William BagleyThe 1st Annual Gamemonger Awards - Nintendo Wii
January 1st 2008 12:28
Under the laws of gaming journalism, it's important that everyone releases a list of what they believe to be the best titles of the year. To ensure I don't get fined, here's the Gamemonger Best of '07 ... or as I like to call it, the 'My Wii Bowling score sucks' awards.
The Best of Nintendo Wii
The Visual Achievement Award - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Paper Mario
Don't be surprised if Mario Galaxy takes a handful of awards away, and I'm not just talking about my opinion either. Graphically it's the best game for the Wii by far, turning Mario from an already respectable character into an even more charming and colourful hero, and proving once and for all that even without the grunt of an Xbox, the Wii still has something to offer. Metroid Prime comes in a close second, as the series has always been a detailed design from Gamecube to Wii. Meanwhile, Paper Mario's 2D graphics were a joy to watch up close.
The Sound Achievement Award - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - The Simpsons Game, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Let's face it, it doesn't get much better then listening to an orchestral version of the Mario theme. Actually, tell a lie, it does. Listening to a Nintendo video game with a ton of orchestral music! Galaxy has it in spades, with a little well made midi music filling the gaps where needed. It makes you feel all warm and cuddly. Still no real voice overs, but that's always been the case with the franchise. Metroid's action blasts and the Simpsons voice overs (as I mentioned on my 360 list) deserve attention.
The Interactive Achievement Award - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, WarioWare: Smooth Moves
There's a number of Wii titles that could easily fill this list, but for the combination of old school charm and new school controls and physics, Mario Galaxy takes out another award. More importantly, though, the game is so easy to pick up and play, a highly important element in selling the Wii. Again, Metroid 3 comes in at an honourable mention, for proving how good 1st person shooters can be with motion sensing, while Wario's wild antics proved highly entertaining and, again, easy to pick up for kids and adults alike.
The Wii Friends Code Achievement Award - Mario Strikers Charged
Honourable Mentions - Guitar Hero III, WarioWare: Smooth Moves
There isn't all that much in terms of online support for the Wii, although that will change now that the new year has rolled in with a number of titles expected to support the service. But for the best of '07, Mario Strikers takes the cake. Setting up a game is a synch, both offline and on, and it's a blast to play with as many people as you can find. Same goes for Wario Ware for its for the offline frenzy, and kudos to Guitar Hero III for providing a solid online experience for Wii gamers.
Biggest Disappointment of 2007 - Pokemon Battle Revolution
Honourable Mentions - Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Need for Speed Pro Street
Nintendo really missed the boat on this one. Instead of making a spectacle of the Pokemon franchise for Wii, instead we get a simple 'battle your Pokemon' game that's no different to the Gamecube or even the N64 versions of the past. The Wii deserves a better example than this one. Unfortunately, Rayman's second Rabbids outing also failed to hit the heights, possibly because this sequel simply cashed in on the first games success. That's not to say it isn't fun, but again an opportunity was missed to really make something special. And you all know what I thought of NFS...
Biggest Surprise of 2007 - Link's Crossbow Training
Honourable Mentions - No Super Smash Brothers Brawl...
There weren't many big surprises for the Wii, but Link's Crossbow Training came out of nowhere. The gun attachment for the Wii remote had been announced a long time ago, right back when the Wii was launched if I'm not mistaken, but when the time came to launch the accessory, no-one expected this little arcade game to be included. It isn't perfect, but it certainly makes it a more worthwhile purchase. Oh, and I couldn't think of much else, so I thought 'well, no smash brothers' and it stuck. Still, not long to go now...
Overall Best Game of 2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Unlike my 360 results, this one wasn't as hard to choose. Super Mario Galaxy was the game I, and everyone I knew who owned a Wii, was waiting for. And boy, was it worth the wait or what! Beautiful designs, old school charm and addictive game play has always been the key to Mario's success, but in recent years the chubby plumber has been stuck in sports roles or guest spots. It's a huge relief to see him back where he truly belongs, and if you're still tossing up whether to buy a Wii, let me make this one perfectly clear ... Super Mario Galaxy is the only reason left that you need. It proves exactly what Nintendo were aiming for in designing the Wii remote, but doesn't ignore its roots. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that no other platform game, past present or future, may ever be as cunning crafted as this little gem.
Metroid Prime 3, meanwhile, also deserves plenty of attention. it won't be the last time we'll see Samus, but it's a fitting conclusion to the Prime trilogy and another important example of what the Wii is capable of.
What's amazing is, despite the success of the Wii this year, next year could prove to be even better still. The long awaited Super Smash Brother Brawl and Mario Kart Wii should push sales through the roof once more, and the online world may never be the same either thanks to those two. But after that, it will be interesting to see where Nintendo's time will go. There's still plenty of other franchises that are yet to be tapped for the console, most notably Starfox, Animal Crossing and F-Zero among many, many others. And, being in Australia, there's some quality games out there that the PAL territory still hasn't got its hands on, Zack and Wiki and Trauma Centre come to mind.
