Metroid: Other M surprises

Last E3, one of the biggest highlights of the Nintendo conference was the epic trailer that got Nintendo fans in a tizzy: Metroid: Other M. The opening sequence revealing the developers was all it needed to gain an absurd amount of hype, and that's because it was Team Ninja on the helm of this adventure, probably with a bit of Nintendo assistance as well.

Today on the Nintendo World Summit, the big N opened up a brief demo of this much-anticipated third-person/first-person shooter hybrid, and quite frankly, a lot of the design choices that were made are quite shocking.

The previews refer to the control scheme as "extremely different". Basically, the controls do not rely on the Nunchuk to work; you'll have to use the Wiimote sidewards ala New Super Mario Bros. Wii. However, the game comes with a few more tricks up its sleeve.

I'm sure Metroid Prime fans will be glad to know that the game does have a bit of a first-person perspective. You can point the Wii remote at the screen and the game will shift from side-scrolling third-person mode, to the first-person shooter mode where you can accurately assign targets for your lethal shots. This game also has the Search mode which can be initiated through pressing the B button.

Also, by tilting the Wiimote upward (like an umbrella), there seems to be a "concentration mode" which replenishes Samus' supply of missiles and a bit of health. That seems quite weird for me, since it might render Samus immobile especially during a fight, but we'll see what happens when the game actually comes out with its final build.

I'm not sure the Wiimote's d-pad is the best way to control a fully-rendered 3D game, but from what I've read, the controls are pretty workable. Frankly, the thing that will truly matter is the exploration. If it offers much exploration and unlockables, as well as some pretty epic boss battles, then I'm all for the game.

It is set for a pretty exciting launch date of June, but until then, there's Super Mario Galaxy 2 to hold me off in the month of May, maybe some Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands if it actually manages to be any good. The art direction seems to make the game look much better than Rival Swords.

And didn't I mention Red Steel 2? How about Sin and Punishment: Star Successor? Damn, that one looks good.