Metroid: Other M

[Tron Bonne]

Too bad you waited. Could have gotten a $20 game credit to use on another Amazon purchase.

Ah, for real? Well, that does suck, guess that's the price for fence straddling

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well, looks like I wasn't too late afterall, just happened to discover the $20 Amazon credit in an e-mail this mourning

 

[Brainiac 8]

Yea, the reviews for this game you can't really go by. I'm glad I ignored the majority of the hate talk, since I was playing this last night (for quite a while) and the more I get into it, the more I'm liking it.

This game is a pretty awesome experiment, and one Nintendo should be praised for. It's not perfect, but it's been a blast to play so far. Plus I'm enjoying the more cinematic story alot, and the story is nowhere near as bad as some of the reviews have stated.

 

[GoblinWhirlwind]

Yeah, I've been bouncing back and forth between Other M and Mario Galaxy, and I'm loving it.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Well, looks like I wasn't too late afterall, just happened to discover the $20 Amazon credit in an e-mail this mourning

Nice


So far, I'm enjoying it but no health drops from enemies pisses me off sometimes. I was at a boss and didn't even have a full health meter (partly b/c it's before you get the Varia suit so you're taking heat damage).

For the next Metroid installment, I'd like to see a Third-person action/adventure/shooter.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I "beat" the game this afternoon.

Spoiler

I say "beat" because there's actually more to do after the credits

I'm glad I don't have to write a review for this because it'd be really difficult, it's even hard to discuss it now. It's such a weird game. Not in a bad way, there is just no other game like this at all. It's very frustrating early on. You have little health, weak weapons, and you're getting used to the controls. I found the first few bosses much harder than the last two.

It's a very good game, just very unique and takes awhile to get adjusted to. I think I'm even going to play it again immediately after I finish my current file.

 

[jacobed]

Yeah I agree with you on that one. It's an interesting game. I found it to be really fun, it harkens back to Super Metroid a bit with the difficulty. I actually enjoyed the whole Adam not letting you use your equpiment until he gives you permission. The best parts of Metroid games are going back to places and using new equipment to find new places but honestly how many times can Samus get hit by a big blast and lose all her crap. I love that Nintendo was willing to go through with this experiment because it really is a great game and I want to see more great stories and beautiful beautiful cutscenes in Nintendo games.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

The Adam authorization thing is kinda annoying but you get over it quickly. The only one that doesn't make sense is the Varia suit since you have go through the lava area taking some damage before the suit is authorized before the boss.

I will say, it's not as satisfying as in Super Metroid. After beating a boss, it was exciting to get the new ability. In this, it's just "Ok, you can use it now." But as I said, you get over it. If you don't, quit whining and just play the game. Every Metroid is like this.

 

[jacobed]

Yeah exactly, it's a very minor nitpick that reviewers seem to love hitting hard. The cutscenes are freaking incredible, they easily rival the ps3 and 360.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I officially beat it last night. I got every item and did the secret ending. I always hate going back to get an item I could have gotten as soon as I walked in the room.

Very fun. I want to play it again because I had a tough time early on since I was getting used to the controls and you have weak powers.

Anyone who wants to get this, ignore most of the bad reviews. A lot of it is exaggerated nitpicking. After playing almost 12 hours, I doubt most people who gave bad reviews even played it for more than 2. It starts off a bit annoying: you're getting used to the controls, don't have many weapons, and most of the dialogue and cutscenes are early on.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Agreed, this game is awesome. The reviews don't do the actual game justice.

Oh, and:

Spoiler

Metroid Queeeeeeeeeeeen!!!!! and Nightmare!!!!!!

Too much awesome for someone who has played every Metroid ever to completion.

 

[Timstuff]

I have written an epic rant about Metroid: Other M's depiction of Samus. I haven't played the game yet so I'm going largely on other people's analysis of it, but I am going to get pretty negative here so be forewarned.

---------------------------------------------------------

This is NOT a thread about Other M's gameplay, so please don't bring it up. This is 100% about the portrayal of Samus's character. I grew up on the Metroid games and own every numbered entry in the series (except for the Wii games, since I don't own a Wii). I have seeped myself within Metroid's lore, and my obsession with Metroid even led me to write a movie script based on the series. Needless to say, I feel like over the years, I developed a pretty solid perception of what Samus's character is. She is a battle hardened bad ass. After being stared down by an alien dragon who killed her parents as a child, there's not much that can scare her. She is the toughest warrior in the universe, and is an independent loner. She's basically a female Boba Fett, and is one of gaming's ultimate bad asses. Maybe she does have a bit of an achille's heel somewhere deep down, but she's still a hard ass and there's no-one who's ass she wouldn't kick in a moment.

