N-Europe's Top 50 Wii Games: #30-#21
Posted 06 Nov 2012 at 00:50 by Dean Jones
After a short delay, our top 50 Wii Games countdown continues, with a fair share of shooting games in this section.
After the crazy period he went through hanging out with the Rabbids, Rayman took a long, hard look at himself and decided that he needed to reevaluate his life. He decided to quit the Rabbid circus and go back to his roots - 2D platforming. He picked up some wonderful artists along the way, too, resulting in some stunning hand-drawn graphics. Throw in some spot-on platforming, glorious music, 4-player co-op and a huge dash of insanity, and you have a triumphant return for Rayman.
“Zany. That word sprang to mind when I thought about describing this game. Exactly the kind of thing you would expect from the Rayman universe and Ubisoft. Crazy-ass experimental music, as well as freakishly funny enemies and bosses.” - Fused King
“The best 2D platformer on the Wii (oh, controversial!!!). Beautiful to look at, with level design and gameplay flowing effortlessly together. Not often that Ubisoft gets one up on Nintendo at their own game.” - Ganepark32
The Wii’s first online game (in Europe, anyway), Mario Strikers Charged Football brought us our second helping of Mario Football. In some ways is was as much a brawler as it was a football game, with tackles that would make Roy Keane shake his head in disgust. Mario Strikers Charged had a surprising amount of depth, and proper use of your players - and not the title characters - could lead to some crushing victories with over 100 goals. Extremely fun, unique and a complete blast in multiplayer.
“Combining Football with the world of Nintendo was a bit surreal at first. I enjoy my football and I love Nintendo but could taking the beautiful game to a Mario Kart style make over work? Yes it did. Despite the over the top action and power ups provided by the Mario universe the game still managed to be competitive, tactical and of course fun. Plus it was the first Wii game with an online mode which worked pretty well even with the dreaded Friend Code system.” - Franklin Ó hAodha
“This was a cool game, albeit frustratingly hard.” - Bob
After the ******* release of The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return ******* showed that there was a ******* audience for this ******* classic rail shooter, SEGA decided to create a new ******* entry into the ******* franchise. With a new ******* insane story and a ******* awesome dual-wielding game mode (you can also invite another ******* player to use the second ******* weapon), HotD: Overkill not only ******* matched the quality of the ******* old-time shooters, but it ******* surpassed it in every way. The ******* game also features the occasional ******* use of the ******* F-bomb.
“Fun gameplay with plenty of enjoyable dialogue and set pieces. Feels like revisiting a favourite movie every time you play it.” - Welsh_Gamer
“B-movie parody with an awesome soundtrack, not for the squeamish or timid (excessive use of the 'F' word and doing that 'F' thing to your mother).” - Londragon
Wii Sports introduced gamers to the Wii Remote with five simple yet wonderful games. Wii Sports Resort not only did the same for Wii Motion Plus, but also expanded on it. This time with 11 sports set around Wuhu island - a place which has since appeared in many Nintendo games - all focusing around the new Motion+ attachment. Swordplay finally brought the sword controls everyone wanted when they first saw the Wii Remote - a system which was the basis for the Skyward Sword.
Another fan favourite, Archery, produced an astonishing degree of control allowing for precise aiming without relying on the Wii Remote’s pointer and the return of Bowling and Golf allowed players see the different Wii Motion+ provided.
“The best motion controlled game I've played, ever. This is what the Wii is all about and I can only wonder how much longer the Wii would have lasted in the lime-light had it have had Motion + from the start. My favourite part? The first time you play and your Mii jumps out of the plane, grabbing onto other falling Mii's and taking photo's before a synchronised landing on the (soon to be regular Mii spot) Wuhu Island.” - Josh64
“Where Wii Sports started, Wii Sports Resort took over. Channeling all that was good about the original game as well as WaveRace 64 and Pilotwings, it's the wonderful feel good vibe that creates an experience that is somehow warm and familiar from the moment you turn it on. It's funny how WuHu Island felt familiar to me, even though I had never been there before!
