I saw some discussion about Metroid:Other M a few pages back and I remembered that I personally hated that time on the internet. It was like that game never really got a fair shake as reviewers who figured now was the time to get out their soapboxes and talk about subjects they barely had a grasp of. (feminism, misogyny, etc.) Also the thin East vs. West subtext was a little disenchanting as well, especially when linked to the former subjects.
It's a pet peeve of mine when people are disingenuous, and I could tell they were disingenuous from the fact that these topics was never really brought up before or and they haven't been brought up since Metroid Other M. The fact that they would be so blind to sexism in other games leads me to believe they don't even care about that subject, which sucks, because that's an important conversation to have, but not for cheap review jabs. It's even worse when they trotted out what few women work in the games press to give their 5 minutes of Feminist Critique™ and then sent them back under the glass ceiling (lol irony.)
I think that this set a pretty bad precedent for Nintendo. They did with Metroid what people wish Nintendo would do with their other franchises. Voice Acting, a diversion from formula, focus on story, focus on action, humanizing the rather "morality play"-esque world of Metroid (Me and Federation Good, Aliens Bad,) as well as a small treat for those previous fans who probably didn't appreciate Metroid being turned into a First Person Shooter (yes, they do exist), and they even increased the difficulty, a common criticism of the Prime games. And what did they get for it? They got skinned alive. So message received. Stick to formula and get bitched at. Deviate and get bitched at MORE, and have one of your directors/your entire country called sexists to boot.
This isn't to say the game should have been praised as mana from heaven just for deviating from the Prime formula. There can be criticisms made against Other M, like the fact that the game is hard as balls, sometimes the story gets in the way (doesn't stop Metal Gear from getting high scores though), and all that. But that needed to have been done objectively, and it was anything but. It was typically framed as those assholes from Nintendo stripped Retro of Metroid and gave it to those japanese sexists at Tecmo and blahblahblah. Which was sad to watch.
As for me, I like Other M a lot, and sometimes I like it better than Metroid Prime! It all depends on whether I've just played Smash Bros., which I think might have been a reason for the game's development. It's nice to see all these great moves that Samus does in Smash Bros. only to be disappointed that she's sort of a walking turret in Metroid Prime.
Anyway, rant over, time to look for a job in Georgia (LOL)