But what is she in Metroid: Other M? She is basically Bella Swan from Twilight, but wearing power armor. All she does is pine for Adam Malkovich and whine about how scared she is and how miserable her life is. Samus does have a miserable past, but SHE DOES NOT WHINE ABOUT IT. She is TOUGH AS NAILS, so she keeps to herself. What they've done to Samus is akin to those crappy Wonder Woman comics where she was always getting tied up and was hopelessly smitten with Steve Trevor. Samus does not have to be totally without emotions or romantic interest, but she is NOT CO-DEPENDENT. She is INDEPENDENT, and while it wouldn't be out of character for her to take a liking to a male character, it's wholly out of character for her to be an emotionally needy wreck.

Even though Samus could have a love interest, the important factor is that she can get by just as well without one. By implying that Samus feels like she's worthless without the attention of one in particular, they completely butchered her character. The REAL Samus would think of an unrequited love interest as "he's cute, but if he won't wise up then it's his loss." She does NOT go all Bella Swan on us and write in her journal for hours about how much better her life would be if only her beloved would recognize her.

Samus was once a great example of a post-feminist female game character. She was an independent bad ass, but she was still 100% woman, who was visually sexy and also showed strong maternal qualities with the Super Metroid hatchling. Apparently though, the designers of Other M just don't get that. Sadly, I think that some of Team Ninja's past objectification of women may have creeped its way over from Dead or Alive into the Metroid series, because this version of Samus is a needy, infantalized male fantasy. She is not at all empowered despite the power she posesses, and that is a totally backwards depiction of EVERYTHING we have ever known about Samus, the tough, independent kicker of asses. Imagine if a character like Han Solo or Boba Fett had been a totally neutered and weepy fool who was a hopeless wreck unless Princess Leia had talked to him in the last 48 hours. That's essentially what Team Ninja has done to Samus.

Frankly, I hope that Other M either bombs or is hotly protested by the fanbase, because this is NOT the direction the series should be taking. IMO they should just give the series back to Retro Studios, because Team Ninja clearly does not have any respect for Samus's character and do not have the solid grasp of the series' core concepts like Retro did. And if the idea to depict Samus this way was initiated by Nintendo themselves, then shame on them for misrepresenting one of gaming's most iconic females this badly. It only makes me feel even more bitter about how they've been running things as of late.

 

[Tron Bonne]

So, wait, you haven't played the game at all? You really shouldn't be making those kind of justified rants just from going by other people's assessments. You could be right, but you could also just end up looking like kind of dumb for not knowing what you're talking about and simply fan raging. Already, just from the two hours I've played, can tell you're off about at least one thing. Not to mention your assessment of Wonder Woman's Golden Age years in that paragraph is completely off and kills the analogy (I get what you were trying to say and all, but I get annoyed that people tout that kind of misconception about that period in WW).

Anyway, I've played the game for a little while now and am enjoying it. The only thing is I'm curious about is who got high and thought this third person to first person mechanic with the remote was a good idea? It really is a pain and doesn't even compute unless you're a certain length away. And you can't fire missiles at all unless you switch to first person? Not even free foam? Really unnecessarily frustrating. I just got to the multiple worm fight and that aspect just really frustrated me to no end. I had to give it up because I had places to be, but I'll go back to it later

Besides that, it seems fairly fun. The story hasn't really picked up yet, but it seems interesting enough thus far. The VO could be better, but it's passable.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I have written an epic rant about Metroid: Other M's depiction of Samus. I haven't played the game yet so I'm going largely on other people's analysis of it, but I am going to get pretty negative here so be forewarned.

First, don't sully Samus' name by calling her a female Boba Fett. Fett was a ****ing joke.

Samus never pines for Adam. There is nothing that even remotely hints that Samus has romantic feelings towards Adam (or vice versa. Adam is strictly business in dealing with Samus, past and present). He is her surrogate father; she even says he is the closest thing she had to a father. She served under him with the GF, respected him for the tough decisions he had to make and his success, and ultimately walked away from him. There is an awkwardness between them because, despite working together in the past, she is treated as an outsider. This entire plot is only in her monologue but it's mostly in the first third of the game. After that, it's basically like Metroid Fusion where you can still go where ever you want (provided you have the means to get there) but are directed to certain places on the map with some cutscenes here and there.

