Best of Wii's First Years

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - An update to a pretty fun Saturn title, featuring similar Sonic-esque gameplay combined with creative boss battles. Not a huge step above the original, but hey, no point in being picky when it's still a fun game.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition - Arguably the best game of the last generation, and this is the definitive version of it. Combine all the best features of both the Gamecube and PS2 versions and then toss in an intuitive Wiimote control scheme on top of that. Even the price is right - this whole package for a mere $30.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - With Time Crisis spectacularly jumping the shark on its awful PS3 entry, Capcom had to step up and save rail shooters from falling into the pit of forgotten genres next to adventure games and interactive movies (most of the latter actually belong there, but I digress). Fortunately this one saves face by being pretty fun, having multiple paths in each scenario (adding some replay value) and expanding upon the plot of the great Resident Evil series. It even supports the Wii Zapper, an underrated peripheral in my book.

Super Mario Galaxy - Mario definitely knows how to do 3D platforming right, and this is his best one yet. Finally putting power-ups back into the formula (and even adding some creative new ones) and using the physics-based gameplay to its fullest, this is a game that has plenty of surprises in store. My only complaint is the camera not being controllable as often as it should be; sometimes you'll need to make a long jump but the game simply won't let you line it up behind you to make things easier. Other than that, though, this is definitely one of the Wii's defining titles..

Super Paper Mario - Adventure, platformer and RPG all combine in this title. While not an overly difficult game, it does feature some surprisingly complex puzzles to solve in each stage, and as with any RPG there are a plethora
of hidden secrets and sidequests to keep you interested on top of that. While I'd
love to see a full-fledged fantasy RPG make full use of the Wii's hardware, this is a pretty good way to start things off.

Titles to Watch

Dragon Quest Swords - I've heard of rail shooters, but rail slashers? DQ Swords definitely looks like it's going to fill those shoes; you'll block and parry blows with your shield and slash back with yoiur sword, both utilizing the Wiimote to do so. Definitely an interesting experiment, but will it have enough substance to warrant its $50 asking price? We shall see.

Mario Kart Wii - One of the few racing series' I can actually tolerate, featuring the defining feature of the DS version - online play. Now if they just balance out the characters to the level of, say, Mario Kart 64, they'll be golden; if Dry Bones is as broken as in Mario Kart DS I'm giving this one a pass. Oh yeah, and make Battle mode playable online too.

No More Heroes - Looks to be a solid action title from Suda51 and Grasshopper, featuring open-ended gameplay and some clever sword fighting and wrestling mechanics. It's also been moved up three weeks to avoid being drowned out in SSBB's flood of attention; it's currently slated for a release on January 22. Better come up with some cash fast!

One Piece Unlimited Adventure - Being a big fan of One Piece, I'm definitely going to give this one a go; it looks to be a fun combination of a Zelda-esque adventure game, a brawler in the vein of Final Fight, and the same Power Stone-esque versus mode in Grand Battle and Grand Adventure. Plus they left the game's features (mostly) untouched, unlike the previous games which actually removed characters and stages that hadn't shown on the aired cartoon episodes yet. Lame thing to do, that.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - A great series that just keeps getting better. Featuring tons of new items, characters, custom stages and even online play, this will be one of the Wii's big five, no doubt about it. Hell, it may be one of the big five games of all time.