Metroid: Other M

I suppose since I gave my thoughts on one of the most well loved of the Metroid series, I should say a little something about the most controversial: Metroid: Other M.

Before I even got the game, the word was out: this game sucks. At best it was a disappointment. That's what everyone seemed to be saying, anyway. Sure, there was a voice poking through every now and again saying it was actually pretty good, but they would get shot down by the more vocal "It Sucks!" group. I got the game anyways, figuring "It's Metroid. It can't be that bad."

And you know what, it really wasn't. Was it the great return to Super Metroid gameplay style Wii fun I was hoping for? The kind of thing that complemented Super Metroid the way New Super Mario Bros Wii complemented those early Mario platformers? No. In fact, there's a lot annoying with Other M. I would read all the gripes about it and think, "That's a good point," and nod my head at what everyone was saying.

Yet I kept coming back to it, wanting to play it. I actually liked the story. The story was interesting and kept me staying with it to see what would happen. The EXECUTION of the story was the flaw. The melodramatics, yeah, that was a problem. The way the story handcuffed the open exploration that Metroid was known for, that hurt the game. The long cut scenes when I just wanted to blast away at weird alien lifeforms annoyed. I would argue that of all those flaws, the worst one was the fact that, as I alluded to, the story is told in such a way that it drives the game play to where it needs to go to keep the story flowing. That door you could go down and explore off the beaten path in previous Metroid games? Locked. Previous pathways are taken away from you as the story keeps pushing you in the direction it needs you to go to keep its beats going. This is where the Prime games were brilliant, you discovered the story as you went along, whereas Other M forces it down your throat.

The gameplay itself, I don't have much of a problem with. You run, jump and shoot and it feels natural enough. It depends on if you like the auto aim mechanic and I didn't mind it too much. If it took away my ability to shoot the thing that posed the most danger, it would be a problem, but I didn't find that to happen very much, if at all. It was a bit awkward to go from first person to third person to shoot missiles. The "concentrate" to restore your missiles and health was lame.

The boss fights were challenging, but after the majesty of the Prime boss fights, they felt a little lacking. The game does hold your hand quite a bit, letting you know where all hidden objects are.

Look, I thought the game was fun. I don't regret picking it up and it kept my interest throughout the run time of the major story mode. It's just not up to Metroid standards. I do appreciate that something different was tried and I think they came close to recapturing the magic. Metroid Prime was a giant departure from the side scrolling Metroids of yore, but it still had that same magic.

In the end, the thing that keeps the game down is the fact that it got away from the fundamentals of Metroid gameplay: the isolated open world exploration. Yes, in the end when you're done with the story, the world opens up for exploration, but it's too little, too late.

It's a fun game that people are probably too hard on, but that's because they expect the best from the franchise, and this game did not deliver "the best". Instead of recapturing the glory of Super Metroid, it plays more like a watered down Metroid Fusion (and I liked Fusion) with a character backstory a lot of people didn't want.

Metroid Prime

One of my gaming regrets is not purchasing the Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii. Until it comes down to a price that doesn't require me to sell off my kids, I'll have to settle for the Gamecube version of Metroid Prime and the Metroid Prime Corruption only Wii disc. Sadly, I've never played Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, but I would like to. I keep putting off picking up a cheap gamecube copy, holding on to the hope of one day owning that Trilogy Disc.

Add the sound of angelic singing here.

All that aside, here are my feelings on the original Gamecube Metroid: Prime.

This game has been out a few years now and most everyone knows whether they like it or not. Playing through it again, however, it surprised me how well this game holds up. Should that be a surprise? Probably not. Most all Metroid games hold up. I still have as much fun with Super Metroid as I did when I was 12. The difference, to me, is that the old 8 and 16 bit games have their charm. The graphics are what they are and gameplay was what drew you to 'em. The same is true here. Though, it must be said that the graphics hold up very well. This is still a beautiful game. The environments are breathtaking and realistic. It definitely looks better than some of the Wii games out there.

