Yesterday I finally received my Ebay special of a new copy of MoM for $35 total. :)

I then spent about 3hrs playing last night and let me say... wow. Its a great game. All you whiners about the story or voice or lack of having to find the upgrades. Relax, step back and reevaluate your real concerns.

Just because it doesn't follow the Metroid formula 100% doesn't detract from it being a great Metroid experience.

We have to realize a few things.

1. Just because Samus is an awesome warrior doesn't mean she can't be feminine. You don't have to be a woman who acts like a 'man' / dyke (no offense intended) to be a powerful individual. Samus is still presented as the premier bounty hunter she is, but she clearly has a past (after all she was trained somewhere) and has normal feelings as any rational human would. Its not uncommon for a strong person who typically is a leader in their sphere to become a 2nd in command when a person who has always been their 'dad' / leader through a large part of their life. That's simply normal behavior and is easily expected in this game based on the history given to Samus.

2. The idea of restricting her full armory makes as much sense as her losing all abilities to some petty attack at the beginning of each game. Actually, being restricted by a higher ranking officer makes more sense as she readily moved back into the soldier role upon meeting up with her old 'daddy figure' and commander.

3. power-ups, sense of accomplishment. pfft whatever. You still find power-ups, you still get missiles, energy, as well as other enhancements. You still have to backtrack and search around the place. You still have areas you must go back to later once you've gotten a particular upgrade, its all still Metroid-esque. While I'd prefer the homage to the classic music that's payed when you find something, it doesn't make it a unfinishable game.

In fact, the only real complaint I have is that I'm sure the control scheme of wiimote/nunchuk would have been far better. It would have also allowed pointer accuracy to killing stuff in the 2D mode vs just button mashing. Simply a better experience IMHO.

In the end the gameplay is fantastic, the story is interesting, and it clearly IS a Metroid game. Granted, I still have a long ways to go, but, if the only potentially irritating thing that lays ahead is her meltdown, then its still a >8.5 game easily and one that I will definitely not regret purchasing/playing.

I never got the feel that this is a metriod game.

She is  a weak character who has so many issues, I wanna play Samus the strong silent type.

We have a game that is nothing like the previous games.  IMHO

But it looks like it carved out a tiny fan base 

Didn't you say you just played some 2 à 3 hours in an other thread...? If so, then at least finish the game before making that statement.

I love it.  I'm dreading that melt down, too. I figure I'm pretty close to the end.  Good OP IMO, too.

I would if I felt like it was a metriod game to me

The game has a strong negative affect on me

But the game is probably pulling in a new albeit smaller fan base.  But I really am glad you like it

I will just wait and hope they release a sidescroller minus the new personality and cutscenes 

Why is she weak? Because she has a woman's voice? This makes no sense to me.

Even a man who has been in the military would naturally fall behind a well respected commander; especially if that commander was considered a strong daddy figure.

The game plays as baddass if not more than any other Metroid game when you consider the new kill moves.

How can it not be likened to any other Metroid game.

You're still basically alone in your travels.
You must upgrade your abilities. In this case its by necesity and having the weapon unrestricted as well as typical search and backtracing.
You fight the common enemies you've always faught in a new more vibrant and natural manner.

It is a great METROID game. Does it have a slight twist to the normal setup, yes, is that bad no. Its a progression. I think if they had stuck with the controls I mentioned above, I would argue it a nearly perfect progression.

The 'tiny' fanbase are those that can accept change and look at game's qualities not based on previous outings but on that game in itself. MoM in itself is a fantastic Metroid experience.

I'm just going to copy paste my criticisms on the game here at the ol internet:

(there are some very very basic spoilers, but really nothing that would actually help you, or surprise you.)

Samus' suit never upgrades, all it does is unlock new equipment. Am I the only one who loved the SNES style of gaming like megaman x, and super metroid where your suit would get cool new parts and hues?

Save points are sometimes very sparse and at other times it's like every other room is a save point. Not a lot of planning went into them IMO. Additionally, the savepoints are VERY sterile. Every savepoint is the exact same room (with the exception of one), and the map adaptation that results from every save visit is cumbersomely long and drawn out. 

The map is very isolated in their seperate levels. I have to keep returning to the central elevator room to access every area. Sector naming (1,2,3) are very sterile as well. How am I expected to remember which areas are which, when they have as much personality as a number does?

There have been a couple parts where the existence of a barren room was simply to run through it to hit a switch that opened a door in the previous room. That's the hallmark of an amateur development team IMO.

Too many bosses, not enough normal creeps. There were 3 bosses in old metroid games. Mother brain, ridley, and kraig....soemtimes there might be a couple more, but it's like every 6 rooms there's a boss battle.

The wave beam is almost singularly to introduce some puzzling into the gameplay. It's pretty lame and serves no real purpose. For instance, that creature that hangs from the ceiling is shielded from damage when you encounter it. Then you get the wave beam and you can suddenly kill it, except...it doesn't accomplish ANYTHING. There's another room like this where there is two spinning clear cylinders, and hangy creature at the top of the room and a platform that you have to raise. I say "have to raise" with a bit of chagrin because it turns out, you never once have to use it. You can simply go to the other side and unlock the door without even using the platform. 

LOCKED DOORS. They won't let me explore...wtf seriously.

I love this game aswell. I actually liked the meltdown

I like Metroid: Other M and I don't regret buying it. I still think Metroid Prime is a better game imo.

Suit upgrades in MoM via enhancements to capabilities, i.e. recharge faster. However, I do agree I like the change in hue for new suits.

Save points are boring, but so what, they serve a single purpose. To save your game and recharge. When they are far apart, that is part of the difficulty in the game. You should be pushed to near death a few times before you can save your progress. I for one hate that games have gotten easier since NES days. btw, all Metroid games have had the same overall save rooms. Maybe the texture changed a little based on the area you were in, but seriously, this is a complaint?

Naming of areas... so? You are in levels than then have specific names for the rooms. What's the difference in that than the Prime games? Also, I would have to agree that there should additional ways to get to various sectors as all Metroid games had more than one way to get around the primary areas. However, every Metroid game has had hallways or rooms that are more just passage ways or simply one time use puzzles/levers. Especially when that room was initially locked off due to not having the right tool yet.

Every Metroid had rooms that were more complex than others while not necessarily being bosses. Some just had hard mini-battles that then unlocked the doors. I really don't understand your complaint. I saw the same thing in SM and all the Prime games. That's just Metroid. In fact so far, they seem to be harder to beat in this game and that I like.

Beam upgrades in general have always worked like that. What the hell is your argument? That's the purpose of the new beam to be able to open areas and beat enemies formally invincible to you. Its always been like that.

locked doors... seriously? Has there ever been a Metroid game where everything is openable from the beginning? Things are always locked and sometimes one way to restrict movement and force complexity.

In general it seems like you've either never played a Metroid game before or you just completely forgot how they are basically similar. None of your complaints are really any different than what exists in other Metroid games.