“What?! Who cares about the Wii?” you might be asking..well first, nice attitude buddy, and second, well, you should care, because there are actually some really great games that don’t have “Mario”, “Kirby” or “Zelda” in the title and you might be missing out on them. Here are my personal 5 favorite Wii games:
House of the Dead:Overkill: It’s House of the Dead. It’s shooting zombies in the noggin using Wii light guns. You just can’t go wrong. ‘Nuff said.
Wario Land: Shake It!: I didn’t have high expectations when I bought this game, but for 10 bucks I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Long story short, Wario receives a globe and telescope that allow him to travel to the Shake Dimension. He has to rescue all of the Merfles (little guys who live in the Shake Dimension) who are prisoners of the Shake King, beat the bajeezus out of 5 bosses and finally the Shake King himself, and rescue Queen Merelda. For doing so he will get a reward of a bottomless sack of gold (greedy lil’ bastard). The general goal of each level is to rescue the Merfles, but there are tons of hidden treasures and side missions to keep the game entertaining.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars: This is, in my opinion, the best fighter you will find on the Wii. There are over 20 characters between Capcom and Tatsunoko(an anime studio), to choose from. Although the gameplay is slightly less hectic than Marvel vs Capcom, it’s still really fun. The controls are really simple and special moves are a snap to pull off (ultimate combos can be pulled off by simply shaking the wii-mote). There are a good amount of mini-games to play as well, which gives the game a decent amount of replay value. If you are a fan of any of the Capcom Vs titles, definitely pick this one up.
Madworld: This game is something that you would never expect on a family friendly console like the Wii. It’s literally non-stop gore and violence. Definitely not for the little ones you may have running around. The visuals are all black and white (think Sin City) EXCEPT for the blood which is splattering everywhere at all times. The story is as follows: A terrorist group called the Organizers take control of Varrigan City and being the no good sonsab*tches that they are, force the citizens to participate in a really, really ****** up game called Death Watch. You play as Jack, a mysterious contestant whose main goal is to eradicate the Organizers. To do so you have get through all 6 sections of the city by brutally dispatching your opponents. You use any weapons you can find from signposts to chainsaws to mangle and mutilate your opponents. My personal favorite fatalities include throwing a tire over an enemy, impaling him with a sign post then slamming him into a spiked wall and the always fun throwing your enemy into a passing train. You actually get bonus points for doing sick crap like that. Yeah. It’s that kind of game. Oh, and the “game show” announcers are actually pretty funny and for the most part don’t get too repetitious or annoying and add to the overall psychotic feel of the game. The controls take a little bit of getting used to (uses both the wii-mote and the nunchaku), but once you get comfortable it’s not a big deal. If you are okay with intense violence and gore, this game is a must have.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade: This game is, simply put, beautiful. I can’t say enough about the visuals on it. It’s a 2D hand drawn (to look like a watercolor painting, I might add) side scrolling beat em up action RPG, produced by Vanillaware, the makers of Odin Sphere (PS2). You have your choice of 2 playable characters, a ninja or a princess, and they have different stories, different bosses to fight, and different abilities to unlock. You collect swords, (all told there are over 100 swords to collect and forge together) and can equip up to 3 at a time. There are no motion controls with this game, just good ol’ fashioned button-mashin’. Words don’t do this game justice, just go and buy it.