Metroid: Other M

[nakamura]

Finished this and really liked it. Good visuals and some nice location based puzzles. Some truly amazing boss fights in there too and scouting for items is good fun. Combat is excellent, the dodging works really well and the overall control of Samus is spot on.
The first person view switch is a pain in the arse though as is the occasional scan section which requires you to find a target with nuts precision. Music is also a bit lacking, just not enough of it.
I also liked the story.

Really good game. Better than the depressing Metroid Prime 2.

[noobish hat]

Other M would have been PERFECT on the N64. Essentially the same game, but without the awful cutscenes and voice acting. As it stands, it's a great game, but requires lots of doublethink.

[nakamura]

I liked the cutscenes and the voice acting myself. They were pretty decent and told a backstory to the series. Kudos to Team Ninja for doing something slightly different with the franchise but keeping with the spirit of the series.

[Shozuki]

agreed man, really enjoyed this myself!!

[noobish hat]

The story utterly destroyed the character of Samus, as did the utterly bland and monotone voice acting. She sounded like she'd had a lobotomy. The actual things she said didn't make her seem too smart either - just constantly reiterating things the player already knows. It was incredibly poorly handled on pretty much every level. Why did we need all those other characters? And what happened with the traitor? Guess Sakamoto got bored with that plotline. It's a classic case of designers utterly ignoring the most popular and critically praised game in a series (AKA Final Fantasy Syndrome). Super Metroid had one character and no dialogue, and it was amazing and atmospheric and all that jazz. Just like the COD guys who'd rather be film makers than game designers, Sakamoto seems to think he is an excellent writer. He isn't. He's terrible. He makes a damn good game though.

[nakamura]

It didn't bother me at all. It was showing the more human side to Samus in my eyes, we have always known her as a characterless bounty hunter. You learn in Other M that she was once a vulnerable person with weak points. I also didn't mind the voice over. I found it deliberate and gentle. As for the traitor, it lead you to believe it was Adam yet it wasn't, as for who it was had no relevance after that, Samus only cared that it wasn't Adam.
Nothing ground breaking but I liked the story. It did the job.

Oh and the Phantoon boss fight was utterly awesome.

[noobish hat]

I think for once I'm in the majority in my opinion that the story and voice acting was unneccesary, nonsensical, sexist pap (but still in the minority in thinking that it was a good game anyway).

[parkinho]

Finished this and really liked it. Good visuals and some nice location based puzzles. Some truly amazing boss fights in there too and scouting for items is good fun. Combat is excellent, the dodging works really well and the overall control of Samus is spot on.
The first person view switch is a pain in the arse though as is the occasional scan section which requires you to find a target with nuts precision. Music is also a bit lacking, just not enough of it.
I also liked the story.

Really good game. Better than the depressing Metroid Prime 2.

Agreed with pretty much everything here pal, apart from the Metroid Prime 2 comment as I loved that game. Without wanting to spoil anything have you gone back to the Bottle Ship after seeing the end credits?

Edit - after seeing your more recent post I take this as a yes!

Edit 2 - wasn't the traitor the guy who looks like David Beckham? Forgot his name...

[nakamura]

I never said the voices or story were needed Noobish, more that I didn't mind that they were in there.

As for Prime 2, it isn't that I don't like the game or anything, just that it is such a dank and depressing location that it just makes it really hard to play. I have sunk around 10+ hours into it but I struggle to want to go back. On one hand they have done a great job, on the other it is a bit too downbeat. Also I don't like the endless repeated locations but with the light/dark changes. It also feels insanely long.

[noobish hat]

I think it was supposed to be the guy with the evil voice and evil moustache. I don't have any other comments because none of the other redshirts were given any personality or reason for being there. What about that black guy who got a line in the trailer? "Remember me?" No. No we don't remember you, because you're not a character. Get the **** out of Samus' game.

[nakamura]

The black guy was in the game throughout, or was there another guy?

[noobish hat]

I know he was in the game. That's my point. He shouldn't have been. He was plonked in the trailer like a bit of fan service, a call back to character we all know and love, and have been aching to see the return of. Except he's a ****ing nobody! Get rid of him!

[nakamura]

Ah I didn't get what you meant at first. He was okay, typical Hollywood fare. I thought he would go down heroically, when he did I muttered 'there goes the token black guy'.
I thought we were well past that!

[noobish hat]

Wasn't he also megablack? I don't think the Japanese are capable of having a character who just happens to be black. Being black has to be his 'thing'.

[nakamura]

He was a bang on stereotype for sure.