Metroid: Other M

[Prime Mover]

I think the game industry is being over-run by hollywood music styles. Makes sense because games are becoming closer to the film industry in many ways. I think a lot of game composers are looking to film composition for guidance. Problem is, music plays a much different roll in games than it does film. Even if you want to make your game "cinematic", strictly using cinema-style composition doesn't work. You can use the same arrangement styles, musical styles, and what not, but you have to approach it very differently.

Film music is meant to be very unobtrusive. You're not supposed to notice it most of the time. It's supposed to work on a subconscious level. This works for a 2-hour film which has unique music for every scene. In a 15-hour game, where you're going to have indefinite loops, reality sets in: the music is GOING TO BE NOTICED, and there's no way around it. Even the most ambient unobtrusive stuff is going to become obvious at some point. So you can't tip-toe around music like you can in film. So when the listener does notice it, give them something interesting to listen to. I say face it head on, make it a living character in the game.

And furthermore, if we're going to be listening to a 2-minute track 50+ times, don't fill the 2-minutes with the same 5sec rhythm loop, because that’ll translate to 600 repetitions of the same thing. Give the music some dimension, let it build and release. I’m looking at you Mass Effect 1.

[Fei]

It's almost as if I've become protective of Samus, and Adam being the way he is triggers this "he's no good for you" reaction.  This is no fault of the game, as it's delivered well. 

I'm going to push towards the ending now.

[Dizzy]

I am a big ambiance whore myself, but Prime Mover has mentioned what I don't like about it, in Other M. I mean, for survival horror it's fine, since that's what it thrives on, but the kinda of ambiance I look for in Metroid games are a little different, since they have those nice melodies tangled in with it.

Aside from that though, I really dug the whole game. I just finished the game, and unlocked Hard Mode, so I might go through it again right away.

[Prime Mover]

I am a big ambiance whore myself, but Prime Mover has mentioned what I don't like about it, in Other M. I mean, for survival horror it's fine, since that's what it thrives on, but the kinda of ambiance I look for in Metroid games are a little different, since they have those nice melodies tangled in with it.

Survival horror is a different animal altogether, and the music has a very different function. Metroid is NOT survival horror. Yes, it has it's creepy moments (oh good god did Super Metroid!) but the vast bulk of it is not so. Part of what's so effective about Metroid's brand of horror is that because the music is usually melodic and in the foreground, whenever it ducks down, things feel very unnerving. For instance, Ridley's appearance at the very beginning of the game, or similarly, the evil Chozo statue.

Survival horror, though, has to constantly maintain a feeling of dread over every minute.

[Dizzy]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with what you're saying. You worded it better than I did. :P But speaking of those creepy moments, those Chozo statues certainly did give me those "Oh SHIT!" feelings, my first time playing it. And while Prime 2 wasn't as strong as the first, I can't deny that the atmosphere of Dark Aether did something for me. That place remained creepy every time I went in.

[Sagacious-T]

The issue with this game is that it doesn't really feel like a Metroid game.

[Yggdrasil]

Fuck Other M, Minitroid looks better.

[Prime Mover]

Just finished the game (and epilogue). Too much exposition during the final "boss" sequence. I have no idea what the final boss is really supposed to be (is there one)? Like half the plot gets revealed in the last 10 minutes. It's good, but too end-heavy. The ending of the epilogue is just BAD... but on the flipside contains one of the best boss fights in the game. I ended the game feeling satisfied, but a little rushed.

Oh, also, there's no real clear-cut answer to why the name of the game is "Other M". I always thought this was a weak name unless there was a really good reason for it. Now, it goes back to being just a weak name.

In the end, though, I gotta say I really enjoyed it. It's definitely a worthy addition to the Metroid series. And it DOES feel like a Metroid to me.

Next time, they need to go back to the planet-side Metroid experience. Enough space stations... too much facility, not enough wilderness.

[Ramza]

Oh, also, there's no real clear-cut answer to why the name of the game is "Other M". I always thought this was a weak name unless there was a really good reason for it. Now, it goes back to being just a weak name.

I think it just has a bunch of veiled meanings. Most important of them, of course, is the anagram for MOTHER. Since this is a game about mother-daughter relationships (and, vaguely, parent-child relationships since Samus didn't have parents) -- I'd say this is important.

Other than that, the "Other M" is...

a series of layered meanings. The "Other M" is project MB ... the other "Mother Brain." But in that sense, it's also the other "Madeline Bergman," who is Melissa. In the end it's all relating to MB.

http://gameosaurus.com/roahr/?p=2202

There's my full review of the game, went up this morning.

Agreed fully about space stations. No more plz. I didn't like Fusion too much (I mean, RELATIVE to Super Metroid or Zero Mission), which is why I pull that stunt at the beginning of the review ... to make a point that I don't want anymore games like Fusion. :P:P

[Prime Mover]

Really good review, pretty spot on. The only thing I disagree on is the music, I think it's precisely what I DON'T want in the modern Metroids... we need more tunes, less drones. Metroid isn't survival horror. The best games in the series (IMO: Super, Prime 1, and Zero Mission) had tunes, and I think that says something important.

Next Metroid, I'd like to see more of Samus's relationship with the Chozo. I think the Chozo are the single most fascinating element in the Metroid saga. The fact that she was raised by a mysterious alien race who suddenly vanished, but left behind relics for her. By this point, Samus has very little connection to humanity left. She's realized that the Galactic Federation are no better than the Space Pirates, who killed her family. At some point, I expect her to say "enough is enough" and give up on them completely. We haven't had a Chozo based game for 3 games now (Prime 2, Prime 3, and Other M). We know they lived on more than one world, let's find another.

And fuck space stations. No more space stations!