The beauty of this game, as is true with the rest of the series, is the sense of immersion and exploration. The isolation. The sheer atmosphere of it as you discover new parts of a dying world. There is a sense of history surrounding you and you must make your way through various puzzles and enemies to find the items that let you continue to explore the world and try to take out the vile Space Pirates using it for their own Phazon-induced schemes. And you feel like you are there every step of the way.

The bosses are fun, huge and varied. I enjoyed facing the bosses in this game. The challenge of figuring out their weaknesses, learning their patterns and taking them down was quite satisfying. Also, they were neat to look at.

The scan system works, it's very effective in filling in backstory and the history of the planet, as well as figuring out how to deal with enemies. I don't mind the scan system for those reasons, but I can see how it can be frustrating for some players who feel like all they're doing is scanning objects. Especially if you are a completist (I'm an "near completist", I don't have to have every single thing, but I will put in effort to get enough to get as close as I can and also not get the lamest ending).

Though I have to throw in that this game does include 2 things I absolutely hate:

1)Water Levels: These are never fun for me. They are more a chore and I have a deep irrational fear of deep water (even in video games). It must be noted that this isn't quite as bad once you get the gravity suit.

2)Chozo Ghosts: No particular reason, I just hate Chozo Ghosts. They pop up way to often and make backtracking more difficult than it should be (I guess that is a reason after all).

Yes, this game has put a few years behind its release date and there have been a handful of Metroid titles sinc, but I have a feeling I'll be playing this game more than once or twice in the future (especially if I get my paws on that ever elusive Trilogy Wii disc!). Just a fun, immersive experience.

Super Mario Galaxy 2: Just as Fun as the First Blast Into Space

Well folks, Mario's back to his planet hopping ways that we first saw in the original Super Mario Galaxy. Once again the Princess gets whisked away by a Galactus sized King Bowser (this gal gets captured more than Nancy Drew) and Mario is off to save her. Storyline wise, I'm kind of confused as if this is supposed to have anyting to do with the first one at all. But this is Mario, let's not let something as trivial as "storytelling" get in the way of a good time.

This game is just as much a hoot as the first. The level design is nothing short of amazing. The boss battles are probably even more fun and imaginative than the first one as well. And I found those original battles full of both. I would say that I am very fond of the drill that shows up early in the game, I thought that was neat. The old powerups are all back, including a couple of new ones, including the neat-o cloud Mario and the insanely awesome rock Mario. I could still probably go through an entire game without being Bee Mario and and not lose a lot of sleep over it. And I don't know if its the fact that I'm not Super Gamer Man, but I still have a bit of trouble with the direction of the fireballs when I'm wearing Mario's patented White and Red Fireball Suit.

And let us not neglect our little buddy Yoshi, back after being absent in the first Galaxy Game. Yoshi, as always, is a helpful little dinosaur and I don't think I'll ever not get a kick out of watching him eat a red pepper. Go, Yoshi, Go!

If there's one nitpick I have, and yes, I realize its only a nitpick, it is the new World Map. I kind of miss the whole Hub World idea from the previous 3D Mario titles. Now we've gone back to Side-Scrollin' Mario's World Map where we go along a line til we get to the planet we must conquer next. Of course there are splits in the road, so you do get choices, but it just kind of loses that little feeling of freedom a hub world gives you. Like I said, just a nitpick really and has nothing whatsoever to do with the fun factor of actually playing these deeply imaginative and super-designed levels.

If Mario ever decides to take another trip out into the galaxy, I won't hesitate to follow him, even if he waits for the Wii U (which is more likely).

New Super Mario Bros Wii

Fess up time, I've had this game for a while. It's one of the very, very, very few games I bought within the first couple of months of release. But I'm not playing much new right now, so the next couple of posts will be on games that I've already played a while ago. So here are my thoughts on New Super Mario Bros Wii...

