Step back to 1994 and remember the thrilling climax of Nintendo's Super Metroid in which the baby parasite rescued by heroine Samus Aran saves her from a deadly end at the hands of Mother Brain.  It's one of absolute high points of the Metroid franchise and one of the most memorable moments in video gaming, so it's a pleasant surprise to find out that the upcoming Metroid: Other M for the Wii uses this moment as a launch pad to bigger adventures.  Phil Kollar lays it all out at Game Informer.

Since it takes place directly after the end of Super Metroid, Other M begins with an intense CG re-envisioning of the climactic scene from that 16-bit classic. Spoiler alert for those who haven't played it yet -- but seriously, what are you doing not playing Super Metroid if you haven't already? Samus's life is narrowly saved by a now-fully-grown Metroid who she she had rescued in its infant form. The deadly creature drains Mother Brain's energy and transfers it to Samus. 

Other M's plot, at least initially, seems to revolve around the mystery of how exactly the Metroid gave Samus that energy and how it has affected Samus. If these questions strike you as resting at a midichlorian-esque level of being unnecessary, you're not alone, but the high concept also serves the gameplay, leaving everyone's favorite lady bounty hunter more powerful than ever.

Ever since 2002's Metroid Fusion took Samus Aran in a strange, character-changing direction that'll be difficult to properly follow, Nintendo has taken the franchise back in time with prequels and interquels with the Metroid Prime trilogy, Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime Pinball, Metroid: Zero Mission, and other such projects.  All of these titles have taken place prior to Super Metroid, so for all of the backtracking we've done with her, we've yet to explore what happened to her after that adventure.  I'm glad to see that Other M fills in that gap.  If we're going to revisit key moments in Samus's past, let's go for the big ones.