Review: Metroid – Other M

The latest game in the long-running Metroid series is finally out, and for the first time it’s been created by Team Ninja of Ninja Gaiden fame. Other M is a direct continuation of Super Metroid, and it doesn’t skip a beat. Tying back to the classic game goes beyond merely connecting the dots narratively though, Team Ninja is tries to evoke many of the original aspects while mixing them with new elements to create something different.

It’s an ambitious throwback with a melange of game mechanics from the older two-dimensional games and more modern three-dimensional elements. It’s an interesting combination of old versus new – something a lot of titles struggle with these days. Generally, we find our protagonist (Samus) in two dimensional corridors blasting her way through her opposition, not too unlike Super Metroid but with more emphasis on close quarters action and a lot of the gameplay finesse now being superfluous.

The change in emphasis can also be seen in the lack of exploration when compared to previous Metroid games. This time out our path is much more linear and clear. Team Ninja exchanges the hallmark sense of isolation and wonder generally common in Metroid games and replaced it with big explosions, lots of dialogue and constant in-your-face action. There’s no need to look around and take in your surroundings, just charge ahead with guns blazing and you’ll do fine. The result is a much more accessible and active game which will please late adopters to the series but which may alienate fans looking for quiet mystery and open ended exploration.

Again in contrast to tradition Samus speaks for the first time in Metroid: Other M. Not only does she speak, but a lengthy backstory is played out in anime style rendered cutscenes. There’s a lot of exposition and a lot of character development for a plot that’s lacking in depth and a character that doesn’t have much to say.

As we delve in to Samus’ past we hear an overly trite story about how tough it is being a woman in the military and how she acted out against authority because she needed a legitimate daddy figure. Samus comes across as whiny, juvenile and inept without an authoritative voice telling her how to get along. It’s amazing how quickly a confident, bold, and independent character built over 25 years can so easily be undone by lame writing and bad acting.

With the infamous Tomonobu Itagaki no longer heading Team Ninja it’s surprising to see such blatant misogyny being thrust on to the character. It’s definitely a different step than the overt sexuality of Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball, but instead travels so far to the other end of the Madonna-whore complex it’s just as offensive. It’s almost like Team Ninja is trying to apologize to females in general with this display, but they just don’t know how to express it right and wind up offending sensibilities once more.

Metroid: Other M is certainly going to be a polarizing one for existing fans of the series. There are many dichotomies here struggling with each other and if you play the game expecting a modernized Super Metroid you will find yourself disappointed. For new fans the game is both fun and accessible but overall Metroid: Other M is still not what long-time Metroid fans want.

ED Note: Raj Patel is a technology culture blogger and architecture professional in Toronto. Editor of Ohmpage.  This article originally appeared his site at ohmpage.ca.