Zero Punctuation: Metroid Other M

[Pearwood]

Nintendo- making the same game over & over & over since 1985. The broken record of the gaming industry.

Metroid Other M is not the same game as the other Metroids. They were good, Other M is tacky at best and outright sexist at worst in their characterisation.

Yahtzee you open old wounds with this review

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I remember the torrent of bullshit that fell on Dom from Gears of War 2 because he actually cared about the welfare of his wife, and that while we all saw it coming, empathizing with him for the revelation of her fate was still a poignant moment.

Well...GoW2 was a little different; plus one problem with introducing heavy emotional issues to a character is that it DOESN'T gel with the juvenile power fantasy of shooting people in the face. Like I said, the games industry has made a bad habit out of sidestepping any displays of negative emotions in our protagonists.

-looks at Rubino's post- I'll fully admit that the game had its problems (like Yahtzee said, give someone criticisms otherwise things will turn out bad): a little too linear, cut scene length was overbearing at times, monologues needed to be edited, voice acting for the minor characters was iffy, exposition dumps, melodramatic/cheesy moments happened ("you got no style!" -shakes head-), the plot was basic, and of course the scanning sections were annoying. However, I will NOT tolerate you bashing the game's fans and then acting like THEY'RE the strawmen. Hate to break it to ya, but they have as good of arguments as you, if not better. And last time I checked so-called "glass princesses" couldn't fight back against alien lizards despite being pinned and make space dragons force-felate their plasma cannons.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

oh no i definitely remember it all

but it was all told with about the same enthusiasm with which you described it - dull and monotonous, obviously to me all the energy was put into the Samus-Adam character arc, which itself wasn't very well written

it's like the entire reason the game's plot and settings existed was simply to tell a personal story that wasn't very well written, maybe next time they should try engaging players

Your personal dichotomies amuse me.

 

[RTR]

I continue to stress that the only time Samus' character ever had some sort of development was at the end of Metroid II, where she couldn't bring herself to kill the last baby Metroid because it thought Samus was it's mom, eventually leading to the events of Super Metroid so "free independent spirit" seems to be a little out of context. For all we know, that was the only thing that kept Samus from being a complete blank page, with Other M being the single time her character has even come close to third-dimensional. I mean, just because she's a badass that hunts aliens for a living doesn't mean she's also human.
Also, I think there is a point to the monotony of her voice: for the most part it's not dialogue with other characters and more of a monologue inside her head. Kinda reminds me of Guy Pearce's character in Memento (the monologuing, that is).

my problem with their portrayal of Samus is that the character is almost 25 years old, and during the majority of that time the character has been a silent completely isolated protagonist

the Samus in Metroid Other M isn't experienced or mature, you don't sense any history with this game's Samus; if this were a prequel of the first game that'd be fine but this is the 4th game

it seems obvious to me that the writer wanted to insert emotion into Samus, but when you just insert it so haphazardly and without any subtlety to a character people have already had their own ideas about for almost 25 years, yeah people aren't going to like it

Even if I don't agree with the stuff you say, I can respect your point of view more than I can respect the one coming from Yahtzee.

 

[DeathWyrmNexus]

So the best way to enjoy a game that's trying not to be an FPS is to play an FPS? Huh.

When was Samus established as having a "bold, independent spirit"? I don't remember that being mentioned at all in any of the games other than the fact that you, the player, are controlling her and she's completely alone. She blindly followed our orders even if it meant smacking into a wall repeatedly when our phones rang or falling into an acid pit when we mis-judged a jump she probably could have handled were she in control of her own body.

This sounds so much like so many other arguments against Other M I'm wondering if Yahtzee either got bored with the ZP enterprise now that his novel's out or has just been too busy to form salient points that he's cribbed notes from other sources. Not that I myself would ever do such a thing [http://gameoverthinker.blogspot.com/2010/09/episode-40-heavens-to-metroid.html].

Funny? Yes. Accurate? No idea. I'm too poor to own a Wii. But I find myself kinda confused by all of the hatred. Maybe it's just me.

I am in a similar pickle as I am also poor right now but with no desire for a Wii. I also watched that video you posted and MovieBob made very decent points... However, I think Yahtzee did too in that they could have given her a bit more independence since she did go through all those other games alone.