She is still independent. Other than the first few hours, she does everything on her own. And even when she is with others, she still does most everything.

There is one thing I have read people complain about but I don't want to mention it because it's a big spoiler.

Your interpretation of other people's reactions couldn't be more wrong. Play the game before you comment it but you probably never will since you admit you don't even own a Wii.

 

[Tron Bonne]

First, don't sully Samus' name by calling her a female Boba Fett. Fett was a ****ing joke.

I thought about saying that, but I didn't want to ignite a Star Wars holy war or anything

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I bring it up all the time. All he did was follow the Millennium Falcon, possibly contact Vader (we never know for sure), and then deliver a frozen Han to Jabba. He was redeemed in the EU but that wasn't until years later, he had a cult following before then and most people don't even follow that.

Samus probably was inspired by Boba Fett. The helmet is similar and she's a bounty hunter (I believe Boba Fett was the first fictional bounty hunter in a non-Western movie). But she's just better in every single way.

 

[Timstuff]

By "female Boba Fett" I meant someone who projects being stoic, no-nonsense and professional. The real Samus does not doubt herself, and even though she has some softness she does a good job at hiding it. She's not an emo wreck. Her emotional scars are part of what has made her strong. Being an iron-clad warrior with a soft underbelly is not the same thing as being emo, scared, and having no confidence. I think that this was a ploy by Nintendo to better appeal to Japanese, since the Metroid series has never been very popular in Japan. They made a more Japanese-style game, and that unfortunately included making a female protagonist who appeals more to the Japanese aesthetic. She's fragile and less independent, and overall a bit more childish which is what Japanese gamers want. It's a stark contrast to Retro treated the character, back when the target audience was western audiences specifically.

http://offworld.com/2009/08/retro-effect-a-day-in-the-stud.html

"Through the discussions with Retro," he says, "we came up with keyword 'elegant'. She's beautifully elegant, but also powerful." Tanabe demonstrates what he means by suddenly grabbing his translator by the collar, pantomiming a hand-gun to the translator's head, and explains that one of the scenarios they ran through with co-creator Sakamoto is how Samus would react to a Space Pirate taking someone hostage.

"What we heard from him (Sakamoto) is that she would not yell 'hold on!' She wouldn't show any emotions at all, she'd just bring up her gun and hit the pirate with a head shot." Tanabe loosens his grip on the surprisingly unfazed translator and brings his fingers in one slow sweep up to his own head, and with a verbal 'bajoooom' fires dead-eye, leaning back in slow motion, his hands showing us the arc and splatter of Space Pirate viscera spilling from the cap of his skull. "She's very calm, very professional in killing. She doesn't show any emotions on the surface, but she's very passionate inside her."

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I don't know how you can continue arguing this. You admit you haven't played the game, you have no idea what you're talking about.

She's not emo, scared, or lack confidence in this. All she does is give you an insight to her thoughts and emotions. As I said, almost all of it takes place in the first few hours of the game. After that, it's basically like a 3D version of Metroid Fusion. There is one moment in the game where she's briefly scared but I won't go further explaining it since it's a big spoiler. There is an explanation to it but you'd probably still hate it because you clearly don't want to like this game.

 

[Timstuff]

Here's G4's review. They HATED it and reiterated pretty much everything I've said.

http://g4tv.com/videos/48319/Metroid-Other-M-Review/

Also, Spoony has a rant up about the game where he shoots it down for it's depiction of Samus (although there are a lot of other things he doesn't like about it). He's not even a Metroid fan but he sees what's wrong with how Samus is depicted.

http://blip.tv/file/4084151

Again, I have not played the game, but I am still angry about what has been done to Samus. Either everyone who is complaining about it is making a mountain out of a molehill, or everyone who is saying nothing's wrong are simply downplaying it because they enjoy the rest of the game. At any rate, I can already tell clearly that something is wrong with how Samus is depicted in the game, so the only real debate IMO is not whether or not her depiction is bad, but how badly it affects the game, and that is not something I can comment on until I've played it.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Here's G4's review. They HATED it and reiterated pretty much everything I've said.

http://g4tv.com/videos/48319/Metroid-Other-M-Review/

Congrats, you agree with one of the worst game news outlets. Actually, it is the worst. Nevermind the good reviews it got from a lot of better sites like Gametrailers, 1UP, GameSpot (who I don't even like that much), and Giant Bomb (I also don't like but they grade pretty tough). IGN gave it a good review, too, though I find they often pad their scores.

