Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Metroid: Other M
Since Nintendo first announced that they’d be teaming up with Team Ninja to produce Metroid: Other M, Metroid diehards have been worried that a more action focused title wouldn’t live up to series’ standards. After playing through the latest levels at E3, however, we can say that this Metroid will please Nintendo purists…for the most part.
In case, you haven’t been keeping up, Metroid controls with just the Wii Remote. You hold it sideways most of the time, and explore 3D levels from a fixed perspective, which gives the game a classic, almost 2D, feel. The game’s auto-aim works wonderfully at targeting enemies off to the sides or above the horizon line. Players will also be able to point the Wii Remote at the screen to enter into a first-person perspective. If you get low on missiles you’ll be able to just point the Wii Remote in the air and reload your stock.
This is the most cinematic of any Metroid game to date. One of the scenes we caught was close to ten minutes long. The area we explored was an old military base that had been overrun by plants, resulting in a jungle-like environment. At one point we ran across a giant lizard monster with a long prehensile tail. This strange chameleon vanished into the background, and we had to go into first person mode to get a missile lock on him. Once we’d stunned the beast with our firepower, we were able to move in for a close-quarter’s hand-to-hand takedown.
A few things still worry us about the game. Samus sounds like she belongs in princess fairy school, and we don’t have any confidence in Team Ninja’s storytelling skills. The sequence we saw, which had Samus awkwardly interacting with her old military boss, certainly didn’t impress us with any dramatic skill.
All told, however, Metroid: Other M’s action feels fast, the controls are smooth, and the levels are interesting to explore. We’re more excited than ever for the game when it comes out on August 31.
Products In This Article
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
