Metroid Database.com

SHE'S BACK. Metroid is back in 2.5D with TEAM NINJA!! That's right, the guys behind Ninja Gaiden have teamed up with Nintendo to do a new Metroid!! The collaboration is called Project M.

Team Ninja has created some complete awesomesauce and we can't wait to taste more of it. The game is clearly a prequel, but whether it's a reimagining of Super Metroid or a completely new adventure we don't know just yet! And remember: Tomonobu Itagaki, the brains behind the new Ninja Gaidens has left Tecmo, so he's not working on the game, but the play looks a HELL of a lot like Ninja Gaiden style.

How is this 2.5D different from anything else we've seen? Well, it's got camera angles switching from side view to front and back, meaning Samus can be running into the camera while being chased by a monster in the back, see a corridor off to the background and run down it, and enemies can move from the background to the playing field (and Samus can probably shoot at them as well).

Samus is also getting a LOT more physical: there will be a lot of grappling, swinging, and finishing moves as well, which feels a little bit different from standard Metroid, but we'll have to see how it plays.

There is some VERY interesting fusion with Metroid Prime's visor and targetting action with the 2.5D gameplay. We're not quite sure how this works, but it sure looks interesting!

Classic enemies are returning from Space Pirates, Rios, Squeept, Kihunters, Ridley, and Super Metroid-style Mother Brain! We've also got missiles, ice beam, charge beam, and speed booster, along with Samus' new brawling moves.

So what's the story? An alternate universe? Preventing the destruction of a vast space station? A Samus clone? Another Mother Brain (And does the title really say M.O.M.?) What does that Galactic Federation Terminal saying "Living body arms development lab" mean? And finally: is that Armstrong Houston and does he really suck?

You can download a copy of the trailer from GameVideos (or just scroll down to stream it). IGN Wii also has some new screenshots from the game. We'll undoubtedly have more information coming later, but for now, you can read a scene-by-scene analysis on the forums.

Until next time...
Captain Commando