Finally, a full realisation of the controls that we were all promised with the Wii back in 2006, and it's exactly what I wanted. The sword fighting game is the best Star Wars Lightsaber game ever made
All the other sports are also fantastic and hide an incredible amount of depth that is cleverly hidden beneath the surface. It's a game that anyone can play but only few will ever master - the perfect representation of the console!” - Dcubed
A lovely platformer with a charming gingham style. Kirby’s Epic Yarn was pure craft, with everything made out of wool, fabric, buttons and stitches. The swallow-or-spit Kirby gameplay never appeared in this game, with Kirby’s more unique transformations taking place at set locations in stages. Even so, all of Kirby’s main moves involved little transformations - instead of a run animation, Kirby turns into a cute ickle car.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn oozed charm from start to finish and even the most stern adults would have a hard time not smiling while playing this.
“Another beautiful, unique game. I know it didn't start its life as a Kirby game, but it fit in his universe perfectly. Loved the narrator, not the most challenging of platformers, but in a way, that was a good thing, as I never got frustrated with the game, it was just pure FUN!” - Mr-Paul
“It's not the greatest Kirby game but it IS the Wii's greatest 2D platformer.” - Sam Gittens
I could just reword what people have said about this game, but N-Europe member shin_kagato has explained what makes this game great so well that you may as well just read his words:
“I love survival horror games, Resident Evil has lost that edge, its a great game even now, but its more action horror. Silent Hill has been really ropey since Konami dissolved Team Silent and i had no hope that we would ever see a great game in the series. Then this one showed up and it reminded me what it was about Silent Hill that was scary, it wasn't the monsters, it was never the story, it was the town, that thing was the real enemy and this game knows it! So the game has a subroutine constantly running in the background that remembers key events and how you react to them, at the very beginning you fill out a questionnaire about yourself at a psychiatrist and this changes the types of enemies you meet and even how some of the games characters look and act when you find them. It also remembers things like which door you choose first, if you venture into the girls bathroom, lots of seemingly unimportant events that shape the games world around you. For instance, I met Cybil, the cop who helps you out in the game, she was a bit of a hardass, had short blonde hair but was helpful. I witnessed someone else playing it and she not only had a totally different physical appearance, she was a different character! In previous titles you could carry weapons, guns etc which have been completely scrapped in this game. When you see a monster in this game, you run and run fast! The feeling of panic and fear as you see creatures scrambling over walls to get to you, attracted to the light of your torch, its something i haven't felt since the original PSX game all those years ago. Its not a long game, but it will really make you think about the choices you made and may even force you back in to see how things change if you do something different.” - shin_kagato
“A game that will stay in my mind for a long time. It has also ruined/made better one of my favourite Elvis Presley songs. "That scene" is one of the best memories I will take from this generation.” - Fierce_LiNk
Having already made the gorgeous 2D action-RPG Odin Sphere on PS2, Vanillaware seemed like a natural fit for Wii - a system not being able to match others in power, but boasting its fair share of artistically wondrous gems. Muramasa: The Demon Blade was the result of the project, and it thankfully played to the studio's established strengths - a sumptuously stylised 2D slash 'em up romp through feudal Japan. It may not have the deepest gameplay system, but the action is slick and addictive. With dozens of enchanted swords to collect, each with their own unique powers, there's plenty of incentive to play through both main characters' campaigns - if experiencing one of the most beautiful worlds on Wii isn't enticing enough.
“Brilliant art style that shows with careful design HD can infact be completely unnecessary to make a gorgeous game.” - Ealdst
“TEH VISUALS!!!!!!
I nearly s*** myself a new one when I saw this game in motion, sweet mama-mia does that game look good! Again, because I study Japanese, this game was finger licking good, helped greatly by the Japanese voices Muramasa also has one hell of a soundtrack mixing traditional instruments from Japan with all sorts of different funky beats. This game is also one of those games which makes you feel badass when you defeat that boss, or kill those 100 enemies. I mean, you can collect over a 100 swords, each with its own slick powers, ready to cut, slice and fill your screen with awesome effects! However, I must confess that I've only completed one path with the ninja known as Kisuke and I have yet to take the path of the princess Momohime. Come to think of it, the fact that I have another campaign waiting for me doesn't make me feel sad in the slightest” - Fused King
GoldenEye had a lot to live up to: a reimagining of one of the most loved first-person shooter games of all time, and not something completely unrelated with the name slapped one (like EA attempted). This new GoldenEye rewrote the story into a more modern day setting, with Daniel Craig at the helm.
