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[gogojira]

More than that, he didn't come close to finishing it if the game truly clocks in around 15 hours. He says he spent "around five hours" with it. Needless to say, he's going to be more generous with his time played than the other way around, so it could be even less.

Opinions are opinions, but at least try to finish the game before posting a review -- especially considering this is a Nintendo focused website because let's be honest, I doubt the dude is working with a full plate right now.

Seriously, fuck this incomplete bullshit.

 

[Kard8p3]

Just so we're clear before the game releases, who here actually thinks the cut scenes will add more to the experience than they take away?

I don't think they'll take away from the game at all.

 

[Gravijah]

thats my point

glad we're on the same page

 

[_Alkaline_]

Just so we're clear before the game releases, who here actually thinks the cut scenes will add more to the experience than they take away?

As I've said before, Super Metroid did the minimalist approach of story-telling so well that I actually prefer that Other M is heading in a different direction. Rather than ape what Super perfected, it'll stand on its own.

Honestly, I think the whole 'isolation' thing is built up way too much by many on GAF. Yes this is an element of the series, but it's far from being the most important. There are many other things that define Metroid more than isolation, and Other M appears to tick most of these boxes.

 

[Guevara]

I think the cutscenes will absolutely kill the game to be honest. At least they will be skippable on replays (ugh).

 

[Door2Dawn]

glad we're on the same page

exactly

 

[hatchx]

As I've said before, Super Metroid did the minimalist approach of story-telling so well that I actually prefer that Other M is heading in a different direction. Rather than ape what Super perfected, it'll stand on its own.

Honestly, I think the whole 'isolation' thing is built up way too much by many on GAF. Yes this is an element of the series, but it's far from being the most important. There are many other things that define Metroid more than isolation, and Other M appears to tick most of these boxes.

I agree, and I think one of the best things about Nintendo franchises is they have room to explore. Metroid will be a long-running series, and we'll see many more sequels. I always appreciate games like Zelda: Four Swords and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beats because they reach outside the norm of the series and take risks.

I'm quite disappointed in the direction the new Zelda is taking because it really looks like they are playing it totally safe. For the exact opposite reasons, I'm very excited about the bold direction Other M is taking. Not so much for the cutscenes, but the simple intuitive control scheme and 2D-3D elements.

No review can really change how I feel. I'm very, very excited!

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Wait, hold up

His time frame doesn't match up

He says two hours are cutscenes, and got lost off the main story for an hour and a half, but he played five hours.

The game may actually be bad, but this means that he played for an hour and a half of the actual game.

I don't think that's right.

 

[Gravijah]

exactly

mmhmm

 

[Boney]

Just so we're clear before the game releases, who here actually thinks the cut scenes will add more to the experience than they take away?

Depends on what you mean. The game is built around acknowledging Samus as a character and fleshing her out. If they just took them out as the game currently is, it'd probably take away.

If you're asking, if the game would've been made on the ground up, having the same type of unobstrusive story like Zero Mision, or Super, then maybe I might have prefered that. But I doubt it could been as perfectly constructed in 3d as Zero Mision is, so it'd be completely different experience than those 2, even it it had the story taken out. It's a very difficult position to be stuck in I believe.

But as it stands, I'm completely happy with Other M as it stands. Wouldn't want it any other way.

 

[Guevara]

Wait, hold up

His time frame doesn't match up

He says two hours are cutscenes, and got lost off the main story for an hour and a half, but he played five hours.

The game may actually be bad, but this means that he played for an hour and a half of the actual game.

I don't think that's right.

This is the kind of shit that happens when reviews are embargoed. Rather than talk about interesting professional reviews we have to dissect the confused ramblings of a Nintendo fansite review. I wish the whole practice would die

 

[Kard8p3]

I think the cutscenes will absolutely kill the game to be honest. At least they will be skippable on replays (ugh).

Skippable cutscenes on replays hasn't been confirmed yet.

 

[Mr. B Natural]

Wait, hold up

His time frame doesn't match up

He says two hours are cutscenes, and got lost off the main story for an hour and a half, but he played five hours.

The game may actually be bad, but this means that he played for an hour and a half of the actual game.

I don't think that's right.

Ugh. Maybe he's looking at the Total time on his save which wouldn't include the time spent dying. Who knows. Who cares?

 

[Tathanen]

This is the kind of shit that happens when reviews are embargoed. Rather than talk about interesting professional reviews we have to dissect the confused ramblings of a Nintendo fansite review. I wish the whole practice would die

The notion that the opinions of a "professional" reviewer would be more trustable than a fansite review is pretty backwards sounding to me. I mean clearly this guy here is a little loco, but typically you can expect an opinion formed by someone who actually CARES on a fansite, rather than the rote soulless cack you'd find on your IGNs and GameSpots.

