Unfettered Blather

My official timeframe for the Best/Worst list starts on Dec. 25th and goes until Dec. 24th of this year. As such, I have a short list of game acquisitions to kick off the New Gaming Year. Of course, with such a short time frame I don’t always get to all of the games that I acquire, and some games are entirely for the boys alone. I’m not above playing kid’s games, in fact the Lego Star Wars series are some of the best games ever devised. I simply have little interest in certain subject matter.

Here’s the Rundown for the month -

BEST

1. Guitar Hero: Rock the 80’s (PS2)
   Essentially just Guitar Hero II with some 80’s themes and music…and a shorter song list…and no bonus tracks. It’s still a lot of fun and of course there is some serious bias going on to give it the top place for the month since I am a child of the 80’s after all.
2. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (GCN)
   There is a little angst in regards to this title. Originally purchased well before Christmas but intended to be a stocking stuffer for the boys. Not too long after I bought it they announced the Complete Saga. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. As much as I loved the original Lego Star Wars, they’ve really gone into overtime trying to find ways to give the player more to do without taking away from the gameplay that made the original so fun. I think it’s actually somewhat less accessible to younger players, but overall I think it’s a great game.
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
   This was bundled with the Wii, and it’s a surprising good little complilation of sports games that also does a great job of highlighting some of the Wii’s strengths. Not all the games are winners, I think the tennis absolutely sucks (no other word for it) and the boxing is kind of dodgy on the controls. On the other hand, the baseball, while simplistic, is surprisingly fun and I’m not a baseball fan at all. The bowling game practically took over my life for the while and I even gave the golf a try despite not being a big golf fan either.
4. Red Steel (Wii)
   This game has been at the top of my “to buy for the Wii” list since it was announced. I loved the idea of a sword and gun fighting game, but I also read the reviews and was prepared for some disappointment. If you took away the Wii controls and the sword-fighting, Red Steel would be a pretty by-the-numbers shooter. It’s not bad, it’s just not as good as it could be. The sword-fighting is ok, if a bit lame on how its executed, and there are just a few too many design decisions that make no sense. I don’t see this staying in the top ten throughout the year, but so far it’s been a slightly better than average game that has given me an excuse to use the Wii for something other than the game it was bundled with.
5. Excitebike (Wii)
   Downloaded from the Wii virtual console, this was one of my favorite NES games of all time. It’s exactly as I remembered it, and I’m glad nostalgia didn’t make it seem like more of a game than it is. Compared to contemporary games it’s not going to fare well, it’s simple and repetitive, but ridiculously fun as a simple sit down casual game. Well worth the $5, but don’t go in with high expectations.
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
   I think this is a game for people who like platformers. My boys seem to like it, but it’s gained no traction with me. I just don’t like platformers in general, I think Super Mario Bros. 3 ruined them for me. In fact, the last two platformers I played that I liked were Super Mario Bros. 3 and Ratchet and Clank. I also think Galaxy tries a little too hard to use the Wii controls to be different, which makes the game feel too gimmicky. I think it’s got some serious overhype working for it because it’s Mario and it’s using the Wii controls to “enhance” it. I freely admit bias though, it can’t overcome it’s platformer roots.
7. Carnival Games (Wii)
   I’m thankful I didn’t spend money on this one. This was a gift to the boys from the grandparents, and it truly is the thought that counts. This is just a collection of carnival themed mini-games, some of which aren’t bad. However, the reason I like Wii Sports is that usually what you do with the controller is what happens on-screen. In Carnival Games, instead of using the Wii Remote to aim or perform an action, it also has timing involved. It seems like a bad compromise that I have to throw a ball at the same time a bullseye just happens to float over the target. That is not the only example of dodgy controls though. It feels like a cheap cash-in, a high quality shovelware title. I predict now it will not fare well as I get other titles in. This is a future “Worst Of” nominee.

WORST

Not enough games to start this list yet. They’re coming.

GAME OF THE MONTH Guitar Hero: Rock the 80’s
As I said above, it’s essentially just a Guitar Hero II modification. On the other hand, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It carries something of a steep price tag though for such a limited song list, but well worth it if you’re an 80’s music fan. Even with the Wii opened on Christmas Day, you could find me in the game room rockin’ out to this game while the kids went nuts over the various Wii features.

UNDETERMINED

• Battalion Wars (GCN)
  This is a re-purchase, which usually wouldn’t qualify for consideration at all but since my original copy wouldn’t load after the second mission on the Gamecube I owned I decided to give it a second chance. Well, this still won’t load after the second mission! Apparently my Gamecube just doesn’t like this game for whatever reason. Since I’m actually writing this in January I do want to report a happy ending here, the game runs just fine on the Wii and will likely be up for consideration as I prepare the January entry.
• Nicktoons Battle for Volcano Island (PS2)
  Look, let’s be honest here. I have nothing against “Kid’s Games”, I really really don’t. I loved Mario Kart Double Dash, I would use the word “adore” to describe how I feel about Lego Star Wars. I routinely play the same games I purposefully buy for my kids to play. Ok, I just want to be clear that I’m not some kind of bigot. I will freely admit prejuidice about certain things, like platformers or sports games. However, I just can’t bring myself to even find any interest in this game. It’s another X-Men Legends, Shrek 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance style game using characters like Spongebob Squarepants. It’s a game style I don’t particularly like using characters I don’t particularly like. To even make it on the “Best/Worst” list I have to actually play the game and spend considerable time with it. I don’t see either of these things happening. Don’t expect to read anything further about this game.

STATISTICS SO FAR -
Average Cost: $18.88 per game
Gamecube - 2 Titles (22.2%)
Playstation 2 - 2 Titles (22.2%)
Wii - 5 Titles (55.6%)

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