Nick Hide

Tuesday 30 January 2007, 5:24pm

Looking forward to 2007: Wii

When we got the Wii in the office just before Christmas, I was as keen as everyone else -- I gave myself muscle strain with the boxing. And Zelda was lovely, although I didn't have time to get into it. But I haven't played any Wii this year. Not because I think it's a stupid novelty, but because there aren't any other games worth playing. Yet.

Nintendo's got to prove that the Wii is a real console this year, with games that continue to appeal to a wide range of people and continue to provide interesting new experiences through innovative control systems. The safest way for the company to do that is through its existing franchises, easing us into a new way of playing with familiar characters.

The most obvious candidate is Mario, the most famous computer game character in the world. Super Mario Galaxy is due in the first quarter of the year -- I'm betting it will be close to the PlayStation 3's European launch on 23 March. According to my muchachos at GameSpot, who played it at E3 last year, it's beautiful and the controls and gameplay are wonderfully intuitive. Check out some of the videos on YouTube -- it looks pretty special.

Metroid Prime 3: Corrupting the youth of today with the shooting and the waving

Nintendo's other big hitter still to get the arms-waving treatment is Metroid. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is also set for release this quarter -- Nintendo could well be preparing a double whammy on PS3 release day. Can't find a PS3? Can't afford one? Here's a console at half the price with two stonking new games out today that you can actually buy! Sounds good to me. Metroid should be a good test of the Wiimote's suitability as a light gun -- again, my pals at GameSpot had no gripes. More YouTube coverage here.

Other interesting titles include the more mature Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, due in April, Super Smash Bros Brawl, due later in the year, the tasty-looking snowboarder SSX Blur and Prince of Persia Rival Swords, both due in March. GameSpot has a cool trailer for PoP here.

0 Comments | Post a comment