Metroid: Other M

[SuperLink]

I don't think the Japanese box is amazing either, it's still pretty generic for a Metroid box.

But the American box... eurgh. Perhaps "revolting" was slightly too strong, but it's horrible as far as game boxes go. It has absolutely zero artistic direction or inspiration. They probably whipped it up in 10 minutes.

Heck, I could probably make something better, more Metroidy on Photoshop, and I'm definitely a huge amateur at graphics programs.

@DistantJ

Don't get yer panties in a twist, I still have plenty of vicious words left.

[PSI Wind]

Does the boxart really matter for the people getting it? You only see it for a few seconds.

[Agent York]

Does the boxart really matter for the people getting it? You only see it for a few seconds.

And on our shelves... Staring at us... Through the years....

And it does matter in terms of sales, deny it or not I have looked into and ultimately bought some games based on interesting box covers alone.

[ovarloard]

I know the boxart is important to some people, but I can't be bothered to appreciate the artwork.

All I look for in a game is... the game. My discs go straight from the box into the CD book/holder, and what boxes I do have never see the light of day again.

Perhaps this comes from being frugal and almost always buying used games; many of them come without the box and manual.

[SuperStingray]

Do we know if this game has the Scan Visor? Because I'll be very disappointed if any Metroid game ever leaves that out. It's amazing.

I think they said scans are implemented.

[Marcello]

Really hope Europe doesn't get stuck with that boxart. The Japanese one I vastly prefer, but maybe Europe will get something completely different.

Amazon has the german case up and its the same as America's and usually Europe gets the same cover (Besides Rating thing...) You can see it here

[killemoff]

And on our shelves... Staring at us... Through the years....

And it does matter in terms of sales, deny it or not I have looked into and ultimately bought some games based on interesting box covers alone.

So, you have your boxes face front to you on the shelves?

[Noir]

I think they said scans are implemented.

FUCK YEAH.

And to be fair, only Zero Mission and Super Metroid really had particularly interesting boxart. The rest ranged from boring to average.

[Octarine]

FUCK YEAH.

And to be fair, only Zero Mission and Super Metroid really had particularly interesting boxart. The rest ranged from boring to average.

Fusion's was pretty good. The background was fairly bland, but I love Samus' pose. It's at least an improvement over the usual standing-around-looking-into-space stuff, and it's certainly heaps better than Other M's US boxart.

Also, I vaguely recall hearing that while scans are in, they're a lot less in-depth than in the Prime games. I'm interested to see how exactly that works out.

Edited July 15, 2010 by Octarine

[Solly]

To me, the box art should reflect the game's atmosphere. Being inspired by the Alien movies, Metroid games have always tried to give a claustrophobic or isolated feeling to the player. Typically, you're completely alone, save for the aliens that are on the planet/base with you, and even then there are entire rooms that don't have them.

Remember when you first played Super Metroid? Remember that chilling music on the main menu?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyCS0E6jV2k

Or what about the music inside the elevator/item rooms?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6rh92CJkXo&feature=related

It's very eerie, if you ask me. This is what the box shot capture, in my opinion. It's one of the reasons I really think Other M's box art shouldn't have a group-shot.

Although a lot of people might argue that a box with just Samus on it, sitting on the shelves, won't jump out at the customer, and in return hurt sales. But I don't really buy that; with the advent of the internet and all these huge gaming discussion sites, aren't we pretty much past that era where people buy games based on their covers?

[Noir]

Well what we know of the plot right now is that it heavily involves Adam, and if he's involved I'd imagine the Galactic Federation as a whole are too. I think the boxart reflects that nicely. Besides, the boxart is for the most part to look pretty or to boost sales (in this case the latter). Whatever the atmosphere is, the game is where it really matters, not the box you'll look at for a few minutes at most.

[killemoff]

Wonder if anyone has seen these, here are two developer diary videos about Other M.

Some interesting stuff.

[Jetronic]

San Diego Comic-Con gameplay video.

Also with great videos comes great and face palm worthy comments.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Jetronic

[Noir]

I don't like when a game is finished, its release is a month away, and I already preordered it and I still don't know what to think of it.

Using just the Wiimote... it just seems so terrible. And watching that I can't see how I could be wrong. I don't doubt that I am, but I just wish I could think to myself "Ok, this can work". The switching to first person doesn't look so bad, although you apparently can't turn while doing it which is probably a bit of a nuisance. Everything looks really good and fun to be honest, it's just the controls I'm wary of.

As for the cutscene, all I can say is holy fuck. They wanted to bring out Samus' character and they sure as hell nailed it. It's crazy, I'm not used to Samus being anything but the cool bounty hunter chick. Even when I try assigning a personality she's just the calm badass who does her job like it's nothing. I'm loving how they made her appear so... weak. The black dude is fun too, lol. I wish they didn't make the GF troop armor so ugly though, it was pretty good in the Primes.

All in all, I'm kinda nervous. Don't know what to make of the gameplay, and the plot is extremely intriguing but that definitely isn't as important as the former.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Good News Everynoir!

[Saint Nathan]

Even when I try assigning a personality she's just the calm badass who does her job like it's nothing. I'm loving how they made her appear so... weak.

Ever read the manga? It's cannon, and she's ordered to take out butterflies because they're dangerous. She blatantly refuses because they're so beautiful, then goes completely apeshit fucking spaz rocket on robots that Mother Brain uses to kill them after they light the whole area on fire.

Samus is a calm badass person, but she's also really emotional at times. It's just that when she does get really emotional, she gets REALLY emotional.

(edit: 1600th post)

Edited July 26, 2010 by Nathan Farnsworth

[Solly]

San Diego Comic-Con gameplay video.

Also with great videos comes great and face palm worthy comments.

