Metroid: Other M (Before-Play Review)

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AdamRBi

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Hello everyone, this is my review of Metroid: Other M; but it's not a straight up review of it. It is, in fact, a review of the expectations I have going into the game. It's an interesting look at how reviews, trailers, and public opinion has shaped my thoughts on the game even before I play it; as such once I finish I can write a review and compare it to what I thought going in. Any and all critique would be welcome, as this is one of my first large scale reviews of this nature. I look forward to taking all your critiques in to consideration to help make the actual review all the better. Thank you, and now on to the review.

This Review contains few, if any, spoilers. How can I spoil a game I haven't even played yet?


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<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB9CMIFYgI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/b55N3ykQNKQ/s400/Logo.gif" border="0" alt= Abbreviated M:OM>
I racked my brain all day today trying to figure out if I should buy Metroid: Other M or spring for my long overdue fling with Super Mario Galaxy 2; though somehow I know I'd end up with the former. I'm a long time fan of the Sci-Fi genre, which ranks Nintendo's flagship Sci-Fi titles, Metroid and Starfox, as two of my favorite game series.

That's not to say it wasn't a hard decision to make, the reviews for Metroid: Other M are all over the board! It's got a bad case of bilocation and generally floats between a solid 8.5 and a measly 6.5. On the other hand, SMG2 has seemingly got perfect scores all across the board, it was definitely the safer choice.

[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIE7vX90vfI/AAAAAAAAAaE/v5Kbq4xtVCk/s1600/safe.gif]
I think that was the deciding factor in my decision though, the fact that I knew what to expect in SMG2, while M:OM remained a shiny new mystery. I'm not without my preconceptions though, seeing as reviews have been out for a solid week now I figure I'd compare what I've been told to what I actually experience. Thusly, welcome to the Pre-Review of Metroid: Other M; where we will look in to exactly what this game is promising me.

My Video Game Reviews are broken down in to 4 parts; The three main points: Concept, Gameplay, and Visual Design. Plus two additional Categories for Story & Character and Audio & Score. I also look into, if any, the advertising for the game.

Concept: A Back-to-Roots Metroid game.

[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TICF8lAFOxI/AAAAAAAAAYI/IfAPugl2JfI/s1600/Roots.gif]

No one can deny how awesome the Metroid Series; since it's debut on the NES it's taken the hearts of gamers with the lust for adventure and exploration. It gave us a Strong Female lead Character in a sea of Burly Men and really captured the alone on alien world feel. It's been lovingly continued and evolved over the years, still making us feel like we're on that planet with Samus Aran; the main character of the game.

Sounds like a new addition to the series would be a godsend, right?

[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB9DqpXKII/AAAAAAAAAWw/QSLekQ3REXI/s1600/Remake.gif]
Keep in mind, this is a Back-to-Roots title, meaning it has as much to do with what made the original game great as a salad doused in Salad dressing and sprinkled with bacon bits has to a Healthy lunch.

Back-to-Roots titles usually have one fatal flaw; a misinterpretation in to what made the games great. This is the games biggest strength and it's crippling weakness. Wether it be the wrong fans working on it or trying to copy too much from the source material, something is always missing that tied the whole package together. Metroid: Other M is no different.

The first title of the series, Metroid, and the best title in the series, Super Metroid, had a lot in common. A little bit of prologue, a mission, a mass of alien hostiles, and you. It painted a very lonely world for you and Samus with the only other friendlies barely mentioned once in the opening dialogue. M:OM on the other hand, has a reported 2 hours worth of cutscenes and there's the occasional teamup with a troop of Galactic Federation Solders, including a general that stands in as an old friend of Samus's and a useful excuse for not being able to use all your power-ups from the get-go.

It's been said that the stretches of time between cutscenes and team-ups recapture the lone atmosphere of the previous titles, but wether or not it'll be enough is something I need to play the game to find out.

And wether or not this departure from the conventional Metroid framework will pass as the perfect concept is also up in the air. This Questionable Departure may be M:OM's biggest selling factor if not just for the curiosity of those who grew up with the series; it may also be the biggest deterrent.

Concept: 5/10; It's the games best selling point and biggest deterrent.

Gameplay: Smooth as silk with the occasional kink.