Also, Spoony has a rant up about the game where he shoots it down for it's depiction of Samus (although there are a lot of other things he doesn't like about it). He's not even a Metroid fan but he sees what's wrong with how Samus is depicted.

http://blip.tv/file/4084151

I watched Spoony's "review" and he was wrong on a lot of things. He even admits he stopped playing after 2 hours. To say his rant is hyperbole is an understatement. He calls Samus a rape victim and doesn't think the character can survive this. That is easily one of the most moronic things I've heard. He also says he doesn't like the Metroid series which makes me question whether he's played all the games and how much he knows about the character.

Again, I have not played the game, but I am still angry about what has been done to Samus. Either everyone who is complaining about it is making a mountain out of a molehill, or everyone who is saying nothing's wrong are simply downplaying it because they enjoy the rest of the game. At any rate, I can already tell clearly that something is wrong with how Samus is depicted in the game, so the only real debate IMO is not whether or not her depiction is bad, but how badly it affects the game, and that is not something I can comment on until I've played it.

How can you be angry about it when you haven't played it? You've cited 2 bad reviews (even though I wouldn't call Spoony's video a review). The only thing "wrong" about Samus' depiction in this game is that it's different from other games where she was just a silent protagonist who shot everything that moved. All this game does is give insight to her thoughts and feelings. It doesn't make her an emo wreck.

 

[Timstuff]

Do you really want me to provide links for every review and every forum post complaining about Samus's character in the game? Because frankly I don't have time to go out and collect them all. Regardless, there are two more reviews at That Guy With the Glasses that complained about Samus in the game, and a lot of the reviews I found through Metacritic mentioned it as well. Not to mention the HUGE backlash there's been on the forums around the internet. Even if I haven't played the game, there's clearly a problem if so many people are complaining about it.

I admire Nintendo for actually trying to put some production value into a story for once, but it's unfortunate that they couldn't have written a better story.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

I have written an epic rant about Metroid: Other M's depiction of Samus. I haven't played the game yet so I'm going largely on other people's analysis of it, but I am going to get pretty negative here so be forewarned.

---------------------------------------------------------

This is NOT a thread about Other M's gameplay, so please don't bring it up. This is 100% about the portrayal of Samus's character. I grew up on the Metroid games and own every numbered entry in the series (except for the Wii games, since I don't own a Wii). I have seeped myself within Metroid's lore, and my obsession with Metroid even led me to write a movie script based on the series. Needless to say, I feel like over the years, I developed a pretty solid perception of what Samus's character is. She is a battle hardened bad ass. After being stared down by an alien dragon who killed her parents as a child, there's not much that can scare her. She is the toughest warrior in the universe, and is an independent loner. She's basically a female Boba Fett, and is one of gaming's ultimate bad asses. Maybe she does have a bit of an achille's heel somewhere deep down, but she's still a hard ass and there's no-one who's ass she wouldn't kick in a moment.

But what is she in Metroid: Other M? She is basically Bella Swan from Twilight, but wearing power armor. All she does is pine for Adam Malkovich and whine about how scared she is and how miserable her life is. Samus does have a miserable past, but SHE DOES NOT WHINE ABOUT IT. She is TOUGH AS NAILS, so she keeps to herself. What they've done to Samus is akin to those crappy Wonder Woman comics where she was always getting tied up and was hopelessly smitten with Steve Trevor. Samus does not have to be totally without emotions or romantic interest, but she is NOT CO-DEPENDENT. She is INDEPENDENT, and while it wouldn't be out of character for her to take a liking to a male character, it's wholly out of character for her to be an emotionally needy wreck.

Even though Samus could have a love interest, the important factor is that she can get by just as well without one. By implying that Samus feels like she's worthless without the attention of one in particular, they completely butchered her character. The REAL Samus would think of an unrequited love interest as "he's cute, but if he won't wise up then it's his loss." She does NOT go all Bella Swan on us and write in her journal for hours about how much better her life would be if only her beloved would recognize her.

