Fall in NYC. A great time to commune with audacious foliage and crisp, mint air. Also, a great time to sit inside as it rains for a week straight and get down to some serious game playing. Surprisingly, these past few weeks have consisted of much Wii usage. I am surprised mainly because I haven’t really gotten into a Wii game since Super Mario Bros. Occasionally, my boyfriend and I will throw on one of the Resident Evil games for some two-player, zombie shootin’ fun but all in all, we use the Wii mainly for the Netflix. Metroid: Other M, therefore, was a point of excitement at home and at SMASHWORX Studios. Finally, a game that looked rewarding and fun that utilized Wii motion controllers instead of (supposedly) just tacking on some functionality. Oh and I definitely, definitely bought the hype. Pre-ordered Metroid: Other M and everything…

A little background, I have always liked Metroid. I liked the side-scrollers and I liked the first-person shooters. I am the audience Team Ninja wanted to court. Also (on a lady level), I love Samus. I love Samus in the same way I love Ripley or Aeon Flux. Dangerous space ladies who go beyond pretenses. Women whom I look up to and would probably like to be in some Doctor Who-like alternative world type of way.

Metroid: Other M looked right. It was beautiful like the Prime series but also cartoonish, in a SNES type of way. I liked the opening movie except this tiny little tingle in my brain kept on distracting me. It was the hope that Team Ninja wasn’t about to explain the mystery of Samus away. Samus as a near-silent bounty hunter was interesting. One honestly didn’t know what she thought about some hairy situations and encouraged the audience to place their own feelings and attitudes on the proceedings. Take, for example, Aeon Flux as a near-silent character that received demystifying through over exposition in that awful Charlize Theron helmed Aeon Flux movie. In the comic and the MTV show, Aeon was silent and died in almost every episode. The audience could sort of guess her stance through her actions but the next move was unpredictable. It is more exciting to think that anything can happen, rather than think that a predetermined fate is set out for the character. In Samus’s case, should the player feel that they have to agree with everything the avatar represents by exposing the avatar’s psyche? Should the player feel that they have to play a game one way, with one set of morals? And what about those who thought Samus was a little more badass than some Papa issues and cute girl playing with the big boys? Should they believe in Samus the “princess” over Samus the “Ripley-type”?

If Team Ninja was creating a whole new character with this persona, I don’t think I’d have much of an issue. But Samus is a character that my generation grew up with and already had a set of characteristics that defined the Metroid series. So yes, Team Ninja, with it’s beautifully rendered yet horribly voice acted movies, has explained the mystery of Samus away. Bummer. Well, alright. But how does she play?

Pretty good. Not fantastic. Not oh my god, this is going to revolutionize the series but still, she plays pretty good. The action is frenetic and fun. The enemies (while a bit limited) range from one shot annoyance to strategy is key. Boss battles are fun and numerous. Although, I rarely died during boss battles due to the “focus” function. I didn’t have strong feelings either for or against the focus function. I liked not having to collect ammo but missed the tension of “am I going to make it?!?” that comes with defeating an enemy with just a sliver of life left.

What’s weird? Well, for one the shift between first and third person perspective was jarring. Why can’t I shoot missiles in third person? It would be so much more helpful during boss battles not having to switch, re-aim while not getting damaged if I could utilize all my weapons. But no. Gotta make it Wii-tastic. Even if motion-control really doesn’t add to game enjoyment, I bet Team Ninja had to shoe-horn some motion functionality in there somewhere for the powers that be. Another odd sensation is traveling in a 2D space without a joystiq. There were multiple times when I was pressing straight ahead on the D-Pad but Samus did this odd diagonal shuffle instead.

Even with these control issues, I was left wanting more game to play. I can’t tell if my desire for the gameplay to continue was out of annoyance that there wasn’t more to the game of if I was really enjoying myself.

I’m sure Nik and Tommy will chime in with their opinions soon. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to playing the new Zelda.

Metroid: Other M
Rating: B

Our newest Propaganda Lander video features some nasty foes: boulders, spears, fireballs and, the office favorite, homing missiles. Music by The Darkness and will not actually appear in the game…no matter how much we beg and plead.

Smashworx presents an exclusive peek into our development process! Here is the third movie of our current iPhone project Propaganda Lander. Check out the new ships! And Missiles galore! Music by David Bowie.