[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB9DfkOZpI/AAAAAAAAAWo/65YS8odQJPs/s1600/Fishing.gif]

If there's anything that's been talked about more then the story of M:OM, it's Team Ninja's combat system. The game runs primarily in a Sidescrolling/3rd Person Mechanic that departs from the series more recent FPS outings. My thoughts on this are both good and bad; allow me to elaborate.

I"ve played the three FPS games; The game did a fantastic job of putting you into the vast worlds Samus was exploring. At the time this itself was it's own tangent from the classic Metroid titles, all sidescrolling, yet it added to the atmosphere of the game. Seeing the world through Samus's eyes made the lonely traveller's world full of monsters feel vast and empty; more so then the 2D games ever could. It added to both the puzzle and exploration of the game making them the core features of this once action dominant franchise. Now we're back to thirdperson and I'm expecting this focus on discovery and puzzling to be replaced with this linier, action-oriented flow. Team Ninja is famous for both the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive game series, the former which has been toted as one of the hardest action-game series of all time, right behind Ghosts n' Goblins and Battletoads.

[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TICQS-UhLYI/AAAAAAAAAYU/Iet89EN_5e0/s1600/Ninjatoads.gif]
This is leading me to believe that my once loved mechanic of exploring alien worlds has been replaced with fancy acrobatics antagonist swarms of substandard, yet insanely difficult enemies and I make my way to a small room where the next path is conveniently highlighted for me to save time.

But it's in this last statement we come to the second, and more controversial gameplay mechanic; the Third Person view. By simply pointing your Wiimote at the screen, waiting a couple of second for the Wii to register your shift on controls while you get swarms by baddies, and them waiving your cursor around the screen awkwardly until you manage to orient yourself, you get to use a First Person viewpoint just in time to blast the hostiles before they finish off your last bit of health. Well ok, in theory you should just be able to point at the screen and instantly your in third person view, which is used to both shoot missiles, target specific points or enemies, or scan for important plot devices. Perhaps this awkward instead of intuitive experience is due mostly to location, yet that doesn't help that according to reviews the First Person controls pale in comparison to the one used in the Metroid Prime series.

Gameplay: 8/10; The smooth combat and third person sidescrolling is a welcome return, but it's not without it's flaws and major affects to what the series has based it's core values on.

Visual Design: Suffering from a early 2000's idea of graphics.

[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB-Q73E15I/AAAAAAAAAW8/zBm5JemhxhU/s1600/ThisGood.gif]

Nowadays, the real-time graphics of a game are so close to the Pre-rendered scenes that it's almost hard to tell the different of there is any. This is not true for the early 2000's style of graphics. The consoles of the 2000s were powerful enough to give us beautifully pre-rendered scenes that only greatly paled to the stuff being pumped out by animation and visual effects studios. Still, the studios making these cutscenes went all out, pushing the limits of what the console could do... the realtime graphics, not so much. The added processor power required for the ever updating worlds that had to respond to player input meant the gameplay graphics paled in comparison to the pre-rendered masterpiece we saw not 2 minutes ago before the game's opening tile screen. It was really misleading, buy we let it slide since they looked so darn good.

According to review, this is what I should expect from M:OM; beautifully rendered cutscenes and a slightly less glorious, yet still impressive, realtime graphics. Textures are said to be low on the resolution front and character models are said to be the standard fair for Team Ninja titles. The men may look like a novice's clay sculpture, but I guess I always have the trademark Team Ninja women to look forward to. Luckily, it seems they gave Samus her shots before sending her over to Team Ninja, she's mostly unaffected; Though it must suck using the visor with that hair in her face.

[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB00usNmeI/AAAAAAAAAWE/jt2FoiDrgSc/s1600/Visor.gif]

The game's not trying to be Metroid Prime 3 though, it's goal is to be a faster and more action packed game. The visual design of the game does succeed in this. A simpler color scheme usually signifies a faster scene, the more colors and detail you fit the longer the scene seems to play out. M:OM is a fast game and the design of the characters and color schemes really help to emphasis this; at least that's what I have gathered from movies and screenshots.

I can't say much from creature design at this stage, I've seen a total of 5 creatures, all fairly unamazing, but I'm hoping the game hold more surprises for me.

[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB9DDWHmrI/AAAAAAAAAWg/RwoMPGdtq3A/s1600/Bright.gif]
Visual Design: 8/10; It's touted as one of the best looking Wii games, though wether that's only because of the Pre-Rendered scenes has yet to be seen. Excellent choice in color though.

