighting him like he always does he freezes up, pees his pants & watches while Revolver murders someone else.

That's basically what happens in Other M, and that's just one of the horrendous story beats that really made me hate that game.

[dashv]

The story and Samus' character development in Other M never bothered me really. Part of it is because my experience with other Metroid Games is limited (have actually only played Metroid on the NES, but have never beat it) so it is all I know. The thing I enjoyed the most is the more action-based gameplay that Team Ninja instilled in this game. Because of that I was able to finish thinking it was a great game, not one of the best games I've ever played, but still enjoyable overall.

Snake fights Revolver Ocelot in pretty much every MG game, right? Well imagine if there was a new MG game that timeline-wise came after all the others, except this time when Snake is confronted by Revolver instead of fighting him like he always does he freezes up, pees his pants & watches while Revolver murders someone else.

That's basically what happens in Other M, and that's just one of the horrendous story beats that really made me hate that game.

Perfectly said.

I am getting real tired of hearing Samus be called Princess while she's obscured in the background by the rest of the sausage fest.

At first I thought the 3rd person view (which tends to turn side scroller from time to time) was a nod to the old 2d platformer Metroids. But after playing this game for 10 hours I see it for what it is.

Samus is THEE focus in this game but for all the wrong reasons. The camera is always automatically locked on her. If I want to look around I have to point my remote at the screen then I get a first person view where I can whip the remote around to look at my surroundings. During this time I can fire her arm cannon and shoot missiles (this is the only way to shoot missiles by the way) but I can't actually move around. So I can only fire my MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN THE GAME while being completely vulnerable.

Speaking of vulnerable there are no power ups either. No. Instead she can somehow magically replenish her energy and missiles by just standing still and posing while leaving herself completely vulnerable. But she can only do this when... You guessed it. When she is completely out of both.

The theme of the game seems to be "Samus up close and vulnerable". The story plays that angle. The power up system plays that angle. Even her attacking plays that angle.

I was honestly expecting the game to not be as bad and sexist as some had thought. But this game is just dripping with it.

They've taken a badass iconic character and turned her into a porcelain doll.