The best part of the new name of the system is all the puns it generates.
So I am what you could call a lapsed video game player. While I own both an Xbox and a Gamecube (and once owned a PS2), I own less than 10 games for each. The games I play the most are early titles of both- Halo (the original, not the annoying blueballs-ending sequel) and Smash Brothers Melee. I’m still not planning on shelling out for the Xbox 360 or PS3, since all the games look like nothing new. But the Wii on the other hand… the flurry of announcements at E3 has made me super-excited.
You can find all this in bits and pieces on various sites- I’ve cribbed all this stuff from Digg, Gamespot, and IGN- but just some points about what I personally am excited about. I also think that Nintendo has really done what they set out to do: get a bunch of people who normally don’t play video games to be excited about playing video games.
-New Zelda game. Use the remote to pull back on a bow string, toss a boomerang… and fish. Zelda games don’t tend to dissapoint…
-Red Steel. Aside from reminding me of the hilariously bad old D&D module, a sword fighting game is a nobrainer for the control system. (The killer app, however, is still going to be a lightsaver dueling game.)
-Duck Hunt sequel! It only took them two decades. Of course, another no-brainer for the control system.
-Super Mario Galaxy. Another build on the Mario 64 mold it looks like, but with more bouncing between planets. It may be heresy, but I wasn’t a big M64 fan. However, the way this works (and not having to work my way around a bizarre controller) may make this a hit for me.
-Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. Have I mentioned there a bunch of no brainers for this system? That’s the genius of it. Use the controller as an umbrella, or… mohawk?
-ExciteTruck. Another NES franchise back from the dead. I hear good early reviews on this one. Use the remote like a steering wheel, using some buttons to turbo… and get ready to fly off some ramps.
-Wii Sports. Some conflicting reports on this one. Is it a bunch of sports in one disc, or are they seperate discs? The one that I’m looking forward to is Tennis. Though I can’t help but think table tennis will be an awesome title for the Wii-mote… and look positively lame on the PS using a controller.
And finally, my favorite franchise will make an appearance in 2007…
-Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Though they say they’re still working out who’s in it, there’s already some surprises. Solid Snake, for one, Kid Icarus for another, and Wario. And the tantalizing possibility of Sonic making an appearance to fight his old foe Mario (oh, and made even more of a possibility due to the Sonic game coming out for Wii.)
Again, poke around on Gamespot for the latest news. Lots of good trailers, lots of news… so far, Nintendo is pushing all my buttons.
Fortunately you were there for Mario 64’s coining of the backseat gameplayer yelling, “GO DOWN!!”
The preliminary trailer for Smash Bros. Brawl is up:
http://media.revolution.ign.com/media/748/748545/vids_1.html
All the characters get supercombos. Mario’s and Link’s are like old school 50 hit street fighter style combos, while Kirby’s throws his opponent into a pot and cooks them! And Wario’s main move is an explosive fart: now I know who The O is going to want to play…