Story & Character: All of Samus's past packed into a Bottle.

[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB9CUBjlQI/AAAAAAAAAWY/Ft_2haF9CB4/s1600/Bottle.gif]

Samus is a loner with a mysterious past never before mentioned in the games aside the occasional cryptic mention of the Chozo, an advanced alien race who raised Samus as a child when her homeworld was destroyed my the Space Pirate, the main antagonists of the game. That's the majority of the backstory of the Metroid games that players knew before Metroid Prime 3 opened up her past with the Galactic federation more. Now that the egg's been cracked, it's time to split it open; that's where M:OM comes in.

No need to worry about spoilers by the way, I don't even know the story yet.

What I do know though is that the Story picks up after the events of Super Metroid. Samus meets up with a trop of Galactic Federation Solders on board an abandoned ship called "The Bottle Ship," after both parties responded to a distress call. While the Bottle Ship evokes all environments familier to Metroid players (Fire, Ice, Swamp, Etc.), it doesn't have quite the same feel as a planet. The troop is lead by Samus's old commander and friend, Adam Malkovich; who also doubles as a convenient excuse to limit Samus's powers in the beginning f the game by ordering you to not use them until he gives you permission to.

[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TIB-RN-2ugI/AAAAAAAAAXE/nByeT3Vfe00/s1600/Varia.gif]

The whole story of the game is said to span a whole 2 hours worth of cut scenes, which can later be viewed in one sitting like a movie. This is a surprise to everyone since the Metroid series story has been mostly coated in mystery up until now. Even her voice, which has never been heard in a Metroid title, is heard for the first time narrating portions of the story.

There's a dark cloud to this as those whom have played reported the story being very generic as it follows Samus's sappy side, weakening the hardened warrior we knew her to be. Wether or not these players missed the point of those scenes is yet to be known, we'll find out when I write my actual review.

I can't say much more about the story and supporting characters until I play the game, but needless to say; This is one Metroid fan who simply can't wait to hear this story. I'm always up for a Sci-Fi, even if it's generic and filled with cliches.

Story & Character: 9/10; It's always exciting to learn more about a character, makes them more human. Wether it destroys or strengthens her though I can't say. All I can say is I have high hopes.

Audio & Score: I've heard it's Orchestrated.

Nintendo's really had a thing with orchestrated music lately haven't they? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the quality of work that goes in to the musical scores of these games, and that's all I can really say for the Score at this time.

Audio & Score: 10/10; I haven't heard it yet, but if it's anything like previous orchestrated titles it's going to be epic.

Advertisements: Live Action? Awesome!

Usually the only way to see a live action Samus was to catch one at Comic-Con. Well not anymore, as a Live Action Samus struts across her memories in the official trailer for Metroid: Other M..


Personally, I think this is a nice touch. Though I'm usually more of an animation fan I think this style did wonders to show the dark lonely atmosphere of Samus's character defining moments.

Overall Score:

Concept: 5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Visual Design: 8/10
Story & Character: 4.5/5
Audio & Score: 5/5

Final Score: 7.5/10; Not Perfect, but there's plenty there to make it all worth it.

This game has a lot to live up to; find out if it meets my expectations when I write my final review. See you then.

[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TICVX9kSCDI/AAAAAAAAAY0/WlWpkif11hk/s1600/beware.gif]

Epilogue
Thank you all for taking the time to read my Pre-Review of Metroid: Other M. I'd really like some feedback on this in order to make my actual review of the game even better.

I originally wrote this for my own, personal blog which can be found Here [http://adamborno.blogspot.com/].
 

Savant Crime

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I like the idea of pre-reviewing a game, but you keep referring to other reviews, which sort of dilutes my perceptions of your opinion. All in all, very good, just stick to reviewing the promotional material and avoid other people's opinions of the game.

I mean, you CAN review a review, but combining a judgment of other people's perceptions of the game with your perception of the advertisement based on your own experiences sours the review for me. Perhaps if you set aside a segment for reviews in particular. Otherwise your combining objective and subjective information, and GIGO comes into effect pretty quick, especially since you don't site the reviews you refer to, I'm forced to assume Sturgeon's Law.
 

Snotnarok

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I already beat it, it's very different from Metroid but also brings back a few things omited from Prime.

