any console

So please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to pick on Nintendo here. I’m a big Nintendo fan actually, I’m just tired of the disappointment. That said…

Today Nintendo released the Metriod Prime 3: Corruption preview on WiiShop. When I saw this I was ecstatic because I thought that Nintendo had finally wised up and decided to start putting playable demos in the WiiShop. Imagine my surprise when I fired that bad boy up and all I get is a video.

This video is fantastic, and the game looks great to be sure… which is why I wanted a freakin’ playable demo. PS3 fans and Xbox 360 fans have been enjoying playable demos for a while. PS2 and Xbox fans have even been able to obtain playable demos via the official magazines for a long time, too. This is the sort of thing that Nintendo fans have really missed out on, and it’s the kind of marketing that Nintendo has ignored at their own peril.

Nintendo, just in case you missed my point, your fans want playable demos via WiiShop or some other Nintendo WiFi Connection application. We are tired of seeing every other system give us fantastic game previews when all you give us are web sites–pretty as though they may be–and videos.

Popularity: 67%

Could somebody please put this series out of its misery? These titles are just inhumane anymore. EA, are you really going to keep on killing the momentum that your PC version of this game has reached by releasing these crappy console versions? This is just stupid, please stop it.

Pros:

• The Wii controls are actually quite elegant here

Cons:

• The graphics and music are the same as the GameCube version of this game
• The GamePlay is the same as the GameCube version of this game
• This game is very limited when compared to the PC version of this game
• This game, due to it’s limited capacity, gets very old very fast

The bottom line is that if you’ve ever played the PC version of this game, you will never enjoy a console port of it. Ever. My wife is a huge fan of this series, and when we stopped having Windows-based PCs in our house (we’re 100% Kubuntu GNU/Linux baby!) the only thing she missed was The Sims 2. These console versions have done nothing but tease and disappoint her.

Popularity: 71%

So, many of us have been sitting around twiddling our wiimotes and nunchucks for the better part of the last year wondering when the hell Nintendo was going to come out with all of these neat games that they had in the demo videos that they were putting up for the Wii when it launched.

Well, now we know that the lion’s share of these well-anticipated games were nothing more than vaporware, prototypes, and unstable-nowhere-near-ready versions at the time of Wii’s release. This leads me to the moral question: did Nintendo lie, blunt-faced, through their teeth, to their fans, and the people who’ve made the Wii the great success that it has become?

Well, to that I would say both yes and no.

Yes, Nintendo lied
Now, Nintendo will probably argue that they didn’t give an official release date for these games so there was no misinformation being spread by them. To that I say “come oooooon!” That’s a load of hooey and you know it Iwata! Those videos that were well-circulated online and offline showing games like Mario Universe, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and the most-anticipated Smash Bros: Brawl were most certainly put out there to make people think about playing those games in particular, and since there was no official release date, many assumed–and Nintendo did nothing to dissuade this–that these would be released after Wii’s launch or shortly thereafter. Many Nintendo fans–myself included–were very disappointed to have to wait almost a year for many of these titles, and longer for some.

No, Nintendo didn’t lie
Well, I did say that Smash Bros: Brawl was the most-anticipated, but I meant it was the most-anticipated of the post-launch titles. Ledgend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was most definitely a release title, and it was by far the best Zelda title I’ve ever played. Also, Nintendo has more than delivered on the Virtual Console. I’ve been playing a lot of classic games from my boyhood such as Kirby’s Adventure and Super Mario Bros.. The online connectivity and Nintendo DS connectivity has not been anywhere near satisfactory thus far, and I think the recent Pokemon game and Strikers game are the only two that have online capabilities thus far.

All-in-all, I really think that this has prooven the power of vaporware in the market today. I think that early adopters feel a little burned by Nintendo this time around though. In my opinion, all early adopters should get even longer extended warranties or some other gimme (maybe a t-shirt or something) from Nintendo to say “thanks for dealing with our crap this past year.” Because let’s face it, many of the Wii games that have come out so far in 2007 are crap… pure crap. I did not buy my Wii so that I could play Pirates of the Caribean or Shrek 3 on it. I bought my Wii to play Smash Bros: Brawl and Mario Universe and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Please consider that idea Iwata. How about thanking the people that make you richer than stink, even after you were not completely forthcoming with us.

Popularity: 53%

So, I’ve been playing Mario Strikers: Charged for a few days now, and I thought I’d give you all my opinion. My honest opinion is somewhat disappointed. I remember Mario Super Strikers on GameCube, and I thought this would be so much like that. What I found, however, is that Next Level Games actually made this iteration much more complicated than it’s previous version.

In this version you get essentially the same game play as the GameCube version with some minor twists. The Mega Strike, as it is now called, is actually possible to defend against. What you do is depending how well you do with the timed selector and where you’re located on the field when initiating the super strike, you get more or fewer shots going at goal. So if you’re just in front of the line, and you initiate the mega strike, and you blow it on the timed selector, you get 5 balls instead of 6 balls going at goal. Let’s do the run-down, shall we?