The game looks great. The fact that you're forced to use a D-pad I'm kind of iffy about, but besides that everything looks so fun and fast-paced.

That voice acting on the other hand is pretty bad. I know Samus can be "calm" but she sounds so monotone- it's almost as if the actress is just reading her lines aloud, for the first time without any kind of direction at all. I know it's probably because pretty much every word uttered from her seems to be spoken through her inner-monologue, but show SOME emotion.

I'm also worried that the whole squad of no-names we saw in the cutscene will be detrimental to that isolated feeling Metroid games have always had. Unless of course they're picked off, horror movie style.

[SuperLink]

Aah shit I really need to read the manga. Does anyone know of a good place to read it?

Plus, not really excited about Other M at all anymore D: I'll probably still get it on launch, but they fail at hyping me up.

[Saint Nathan]

Aah shit I really need to read the manga. Does anyone know of a good place to read it?

Here seems to be a really good place.

There's an animated version, but it's in Japanese. This is translated.

This is the thing I was talking about. Small minor spoilers.

Mother Brain is kind of a bitch.

EDIT: updated the link to the full, full comic

Edited July 26, 2010 by Nathan Farnsworth

[Marcello]

I wish Viz would release the manga. They released the Zelda ones and now they're releasing Kirby, but why not this? :-/

[SuperLink]

I wish Viz would release the manga. They released the Zelda ones and now they're releasing Kirby, but why not this? :-/

At this rate they probably will release it eventually. I wouldn't assume that they won't, just give it time.

They're even releasing 2 versions of Pokémon Adventures alongside each other.

[killemoff]

Gah, these gameplay vids just ciment the feeling that this gameplay "experiment" of theirs is going to be a bit iffy...

I have no quarrel with her V.A. though, sure it's monotone, but Samus isn't known for her emotional outbursts and stuff. It kind of fits.

I love Metroid, both 2D and the Prime series, and i really want this to be good, but i just can't shake this feeling of uneasiness...

[SuperLink]

]I have no quarrel with her V.A. though, sure it's monotone, but Samus isn't known for her emotional outbursts and stuff. It kind of fits.

Idk, I'd argue that she is known for her emotional outbursts. Despite being a bounty hunter she's entirely driven by this incredibly strong feeling of justice, and she won't let anyone of anything stop her from doing what she feels is right.

I love Metroid, both 2D and the Prime series, and i really want this to be good, but i just can't shake this feeling of uneasiness...

I agree. I don't even like Metroid Prime, but I'm feeling more uneasy about this anyway for some reason. I'll probably enjoy it more than Prime, but knowing how amazing Prime is to the majority this could be much more of an embarrassment.

Edited July 26, 2010 by SuperLink

[Doctor MK]

It's quite interesting how one little design choice (namely: Wiimote only) can leave an entire fanbase uneasy...

And I can totally understand why.

The gameplay videos all look great - the visuals are astounding, the cutscenes are gorgeous, the trademark Metroid atmosphere seems to be very much intact... and yet it still doesn't feel right. Whenever I see Samus run around, be it in 2D or 3D spaces, I can't help but wondering how awkward it will be to do with the d-pad. If the Nunchuk was enabled, I wouldn't even think to worry about such a thing.

Please don't screw this up Nintendo/Team Ninja. It's got so much potential but we're all going to be nervous about it until we can experience it for ourselves. Reviews should start rolling in soon, too... and for once I'm not confident we'll be seeing 80/90%+ scores for a Metroid game. I think we will see high scores, but I'm not certain about it, if y'know what I mean.

[SuperLink]

The gameplay videos all look great - the visuals are astounding

I don't think I can agree there. They don't look bad, but I think they're far from astounding. Some bits look awkward and plastic, it's hard to describe.

Please don't screw this up Nintendo/Team Ninja. It's got so much potential but we're all going to be nervous about it until we can experience it for ourselves. Reviews should start rolling in soon, too... and for once I'm not confident we'll be seeing 80/90%+ scores for a Metroid game. I think we will see high scores, but I'm not certain about it, if y'know what I mean.

Yeah I feel the same way. I won't be surprised at all with 70% or maybe even a few 60% reviews. I really hope I'm wrong, but Other M just doesn't give off that vibe of a big Nintendo game, or even a Metroid game. Not in the same way... I mean why else does everyone keep forgetting about it?

I hope I'm wrong.

[Doctor MK]

I don't think I can agree there. They don't look bad, but I think they're far from astounding. Some bits look awkward and plastic, it's hard to describe.

Now that you mention it, some bits of the actual in-game graphics do look a little plastic-y. Perhaps "astounding" was a bit of an overstatement, but compared to most of the stuff on Wii it's pretty good by comparison I suppose...

Yeah I feel the same way. I won't be surprised at all with 70% or maybe even a few 60% reviews. I really hope I'm wrong, but Other M just doesn't give off that vibe of a big Nintendo game, or even a Metroid game. Not in the same way... I mean why else does everyone keep forgetting about it?

I hope I'm wrong.

It's very odd. At E3 last year when they revealed it, Other M was suddenly the new "most awesome thing ever". That debut trailer reeked of pure win. But since then... the game has seriously dropped in people's interests. Gameplay and trailers have been few and far between, and the whole "no Nunchuk for you!" news certainly would have put a few people off. It's a game that's going to either swing one way or the other - it's going to be absolutely fantastic, or it's going to be a bitter disappointment.

We're just over a month away from launch now and I only feel a tiny bit hyped for the game. And if I'm honest, most of that hype is for the CG cutscenes and the story - not the actual gameplay.

We'll have to see if anything changes nearer release once we've got some professional verdicts.

I hope this is just Super Mario Galaxy 2 syndrome all over again though, with all these niggling doubts being well and truly proven wrong in the end.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Doctor MK