This guy should be embargoed as well, anyway. I'm not sure what he's doing putting a review up if he's got a review copy.

 

[Throwaway123456789]

I'm now an hour and half/two hours in and I'm not really sure what to think. It both feels like and doesn't feel like a Metroid game. I guess I'm just not liking the rushing part. Love the space station so far though, but the switching between FPS and 3rd person is kind of tedious.

I just met the cutest and at the same time most evil looking little rabbit/chicken/moogle thing though - can't wait to see what that cut scene was all about

Spoiler

(it was playing around and stumbling and being totally adorable and then WHAM! EVIL STAAAARE)

 

[mantidor]

I have a fear that Nintendo and Team Ninja may potentially screw up Samus Aran's character. First of all, neither of them are used to this kind of serious side of story telling with seemingly heavy dialogue. Secondly, just by how the game uses the word "baby" over and over again, that alone raises a red flag. I just hope Sakamoto knows what he's doing.

There's no doubt in my mind Samus will lose all her charm, uniqueness, and general "badassery", which is sad, but there's really nothing we can do. I don't know why they can't cope with a strong woman, they have to make her weak somehow.

 

[MNC]

Some things about the review...

- I think he said you can unlock a 'long movie' of 2 hours of cutscenes to watch.

- He calls it linear, so I think he just finds it unable to backtrack, because he can't progress?


Augh let's just not discuss this silly review.

 

[Lost Fragment]

This guy should be embargoed as well, anyway. I'm not sure what he's doing putting a review up if he's got a review copy.

I'd wager he's not under an embargo because he either pirated it or snagged an early copy from a mom and pop operation.

 

[Kard8p3]

Tathanen if possible can you confirm for us if you can skip cutscenes after the first playthrough?

 

[Kai Dracon]

The more I read about Other M the more I get the impression this is the "Metroid Revival" we would have gotten had Nintendo not gone to Retro and said "LOL MAKE METROID FPS!! SURPRISE US!" and made the world scratch its head.

What I mean, is that everything in this is a pure Japanese Metroid reimagining rather than Retro's fusion of east and west. (Note: I think the Prime trilogy is fantastic.)

The thing is, we already got the direct contemporary continuation of Metroid with Fusion. Other M is also a very Japanese take, just taking more liberties to experiment. Honestly, everything I have seen and heard so far just makes me want to play it more.

We have the perfect classic Metroid: Super

We have the perfect modern 2D Metroid: Fusion

I want to see if Other M is the perfect fresh, but Japanese style, Metroid.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

This guy should be embargoed as well, anyway. I'm not sure what he's doing putting a review up if he's got a review copy.

It leaked late last night/early this morning.

That plus a five hour gameplay plus a hastily written review equals ????

 

[Gravijah]

It leaked late last night/early this morning.

That plus a five hour gameplay plus a hastily written review equals ????

It's OK, you can say it.

 

[hatchx]

There's no doubt in my mind Samus will lose all her charm, uniqueness, and general "badassery", which is sad, but there's really nothing we can do. I don't know why they can't cope with a strong woman, they have to make her weak somehow.

If you watch anime and read manga, you really won't see the cutscenes as so bad. I havn't played the game, but from the videos I've seen, the cutscenes seem fine.

I'm more interested in the overall story. Sure, the MGS series and Final Fantasy series have the cut scenes and VA locked down, but their 'overall' stories are pretty stupid. Atlease the overall Metroid lore is pretty compelling. It's my favorite sci-fi storyline, and I don't expect Other M to disappoint...even if they anime-up Samus a bit.

 

[Boney]

One thing that annoys me, is people that hate on "weak whiny characters", but absolutely love cheesy happy go lucky, one liners "lovable" asses.

 

[Tathanen]

Tathanen if possible can you confirm for us if you can skip cutscenes after the first playthrough?

Will confirm/deny this and a few other things at noon CST tomorrow. I know it's a silly thing count as embargoed, but I don't really want to push it.

 

[Gravijah]

One thing that annoys me, is people that hate on "weak whiny characters", but absolutely love cheesy happy go lucky, one liners "lovable" asses.

Hey, I loved Tidus.

 

[farnham]

It leaked late last night/early this morning.

That plus a five hour gameplay plus a hastily written review equals ????

it was probably a pirated copy of the game

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Hey, I loved Tidus.

I loved him in You Got Mail.

 

[Gravijah]

I loved him in You Got Mail.

Can you even name another Meg Ryan movie? I sure as hell can't.

 

[Boney]

Hey, I loved Tidus.

well this guy fits both.

Can you even name another Meg Ryan movie? I sure as hell can't.