Pros:

• Nintendo WiFi Connection support allows you to play online
• You can take your stats with you by putting your Mii on your WiiMote
• The new Mega Strike can allow for more spectacular comebacks
• The tutorial mode is very well done
• More captains and more possible side-kicks. You can also mix and match sidekicks

Cons:

• I don’t know if I’m wrong or right here, but it seems like the field is smaller
• “Defensive” moves are quickly repeatable, enabling the lame equivalent of bunny-hopping
• Defending against mega strikes is tricky since in most living room situations, the wiimote is fighting too much light interference for any real accuracy
• Series are fun, but it’s hard to get in and play a quick game of strikers online with only a series as your option

The bottom line is that I really still prefer the GameCube version of this game to the Wii version. Online play is nice, but the changes in the game make it tougher for those of us who aren’t 14 and don’t have 5 hours a day to dedicate to this game.

Popularity: 46%

So, you want to know about Twilight Princess do you? Well, there are two different types of people out there with respect to this game: those who played Ocarina of Time, and those who have not.

If you have played Ocarina of Time
Well, you’re going to love this game. You’ll see the similarities are astounding. Epona is there, your quiet farm boy Link is there, Hyrule Castle is definately there, and many of the baddies that you know from Ocarina of Time are there as well. It’s amazing to think of how similar the games are.

But I think you’ll think Twilight Princess is better…

If you haven’t played Ocarina of Time
Well, you’re going to love this game, too. This game takes no prior knowledge into account. It builds on past versions for sure, but it doesn’t require foreknowledge.

So, here’s a quick run-down of the pros and cons:
Pros

• Wiimote really sets you up for a more comfortable control.
• This story is deep. Legend of Zelda games have always had dark under-tones, but this is the first one that really is up front about it.
• There is some very nicely done foreshadowing. Not too obvious, not too subtle. Just about right.

Cons

• Why wasn’t this game voice-acted? Nintendo needs to start doing more voice acting. Seriously. It adds depth to the game and brings characters to life.
• Why wasn’t this music orchestrated? It could have been much better than it is.
• What’s with the wolf mode not letting you use items that add health?
• The howl mode could have been used more, and to the benefit of the story.
• Nintendo’s copy protection mechanisms are causing discs to go prematurely bad.

The bottom line is that this game blew my mind. Absolutely blew my mind.

Popularity: 56%

Wow, have you ever played a football game before? Gosh, Lord knows I have! I’ve been playing football games for almost 15 years now. I have never seen one as well put together as this one. Puts all other football games to shame, and with this past Super Bowl it’s even starting to put the NFL itself to shame (thanks a lot for that horrible Super Bowl coverage CBS).

So for the high points, I have to start off by telling you how I play these types of games. I’m not the kind of person who plays shooters and sports games only with other people… particularly my brother Richard. Over Christmas this past year, my brother an I spent more than 30 hours over the course of 2 weeks playing that game. What a blast. That game was so fun it should be illegal (and probably is in California).

Some features worth mentioning are…

• Real-feel passing
• A training mode that it is second to none
• A sound-track that’s simply blowing my mind
• Excellent graphics
• Real-time weather
• Really intuitive camera control
• You can use the light-gun to point to select players on the field
• No more horrible button combos to perform audibles

It is insane how cool this game is, and Wii pulls it off so well. It’s always fun to have such a blast with my brother, and this game really enables it. Cooperative multi-player is something you just gotta have with a football game.

Popularity: 26%

Well, I got my Wii on Thursday last week, and I must say I’m surprised what game I’ve ended up playing more than any other. It hasn’t been The Ledgend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (though I have cranked 10-12 hard hours in on this one), it hasn’t been Excite Truck, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, WiiSports, nor has it been Red Steel.

No my friends, the game that has won out with a whopping 17 hours of game play has been UbiSoft’s most unique, interesting, and overall stupid-crazy-fun game Rayman Raving Rabbids that has stolen my play time.

This is not at all to say that any of the previously mentioned games aren’t good. Quite the contrary; Twilight Princess is an outstanding game. It’s beautifully crafted and a masterpiece to be sure… but that’s not why I’m insane about Wii.

Wii to me means a new way of playing my games. I can’t think of how many times I’ve been in my local GameCrazy asking my buddies there what is new to play… most of the time to a dismayed “not much” response. Wii changes all of that.

Rayman Raving Rabbids really strikes at the heart of this desire for me. I didn’t want a strictly linear game that was over when I finished the story. I wanted something where I could try many different things, have some good laughs, involve my family and my friends, and be able to walk away when I’m done satisfied. Rayman does this.

Instead of the platformer that Rayman has traditionally been, Raving Rabbids is a very loosely knit series of mini-games that really showcase the unique control capabilities of Wii, and are so silly that it put me and my wife in stitches. That is what gaming is supposed to be about. That’s what I wanted. That’s what Rayman delivered.

If you want my recommendation on a must-have for Wii, it would be Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Popularity: 38%