I'm still not sure what the "other M" means...at least in terms of the game's plot. But maybe developer Team Ninja meant for "other M" to quite literally mean the other Metroid title. The series has always been about isolation and exploration. Story was sacrificed for mood, and action was sacrificed for tension.

This is not that Metroid game. This is the other Metroid; the series reinterpreted as an action title with dialogue-heavy cut-scenes. And it works.

Don't be confused by all the shooting and the ability to aim in a first-person perspective. Metroid: Other M is not a shooter. The game gives you a very liberal auto-aim, making combat focused less on precision and more on an awareness of your enemies' movements and weaknesses.

The fights manage to be cinematic without depending on prompts for timed button presses, ala the God of War series. Samus has a dodge ability that's as cool looking as it is functional; dodging gives you easy access to a fully charged shot of your arm-cannon. Weakened enemies can be destroyed instantly with flashy and surprisingly brutal kill-shots, which are triggered by simply running up to a fallen foe. The boss fights -- in an age where such battles have become something of a dying art -- continues the series tradition of being epic, engaging, and wonderfully challenging.

You control the game entirely with the Wii remote, mostly held sideways. Using the D-pad to move through a 3D environment sounds like a nightmare, but you'll never feel hindered by it, thanks to smart level design that was clearly created for a character who could only move in eight directions.

Pointing your Wii remote at the screen switches you over to a first-person perspective, allowing you to manually aim and shoot missiles. The downside is that you can't move, leaving you very open to attack. I know that sounds like a pretty big downside, but the game is smart enough to give the enemies clear moments of weakness where you'll have time to aim a missile shot. You'll be surprised by how quickly you get a grasp on switching between perspectives in the middle of battle.

And Metroid: Other M loves to play with perspectives, similar to Nintendo's last big Wii release, Super Mario Galaxy 2. The game effortlessly shifts from a 2D angle reminiscent of Samus' earlier adventures to a 3D, free-roaming backdrop more common in a modern action game. The angle occasionally moves behind Samus, mimicking a third-person shooter. But the in-game camera -- which you have no control over -- is at its best when it pans and swoops around Samus, showing off some creature who was previously hidden or an impressive landscape.

Yes, Metroid: Other M does have some beautiful landscapes. I hate saying that it looks good for a Wii game. That sounds mildly demeaning. But it is good looking...for a Wii game. The character and creature models are clean, crisp, and animate great, but some blurry textures and the occasional bout of slowdown reminds you that this title is clearly taxing the Wii's hardware.

The game's emphasis on story is a little jarring, especially after playing through so many of Samus' silent adventures. Our blonde-haired protagonist coldly and melodramatically narrates the whole adventure, which is populated with numerous characters, all more than willing to talk to you or each other for extended periods of time. The story is serviceable if not entirely engaging. The quality of the voice acting ranges from decent to questionable, and a few cutscenes drag -- especially near the end of the game.

But despite these slipups in the story department, Metroid: Other M is kind of...well, brilliant. Earlier in the review I tried to describe it as 'Metroid: The Action Game." Perhaps that was a little lazy on my part. The truth is that this isn't like anything I've played before. Team Ninja took a lot of risks, many of them just as likely to be shunned as embraced.

I have little doubt that this is going to be a divisive game. But you need to play it. Metroid: Other M does things that you haven't seen before, a rare find in an industry that seems frighteningly infatuated with the safe and familiar.

For my part, this is one of the best titles I've played this year.