I kinda can! The guy from the OC is there, and she has cancer.. it's pretty bad...

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Can you even name another Meg Ryan movie? I sure as hell can't.

To be honest I don't even know what You Got Mail was about.

AOL, I think?

 

[Poyunch]

I just met the cutest and at the same time most evil looking little rabbit/chicken/moogle thing though - can't wait to see what that cut scene was all about

Spoiler

(it was playing around and stumbling and being totally adorable and then WHAM! EVIL STAAAARE)

I'm telling you man it's,

Spoiler

Ridley

. But I'm just speculating.

 

[Gravijah]

To be honest I don't even know what You Got Mail was about.

AOL, I think?

Lovers meeting online or something... and AOL... was in it.

I don't know, I haven't even seen it.

 

[Snuggles]

Lovers meeting online or something... and AOL... was in it.

I don't know, I haven't even seen it.

No, it's about a disturbed individual played by Tom Hanks who sends severed penises by mail to terrorize a lonely woman (Meg Ryan).

Anyways, I look forward to seeing the reviews roll in tomorrow. At this point they are of no consequence to me as I have already purchased the game, but it's still interesting to see how it'll be received.

 

[MechaX]

- Switching to First-person mode makes you a "sitting duck" due to the slow process when facing larger enemies and bosses.

? - According to this reviewer, he had a lot of trouble finding his way back on to the main quest path whenever he goes off exploring.Whether this is an actual issue with the level design or his incompetence remains unknown.

Wait... Wasn't it confirmed that you can still dodge stuff while in first person? And even then, I'm getting a mental picture of him trying to go into first person right in front of the boss of the moment while it's about to do a heavily telegraphed attack and then complaining about how he can't dodge stuff.

I'm kinda curious on the "got stuck and needed to reset" part, though.

There's no doubt in my mind Samus will lose all her charm, uniqueness, and general "badassery", which is sad, but there's really nothing we can do. I don't know why they can't cope with a strong woman, they have to make her weak somehow.

I felt that Metroid Fusion provided an interesting perspective on Samus's character in the sense that she was a type of woman who relies more on gut instinct in doing what's right more than anything else (

Spoiler

Especially when she doesn't even have second thoughts of deliberately disobeying the Galactic Federation in crashing the space station to eliminate the X Parasite

). It's somewhat... off-putting that the footage of the story shown so far of Other M consists of Samus whining or moping about something. I wasn't expecting Samus to be a super serious bad-ass action girl and I definitely expected that she would probably prefer not to communicate or relate to other people in general. But I felt that they might have went too far into the Shinji Ikari-extreme wuss zone.

But eh, I guess I'll find all that out for the most part tomorrow.

 

[Diffense]

Getting a bit lost is classic metroid. Not everyone's cup of tea but it is what it is.
But I'm confused about how it can be simultaneously linear and disorienting.
Any game that's reducing reviewers to pulp is one I want to play.

 

[Spike]

It leaked late last night/early this morning.

That sucks. Makes the wait until Tuesday even longer.

 

[Penguin]

Wait... Wasn't it confirmed that you can still dodge stuff while in first person? And even then, I'm getting a mental picture of him trying to go into first person right in front of the boss of the moment while it's about to do a heavily telegraphed attack and then complaining about how he can't dodge stuff.

I'm kinda curious on the "got stuck and needed to reset" part, though.

Yeah there's a video on the last page or two which gets up to that battle, and specifically shows SenseMove in First person during that encounter.

And the lock-on time didn't seem that long at all. :lol

 

[kiryogi]

Ah damn yeah gfaq-ers are saying it. It's "out" D: Dammit.

 

[Diffense]

It seems as if the game is hard (notwithstanding Tathanen's eliteness).
Team Ninja + NES style game = hard.

Most games I play these days are more of a leisurely stroll than something challenging.
So I'm a tiny bit worried about how I'll handle it once it's in my hands.

 

[kiryogi]

It seems as if the game is hard (notwithstanding Tathanen's eliteness).
Team Ninja + NES style game = hard.

Most games I play these days are more of a leisurely stroll than something challenging.
So I'm a tiny bit worried about how I'll handle it once it's in my hands.

Yeah more or less, the combat looks like modern Ninja Gaiden. That excites me to say the least. But at the same time doesn't feel very metroid-like.

 

[Femmeworth]

Just so we're clear before the game releases, who here actually thinks the cut scenes will add more to the experience than they take away?

*raises both hands*

 

[evilromero]

Why hasn't the OP updated with the incoming reviews?