All in all, a solid year for the Wii, with plenty more to look forward to.
The Best of Nintendo Wii
The Visual Achievement Award - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Paper Mario
Don't be surprised if Mario Galaxy takes a handful of awards away, and I'm not just talking about my opinion either. Graphically it's the best game for the Wii by far, turning Mario from an already respectable character into an even more charming and colourful hero, and proving once and for all that even without the grunt of an Xbox, the Wii still has something to offer. Metroid Prime comes in a close second, as the series has always been a detailed design from Gamecube to Wii. Meanwhile, Paper Mario's 2D graphics were a joy to watch up close.
The Sound Achievement Award - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - The Simpsons Game, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Let's face it, it doesn't get much better then listening to an orchestral version of the Mario theme. Actually, tell a lie, it does. Listening to a Nintendo video game with a ton of orchestral music! Galaxy has it in spades, with a little well made midi music filling the gaps where needed. It makes you feel all warm and cuddly. Still no real voice overs, but that's always been the case with the franchise. Metroid's action blasts and the Simpsons voice overs (as I mentioned on my 360 list) deserve attention.
The Interactive Achievement Award - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, WarioWare: Smooth Moves
There's a number of Wii titles that could easily fill this list, but for the combination of old school charm and new school controls and physics, Mario Galaxy takes out another award. More importantly, though, the game is so easy to pick up and play, a highly important element in selling the Wii. Again, Metroid 3 comes in at an honourable mention, for proving how good 1st person shooters can be with motion sensing, while Wario's wild antics proved highly entertaining and, again, easy to pick up for kids and adults alike.
The Wii Friends Code Achievement Award - Mario Strikers Charged
Honourable Mentions - Guitar Hero III, WarioWare: Smooth Moves
There isn't all that much in terms of online support for the Wii, although that will change now that the new year has rolled in with a number of titles expected to support the service. But for the best of '07, Mario Strikers takes the cake. Setting up a game is a synch, both offline and on, and it's a blast to play with as many people as you can find. Same goes for Wario Ware for its for the offline frenzy, and kudos to Guitar Hero III for providing a solid online experience for Wii gamers.
Biggest Disappointment of 2007 - Pokemon Battle Revolution
Honourable Mentions - Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Need for Speed Pro Street
Nintendo really missed the boat on this one. Instead of making a spectacle of the Pokemon franchise for Wii, instead we get a simple 'battle your Pokemon' game that's no different to the Gamecube or even the N64 versions of the past. The Wii deserves a better example than this one. Unfortunately, Rayman's second Rabbids outing also failed to hit the heights, possibly because this sequel simply cashed in on the first games success. That's not to say it isn't fun, but again an opportunity was missed to really make something special. And you all know what I thought of NFS...
Biggest Surprise of 2007 - Link's Crossbow Training
Honourable Mentions - No Super Smash Brothers Brawl...
There weren't many big surprises for the Wii, but Link's Crossbow Training came out of nowhere. The gun attachment for the Wii remote had been announced a long time ago, right back when the Wii was launched if I'm not mistaken, but when the time came to launch the accessory, no-one expected this little arcade game to be included. It isn't perfect, but it certainly makes it a more worthwhile purchase. Oh, and I couldn't think of much else, so I thought 'well, no smash brothers' and it stuck. Still, not long to go now...
Overall Best Game of 2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
Honourable Mentions - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Unlike my 360 results, this one wasn't as hard to choose. Super Mario Galaxy was the game I, and everyone I knew who owned a Wii, was waiting for. And boy, was it worth the wait or what! Beautiful designs, old school charm and addictive game play has always been the key to Mario's success, but in recent years the chubby plumber has been stuck in sports roles or guest spots. It's a huge relief to see him back where he truly belongs, and if you're still tossing up whether to buy a Wii, let me make this one perfectly clear ... Super Mario Galaxy is the only reason left that you need. It proves exactly what Nintendo were aiming for in designing the Wii remote, but doesn't ignore its roots. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that no other platform game, past present or future, may ever be as cunning crafted as this little gem.
Metroid Prime 3, meanwhile, also deserves plenty of attention. it won't be the last time we'll see Samus, but it's a fitting conclusion to the Prime trilogy and another important example of what the Wii is capable of.
What's amazing is, despite the success of the Wii this year, next year could prove to be even better still. The long awaited Super Smash Brother Brawl and Mario Kart Wii should push sales through the roof once more, and the online world may never be the same either thanks to those two. But after that, it will be interesting to see where Nintendo's time will go. There's still plenty of other franchises that are yet to be tapped for the console, most notably Starfox, Animal Crossing and F-Zero among many, many others. And, being in Australia, there's some quality games out there that the PAL territory still hasn't got its hands on, Zack and Wiki and Trauma Centre come to mind.
All in all, a solid year for the Wii, with plenty more to look forward to.
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