Q4 2008 gaming report - Wii & DS

Square Enix

Continuing where the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 left off, now a look at the top handful of games, and honorable mentions, for the Nintendo systems, the Wii and DS, systems which sold like hotcakes. While the focus for Nintendo seems to have shifted to the more casual gamer there are a few titles for the hardcore, if they can ignore the dated graphics on pretty much every third-party title.

Nintendo Wii – A sad quarter overall with only a handful of titles to mention. Based on usual gaming standards these mostly revamped, updated GameCube games would not hold smoke to the next-genners, but when you lead the market in sales guess quality begins to take a back seat.

1. Animal Crossing: City Folk – its Animal Crossing for the Wii, nothing more, nothing less.
2. MySims Kingdom – For a franchise as set in it’s way as The Sims it’s nice to see an adventuresome departure like Kingdom. This is get to it game play.
3. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World – As close to an old-school RPG that gamers will get on the Wii … for now.
4. Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 – Unique story and pretty good fighting mechanics, the only Naruto game in town for Wii owners since the first Clash and a good purchase.
5. Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels – Perfect use for the Wii-mote and continuing the Star Wars storyline, can’t lose with that.

Dis-honorable Mention: The rest of the Wii lineup. Too much casual, too many clones and why can’t there be a new, top line (Mario, Zelda, DK, Pokemon) on the Wii each holiday season?

Nintendo DS – How does the Wii along with the DS put out so much fluff, yet the DS still manages to deliver rock solid games? Is it the old-school abilities of the DS … yes … the simple interface … yes. DS rocks.

1. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – The formula is tweaked just a bit, but the sleek female lead and glyph system is what gaming is all about.
2. Chrono Trigger – Young gamers can now understand what happens when excellent design meets addictive game play, this is a classic.
3. Dragon Ball: Origins – How does the best DB title on DS go unnoticed? Not just a great anime game but also a very, very enjoyable adventure with fun story.
4. Bleach: Dark Souls – Old-school yet again with the Bleach characters and special moves thrown in and a card system to turn the tide of battle.
5. Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia – Not traditional Pokémon but the job of a Ranger is hard but fun on the DS. Notice an anime feel in the DS titles?

Honorable Mention: Age of Empires: Mythologies

Overall Grades – The Wii gets a C+. While there are some good, recognizable franchises here the lack of a true, ground breaking triple A title hurts so much. The first party offerings are decent but there is so much fluff, casual content on the Wii. Tales, Naruto and Star Wars show that third parties are working on originality, but even GameCube pushed out better titles. The DS gets a B. There is also a plethora of junk on the DS but the traditional, hardcore gaming titles and use of the stylus demands high grades. These top titles do carry a very anime feel but there is no denying the quality of these games. Nintendo is cleaning up in hardware sales, no doubt there, and an informed gamer can have a good time on both systems but just beware of fancy covers and ask the clerk at a real game store their thoughts on the game you want. Next up to close out a look at the fourth quarter a look at the PSP, PS2 and a few PC titles.