My biggest complaint is the plot-hole'd story which has me angry at a variety of parts, don't open the spoiler unless you've beaten the game.

Like when Samus is frozen in fear by Ridley, you know the guy she's beaten 4 times prior to this. While I'm sure she was scared then, she never froze up and took him down (Metroid, Prime 1,3 Super Metroid )

And my biggest angry point, Samus's Varia armor is disabled by a freeze pistol shot to the back. Freeze pistol? Really now, it's inferior tech she's been hit by Plasma, got flung in lava, shot by phazon beams and smashed by many worse things and a dinky freeze pistol wrecks her? Plot Piercing Round anyone? Dumb and made me quite annoyed.

The game overall is very fun to play but some disappointing changes made it a bit different and maybe easy. No HP restoring items or ammo packs, when your HP is too low or you've used a missile or three you hold the wii remote upward and hold A to regen HP and ammo...That's a bit goofy, my comparison would be removing rings from Sonic and adding Hearts instead.
 

lapan

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I have noticed that the older Metroid fans seem to despise this game. I myself like the gameplay so far, but the long monologues of Samus in a very monotone voice and the story cant keep up with it. i think it's still worth playing though, just ignore the voiceacting.
 

Chris Koitz

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for what it's worth here's my take on it
it may not be as pretty or as organized as this but what the hell...
http://ckoitz3.blogspot.com/2010/09/oh-adam-baby.html
 

sharkinz

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SirBryghtside said:
sharkinz said:
I think you misunderstand the concept of a review.
No, this is a pre-review. read the title, and also this:
Hello everyone, this is my review of Metroid: Other M; but it's not a straight up review of it. It is, in fact, a review of the expectations I have going into the game. It's an interesting look at how reviews, trailers, and public opinion has shaped my thoughts on the game even before I play it; as such once I finish I can write a review and compare it to what I thought going in. Any and all critique would be welcome, as this is one of my first large scale reviews of this nature. I look forward to taking all your critiques in to consideration to help make the actual review all the better.

I know I am just saying that a review is something that you do after viewing or playing something, calling it a pre-review does not change that. Regardless of the grammar rules involving the word review I do really like the concept of examining and documenting your expectations of a game (as well as what shaped those expectations) and then comparing them to your feelings of the game after playing it. Official sites that review games (like those on IGN or gametrailers, though certain sites do kinda do this with previews and reviews) should look into doing this because I think this concept has tons of potential in its ability to provide insight into games and the marketing there of.
 

Makenzye

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I'm just glad this game isn't known for what other Team Ninja games are known for in terms of females.

(Seriously though) I'm a bit skeptical of this installment, as I've heard many fans of the older Metroid games feel this one came up lacking. Not that I -normally- base my opinions on people who constantly say, "Back in 1994," or "Back in the old school," or "I remember when games used to have quality." I actually WANT to like this title for what it is. The only thing that keeps me from actually going out and shelling out my hard (read: lazily) earned cash in a sweaty, gasping fit at the cash register is what AdamRBi touched on, the gameplay of moving from third to first person and back. It seems... not interesting, fun, or innovative to me. And I know I'm just being a big cry baby when I say, "When I see it in my mind, I'm just not having fun."

Has anybody else have anything to really add on its actual combat system?

Also, nice pre-review AdamRBi.
 

AdamRBi

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Makenzye said:
I'm just glad this game isn't known for what other Team Ninja games are known for in terms of females.

(Seriously though) I'm a bit skeptical of this installment, as I've heard many fans of the older Metroid games feel this one came up lacking. Not that I -normally- base my opinions on people who constantly say, "Back in 1994," or "Back in the old school," or "I remember when games used to have quality." I actually WANT to like this title for what it is. The only thing that keeps me from actually going out and shelling out my hard (read: lazily) earned cash in a sweaty, gasping fit at the cash register is what AdamRBi touched on, the gameplay of moving from third to first person and back. It seems... not interesting, fun, or innovative to me. And I know I'm just being a big cry baby when I say, "When I see it in my mind, I'm just not having fun."

Has anybody else have anything to really add on its actual combat system?

Also, nice pre-review AdamRBi.
I'm working on the actual review now, but to touch on the point you asked about the transfer from third to first works surprisingly well so long as you're not too close to your screen. As you switch the action slows down for you, gives you a second to target, and only speeds up after a second or two or once you fire a missile. It also slows down as you target something with your missiles, so it really does work so long as your Wii properly reads your motions.

