Previous Metroid titles have always featured silk-smooth responsiveness and intuitive control configurations. One might expect Metroid Other M to boast a wide range of inputs, given the twin control systems and wide array of attacks on hand. Does this intergalactic escapade hold together when the action becomes intense? Read on and find out in this part of our Metroid Other M review.
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Metroid Other M review: The best Metroid yet?
There’s a very good chance that when you boot up Metroid Other M for the first time you’ll instinctively connect your Nunchuk to your Wii Remote in anticipation of some complex and complicated interface demands. However, when the game instructs you to disconnect all controller attachments you quickly realise that this new adventure is going to be something different – it’s controlled entirely using the Wii Remote, held horizontally.
The D-pad controls Samus’ movement, which means you’ll be getting no analogue love in Metroid Other M. Pushing in any direction causes our heroine to burst into a full sprint, something which looks amusing initially but soon becomes perfectly tolerable. In fact, the way in which Samus dashes around each level calls to memory images of the excellent Super Metroid, and that’s no bad thing.
The 1 and 2 buttons control jumping and firing, with your shots automatically locking onto the nearest enemy. You might imagine that this configuration would lead to all kinds of frustration, but the automatic targeting actually gets it right more often than not. Besides, the gameplay is so fast-paced that during particularly intense fire fights you won’t really have chance to pick a target anyway.
Holding down the fire button in Metroid Other M charges up Samus’ power shot, which is useful for taking out really stubborn enemies. This weapon can also be augmented with additional capabilities, such as fragmentation blasts and the like. As Samus is given permission to use these enhanced abilities the challenge increases accordingly to make the most of them.
The other major element of Metroid Other M’s control setup is the dodge ability. Rather than being mapped to its own button this is triggered merely by pushing a direction when an attack is inbound. This means that it’s very easy to master evasion techniques during massive battles, but it can also result in an element of confusion. Sometimes you may intend to merely move Samus in a certain direction but a dodge dash will be triggered because an enemy is in the process of launching an unforeseen attack. It’s not a major problem, however.
Holding down the A button triggers Samus’ transformation into a morph ball, which is a feature that has been present right since the first NES Metroid back in 1986. In this mode Samus is able to enter small openings and drop bombs. Combine all this with gesture-sensitive recharge commands and the ability to wall-jump Ninja Gaiden-style, it’s clear that the Metroid Other M has a versatile setup.
Of course the third person control system is just one part of Metroid Other M’s interface. Thrusting the Wii Remote at the television switches to first person view. Samus becomes stuck to the spot but you gain access to her powerful arsenal of missiles – the only weapon capable of taking out certain enemies or blowing apart walls.
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Switching between the two systems takes a short while to become accustomed to but you’ll need to master it if you’ve got any hope of beating Metroid Other M. There are times when you’ll seemingly hit a dead end, but if you revert to first person mode you’ll notice that cracks in walls can be targeted and blown open, revealing holes small enough for Samus to enter in morph ball mode. Sadly for fans of the Metroid Prime trilogy, scanning the environment for information doesn’t play a massive role in Metroid Other M, aside from pointing out items of interest.
It’s in Metroid Other M’s astonishing boss battles where the first person viewpoint really comes into its own. These titanic struggles require you to constantly toggle between the two control setups, grinding down the guardians in third person mode before viewing the action through Samus’ visor in order to lock on to exposed weak spots with your missiles.
It’s never easy to fuse together two essentially disconnected control systems and while the process of changing your grip on the Wii Remote to switch between the two modes is awkward to begin with, after a while it becomes second nature. We’d still argue that it would have been perfectly possible to cram the same amount of actions in a Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup, but there’s something to be said for keeping things simple.
Read the rest of our Metroid Other M review now
Metroid Other M review
Metroid Other M review: Story
Metroid Other M review: The best Metroid yet?
