A Top 10 List. Every blogger must do one of these every once in a while somewhere in their blogs. I guess this one will be my first.

So, we all can agree that there are some very slim pickings for a really good Nintendo Wii game out there right now. But that’s not to say that there aren’t any at all. I’ll admit right now that I don’t own many Wii games - actually I don’t think many Wii gamers actually do - but I have rented quite a few and have discovered that there are some a few Wii games out there worth owning. So here’s my list of personal recommendations. Drum roll please…..

1. Metroid Prime 3 : Corruption - Lets not beat around the bush with this one. We all have heard the rants and rave about this game. Its got it all and if you haven’t seen it, check my earlier post about it. The best thing about this game is that it’s actual Wii game, not a remake or port.
2. Resident Evil 4 - Had Metroid Prime 3 not come out, this game would have been at the top of my list. And if you don’t know what this game is about, then you’ve been missing out for the last 2 years. Although RE4 is a port of the original Game Cube game that came out back in early 2005, the new Wii version features full wide screen support, new (and much better) control schemes, and all the special features that the PS2 version had all jam-packed into the Wii disc. There’s way too much to talk about with this game. Just get it. Now.
3. The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess - Every Wii owner should of played this game by now. It was one of the few Wii games that launched with the Wii back in November of 2006. Although it’s technically a Game Cube game with Wii controls tacked on, you can say that its a very very good Game Cube game with Wii controls tacked on. And yes, its a port but its definitely well worth checking out if you still haven’t. With great graphics, sound, and music, be prepared to spend many hours playing this one.



4. Super Paper Mario - Everyone should know this by now : every Mario game is going to be GOOD. Well, most of them usually are. Super Paper Mario is the next game in the Paper Mario series that supposedly dates back to the SNES (Super Mario RPG). The interesting thing about this game is the emphasis on platform game-play and the new ability to “flip” the world into a sort 3D view, while keep the concept of everything being “paper-thin” in tacked. This game is quite fun. All the Mario characters are here, graphics are cartoony and looks perfect for what it’s suppose to represent. Lots of funny dialogue and lots of puzzles. I did however, found the game to be pretty short. But highly recommended.
5. The Godfather : Blackhand Edition - This is one of the few games that actually makes good use of the Nun-chuck and the Wii-mote. Also aside from RE4, its one of the more violent games I’ve played. Have you ever wanted to just randomly beat up people and actually feel like you’re doing it? Participate in organized crime? Join the Mafia? Work for Don Corleone? The Godfather Blackhand edition is also a port from the early 2006 PC and Xbox game. Its more or less like Grand Theft Auto in the Godfather world. Worth a try if you enjoy the Godfather movies or just want to let loose your inner violence.



6. Trauma Center : Second Opinion - Apparently this game is also a remake of the same game (with slightly different title) on the Nintendo DS. Trauma Center is another game that makes good use of the Wii-mote. Essentially, its a game about performing surgery while living through the Japanese-infused drama-filled storyline of the game. I personally found this game to be hilarious and a bit over the top at times (especially with the dramatic moments) but overall it was a fun game. There are a few tense moments where you literally can’t remember the correct procedure for the operations, but that adds to the enjoyment. Definitely worth checking out.
7. Mario Strikers Charged - If you like soccer, and you like Mario, and you want some multi-player action on the Wii for once, then this game is for you. Mario Strikers Charged is the sequel to the Game Cube’s late 2005 release. Now I’m not a big soccer fan by any means, but this game actually makes the sport of soccer “fun”. You now have different power-ups and special moves you can perform during the game. You can foul like crazy and it don’t matter. Actually, you’ll find yourself attacking other players constantly. The interesting thing about this game is that its the first Wii game to have online capabilities allowing you to challenge other gamers from around the world.
8. Elebits - One of the more unusual games ever, the point of this game is to locate these electrical creatures called “Elebits” by trashing (literally) your surroundings. If you ever wanted to make a mess of things and never have to clean it up, then this one is worth playing. Its good simple fun, but can get a bit repetitive at times.