And if that's your problem you should really recalibrate your sensor bar, back up away from the screen, or get rid of any little light sources that might mess with your Wiimote's sensors.

Also; Thanks.
 

AdamRBi

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sharkinz said:
SirBryghtside said:
sharkinz said:
I think you misunderstand the concept of a review.
No, this is a pre-review. read the title, and also this:
Hello everyone, this is my review of Metroid: Other M; but it's not a straight up review of it. It is, in fact, a review of the expectations I have going into the game. It's an interesting look at how reviews, trailers, and public opinion has shaped my thoughts on the game even before I play it; as such once I finish I can write a review and compare it to what I thought going in. Any and all critique would be welcome, as this is one of my first large scale reviews of this nature. I look forward to taking all your critiques in to consideration to help make the actual review all the better.

I know I am just saying that a review is something that you do after viewing or playing something, calling it a pre-review does not change that. Regardless of the grammar rules involving the word review I do really like the concept of examining and documenting your expectations of a game (as well as what shaped those expectations) and then comparing them to your feelings of the game after playing it. Official sites that review games (like those on IGN or gametrailers, though certain sites do kinda do this with previews and reviews) should look into doing this because I think this concept has tons of potential in its ability to provide insight into games and the marketing there of.
You make a good point grammatically; there's just something about the word Preview that while it describes what I'm doing perfectly, there's an alternative meaning to the word. We've seen game previews before, it's a previewing of the game; what I need is some other word to describe this type of writeup. I'll probably get to that after a couple of reviews.
 

AdamRBi

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Snotnarok said:
I already beat it, it's very different from Metroid but also brings back a few things omited from Prime.

My biggest complaint is the plot-hole'd story which has me angry at a variety of parts, don't open the spoiler unless you've beaten the game.

Like when Samus is frozen in fear by Ridley, you know the guy she's beaten 4 times prior to this. While I'm sure she was scared then, she never froze up and took him down (Metroid, Prime 1,3 Super Metroid )

And my biggest angry point, Samus's Varia armor is disabled by a freeze pistol shot to the back. Freeze pistol? Really now, it's inferior tech she's been hit by Plasma, got flung in lava, shot by phazon beams and smashed by many worse things and a dinky freeze pistol wrecks her? Plot Piercing Round anyone? Dumb and made me quite annoyed.

The game overall is very fun to play but some disappointing changes made it a bit different and maybe easy. No HP restoring items or ammo packs, when your HP is too low or you've used a missile or three you hold the wii remote upward and hold A to regen HP and ammo...That's a bit goofy, my comparison would be removing rings from Sonic and adding Hearts instead.
It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, even Samus, that Ridley will keep coming back. He's been killed, rebuilt as a robot a couple times, been destroyed by phazon, returned again in flesh, and finally killed by an exploding planet along with the rest of the space pirates which are the ones who kept rebuilding him. I guess in a sense after that it was a bit of a shock seeing him again (not for me though, I was ecstatic!), but you're right, she did over-react.

Also, with the inclusion of Concentration kind of helps justify no dropped items, at least for missiles; I will admit there were some parts I really wished there were some dropped mid-mini boss fights, though it does help with the difficulty.
 

AdamRBi

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Savant Crime said:
I like the idea of pre-reviewing a game, but you keep referring to other reviews, which sort of dilutes my perceptions of your opinion. All in all, very good, just stick to reviewing the promotional material and avoid other people's opinions of the game.

I mean, you CAN review a review, but combining a judgment of other people's perceptions of the game with your perception of the advertisement based on your own experiences sours the review for me. Perhaps if you set aside a segment for reviews in particular. Otherwise your combining objective and subjective information, and GIGO comes into effect pretty quick, especially since you don't site the reviews you refer to, I'm forced to assume Sturgeon's Law.
Thanks for that, that's something I'll have to keep in mind the next time I write a Pre-Review (Preview). Thank you for your input.
 

AdamRBi

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SirBryghtside said:
Interesting to see what a pre-review looks like (having played about half the game by now) - I now realise that the story is - well, ultimately boring, but the gameplay deserves an 11/10. The bad reviews have all been based on the storyline, which I think is very unfair.

