The Conduit







Another year has come and gone, and despite the increase of profit that Nintendo has gained, I have found 2008 to be a very disappointing year for games. Sure, Call of Duty: World at War, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and Rock Band 2 turned some of the tables, but that is really all that was good in my opinion. Mario Kart Wii wasn't even the best it could have been, with multiplayer tracks that weren't right for four player battle, and no way to be eliminated in balloon battle. Even though it had many new and cool features, a few classic ones were trampled on. Super Smash Bros Brawl was simply an update to Melee. Factors like that made the best games of the year even less impressive. Don't get me wrong - I loved those games. My point, really, is that consoles like the Xbox have gotten numerous amounts of big games, such as Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Rock Band 2, COD5, and such. I can't wait for a time when Wii gets years like that.







Overlord: Dark Legends







Turn the spotlight to 2009. The Conduit, Sin and Punishment 2, the next Zelda, Mario and new rumoured Kid Icarus, and even a version of Overlord for Wii! I'm really stoked for the latter. If you have never heard of Overlord for the 360, it is a comedic, adventure, commander game. In it, you are a dark lord controlling your minions to do your will, with laughs around every bend. A Wii version will make my day. Not to mention that The Conduit will give Halo a run for its money. This is going to be one heck of a good year for Wii!

And no. I did not change my mind about my original post, I just looked at it from a different angle.

So let me know what you think about 2009. Will it be the best year to date, or is it going to be pure crap? Let me know in the comments section, or vote in the poll.

Say What? "Softcore"

Nintendo seems to be treading in very deep water lately when it comes to core games. The only partly true hardcore game in the past year was Super Smash Bros: Brawl, which was nothing compared to recent 360 releases such as Gears 2 and Fable II. This in itself is enough to get me worried, but what the Big N says about itself makes me ready to pawn off my Wii for a more core-savvy 360. Denise Kaigler, vice president of Nintendo's corporate affairs, says this:

"Nintendo and our publishing partners have already released many Wii games specifically designed to appeal to core gamers. In the past twelve months we've published Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy, Wario Land: Shake It!, and Animal Crossing: City Folk. And before this year we've published versions of our classic core-gamer focused franchises like Zelda and Metroid."

Whoa whoa whoa!! Pardon me? Mario Kart and Animal Crossing CORE? They may be to some extent, but if this is Nintendo's definition of what core gamers want, they're grasping at the thin air. Zelda and Metroid were amazing, and held my love for a good while each. However, Zelda was an entire two years ago! Nintendo had better live up to their claims for next year. They have games in the works such as Sin & Punishment 2, a new Zelda, Mario, and Pikmen, and one or two others. You have no idea how much I can't wait for these, but I also am highly disappointed at the fact that this it it. I want hardcore, not semicore. High Voltage's The Conduit is slated for an early 2009 release, and that is going to blow my brains. Literally. Hopefully Nintendo notices just what core gamers are looking for.


These are simply my thoughts, and I would like to know how you stand on this. Do you agree that it is simply "softcore" material, or am I overreacting? Go ahead and shoot up comment.