 

[Boney]

I felt that Metroid Fusion provided an interesting perspective on Samus's character in the sense that she was a type of woman who relies more on gut instinct in doing what's right more than anything else (

Spoiler

Especially when she doesn't even have second thoughts of deliberately disobeying the Galactic Federation in crashing the space station to eliminate the X Parasite

). It's somewhat... off-putting that the footage of the story shown so far of Other M consists of Samus whining or moping about something. I wasn't expecting Samus to be a super serious bad-ass action girl and I definitely expected that she would probably prefer not to communicate or relate to other people in general. But I felt that they might have went too far into the Shinji Ikari-extreme wuss zone.

But eh, I guess I'll find all that out for the most part tomorrow.

Maybe being a wuss in this game, is what makes her not hesitate at all in Fusion.

And yeah you can dodge in First Person.

 

[Lost Fragment]

Why hasn't the OP updated with the incoming reviews?

Because there are none. Unless you count that fansite 5-hour "review."

 

[Diffense]

Yeah more or less, the combat looks like modern Ninja Gaiden. That excites me to say the least. But at the same time doesn't feel very metroid-like.

The thing is, once it went 3D it could never stay exactly the same as it was before.
And, with auto-aim, combat would get mind-numbingly boring without different types of moves to mix things up.
So I appreciate that for a 3rd person game, what we're getting is probably the right approach to combat.
I just hope I don't get schooled like some of these reviewers

 

[Kad5]

The more I look at this game the more apparent it seems that this game is essentially the equivalent of a Metroid movie.

I think this game may be the closest thing we get to a metroid movie.

This isn't a bad thing and in a way makes me more excited to play it.

 

[Snuggles]

And, with auto-aim, combat would get mind-numbingly boring without different types of moves to mix things up.
So I appreciate that for a 3rd person game, what we're getting is probably the right approach to combat.

Yeah, I was a little concerned about the auto aiming stuff at first but seeing a lot of the gameplay videos has changed my mind. Really, it seems like the best approach to a game like this, with the shooting mixed with the melee combat. It'd probably be a pain in the ass to manually aim while dealing with groups of enemies in close quarters. So with that in mind, I have no concerns about the gameplay.

It'll be interesting to see how the difficulty is. Ideally, it will be challenging but not frustrating. Hopefully there will be multiple difficulties so we can enjoy it either way.

 

[mantidor]

Maybe being a wuss in this game, is what makes her not hesitate at all in Fusion.

She just survived her second fight with Ridley, not to mention almost exterminated an entire species, and she narrowly scaped from a self destructing planet, and not just any planet, it was the planet she grew up in. Samus being all doubtful and hesitant and moody at that point simply doesn't make sense.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

i think they wont add anything and i also dont think that they will take away anything

im neutral towards it.

Any design choice adds and/or subtracts something. That’s why there is no “ultimate” game, book, movie, etc. There’s always a push and pull between the various elements of any creative project.

I don't think they'll take away from the game at all.

I take it you mean on the whole. Unless you don’t think they will take away from the immediacy of the gameplay, or a more subtle “show, don’t tell” style of narration? Because it's a direct dichotomy. You can't add a heavy mandatory narrative and simultaneously preserve those things. Whether or not you think the trade off is for the better, worse, or is a wash is a different matter.

As I've said before, Super Metroid did the minimalist approach of story-telling so well that I actually prefer that Other M is heading in a different direction. Rather than ape what Super perfected, it'll stand on its own.

Honestly, I think the whole 'isolation' thing is built up way too much by many on GAF. Yes this is an element of the series, but it's far from being the most important. There are many other things that define Metroid more than isolation, and Other M appears to tick most of these boxes.

Let me start by saying I don’t personally believe Super Metroid perfected anything, although I do think it’s easily the most refined version of the franchise formula. Even so, there is just as much potential today to build upon and refine what Super Metroid did as Super Metroid builds and refines on what Metroid and Return of Samus did. Secondly, how would following in the vein of Super Metroid’s underlying structure be “aping” the game, yet Other M, which seemingly borrows heavily from Fusion’s playbook will “stand on its own”?

I agree that the 'isolation’ thing is overemphasized sometimes, but to be fair in some instances I think it’s people trying poorly to articulate some ephemeral feeling they have about the game. Nonetheless, it is a valid point that isolation is not the end all be all. In fact, I think it would be very interesting to see a Metroid game with the hands-off narrative style of Super Metroid set on a grander scale, with more spontaneous events and a wider variety of interactions. Sounds like one of a million great ways the series could be contemporized without sacrificing half of what made it unique to begin with.

You are probably right that Other M will have a lot of little Metroid touches that would fit neatly on a checklist of what it expected from the series. Even the Metroid games that I think do the series the least justice have some interesting nods to previous games. They are all based on the same IP after all. I suspect that like Fusion this game will feature some really great transcendent moments that totally capture the right spirit. My concern is primarily what the underlying fabric is that ties all those moments together.