I wouldn't use the Game Informer review to "prove" how flawed the game is; dude couldn't even figure out the combat system and blames the "limited" control scheme on it being so simplistic.
Interestingly, this made me think about the insistence from some quarters that the point-at-the-screen concept shouldn't even exist and there should be a typical scheme of wiimote + nunchuk or classic controller fallback.
Here's the thing; there is a need to manually target missiles or super missiles as a special attack. This goes against the auto-targeting of the combat system, which contrary to the GI review, works very well and isn't "dodgy". Given the rest of the review, the guy may not have even realized that you do have to be facing the general direction of an enemy for a charged shot to auto-target. Or that it matters which direction you sense dodge + instant charge in.
But anyway, since there's a need to pick your target to not waste missiles, this is a complication. Let's just go straight to the classic controller: in 360 degree 3rd person, the only way (yet devised) to manually target is a lock-on system. This suggests a lock-on button or double duty on the fire button, in combination with another button to cycle locked targets until you pick the right one. The simplest scheme I can think of at the moment would be to have the missile button lock on to the nearest enemy when you hold it down, and fire upon release. While depressed, the L and R shoulder buttons could be used to cycle between all the targets in the area.
So, there's the missile, fired in 3rd person, via button. Of course, such a scheme would beg the player to ask "hey, why can't I lock on with all my weapons! And circle strafe!" You could just do that, though that'd go against the streamlined nature of the core combat system, in the first place. Regardless, now we're back to crab-finger manipulation to lock on a missile, cycle targets while holding down a button, and then releasing it. With how fast combat moves in Other M - one of its good points, remember - might seem a bit clunky.
Meanwhile, here's Metroid Prime over here; this game that demonstrates how fluid and fast targeting via the wiimote in a first person view is. Interesting...
I honestly don't think it's hard to see where the whole point-to-shoot idea came from, no matter who ultimately came up with the idea. There are elements in the overall combat system in Other M that work against just putting the missile attack on a button to be conventional. There are solutions to that problem, but they might be awkward and invite more player errors (and wasted ammo) in the middle of a fight.
Assigning the first person switch to a button, and steering the targeting reticle around with a stick on the classic controller seems dumb and slow when you have the wii remote sitting there saying "point with me!".
Then there's going back to playing with a nunchuk + wiimote, and holding the wiimote up for the 80% of the time you don't need to. Given a lot of the reactions to the game, had I been on this team, I would have insisted on putting the option for a chuk n' mote scheme in, for those who absolutely do not want to switch wiimote positions while playing. It's not about denying people options to be mean about it. If you don't want to switch between NES pad and pointing at the screen, then go for it - hold the wiimote up all the time in your right hand. Yet, doing that would have introduced analog control into the digital grid of this game's character movement. Another darned complication. And funny enough, I am sure a lot of people would have complained about Samus "stiff, dumb, 8 way movement" had the nunchuk been used.