Yeah I really liked the game, still can't see why a lot of people didn't like it. The writing isn't stellar but I can't say it's poorly written either. I also liked the voice acting, I think it suits the "introspective" angle the game has on the serie.
As for the gameplay, the action is smooth and the controls are intuitive, so what's not to like?!
Cutscenes, well, there are games that DO NEED cutscenes, like Shenmue or Yakuza, and Other M is no exception...there's always a serie of narrative nuances that you can't explain during the in-game storytelling. Also, being a smoker, I find cutscenes incredibly useful cause it's the only moment I can light up a cigarette.

As for the psychology of the character, I'm glad Samus is a human and is not Kratos from God of War or any other modern stereotype of a hero with no emotional traits whatsoever.

The original poster is just laughable, cause throwing away a game after the third cutscene is pretty much like throwing away a song after the third chord.

This. Samus was a doormat for the entire length of Other M but in Metroid Fusion the story had her basically give the computer the finger once she realized the "Federation" (or whatever it's called) was using her like a guinea pig.

Samus was younger and less experienced in Other M, maybe you guys are forgetting that...

Anyway, personally, I thought the game was phenomenal and Samus's character dead-on...

Younger in the flashbacks, yes. Less experienced, no, considering Other:M takes place after the Prime series and Super Metroid. Personally I think the game assassinated her character. It made no sense whatsoever to turn her into a whiny, scared little girl who blindly obeyed authority, even in the dumbest of times (practically the entire storyline of Other:M). She froze and acted scared when Ridley appeared which is just blatantly stupid writing considering she would have fought and dispatched him about five times already.

She wasn't obeying authority; she was obeying Adam, which is a very different matter. As for all this "whiny" talk, I'm not even going to bother with a response, because it's just not worth the effort. Also, yes, she'd fought Ridley before, but never killed him until Super Metroid, then, surprise, your parents' killer was revived! Of course she was going to react in that way. The only reason we didn't see that in any of the other games is because they weren't cinematic like Other M. Samus is not master chief or all these other "stone-cold badasses" who shoot/slash first and ask questions never, so if that's what you want, you need to look elsewhere...

The fact of the matter is that Other M finally established Samus's character—her real character—and if you don't like it, well, tough...

If this tired, pointless argument is all my thread was going to be revived for, honestly, I wish it would've remained buried...

Samus character was pretty well stabilished to me before MoM

I'm a longtime fan of Metroid (fell in love with the series when I got Super Metroid on SNES in 1994). Have completed all Metroid games, and Other M is miles ahead of the rest. I hope most future Metroid games follow Other M's gameplay and style, but next time I want to explore a huge planet again.

Other M's story was intruiging and exciting. Samus character is fantastic. She's just so loveable in Other M. In other Metroid games I didn't even care about what character I'm playing - earlier Samus Aran's could have been a man or a robot for all I care.

The controls are innovative and simple, mixing run&gun with melee brawlers, fps and action adventure.
Some secrets were hidden extremely well, and some boss fights were cinematic as hell, it had a great balance of action and exploring not to mention the graphics and overall presentation are the best you can find on Wii.

I couldn't find any flaws in the game, and I won't ever understand all the trash people are talking about it.
Metroid Other M is a definite 10/10 for me, I payed full price 49,99€ - day one purchase (with pre order bonus) and I was very pleased to find out I got a worthy successor to Super Metroid, finally - after 16 years of waiting.

I owned this title and beat it. But the game didn't give me enough inspiration to re-search the entire ship to acquire 100% completion. I think the originals for NES, Gameboy and Super Metroid were the best in the series. After the series made it's transformation into the 3D world it never felt the same to me. And the story left a lot to be desired. They were probably the worst story cut scenes in a video game ever.

@SKTTR: I feel the same way...

@vonseux: To me as well, but clearly a lot of people completely missed the point...

@WiiAboutU: Worst cut scenes in a video game ever? If that's not hyperbole, then I don't know what is...

I heard some people didn't like this game. I heard some people did.

I hate the way people who liked Other M consistently repeat this as a response to the critics. So you either have to be a heartless, robotic killer or a soppy, insecure brat? Somehow I don't think anyone envisioned Samus as having either of those personalities.

Even if you overlook the emo story, the way the cutscenes were directed was laughably bad. Seriously... like. Why are we getting ass shots of Samus in emotionally charged scenes?

I hate the way people who disliked this game refer to Samus's characterization as "emo" and/or "whiny". Apparently characters—female characters in particular—can't have emotions nowadays without being seen as insecure...

Have you seen dat ass?

When it comes to Metroid: Other M, Samus isn't the hero at all. Think about it. Who destroyed Sector Zero? Not Samus. Who blew the whistle on illegal Federation biological weapon experiments? Not Samus. Who killed the Deleter? Not Samus. Who killed Ridley? Again, not Samus. She's still a big part of the story though. She found a crucial light switch for Adam at the start of the game and later on she even saved a helmet's life.

The @$$ placement throughout the game is designed to distract you from the terrible writing of Yoshio Sakamoto. Besides, the star power of that @$$ alone is probably the only reason Metroid: Other M sold as much as it did. Don't argue with a good thing.

So what makes the story "emo"? The fact that it shows a naive, inexperienced Samus who struggles with her stubborn, juvenile oppositionism?! Does showing a character's emotional flaws automatically turn said character into a whiny teenager??
And isn't it a bit superficial to call it "insecurity"? To me it looked like a more complex psychological dynamic, to be honest.

I am very critical when I spot sexism in videogames, but to me Other M doesn't look like a sexist game and Samus' persona isn't pictured in a sexist way. She actually looks like a very real and breathing character...in a way that male videogame characters rarely are. Honestly, I thought that Other M pushed the envelope about the psychological themes that can be covered in videogames.

As for the a$$ shots during the cutscenes, I don't remember. Probably because my attention is more focused on hearing and reading the subs (when they are present) since english is not my first language. If the cutscenes are really filled with a$$ shots then I agree, it is pathetic.

I salute anyone who has managed to get through this entire game without going insane from boredom...

I mean I really am trying to get into this game. I've never had the chance to play a metroid game before this one
I'm at the Snow place and was just wondering, does the story become more i don't now, interesting?

@bonesy91: The story's logic has holes in it, but it does get more interesting. There's also a big plot twist/revelation at the very end, which I personally thought was pretty well done, even if the rest wasn't.

oh yeah the later plot stuff with what's her name was really well done, some really fun sci-fi stuff

and there are two characters (the awesome one and the rude and maybe corrupt one at the ending), that I hope appear more, they would be fun in a better written Metroid game

I never called it sexist, I simply hated how completely incompetent and insecure they portrayed her as. Seriously, she acts like a three year old sometimes. Remember when you have to run through the volcanic area for the first time? As we see later, her Varia Suit was readily available to "switch on" (gotta love how consistent that is with the series)... But she wouldn't put it on without Adam's authorization — even though she can easily die without doing so. She doesn't even have the guts to ask daddy for permission to put it on. That is completely braindead.

Also, Samus is definitely not inexperienced in this game. This is chronologically the latest game in the series, so everything you've seen her do in the previous games she's already done. She's killed Ridley countless times, she's saved dozens of planets, and killed lord knows how many aliens. Her behavior in this game is completely inconsistent with her history.

I've said this dozens of times, but they can make Samus seem like a living, breathing human being without making her look like an insecure, incompetent little daddy's girl and throwing the entire concept of continuity to hell. This sloppy nonsense I don't need in my Metroid games.

THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE EMOTIONAL NINTENDO GAMES.