WiiWare is two years old, so let's celebrate by looking back at our favorite games.
Defend Your CastlePublisher: XGen Studios Developer: XGen Studios Cost: 500 Points Players: 1-4 Release Date: May 12, 2008 What originally started as an online flash game evolved into one of WiiWare's most memorable hits. The concept behind it is very simple: Playing as the unseen lord of a castle, you must defeat enemy forces before they destroy your castle. As serious as this may sound, the concept is made into a ridiculous one thanks to the game's setting in a handmade world. The enemies are buttons with crudely drawn bodies, your castle is made out of construction paper, and the monsters are bottle caps with squiggly eyes on them. Combine this with simple, easy-to-learn gameplay and it's a very fun time waster, the best currently on the service. - Pedro Hernandez |
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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a KingPublisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Cost: 1500 Points Players: 1 Release Date: May 12, 2008 The headliner of the very first batch of WiiWare games, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King asks you to build a kingdom, and drive out the monsters from the surrounding area. While you don't go to battle yourself, you do develop your soldiers and assign them missions. More logistics than strategy, the game is a unique blend of city building sim and military imperialism. - James Jones |
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LostWindsPublisher: Frontier Developments Developer: Frontier Developments Cost: 1000 Points Players: 1 Release Date: May 12, 2008 LostWinds shined at WiiWare's launch. The concept behind LostWinds is a fascinating one to say the least. You control main character, named Toku, by using the Wii Remote's pointer and the wind to take him to higher ground and reach new places. It's an idea that defined what could be done on the Wii, and the title became one of the most popular games on the young service. - Pedro Hernandez |
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Dr. Mario Online RXPublisher: Nintendo Developer: Arika Cost: 1000 Points Players: 1-2 Release Date: May 26, 2008 Dr. Mario has always been a favorite of Nintendo players, and because of this, it wasn't left out of the WiiWare catalog. This version features the standard Dr. Mario gameplay with updated clean colors and lines that fit in with the Wii's color scheme. There's local and online two-player so you can play with your friends or complete strangers the world over. There is an added Virus Buster game that is the standard Dr. Mario game controlled by the pointer. Friends can jump in to help in this mode - or make the game harder for you. - Lauren Lewandoski |
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My Pokémon RanchPublisher: Nintendo Developer: Ambrella Cost: 1000 Points Players: 1 Release Date: June 9, 2008 My Pokémon Ranch is perhaps one of the most maligned releases on WiiWare due to the fact that it is essentially an app for the Pokémon DS games and has very little gameplay outside of that. But once you spend time with it, you realize that regardless of its limited gameplay, My Pokémon Ranch is a useful and fun tool made for die-hard Pokémon fans. Not only is it fun watching your Miis interact with the Pokémon you caught, the game actually inspires you to try and catch them all with daily challenges, as well as for the sake of the ranch's growth. You can even take pictures and save it on your SD card. So in the end, My Pokémon Ranch is a bad "game," but is a great tool for anyone who has ever wished to become a Pokémon master. - Pedro Hernandez |
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Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive PeoplePublisher: Telltale Games Developer: Telltale Games Cost: 1000 Points Players: 1 Release Date: August 11, 2008 (First episode) Telltale Games are not only masters of comedic storytelling, but the best when it comes to modern point-and-click adventure games. Combine this with the irreverent humor of the Homestar Runner flash series, and you are destined to have a great time. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People combines both sensibilities to create a hilarious series of adventures. The game made WiiWare history by being the first episodic game experience on a gaming console ever, and the first to truly benefit from the Wii's new storage system. The storylines are winners thanks to both their hilarity factor as well as playability. In other words, you can play the episodes in any order without feeling lost; creating a gameplay experience that is fun, funny, and very accessible. - Pedro Hernandez |
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