9. Excite Truck - A spiritual successor to the legendary NES game “Excite Bike” and N64 game “Excite Bike 64“, this game puts you in the driver’s seat of a 4×4 truck and letting you grind it out in a death race against several other trucks. The cool thing is that you have to turn the Wii-mote sideways and literally tilt it as if you’re turn a steering wheel. The fast pacing of the game really gives you a good rush. And again, a simple yet fun title worth checking out.
10. Wii Play - Now this game really needs no description. You probably already have this game if you own a Wii. Although the mini games in Wii Play are very short and simple, get a bunch of folks together and you’ll definitely have a blast playing this one.

So it was a night at Dave and Busters with my cousins was where I finally figured out the strange appeal of these casual mini games. Since video game arcades have seem to slowly disappeared all around America within the past few years, stepping into Dave and Busters was like stepping into the past. Buzzing all around were the new breed of arcade video games that somehow managed to survive until today. Most of them were light gun rail shooter games : House of the Dead 4, Time Crisis 4, Ghost Squad, Trophy Hunting…etc as well as odd ones that allowed up to 8 players at once. Then there were those racing games of old such as Daytona USA, and Rush 2049. Else where I saw those fun air hockey games, pool tables, mini bowling alleys, and even pin ball machines.  Surrounding these arcade games were a plentiful multitude of casino-like token powered games that return strings of tickets as awards which you can trade in for some cheap prize.

With all these varieties of games around me, they all shared the same aspect : quick, simple, casual, easy game-play. Games that are fun for a short time to play alone, but wildly fun when playing with others. I found myself bouncing for one game to another looking for different games I can compete against my cousins with. One particular shooting game had us hooked for over 20 minutes. Around me I can see other groups of people enjoying themselves with all these simple games.  It was then that it finally dawned on me why the Wii has done so well with it’s casual approach.

When we got home later on, I loaded up Wii Play and we continued the game-fest. There we shot at targets again in the Shooting Range, tested our concentration with Table Tennis, checked out reflexes with Laser Hockey, and pissed each other off Fishing. It was actually fun now, or rather, much more fun now with many people playing along. This is why Wii Play works so well. This is why Nintendo has got it right.

So what did I learn? Well, casual mini games can be fun, if played in the right context. Am I going to go out and buy all the casual games Wii games out there? Probably not. I still prefer my “hardcore” games. So are casual games the future of gaming? God I hope not. But its definately here to stay.

If you own a Wii, chances are you probably own Wii Play. Matter of fact, sales statistics show you that you probably own Wii Play. Ever since its release back in February of 2007, Wii Play has consistently remained at the top of the sales charts for Wii games. Although nothing more than a bunch of Wii tech-demos bunched into one gaming package, its safe to say that Wii Play is one of the most successful Wii games to date (that’s over 4 million sales and rising every day). But like many others, I was shock to find how many of these things were selling. Why is that? Why is everyone buying Wii Play? 

Well for the first few months of it’s inception, it was quite evident that everyone was going to pick this one up. Just take a close look at the box. Wii Play is currently (to my knowledge) the only Wii game that actually comes packed with a Wii-mote. And if you can recall just only a few months ago that while the Wii’s themselves were scarce, Wii-motes were just as scarce.  So paying that initial $59.99 was well worth the money at the time if you managed to pick one up.  There was even a demand for it that caused Wii Play sales to go as high $90.00 on eBay.

I was fortunate enough to pick up Wii Play 5 days before it was even schedule to be on sale, thanks to the local Best Buy bad habits of putting out products before their schedule release dates - they don’t seem to do that anymore BTW.  And while it provided a few minutes of quick entertainment for each game on there, the lack luster appeal of replay was full in effect very shortly after. Or was it?

Wii Play comes packaged with 9 different mini games, or as some may call them “tech demos” each ranging from your typical light-gun shooter to driving a car via bull riding. It was more or less an extension of the packaged Wii Sports game (or tech-demo however you looked at it). Each game did allow for more than one player and some even appeared to best be played with multiple people, but each one of them can be played by a single player.

The games featured in Wii Play is what today we would call “casual games” or what the Wii has become notoriously famous for : mini games. Essentially they are games that are simple enough for just about anyone to pick up and play instantly for a short period of time without having to commit any serious effort.  Now this is where the appeal of Wii Play comes into affect.  For the average “hardcore gamer” - and I use that term loosely because it can have many definitions - Wii Play simple just…..sucks. But for the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, elder people, and specificially non-gamers, Wii Play would be a god-send.