The person I keep seeing described in Other M, even when MovieBob described her, doesn't sound like somebody with the gonadal fortitude to keep heading out alone. I also, from a logical perspective, don't see a need for permission to wear my protective gear when I start taking damage from the environment.

But I have to inevitably agree with you that I have no personal basis to go off of so I have to sit on this same fence with you. Popcorn? *offers some*

 

[88mph]

oh no i definitely remember it all

but it was all told with about the same enthusiasm with which you described it - dull and monotonous, obviously to me all the energy was put into the Samus-Adam character arc, which itself wasn't very well written

it's like the entire reason the game's plot and settings existed was simply to tell a personal story that wasn't very well written, maybe next time they should try engaging players

Your personal dichotomies amuse me.

the actual plot of the game is totally forgettable - as in it takes a back seat to the personal story of samus - one that some people including myself didn't quite appreciate, if you want to get into semantics

either way, once the game ended and you return to the ship, that is when i thought "now this is a metroid game", nobody there holding your hand spelling out every subtle feeling Samus might have, just the world of metroid and exploration

prior to the ending tho, the game might as well have been fan fiction on a forum

 

[wonkify]

Very excellent, specific criticisms delivered with spot on humor. An excellent example of what so many of us love Zero Punctuation and Yahtzee for.

And what nerds is he talking to? Must be you other guys on here, couldn't possibly be talking to me. Now what time Friday should I be expecting that special ZP at so I can clear my life in preparation of it's dropping?

And just kidding, everybody on here is part of my tribe and I value them for it.

 

[Oliver Pink]

Y'know, I recently realised that I watch ZP only partially because of the laughs I get out of it - I think I've just grown accustomed to the sound of Yahtzee's voice.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Well...GoW2 was a little different; plus one problem with introducing heavy emotional issues to a character is that it DOESN'T gel with the juvenile power fantasy of shooting people in the face..

What do you do in every Metroid game ever?

Shoot things in the face (or other glowing weakspot).

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Yeh, Metroid Prime 3 was much better.

But no Halo: Reach? Damn...

If he does he'll probably just say "Watch my old Halo review. Done? Good."

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I remember the torrent of bullshit that fell on Dom from Gears of War 2 because he actually cared about the welfare of his wife, and that while we all saw it coming, empathizing with him for the revelation of her fate was still a poignant moment.

Well...GoW2 was a little different; plus one problem with introducing heavy emotional issues to a character is that it DOESN'T gel with the juvenile power fantasy of shooting people in the face. Like I said, the games industry has made a bad habit out of sidestepping any displays of negative emotions in our protagonists.

-looks at Rubino's post- I'll fully admit that the game had its problems (like Yahtzee said, give someone criticisms otherwise things will turn out bad): a little too linear, cut scene length was overbearing at times, monologues needed to be edited, voice acting for the minor characters was iffy, exposition dumps, melodramatic/cheesy moments happened ("you got no style!" -shakes head-), the plot was basic, and of course the scanning sections were annoying. However, I will NOT tolerate you bashing the game's fans and then acting like THEY'RE the strawmen. Hate to break it to ya, but they have as good of arguments as you, if not better. And last time I checked so-called "glass princesses" couldn't fight back against alien lizards despite being pinned and make space dragons force-felate their plasma cannons.

I'm pretty sure you're talking to Mr Robino for that last bit, to which I would advise quoting him that he might be aware of it. If, instead, you were directing my eyes toward his post, then I'll say instead that I am fully aware that the game had it's bad bits, but that the general outcry of "They gave her a weak character when they characterized her" is about as sensible as spraying Rat-flavoring all over your cock and presenting it to a snake.

He mentioned bad pacing, though, which intrigues and amuses me, because I can't really think of a moment aside from those asinine stalking sections where Samus marches stiffly around where the pacing was off at all. Same with bad storytelling, because, while thoroughly predictable, was no less mediocre than anything else currently on market.

