Part 6
Inside is James Pierce, a Federation soldier from earlier. The other soldiers arrive and they wonder where Lyle is and notice the CPU self-destructed. The soldiers try to recover the data and Anthony says we should search the building. Anthony asks Samus if the view brings back any memories of the Galactic Training Federation, to which Samus doesn't respond.
After this is another save point (either something really big is coming up or the developers are just...really weird. Maybe both) while Samus continues to walk in that really strange over-the-shoulder RE4 view that annoys the crap out of me in this game because Samus won't do anything beyond a slow gait.
There's some more eerie rooms (Samus please stop walking like this) and eventually I find the horror that all these save points have been leading up to...
A cutscene of a robot almost falling on Samus, and a first-person search game again! OH GOD I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR HAVING TO AIM MY WIIMOTE AT THE SCREEN AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! After 3 minutes I discover this is a Zebesian that has been cybernetically enhanced. Back in the room with the soldiers, a piece of data is discovered that says that the Bottle Ship is under control by the Federation, where species have been experimented on as bio-weapons under a scientist named Madeline Bergman. Samus and Adam agree that bio-weapons are unethical. Samus begins guilt-tripping over Adam's opinion as usual.
James is ready to hack into the system and Anthony points out that Madeline might be in the building still.
Oh by the way, Madeline Bergman? MB? Some connection with Mother Brain? Could be a coincidence but this game already has Other M (mother) and MOM (Metroid Other M) going for it so it's not impossible. If so, then logically that means that James Pierce is the...
...
oh god
SOMEONE FIND AERIS IMMEDIATELY ON THE BOTTLE SHIP! RED ALERT!
I have to go look for Madeline so I head back to the room where I found the Zebesian. Inside is a very awkward loading screen and another first-person search. Dammit. I notice this one rather quick though - above me are Zebesian space pirates!
This is actually the coolest fight in the game so far, fitting for the first appearance of the pirates. When they fall over you can use lethal blows, but some more show up. When there's just 2 left they duck into the corridors nearby and you get to chase them down. Very nice battle overall! Then Samus goes back into Leon Kennedy view (ugh) and I remember why I hate life.
Samus makes her way back to the computer room and finds the soldiers outside fighting a large purple creature with a spiked tail. She dives out and the creature decides to go jump on her and pin her down. The soldiers get occupied by armadillos and Samus is forced into first-person view to shoot at the creature's tail, which swings back and forth. I lose about 2 tanks worth of health here because this is absolutely ridiculous waggle. It also takes about 9 missiles, so you'll be doing this minigame for quite awhile. God. After the 9th missile Anthony blows it off of you with a plasma cannon, but it manages to escape. Well, Anthony is pretty cool at least!
Lyle is apparently dead after this and I go into a first-person view. Now I understand the save points - making you go from the best section to the absolute worst so far! I search the body, I search the soldiers, nothing turns out, so I look behind me and see a strange green blob on the ground. It turns out to be bloodstains (G's bloodstains!?) and it's the body of the critter from earlier, which molted apparently. Adam orders me to go follow it.
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Geologists will date anything.