This game has made enough changes to make this innovative without losing the Metroid charm.
After starting a new game the save slot will display the percentage of the game completed, location, health tanks and how long you have been playing. This save system also enables each player to tailor the controls, display and sound. People who like a challenge can disable the hint system, or those who don't want any voice acting can disable it.
It seems Retro Studios keep small load times a high priority, handy for a series known for its immersion in an alien environment. Each world is separated into areas and each of those is split by doorways. Even going to another planet or landing site it entertains you with a cutscene. Brilliant.
The majority of the gameplay will be spent in the standard Combat Vistor. A radar is displayed top left and a mini map in the top right. By default your pointer is green however it turns red once over a destructible object, this can be a little frustrating particularly if the background or target blends in with the pointer. Its simple enough and it works very well, although I would have preferred a larger mini map.
Samus moves around using the Nunchuk analogue stick. But it goes a step further by activating the Grapple. This is done by pushing the Nunchuk forward; allowing you to swing from object to object as well as destroying various obstacles and enemies, making me feel caught up in the action and engrossed in the gameplay.
Scanning Vistor is used to gather essential and none essential information. Need to find a monsters weak point? Scan it! Want to know how to destroy an object? Scan it! Read some foreign text? I think you know the answer to that. Once this Vistor is used enabled everything that needs to be scanned shows up in red, scanned: green and unimportant un-scanned objects in blue. After scanning a creature it comes up with a short summery of abilities and weakness, more details can be accessed by the press of a button (As with scanning text). All the important information is stored in Samus's Databank.
The Databank stores all the information you gather during your adventure. Logbook contains data on scanned monsters and lore. Inventory provides a summery of her current equipment and power-ups, ship and credits I have collected. Finally an option screen for controls, display and sound. All the logs and data which should please fans of the series, just like the Achieves in Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.
Activating switches requires a bit more effort then just pressing a button. Context-Sensitive Interaction is required to progress through the game. From door handles to keypads a prompt will come up to press A and then you will enter this mode. Instructions will appear like "push the remote forward, rotate clockwise" making good use of the innovative controls.
In order to access small tunnels Samus can turn into a Morph Ball which is controlled using the Analogue stick. The camera shifts into third person view and I can see the environment surrounding me. In this mode you can move a lot faster and it helps move the game forward, particularly when backtracking through previous environments. By flicking the remote upward I was to jump without using any of the small bombs unlike the previous Metroid game, just a shame its quite irresponsive.
Unlike the previous titles in the series the player can use the ship at various landing sites to travel to a variety of different locations and planets in the galaxy, making it easier to get to certain destinations and to saving your progress. It is also used pass major obstacles, for example I had to take out a shield generator and the only way to do that was to find some ship missiles and order the ship to attack. Despite the process being quite linear it can still be a lot of fun.
Graphics rival that of Halo 3, from the in game cutscenes to exploring the worlds. Every planet has unique scenery and looks quite real. High resolution textures, fantastic backgrounds and excellent models for each creature. Not only that, but Samus also looks stunning! For the first person view I can see Samus metallic arm pointing the direction of whoever you're Remotes pointing, in the dark you see her eyes reflecting in her Vistor. Switching to hypermode changes the colours in the world completely and adds to the sense of wonder. Doing all this at sixty frames per second is a marvellous achievement It's the small additions that make this game a success from a technical and design perspective.
In the Metroid series boss fights usually challenging and nothing much has changed, expect for the number of mini bosses. The AI gives you a run for your money, after they lose a certain amount of health they change tactics and use different attacks, which requires me to scan him to find out how to counter his moves and damage him. Giant main bosses are less frequent in this game, which is unacceptable. Regardless they are entertaining.
To unlock extra content you need to obtain credits by scanning new creatures, lore, defeating bosses and lastly vouchers (obtained by fulfilling various criteria's) which is then turned into credits once one of your Wii friend sends you one. These can then be spent in the extras menu on galleries, soundtracks and other bonus features. In addition the menu displays how many vouchers have been sent and received; so you can tell who your real friends are!
Like in pervious Metroid games getting lost is a matter of when rather then if, thankfully if I went in completely the wrong direction a message will pop up with someone telling you to go to a certain area [insert excuse here] and a tag appearing on the map. Map screen is another thing that hasn't changed; it is still as confusing to distinguish where you are in terms of height.
Despite some minor issues Retro Studios have made a finely polished game worthy of Nintendo's seal of approval! Its strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. Defiantly buy this game if you enjoy having fun.
Strengths: Immersive gameplay, Samus's ship, less re-travelling, improved interface, customization, long story, good controls, enjoyable boss fights, unlockables
Weaknesses: Map navigation can be a little annoying, morph ball jumping is a little unresponsive