Metroid: Other M First Impressions

I have always been a huge fan of Metroid ever since the NES version. Ironically, the NES version is the only version of Metroid that I have played. While playing Metroid: Other M, I feel like I am back playing the original NES version but turbo charged. Metroid: Other M incorporates many different elements from the original Metroid.

Metroid: Other M opens up with a beautiful opening story showing in amazing detail the events in Super Metroid and the battle with Mother Brain. This opening cinematic will get you up to speed quickly if you haven’t played Super Metroid.

After seeing endless demos and trailers for Metroid: Other M I have been intrigued by control scheme. At first glance Metroid: Other M appears to be a standard side scroller but Nintendo was able to add some 3D elements to make Metroid current. As with any side scroller you can move forward and back but Nintendo has also brought depth allowing Samus to move around in all directions. What intrigued me the most about Metroid: Other M is how Nintendo added a first person view as well as the traditional side scrolling view.

The control scheme for Samus is a nice throw-back to the original Metroid. While holding the controller horizontally (read: like an old school controller) you are able to control all of Samus’s actions. One main difficulty with side scroller games is that there is limited visibility, but Nintendo added a cool feature; that by flipping the Wii-mote to face the screen you can see the world as Samus sees it, giving you a first person view of the world which also gives you better control of your weapons and also enables you to find secret locations or just your way around.

All in all I have only had a few hours with Metroid so far but my experience thus far has been great. The graphics are very nicely detailed and gameplay so far is a lot of fun. I can’t imagine myself not liking Metroid: Other M as I get deeper into the storyline. Most of all it’s a lot of fun to play and has a nice bit of nostalgic value added to it to make seasoned Metroid players very happy. Metroid: Other M is available today, August 31st, only for the Nintendo Wii. Stay tuned for our full in-depth review later on in the week.