What do you do when you're supposed to like scan for that one beastie thing after you find the dead scientist in the cage? I can't find it anywhere, I looked around in forced first-person view for about an hour, and still couldn't find whatever it was I was supposed to look for.

The scavenger hunt portions of the game can be vexing.  The little creature should be hiding in the foliage to the left of where Samus begins looking.
 
If you have any further trouble with specific parts of the game, you should consult a site like GameFAQs, as there's no proper guide for the game on Giant Bomb.

" @Hailinel:  Maybe somebody should make one!  GiantBomb really needs more walkthroughs and cheats. I DEMAND THE GIANTBOMB CREW IMPLEMENT A CHEATS & CODES TAB. "

I just constantly looked around in the scavenger mode until I found it. That's your best bet if you don't want to consult a guide. That's the only thing I hate about the game. Yeah, I don't mind her whinyness because that's what chics do right?

" @Emilio said:

" @Hailinel:  Maybe somebody should make one!  GiantBomb really needs more walkthroughs and cheats. I DEMAND THE GIANTBOMB CREW IMPLEMENT A CHEATS & CODES TAB. "

How about console commands for the PC? "