The three best Wii games of 2009 (so far)

Punch-Out!! is one of 2009's best Wii games.

The Wii has had a solid year so far, with many great titles finding their way to store shelves. While none of Nintendo’s big guns- like Mario, Zelda, or Metroid- have seen a release yet, the first half of 2009 has gone quite well for the Nintendo Wii. Among 2009’s best Wii games thus far are Punch-Out!!, MadWorld, and Deadly Creatures. 

Punch-Out!!
It had been 14 since the previous installment in the Punch Out series, but Next Level Games and Nintendo brought Mac back, and Little Mac’s return to the ring represents one of the best Wii games released this year.

Players looking for the Wii’s answer to Fight Night should look elsewhere. Punch-Out!! is not a boxing simulator. Rather, it is a puzzle game. Each opponent has a certain pattern and several tells, and you must decipher this pattern and discover these tells in order to knock them out and win the title. The initial career mode will fill familiar to Punch Out veterans, but thanks to new features like Title Defense Mode and Exhibition Challenges, even the most seasoned players will be caught off guard and forced to adapt to a new challenge.

The game also features plenty of unlockables, including a bonus challenger, a harder difficulty mode, audio galleries for every character and a movie gallery. It all comes together to form a must-have Wii game.

MadWorld
It’s bloody. It’s violent. It’s over the top. It’s offensive. It’s one of the best games released on the Wii this year. In MadWorld, Jack participates in the Death Watch games, which have one simple rule- kill or be killed.

The best thing about the game is the boss fights. The boss fights are among the best on the Wii, only rivaled by 2008’s No More Heroes. Jack fights everything from giant robots to vampires to a sumo wrestler as he battles to become the top ranked participant in the Death Watch games. Each boss is defeated in a wonderfully bloody and violent fashion.

Violent as it may be, MadWorld looks beautiful. The game is black and white, with splashes of red for blood effects. The black and white appearance is certainly unique, and it adds to an already amazing experience. Also adding to this experience is the constant commentary, provided by Greg Proops (as seen on Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama). Their constant chatter ranges from raunchy to witty, and is a welcome addition to the game.

This M-rated beat-em-up is possibly the most violent game on the Wii, and it’s also a great game for the older Wii audience looking for something a bit different.

Deadly Creatures
A tarantula and a scorpion make for unlikely heroes, but that is exactly what they are in this Rainbow Studios developed action game. The two arachnids must survive in the brutal Sonoran Desert, where is it hunt or be hunted. In order to survive, they must battle dangerous predators like rattlesnakes, desert rats, and Gila monsters.

In addition to these creatures, the tarantula and scorpion lives intersect with the lives of two brothers, voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper, who are searching for buried treasure. Their tale, and how it affects the lives of the pair of arachnids, provides the game’s story. The brothers’ tale is truly interesting and intriguing story.

The game is also a technical masterpiece. The creatures you fight- especially the other insects and spiders- and disturbingly lifelike. If you suffer from arachnophobia, stay away from this game, but if you are looking for a unique action game, Deadly Creatures is a great choice.