You might have read Jess’s post on Metroid: Other M, now you get my take on the game. I bought into the Metroid: Other M hype like everyone else did here at SMASHWORX HQ. I was pretty sick of the Prime titles. I had not enjoyed any of them past the first. So I was looking forward to a more traditional Metroid title with a Team Ninja spin.

The only Metroid titles that I’ve beaten are Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime. I am not a hardcore or long time fan of the series. I’ve played Super Metroid but it was too much for me at the time. I’m not sure how old I was but, it was a small number. I may have actually beaten it with the help of the Official Nintendo Strategy Guide but, I’m not sure so we won’t count that one. That’s cheating anyway.

Fast forward to 2010, I was excited by the flashy cinematics and action packed game play that Team Ninja would be bringing to the Metroid franchise. I had also not played a Wii game for months–that poor tiny console was sitting there collecting dust. The last Wii title I dabbled in was Mario Galaxy and I never finished it. Any game out of Nintendo that targeted the more mature audience would have had me drooling.

Like a drug addict who hasn’t had his fix for a while, I was dying to give Nintendo some hard earned cash.

I pre-ordered the game from Amazon a day before it’s release. I only did this because Amazon was running a deal for $20 Amazon credit towards a future video game purchase if you pre-ordered Other M. I was sure I was going to buy Other M anyway so why not get $20 out of it? The $20 has gone towards Halo Reach if anyone is curious.

The wonderful folks at Amazon got the game to me incredibly fast. It took me much longer to get through the roughly 10 – 12 hours of gameplay.

Likes, Dislikes, and Thoughts

Generally speaking, I was not a big fan of all the talking. Samus talked too much and the other characters talked too much. I don’t recall any other Metroid title having this much dialogue. While I don’t think it had an immensely negative impact on the game, it did make the game feel less Metroidy. Here’s to hoping that the next Metroid title goes back to being quiet and desolate.

I did like the linearity of the game. I often find myself lost and confused in Metroid games. Other M told you where to go. No guessing or head-scratching to figure out what to do next. I know that this goes against the Metroid tradition but, I am rarely in the mood to play a game where I spend hours with it only to make snail paced progress. Let’s get the show on the road!

I think I’m the only one at SMASHWORX who didn’t find the switching from third-person to first-person jarring. It also didn’t bother me that I couldn’t fire missiles in third-person view. It was like Metal Gear Solid; I’ve played them all and I love them. The pointing mechanism with the Wii remote didn’t make me feel more like Samus. I haven’t bought into the “greater immersion” theory with motion controls yet. I look at it as just another means of control and I was fine with how it was used in Other M.

If nothing else, I applaud Nintendo and Team Ninja for trying this hybrid control system and making it a pretty painless experience. This little experiment might give birth to a truly fantastic control scheme a few years down the road. Who knows?

What really shocked me the most was how graphically gorgeous the game was. I’m not even talking about the cut scenes. Those looked great but, they were all pre-rendered and it is 2010 so I expect that. Standard definition didn’t seem to deter Team Ninja from producing stunning visuals that could compete with some XBOX 360 and PS3 titles.

Bottom Line

Metroid: Other M isn’t going to get Game of the Year from any gaming publication. I’m not even sure if it will spawn a sequel. Team Ninja added their own flavor to the Metroid universe and that flavor might be too foreign for most fans. This was an enjoyable experiment and if there was a sequel, I’d probably get it–I have a “giving Nintendo cash” problem. But, this game won’t blow your mind and likely won’t become your favorite Metroid game of all time. At the very least I’d rent, borrow, or get it when it falls in price and there’s an unforeseen shortage of games.

Unfortunately, none of us were at E3 this week. We were all busy working. That didn’t stop me from tuning into the press conferences on GameTrailers, GameSpot, and other places. I wasn’t surprised by any of the big announcements as I knew that they were coming: Nintendo 3DS, Kinect, PSN Plus.

Surprised or not, I am still excited for some of the new hardware and games!

Nintendo 3DS

Being that I wasn’t at the show, I couldn’t get a first hand experience of 3D portable gaming without glasses. In fact, there’s really no way to demonstrate the 3D except to play with a 3DS so I am excited purely on the speculation that it will be awesome. It is a Nintendo product so unless it’s another Virtual Boy, it should be pretty awesome. Can’t wait to experience the 3DS this Fall.

I’m not a big Kid Icarus fan but, if that’s the flagship title to show off the 3DS, I will have to get it. There’s a whole slew of N64 remakes at E3 showing off the 3DS. I wouldn’t mind some updated StarFox 64! Loved that game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Even though the presentation of Skyward Sword looked horrendous due to wireless interference, I am still excited by the trust I have in Nintendo that they wouldn’t release a Zelda game that doesn’t control well. Again, my excitement for this Zelda game is purely speculation that it will be awesome because Nintendo is behind it.

As you can see, I have great trust in Nintendo to make great games–9 times out of 10 I am right.

I was expecting something different for this new Zelda but, if the sword controls are as good as I am expecting, it should still be incredibly fun. I would have liked to see some departure from the Ocarina of Time model that we’ve seen for over 10 years.

Crysis 2

I have not played Crysis or was ever interested in it. However, I saw the gameplay demo of Crysis 2 and was in awe. I have a soft spot for games that take place in NYC and who doesn’t love super soldiers? The movie alone has me excited about the prospects of this game!

Metal Gear Solid Rising

I love the Metal Gear Solid series and didn’t think much of Rising until I saw the demo from E3. The ability to cut things every which way looks really cool. A lot of people didn’t like Raiden from MGS2. I’m not one of those people. I thought Raiden was pretty cool. I have no problem with a MGS game that features Raiden–he’s kinda badass.

Kinect

It might be shocking but, I’m not interested in Kinect for it’s games. I’m interested in Kinect for what it can do for interface interaction. I would love to voice control my XBOX when watching Netflix and scroll through my queue with my hands. The video chat also looks awesome.

However, the games aren’t that interesting to me. The rumored $149 price tag doesn’t make me want it more either.

Metroid: Other M

I am quite excited about this game even before E3 and Nintendo only showed a small clip of it. This is on the list simply because I haven’t powered on my Wii in a very long time. In fact, I gave it to my brother so I’ll have to buy the shiny new black Wii to play Other M.

I have changed all my computer’s wallpapers to be Metroid themed. Just sayin’.

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I haven’t mentioned PlayStation Move because it didn’t really interest me. I am interested in the highly accurate wands but, there aren’t any games that are particularly attention grabbing. Sorry Sony! If I see a great title for Move, I will get it. I’ve been using my PS3 the most as of late. None of the 3D games that require me to wear glasses were remotely interesting to me. I don’t want to wear glasses.

And that’s my favorite of E3 2010!