I won't pretend to know what metroid is known for by the fans as I have only played metroid (though I was like 4 years old. Super Metroid and Prime, but beaten none of them.

But I mean it's definitely a possibility that someone could like this game more. And if like you say this isn't the norm for metroid. Then they could still like it because they don't like what the other metroids were known for.

I respect your opinion, but I hope you know there is something very wrong with you :P

I just got the wave beam and now the game's on its way back to Blockbuster.I don't think it's a good game. At all. It's mediocre. Especially for a Metroid game. Atmosphere is non-existent. Graphics are hideous. Art design is generic. Music is forgettable. Puzzles aren't up to the standard of the Prime games. Story is crap. Power-ups are lame. Exploration has been done away with almost entirely. Enemies are as often annoying as they are fun. Bosses are weak! Controls are clunky. What the hell is up with those first person investigation moments and those times where Samus randomly starts walking at snails pace!?

Meh @ this game.

*sigh* For the last time I KNOW what the series is known for, geez I fucking played the games, I know they're slower paced, but theres a reason the series is one of Nintendo's third tiers... and they're trying to change that.

I wouldn't go as far to say that Other M is my favorite of the series, though if you find it to be yours then more power to ya because I can see WHY someone would say that. If anything that's still a tie with Fusion and Prime. I actually didn't beat Super Metroid until about two weeks before Other M was released (and I found its age all the more apparent). I will say that Other M has by far the best combat of the series and has some unique, spectacular boss fights. My only MAJOR complaint is the scanning sections but those are so few are far between they're not too bothersome. The guidedness of the design also didn't bother me because you are free to still explore even IF you have some constraints. This isn't FFXIII at the very least.

The plot is fine, though it is a bit perplexing about how there is a major sub plot they just sorta drop and the narrative is archetypal at best. Admittedly they should have kept the cut scenes from running too long as well but it didn't bother me too much (unlike, say, most cut scens in J-RPGs). Samus' characterization is fine; instead of going for the bullshit faux-tough gal type they display her as strong and independent, but not lacking in feminity or emotion. It's definitely a worthy addition to the series and a lot of the negative press it has gotten is uncalled for

im buying the game tomorrow ill be the judge of that lol, but i know i will never put it above super metroid lol

I've played about 5 hours and while the game is growing me and I am beginning to admire the attempt to take the game in a totally different direction, it's still a peg or two below most of the other Metroid games I've played.

While I've gotten used to the control and don't have a particular issue with it, I can't help feeling that it could have been better if it controlled a la Sin and Punishment.  The other things I'm not so keen on at the moment are upgrades and that's for two reasons which I think are related.  Firstly, they are just not that satisfying to earn and secondly, the reason you don't have them/can't use them in the first place is just plain stupid. Finally, the music, which is beyond sublime in the Prime games (particularly the first), has thus far been quite forgetable. 

Metroid: Other M in terms of combat is my favourite, the boss battles are also very unique. The controls are very accessible, however First Person Scanning can be frustrating and Missiles can only be used in that way. The environments are very inspiring, as they are as outstanding as environments in the previous games. The cutscenes are very dramatic and express the soul views of Samus, in my opinion they are some of the best cutscenes in gaming.  

Whoops double post, VGChartz was currently in maintenance when I posted this.

Well.  This is rare for me.  I can't think of a time when I finished a game and was angry about it.  Having just completed Other M, I can now say that Team Ninja is the worst thing to ever happen to the franchise.

And to think, they had me finally loving it during the final (Metroid II throwback) boss battle, only to turn around and completely fuck with me incorporating one last irritatingly questionable design choice followed by some of the most hackneyed anime cliche bullshit melodrama that's ever been passed off for a story that I have ever seen.

And then after the credits, another ridiculously questionable design choice. 

This is officially the Metroid franchise's Resident Evil 5.  Either give the series back to Retro or kill it now.

This isn't Team Ninja's fault. They had nothihng to do with the story or direction of the game - that was all Sakamoto. Blame them if you don't like the mechanics, sure, but all the "hackneyed anime cliche bullshit melodrama" is at Sakamoto's feet. Team Ninja are tech guys.