Hells Yes!

It was the surprising success of games like Bejewel, Zuma, and Diner Dash paved way for the explosion of the casual game market. Although these games usually featured 2D graphics and a simple yet unique game-play, they’ve manage to catch the attention of people who’ve never played games before. Nintendo recognize this immediately and banked on it with the Wii. But nonetheless, not everyone enjoys casual games.

As a hardcore gamer, for the longest time I’ve always though Wii Play sucked. How can someone actually enjoy playing these simple minded mini games I’ve wondered. Of course my mom and sister loved it but I could never find myself playing it for more than a couple minutes - alone that is. Whenever I do play Wii Play with someone else, due to the novelty nature of the mini games, I did find it quite enjoyable at times and I wasn’t too sure why.

I finally discovered the answer of this enigma during a night of gaming at Dave and Busters, the last arcade refuge in America.

To be continued in Part 2…..

The other day one of my co-workers asked me what I thought is the best game that’s currently out for the Wii. So I told him : “That’s obvious, it’s Metroid Prime 3.”. So he asked me why and I told him : “Cause its Frickin Awesome!” This came as a surprise to him because just a couple months I was harpin about how the awesomest game ever was Resident Evil 4.  “Its a technicality…” I said. Resident Evil 4, while is definitely one of the better games currently available for the Wii, is not technically a true Wii game because its basically a port of the Game Cube version. While Metroid Prime 3 is a true Wii game. He disagreed. Whether or not its a port, if it’s on the Wii’s console, then its a Wii game according to him. We debated a little more about technicalities and the usual geek stuff that only gamers would argue about before he asked me why I thought Metroid Prime 3 was so good. So I laid it out for him.

1. The Graphics - Being the graphics whore that I am, you would wonder why I even bothered buying a Wii, fully knowing that it possesses no competition to the other consoles as far as graphics are concerned. But considering the Wii is technically twice as powerful as the Game Cube, I would expect the games for it to actually look twice as powerful as Game Cube. You can imagine the dismay I felt this past year going through titles after titles of crappy looking games with crappy game play. But then Nintendo finally swoops in to make a believer out of me with Metroid Prime 3. Yes, its the first Wii game to actually make use ofthe graphics capabilities of the Wii. Noticed I said “make use of”. The graphics in Metroid Prime 3 looked great, but I’m still not convinced that its actually pushing the Wii’s graphics power at all. Needless to say, I’m glad that there’s a Wii game that not only fun to play, but also fun to look at.
2. Controls - Yes, its true. What everyone has been talking about is true. Nintendo has finally got it right with the controls. They flow perfectly with the game and is very intuitive. I enjoyed the controls so much that I can’t imagine playing another FPS game without it. Every movement is instantaneous and there is no lag or delay (or what may feel like it). After the somewhat unsatisfying experience I had with Red Steel, I was a bit worried on how Nintendo was going to handle Metroid Prime 3.  Some of the enemies were really fast paced so aiming would of been a pain in the ass but with the new control scheme, it was a breeze.  Then again, it could also be due to the new lock-on feature of the game. Anyways, I’m glad they did an excellent job on it and it should set the standard for future FPS games for the Wii.
3. Game-play - I’ll admit that the previous Metroid Prime games were not high up on my list on the Game Cube. I really hate not knowing what to do next and after spending hours of trying to figure out something, I have to backtrack all the way to the beginning of the level. Well I’m happy to say that Metroid Prime 3 has a more combat element to it than the previous games.  Yes there’s still some backtracking, but at least this time around it’ll actually (or rather sometimes) tell you when, why, and where you need to do the backtracking. The good thing now is that since you’re given control of you ship, you can make use of it instead of having to backtrack manually. The puzzle elements that annoyed you from the previous Metroid Prime games are there too, but thankfully it’s a bit easier to figure out (cause I suck at these puzzle games).

So there it is. Great graphics, perfect controls, and awesome game-play. The whole package all rolled into one, finally giving me a reason to say that I’m glad a bought a Wii. Now lets bring on the Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Brothers Brawl….