We really can’t get enough of former soldier turned mercenary bounty hunter Samus Aran here at the @rcade. Super Metroid was one of the first games we ever played on the Super Nintendo and ever since then, the alien butt kicking hard ass power suit clad femme has been in our hearts (it’s got nothing to do with the fact that she’s a total computer game babe… honest!). Good news gamers and geeks, our heroine is back and we are about to learn a little more about her mysterious past in the next adventure set for release in just under a week – Metroid M.
Brought to us by Team Ninja and Nintendo SPD Production Group 1, the game was announced at E3 last year by president of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime who promised us that the new game would ‘take you deeper into Samus’ story’. Anyone lucky enough to attend San Francisco’s Comic-Con was able to get their hands on the demo version of the game and early reports stated that this was going to one of the best games for the Wii this year if not one of the best games in general.
Plot
This is the 8th game in the Metroid series and to date we still know very little about the woman behind the power suit. Other M will take place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion and as Fils-Aime promised we are going to learn more about our heroine.
Having just escaped the destruction of Planet Zebes (Super Metroid) Samus finds herself on a Galactic Federation ship. On her departure she receives a distress call from a neither ship and never one to turn down a job or helping others she answers it only to find the ship is also being rescued by a team of Galactic Federation soldiers.
On board she meets a former comrade who she fought alongside and her former commanding officer Adam Malkovich. Malkovich is cold and defensive toward the bounty hunter and treats her as a complete outsider ordering his men to not assist her or pass on any information.
It fast become clear to both though that there is something else on board the huge vessel and it means to do some serious harm. Samus must team up with her former commander if she hopes to save any survivors and find out what happened on board the ship.
Gameplay
Now the fun part! We are going to see some old tricks returning from previous Metroid games to bring the same magic back – so expect to be able to use the morph ball, jump and that all important arm blaster. The game is played using the Wii remote horizontally and will be played both from a 1st person and 3rd person perspective and utilising the 3D environments for both intense exploring and some side scrolling action.
To engage an enemy and to ensure the best shot, you will have to point the Wii remote at the screen which will then switch from 3rd person to 1st person giving you better chances on bring down your targets. This mode will also lock Samus in place meaning you will not be able to move once in 1st person and to add to the challenge of the game you will have to switch between modes if you plan on bringing down some of the bigger bosses.
It wouldn’t be Nintendo if they didn’t stick in some new stuff for us to play with Other M will be the first game ever in the series to allow Samus engage her enemies in melee combat. Using the D-Pad and 1 button Samus can bash the living daylights out of aliens, with several attacks and finishing moves at her disposal.
The usual scenarios found in most Metroid games return in Other M too, expect to have to search out upgrades and new armour if you want to be able to fully explore the station, Samus will find herself immersed in different biospheres including, the frozen bio dome, a lava area and a plush jungle landscape. All of which promise new challenges, tough bosses and more bad guys to clobber!
Metroid: Other M is released on the 3rd of September for the Wii console – don’t miss it!