Anyway, I'll be doing a review of this too (my second), so we may have to have a cage match... :p
It's on! I look forward to comparing notes! :b

Though comparing notes in a cage sounds like a the most boring cage match ever.
 

Snotnarok

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AdamRBi said:
Snotnarok said:
I already beat it, it's very different from Metroid but also brings back a few things omited from Prime.

My biggest complaint is the plot-hole'd story which has me angry at a variety of parts, don't open the spoiler unless you've beaten the game.

Like when Samus is frozen in fear by Ridley, you know the guy she's beaten 4 times prior to this. While I'm sure she was scared then, she never froze up and took him down (Metroid, Prime 1,3 Super Metroid )

And my biggest angry point, Samus's Varia armor is disabled by a freeze pistol shot to the back. Freeze pistol? Really now, it's inferior tech she's been hit by Plasma, got flung in lava, shot by phazon beams and smashed by many worse things and a dinky freeze pistol wrecks her? Plot Piercing Round anyone? Dumb and made me quite annoyed.

The game overall is very fun to play but some disappointing changes made it a bit different and maybe easy. No HP restoring items or ammo packs, when your HP is too low or you've used a missile or three you hold the wii remote upward and hold A to regen HP and ammo...That's a bit goofy, my comparison would be removing rings from Sonic and adding Hearts instead.
It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, even Samus, that Ridley will keep coming back. He's been killed, rebuilt as a robot a couple times, been destroyed by phazon, returned again in flesh, and finally killed by an exploding planet along with the rest of the space pirates which are the ones who kept rebuilding him. I guess in a sense after that it was a bit of a shock seeing him again (not for me though, I was ecstatic!), but you're right, she did over-react.

Also, with the inclusion of Concentration kind of helps justify no dropped items, at least for missiles; I will admit there were some parts I really wished there were some dropped mid-mini boss fights, though it does help with the difficulty.
No, that's not my point. My point is item drops is a key gameplay element in Metroid, this doesn't have that for no real good reason, they just took it out and you regen for stupid reasons. It makes the game really easy.
 

yamitami

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AdamRBi said:
Snotnarok said:
I already beat it, it's very different from Metroid but also brings back a few things omited from Prime.

My biggest complaint is the plot-hole'd story which has me angry at a variety of parts, don't open the spoiler unless you've beaten the game.

Like when Samus is frozen in fear by Ridley, you know the guy she's beaten 4 times prior to this. While I'm sure she was scared then, she never froze up and took him down (Metroid, Prime 1,3 Super Metroid )

And my biggest angry point, Samus's Varia armor is disabled by a freeze pistol shot to the back. Freeze pistol? Really now, it's inferior tech she's been hit by Plasma, got flung in lava, shot by phazon beams and smashed by many worse things and a dinky freeze pistol wrecks her? Plot Piercing Round anyone? Dumb and made me quite annoyed.

The game overall is very fun to play but some disappointing changes made it a bit different and maybe easy. No HP restoring items or ammo packs, when your HP is too low or you've used a missile or three you hold the wii remote upward and hold A to regen HP and ammo...That's a bit goofy, my comparison would be removing rings from Sonic and adding Hearts instead.
It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, even Samus, that Ridley will keep coming back. He's been killed, rebuilt as a robot a couple times, been destroyed by phazon, returned again in flesh, and finally killed by an exploding planet along with the rest of the space pirates which are the ones who kept rebuilding him. I guess in a sense after that it was a bit of a shock seeing him again (not for me though, I was ecstatic!), but you're right, she did over-react.

Also, with the inclusion of Concentration kind of helps justify no dropped items, at least for missiles; I will admit there were some parts I really wished there were some dropped mid-mini boss fights, though it does help with the difficulty.
If there was going to be an enemy who made Samus freeze, it would be Mother Brain. Not the space pterodactyl she's blasted fifty times.

Though the real issue I have with this is not only the fact that she freezes for no reason, but the fact that she needs a guy to come and make things better. For YEARS when playing games and seeing all the damsels and cleavage and everything else which makes most game females loathsome, I've always been able to say "well at least we have Samus". She's always been what game females SHOULD be. And now she's been knocked back to their weak level. I'm not even a feminazi and this pisses me off beyond reckoning. It was bad enough when they put her in the 'where's my stripper pole' zero suit, but this? She's not even Samus anymore.