Nostalgia can take you so far,  but the sheer fun is what brings it home. Sure, playing this game took me back to playing the original NES games when I was a wee lad; same gameplay, ect, but I'm almost positive that I would find New Super Mario Bros. Wii a blast if I'd never had any inkling of what the plumbing siblings from Brooklyn were all about. Make no mistake, Mario has been a fixture in gaming for eons and its not because of the mustache (though let's be honest, the mustache doesn't hurt), it's because they are consistently top quality games. This one is no different. From the vibrant graphics and colors to the familiar and effective gameplay, this game is very addictive. The level design is most excellent as I entered each world wondering what other kind of wacky situations the game designers could possibly get the Mario Bros. and their Toad pals into and was never let down. Yes, there are difficult levels. It might take a few frustrating tries to get some levels figured out, but once you do and conquer that bad boy, it is immensely satisfying. This is simply the Mario Way.

Try activating this lever when the wife keeps accidentally leaping on it first.

And multiplayer, ah yes, multiplayer. What a wonderful creation that has been. There's nothing more fun than sitting down with a buddy and plowing through a rousing game of Mario Bros. And at the same time, there's nothing more frustrating than sitting down with a buddy (or significant other) and dying your way through Mario Bros. Just a word to the wise; if you head into a game with someone with a few less years of experience at the joystick, go with patience. Loads of patience. I'd hate to see good marriages break up over a mustached plumber in red overalls. To be fair though, once I changed my mindset from "go in to win!" to "let's just have some fun", playing with the wife was indeed fun.

It's cool that the game lets you use the controller like an old school NES controller, but this too can have frustrations. Maybe I'm just not as nimble with the fingers as I used to be or I've grown more accustomed to analog sticks, but the D-Pad feels a little small and it can be annoying when trying to hit the "down" button and going sideways or vice-versa. Just a minor quibble though that doesn't take away from the fact that this game is just sheer fun for the whole family.

How it compares to other modern Mario games just varies on your mileage, I suppose. I think I may find Mario Galaxy a bit more fun, but the wife definitely prefers good ol' Side Scroller Mario. In the end, for me, just give me a fun game with that crazy plumber in the tripped out Mushroom Kingdom, and I'm sure I can find a reason to play.

Lost In Shadow for Wii

Lost in Shadow for the Wii is a game that is different enough to be interesting, but doesn't quite get interesting enough to keep my attention to finish it. I rented this a couple of week ago and at first, I was really into it.  You start out as a boy on the top of a tower tall enough make Saruman say, "That might be a little overboard."  An evil armored Vader-like monstrosity proceeds to sever your shadow from your body and hurl it 25,898 stories to the ground.

It's now up to your shadow to make its way up the tower to join back with its boy.  It's like when the Ghostbusters had to get to the top of the building to fight Gozer, but with more platforming.  The cool mechanic of the game is that as a shadow, you can only interact with shadows.  You don't run along a ledge, you run along the ledge's shadow.  When you encounter a random sword stuck in the ground, you don't pick up the sword, you get the shadow of the sword.

By the Power of Greyskull!!!!

All in all, it is a refreshing take on the platformer genre.   You hit switches, travel through ghostly shadow corridors, manipulate light to give you different perspectives, all very cool.  But after going through a few levels, that's all you keep doing.  There are a few shadow spiders and the like you fight along the way, but it becomes a lot of slash, slash, slash, jump back to avoid the swipe!  Rinse and repeat.  Which is what I felt the game did, rinse and repeat.

I've seen other reviews that say there's a little something that happens later in the game that sort of makes up for all the repetition, but as I said, this was a rental and I don't have a ton of time to begin with to spend on video games as much as I'd like, so I couldn't give it more than a few hours.  What little time I do have, I want to spend it with games that grip me and drag me along with its game play.  

Don't get me wrong, I like what the game is attempting, going in a bit of a different direction.  I just wish they would have done more with it.  I would say it's worth a rental, at least.  I don't think I'm gonna spend any more cash to buy it and finish it up, though.