Samus was once a great example of a post-feminist female game character. She was an independent bad ass, but she was still 100% woman, who was visually sexy and also showed strong maternal qualities with the Super Metroid hatchling. Apparently though, the designers of Other M just don't get that. Sadly, I think that some of Team Ninja's past objectification of women may have creeped its way over from Dead or Alive into the Metroid series, because this version of Samus is a needy, infantalized male fantasy. She is not at all empowered despite the power she posesses, and that is a totally backwards depiction of EVERYTHING we have ever known about Samus, the tough, independent kicker of asses. Imagine if a character like Han Solo or Boba Fett had been a totally neutered and weepy fool who was a hopeless wreck unless Princess Leia had talked to him in the last 48 hours. That's essentially what Team Ninja has done to Samus.

Frankly, I hope that Other M either bombs or is hotly protested by the fanbase, because this is NOT the direction the series should be taking. IMO they should just give the series back to Retro Studios, because Team Ninja clearly does not have any respect for Samus's character and do not have the solid grasp of the series' core concepts like Retro did. And if the idea to depict Samus this way was initiated by Nintendo themselves, then shame on them for misrepresenting one of gaming's most iconic females this badly. It only makes me feel even more bitter about how they've been running things as of late.

Okay, you don't have a Wii so you haven't played the two games in the series where Samus has actually interacted with other people (Prime 3 and Other M). Second, all you've done in this rant is written down two people's complaint about the game and one of those people doesn't even like the series and played the game for only 2 hours. You didn't need to preface this rant with you haven't played the game, it shows. I'm going to decide for myself what I think of the game, got it over the weekend, but haven't been able to play much yet, pretty much just the beginning. One other thing about the authorization of Samus using weapons, seems to be fine, she's working with the military, they aren't even allowed to fire a weapon without authorization.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Do you really want me to provide links for every review and every forum post complaining about Samus's character in the game? Because frankly I don't have time to go out and collect them all. Regardless, there are two more reviews at That Guy With the Glasses that complained about Samus in the game, and a lot of the reviews I found through Metacritic mentioned it as well. Not to mention the HUGE backlash there's been on the forums around the internet. Even if I haven't played the game, there's clearly a problem if so many people are complaining about it.

I admire Nintendo for actually trying to put some production value into a story for once, but it's unfortunate that they couldn't have written a better story.

Go ahead and keep citing other people. All it does is make you look like an ass because you still haven't played the game.

Play the game yourself and judge your own opinion. If you look hard enough you can find a lot of people who hate any game. I personally think God of War has a ****** story and Kratos is a terrible character. Someone who never played the game shouldn't base their opinion off of mine, they should see it for themselves.

With regards to what amazingfantasy said, everything except the Varia suit authorization makes sense. That's dumb, especially since you spend a pretty decent amount of time in the lava zone and take some damage beforehand. The weapons make sense, Adam tells Samus "You don't move/fire until I say so." The only weapons you really lose are the bombs and missiles and those are authorized shortly after. The other items you never start with from the beginning.

 

[Tron Bonne]

What makes this even stranger to me was this argument is about a character who barely had a personality anyway. Of course, she was apparently the stoic, professional, business like, but I'm pretty she just didn't have a real character to any real extent before. Unless we're going to count Link in that manner, too, begeezless.

And it's even weirder because, like Spidey said, that's how she is, she just happens to narrate this internally. I'm only two hours in and I can already see how flawed the reasoning and logic is to this argument. I guess things could change significantly to where she is 'pining' for Adam, in which case I'll have to retract my statement, but I somehow don't see the story going that route.

It sounds to me it's more of an argument of 'This isn't how Samus is suppose to be to us' instead of 'This is not how Samus was' (since she was barely anything character-wise).

 

[Timstuff]

Play the game yourself and judge your own opinion. If you look hard enough you can find a lot of people who hate any game. I personally think God of War has a ****** story and Kratos is a terrible character. Someone who never played the game shouldn't base their opinion off of mine, they should see it for themselves.

I'm not sure why you're bringing God of War into this. God of War does have a crappy story and a remarkably overwrought protagonist, however it has ALWAYS been that way. Metroid has never had a very complex story before, but what was there was good enough that it was not a distraction. If Nintendo had added additional narrative to the series, and it was good and unintrusive to the experience, I'd be happy. However, if the story is bad, and the characterization of Samus, who was already a very beloved character is crappy, then that is a downgrade. If I am starving, and you hand me a plate full of cow manure, not only is that not an upgrade from my previous situation, but it makes things worse because I still have no food, but now I have to figure out how to get rid of the poo, and I have to put up with the smell in the meantime.