While clearly influenced by Call of Duty (it even ran on the same game engine), GoldenEye still managed to keep to it’s roots, with many sections that could be completed using stealth instead of an all-out attack. The Wii Remote controls were also incredibly well made, with a ton of options and great sensitivity. It’s a surprise that the collector’s edition came with a Classic Controller Pro, considering how much better it plays without it.
“The best single player FPS campaign I've played. The motion controls made this game what it is, so instinctive and fun to play; tilting the nunchuck to lean round a corner... yes please! The opening levels of Dam and Facility interspurced with an incredible title sequence made for one of the best starts to any game ever!” - Retro_Link
“It is also sad that this didn't spark a wave of high quality Wii shooters. The controls are perfect and it is worthy of the title.” - Hamishmash
“The best single player campaign mode in an FPS this generation.” - Welsh_Gamer
Miyamoto had always dreamt of a multiplayer Mario platformer and it seems it was worth the wait. New Super Mario Bros. Wii landed on Nintendo consoles in late 2009 and was the ultimate showcase for local multiplayer gaming. Would you help out your friends to complete the stages or would you be a savage foe? Many nights were spent throwing friends off of ledges and bouncing off their heads and that was the beauty of it - Despite your head bopping differences, you'd all come together in the end to thwart Bowser and his pesky children. The pure gameplay and frantic multiplayer made it a huge success but the fun didn't stop there. Whilst the core gameplay was based on four players there was still a classic Mario title nestled within, boasting eight new worlds and the return of the Koopa Kids. New Super Mario Bros. Wii spelt the return of local multiplayer gaming and pulled it off magnificently.
“This game made my former girlfriend put the Wii in the living room and invite GIRLFRIENDS over to come and GAME(!!!)” - Markderoos
“For the 4 player carnage but I also love 2D Mario games so had to make my top 10 because of this.” - Gardy
“My girlfriend is a Professor Layton player, her son is a COD player, neither of them have really played a Mario game seriously but i was able to have both of them play this with me and it was like they had been playing Mario games their whole life! The game itself is full of colour, the soundtrack is very catchy and its good to see a proper follow up to Super Mario 3/world. That said, playing it in one player is fine, but it dosent quite match up to the previous titles in the series until you add those human players, then it becomes a ridculous, fun, crazy and upredictable mess in the best possible way. If you are looking for that one game to bring players of every level together, this is it! Forget Wii Sports, there is too much sitting around waiting for a turn, this is the game that everyone can play together and all have fun at the same time.” - Shin_Kagato
While it may not have stood up graphically to its HD brothers on other systems Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Wii still provided Wii gamers with plenty of bang for their buck. Treyarch were one developer that really seemed to show good support and respect for the Wii and no game showed that more than Black Ops. While the single player was the standard CoD fair everyone knows Online is where CoD games really come to life and Treyarch were able to streamline the Wii online experience and show how an online system on the Wii could be done right. No Friend Codes, proper voice chat with friends and non-friends alike via a headset and not the limited WiiSpeak. Add it all together with spot on Wii Remote controls and even the option for Classic Controller use for those unwilling to give up their dual sticks, Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Wii showed you don’t need HD graphics to have great gameplay.
“Excellent and addictive online multiplayer, which became even more memorable thanks to countless gaming sessions with the N-E clan.” - Welsh_ Gamer
“Treyarch raised the bar with COD:MWR, but they totally smashed it with Black Ops. Whilst the single player is solid but unremarkable, online is where it is at. A whole new online system, no friend codes and voice chat via headset. This is how online should be done on the Wii. The full multiplayer experience is in; combat training, wager matches and four player co-operative Zombies. This game is a must for any Wii shooter fan or for anyone that likes COD but wants to try out the perfectly balanced pointer controls. The shear amount of modes and the huge amount of content will keep you going for hundreds of hours.” - Zechs Merquise
Next time, we'll delve into the top 20 with another list of ten exciting games - which ones will just miss reaching the top 10?
If you've missed the previous editions of our Top 50 Wii Games you can find them at the below links:
