Go away, all of you. Go on, bugger off. I've got such a damned headache from all the wine and my eyes are killing me. Last night I stayed up until well past 1am playing Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Metroid Prime 3 stuffing myself with Wine Gums and chugging down the Christmas Cheer� I could not possibly be in a worse state now.

But by the Flame of Persephone, I am happy! Why? Because this just so happens to have been one of the best Christmases ever in the whole history of Nintendo gaming in the whole world ever!

How, I hear you cry! There was no Smash Bros Brawl, no Wii Fit and no ground-breaking new franchises that set the world on its head through innovation and originality. Where was the Halo 3 beater? Why did they delay Brawl? How come they didn't make the Wii in new colours?

All these issues are perfectly valid, of course, however people need to realise the importance of what they have, not keep lusting after what they have not. The reason Christmas was so great this year is that the number of stand-out titles available for the Wii was phenomenal. And it's not only recent releases � Wii Sports is still a brilliant game for parties, even though it's over a year old. I have not met a single person who has failed to be charmed by the simplicity and enjoyment to be found playing a game of bowling from the comfort of a well-worn armchair. Twilight Princess, despite what some might say, is a brilliant title, the superior of every Zelda game since Ocarina of Time.

As for new games, I hardly need to mention Mario Galaxy, but I will anyway. The game is just wonderful, an amazing testament to the skill and intelligence of Nintendo and a proud example of the versatility of the franchise and character. Graphically, it has proven to be the most impressive Wii offering to date, demonstrating to all that the Wii can cut it with the eye-candy.

Metroid Prime 3 is yet another stand-out in this years' sea of quality. I have a confession to make: I hated Prime and Echoes. I thought they were absolute rubbish. Far too limited and repetitive, the two games failed to capture my imagination or interest for more than five hours apiece. I had such low expectations for the next game that I almost did not buy it � and what a fool I would have been. Corruption took every successful element from all games in the franchise that preceded it and turned it into a compact, perfectly realised package that absolutely stunned.

But Nintendo weren't the only ones with something clever up their sleeves, oh no. Capcom, in one of those quirky moments of total clarity they seem to have, saw fit to sculpt the best lightgun game ever to grace a home console in Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Not only did this bring the action of the arcade to my own small screen, it also brought with it some of the intelligence of the regular games. Shooting zombies to save your life is fun, but shoot too much and you'll pay for it later. There is method in the madness and a surprising element of strategy. Whereas other lightgun games would let you waste your ammo by giving you an infinite supply of impossibly-powerful bullets, if you failed to save enough rounds of meatier weapons for later on, the boss fights would be short for all the wrong reasons.

Party games don't come much more frantic than Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, and it is the closest to a new Wii Sports that we are likely to see for a very long time. It is also the perfect way to work off the Christmas ham, and anyone who's arms aren't aching after the Freestyle Relay isn't trying hard enough. Some of the games are rubbish and inaccessible for Aunty Alice who has never played a game before, but most are great fun and don't demand anything to mentally challenging.

It is disappointing that BWii was delayed for Europe, particularly as the Wii has no true strategy title as yet, and considering how well the Wiimote adapts to make a gun, it would very likely be an excellent tool for commanding armies. Having played BWii, I can confess that you are not missing much, other than a solid action/strategy title. Believe me when I say that you can wait to play this one.

Brawl is a slightly more bitter pill to swallow, especially as there are no good fighting games out at the moment. The tantalising drips of information over the last few months have whipped up interest in this game to fever-pitch, and we are all desperate to be proven right in our unwavering desire for this game. Still, sales-wise Nintendo probably made the right decision, as this may have hurt Galaxy.

What is difficult to understand is why Wii Fit hasn't been made ready in time, as it would have made the perfect Christmas gift for all those kids that spend Christmas brushing up on their gluttony. Nintendo may be accused of perverting children's minds for releasing the Zapper, the most un-gun-like peripheral ever. But with Wii Fit they have come up with a cunning stunt that will not only drive casual sales, but also win over parents worried about playing games being responsible for increasingly chubby cheeks. That is, until some idiot American strains a buttock and sues the company for several million.

At the very least, we Nintendo gamers have plenty to look forward to next year. And who knows what fabulous titles might pop out of nowhere and onto the release lists in the coming months?

Iun Hockley
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