 

[JackRyan64]

Wow, he really tore this one apart. I still wanna play it though before I form an opinion. MovieBob brought up some good points, but so did Yahtzee and, well, just about everyone else.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

the actual plot of the game is totally forgettable - as in it takes a back seat to the personal story of samus - one that some people including myself didn't quite appreciate, if you want to get into semantics

either way, once the game ended and you return to the ship, that is when i thought "now this is a metroid game", nobody there holding your hand spelling out every subtle feeling Samus might have, just the world of metroid and exploration

prior to the ending tho, the game might as well have been fan fiction on a forum

Out of curiosity, have you ever really been impressed by a Metroid story or plot, though? Even the highly touted Prime games have little in the way of memorable, distinct plot. Those particular plots took the backseat to exploration and reading. Super Metroid's plot was second to playing with your various new toys as you got them, and figuring out all the little nooks and crannies you could tuck into for loot. Story has never really been their focus, always being there casually, but background to wandering around finding new ways to go to different rooms in the places you've already been.

 

[GloatingSwine]

He mentioned bad pacing, though, which intrigues and amuses me, because I can't really think of a moment aside from those asinine stalking sections where Samus marches stiffly around where the pacing was off at all. Same with bad storytelling, because, while thoroughly predictable, was no less mediocre than anything else currently on market.

You don't think that entirely abandoned plot threads and all of the key story exposition being stuffed into one cutscene after the endboss is bad pacing?

Not being able to naturally conclude all of the story threads you've set up is one of the key indicators of bad story pacing, if you're left with threads hanging that you can't conclude as part of your story it means you fucked up, something should have been dealt with and you didn't do it. Also wrong is infodumping, because it means that you forgot to or couldn't figure out how to reveal that information during the course of the narrative, so you have to arrest the narrative in order to deliver a great wodge of exposition. Other M does this with critical narrative points after the narrative should be over. (Remember, this is a videogame, the conclusion of the narrative should be interwoven with the conclusion to the game, and that does not mean a whopping cutscene on the end. The way the end is handled is about the one piece of really good narrative in Halo: Reach).

 

[Flamma Man]

Portal, Half-Life 2, TimeSplitters, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Thief: The Dark Project, Deus Ex, System Shock II, Bioshock and a lot of others would all like a word with you.

You pretty much just listed a bunch of examples of FPSs that I like and wish more FPS developers would take inspiration from instead of anything that involves space marines or everything else Halo made "trendy" to this genre.

Thank god for companies like People Can Fly. (They're the ones that made Painkiller and are currently working on Bulletstorm right?)

What I was getting at was bob said that the FPS genre is the most uncreative which, using examples, is incredibly false.

And yes, more developers need to make more engaging and better written FPSs, but I think they're slowing getting it.

 

[QUINTIX]

I'm not sure why quote is not working...

But for those of you who mentioned moviebob... [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/1982-Resident-Evil-Afterlife]

Go to the end.

 

[GloatingSwine]

the actual plot of the game is totally forgettable - as in it takes a back seat to the personal story of samus - one that some people including myself didn't quite appreciate, if you want to get into semantics

either way, once the game ended and you return to the ship, that is when i thought "now this is a metroid game", nobody there holding your hand spelling out every subtle feeling Samus might have, just the world of metroid and exploration

prior to the ending tho, the game might as well have been fan fiction on a forum

Out of curiosity, have you ever really been impressed by a Metroid story or plot, though? Even the highly touted Prime games have little in the way of memorable, distinct plot. Those particular plots took the backseat to exploration and reading. Super Metroid's plot was second to playing with your various new toys as you got them, and figuring out all the little nooks and crannies you could tuck into for loot. Story has never really been their focus, always being there casually, but background to wandering around finding new ways to go to different rooms in the places you've already been.

Which makes it all the more bizarre that they suddenly decided they needed an overblown cutscene fest with linear levels instead of, y'know, a Metroid game.

 

[Flamma Man]

I'm not sure why quote is not working...

But for those of you who mentioned moviebob... [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/1982-Resident-Evil-Afterlife]

Go to the end.

...

Wow.

Just...wow...I didn't even notice that...

He honestly thinks that this game is BETTER than the Prime series? I mean, there's opinion and then there's just...

 

[SyphonX]

This one actually made me laugh out loud.

I don't know why, but this bit:

"So you want to know who the traitor turned out to be? *Suspenseful Pause* .. "Well so the fuck would I."

I don't know why, but I found that hilarious.