Now it’s time to get to the Big Three Consoles, starting off with the Wii.
Brock – As much fun as Wii Sports Resort, NSMBWii and Punch Out! were, I’d have to say that my picks for the games I had the most fun with on the Wii this year are a little off the beaten track. I had a stupid grin plastered to my face the entire time I played MadWorld, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, The Munchables, A Boy And His Blob, Little King’s Story and Rabbids Go Home. These games might not have the widespread appeal that the first 3 games I mentioned did but were fantastic nonetheless and had me singing their praises to all who will listen. I’d probably give The Munchables my top pick for FGotY on Wii because it was so reminiscent of the absurdity of Katamari Damacy that I couldn’t stop laughing the entire time I played it.
Nat – It was an off year for the Wii in our household, but some games do come to mind: Excitebots: Trick Racing, Little King’s Story, and Excitebike: World Rally. However, it’s Punch-Out!! that gets my vote for Fun Game of The Year. Nintendo did a fine job of staying true to the games roots, adding some excellent humor, and introducing Mac and his pink jumpsuit to a new generation.
Will – Much like my Nintendo DS, the Wii just doesn’t get a lot of love. I have built up a backlog of games that I really want to get back to, like Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3. With that amount of shame hanging over my head, I can’t bring myself to keep up my collection of Wii games. However, I did manage to add two games this year, which I submit as my candidates for FGotY 2009 [Nintendo Wii]: House of the Dead Overkill and Punch-Out!! I am just as surprised as you are that I picked the former title. The game is very self-aware, which attributes to the its silly nature. It also captures the grindhouse movie style very well. It plays as well as one would expect for a Wii on-rails shooter, with some pretty cool things to unlock (like dual-wielding weapons).
Tony – Another year goes by where we only bought a couple Wii games and rented a couple more. The overarching theme this year for me was definitely “Nostalgia Never Disappoints”. We started out earlier this year with Punch-Out!!, which was utterly fantastic and the kids absolutely loved, but ultimately, the New Super Mario Bros. Wii wins out for me. I love games that I can play with my kids, which doesn’t happen too often. My four year-old boy has played a bunch of NSMB on the DS and he was able to grasp the Wii version almost instantly. He loves to play with me, but he is a brutal co-op partner! He doesn’t understand the concept of “waiting up” yet, so I’ve got to stay on my toes or I’ll get squeezed out of the level. I love the new power-ups (the Spring Mario is still my favorite!) and the levels have the perfect mix of old-school Super Mario with enough hidden paths and power-ups to appeal to everyone. We will be playing this game long into 2010.
