I'm not usually a Day One purchaser of a lot of games, but for high-profile Nintendo releases I'll sometimes make an exception, and I had a $15 gift card to Toys R' Us sitting around doing nothing from when I picked up Dragon Quest IX last month, so over the lunch hour today I ran out and got a copy of Metroid: Other M. It wouldn't be true to say I'm fanatical about the Metroid series - like most gamers who grew up in the 80's and early 90's I view Super Metroid as a truly awesome classic, but I didn't have a SNES as a kid so I didn't play it until years later. I never played Metroid II at all, never finished the original Metroid, and while I own the Metroid Prime Collection on the Wii (and it's really good), I haven't finished those games either. So I'm a casual fan of the series at best; I love the atmosphere of Metroid games, I think Samus Aran is a great character, but I don't spend hours doing speedruns or getting 100% of the secrets.
So why pick up Other M on release day (aside from being able to get a discount, which I admit helped)? Honestly, it was largely because of the controversy it's generating. Reviews are sharply divided, and while they're trending towards good scores, there are some surprisingly low scores in there from big review sites. 6.25 out of 10 from Game Informer. 3 out of 5 from Gamespy. Contrast those to 9 / 10 and 8 / 10 scores from sites like Eurogamer and Gametrailers.
Now, I've said before that I'm not really interested in writing scored reviews here, and I don't intend to start with this one. But the wide range of reactions did make me more interested in trying the game for myself. This is the first core Nintendo game to generate any serious controversy and division of critical opinion since Wind Waker, and that was almost entirely about art style, not character, story or gameplay. Before that, I'm not even sure I know what the last one would have been. I'd say Metroid Prime, but there was very little division over that - pretty much everyone loved it. So it's nice to see the Big N being willing to take a step outside their comfort zone with one of their flagships, even if it ends up being a stumbling step. Obviously Metroid was a good candidate for that, since they'd already done it once before with Prime. I'd like to see them give other franchises a taste of the same diversity.
How do I think it turned out? After about two hours, I'm really enjoying it. A lot, actually, considering how harsh some of the reviews were. It absolutely feels like Metroid to me, however much as I'm qualified to say that. Is it the Metroid we know? No, probably not quite. But I don't think that necessarily means it can't be a Metroid we love.
Story Stuff:
Unfortunately, I think that the complaints about story delivery that many reviews have levied at the game are spot on. It's stilted, it's awkward, and it goes on far too long. The voice acting is (charitably) adequate, but the writing is flat-out bad. I disagree, however, with the claim some people have made that Nintendo and Team Ninja have somehow destroyed the character of Samus - at least so far I do. Let me offer my take on this, with the understanding that there will be spoilers, but only from the first two hours because that's all I've played. If you don't want to know anything about the story, just skip down to "Gameplay Stuff."
A lot of heavy exposition is front-loaded at the beginning of Other M about Samus' past in the army, and how she constantly felt bitter and resentful because everybody treated her like a delicate flower, couldn't see past her being a woman, etc. It doesn't exactly match the independent badass characterization she's had in other games - she comes off as a bit whiny - but it's all clearly portrayed as ancient history... from before she became a bounty hunter, before Metroid 1. Some unspecified bad turn of events takes place, and she leaves the army to strike out on her own, clearly pissing off her commanding officer Adam in doing so. All of that seems true to character, and I have no trouble buying young Samus as a rebellious outcast in the army, even if the "thumbs down" thing (you'll see) is silly and way overplayed.
At the point of Other M, the events of Metroid, Metroid II and Super Metroid have transpired. Samus has spent all of that time effectively alone, fighting space pirates, fighting Metroids, fighting Ridley, and getting the occasional handshake from the Federation for her trouble. The beginning of Other M is the first time she re-encounters the folks who used to be her old comrades, and she accidentally walks in on their mission. She's stepping on their toes but they clearly need her help, so she agrees to assist. Her old commander obviously still has a chip on his shoulder about her leaving, though, so she also agrees to follow orders to keep everything calm.
I really don't have issue with any of the above. The "following orders" bit to restrict your weaponry is contrived, yes, but no moreso than their usual way of doing it by just taking all your powers away in the first 5 minutes and scattering them around the planet for you to collect. The only place the story starts to get weird is where she delivers an overwrought "I viewed Adam as a father figure" monologue, and starts apparently longing to have that male authority back in her life. I can see how this could come off as sexist, especially seeing the sort of figure Samus has been cast as in the past, but I honestly don't think it was consciously written that way. She's been out in space alone for years, and this team was the last human camaraderie she knew. She's a loner reconsidering her solitude, reaching for what used to be familiar. Viewed in that light, her wistful recollection of a simpler time in her life seems easier to swallow.
Besides (actual spoiler here, skip this paragraph if you don't want to know), Metroid Fusion - the GBA Advance game that is the "last" piece of the Metroid story so far - tells the player that Samus' commander Adam sacrificed himself to save her. I can pretty much guarantee that's going to happen in this game, and it'll probably be where she reaffirms that it isn't safe for her to have friends, reclaims her solitude, and strikes out on her own to be gaming's most independent woman again. In order to have that moment work, the Adam / Samus relationship has to go from tension to reconciliation over the course of the game... or at least, that's my guess. I may be giving them more credit than they deserve, but it's the only reason I can think of to start the story this way.
Gameplay Stuff:
This part will be shorter, because it's good! I like it! It doesn't require any arguably-stretched excuses like the story does! The auto-aiming works fine, and the fact that you need to be Ninja Gaiden-dodging and powering up shots while you do it keeps it from being an Easy Button. Targeting the screen for firing off missiles and scanning things is a little awkward to get used to, but I'm already feeling comfortable with it. The sense of speed and mobility is really, really good, and they definitely have the "keep your eye out for hidden stuff" motif going on strong; I already found one missile pack that wasn't indicated at all by a blip on my radar (because it was behind a hidden enemy), and there's all sorts of places I'm noticing that I'll have to backtrack to later in order to pick up things I can't reach yet.
I also like that they balanced out the missile auto-recharge by having each missile pack only add one missile to your total instead of the standard 5. Nice choice.
Long story short (too late!), it's Metroid. It's a different spin on it for sure, but if you like Metroid I feel confident in saying you should give this a spin, even if it's only with a rental. Personally, I'm eager to keep going.