Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: Mop it up on December 25, 2009, 06:33:52 PM
Title: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 25, 2009, 06:33:52 PM
Here is a nice article which looks at the best Wii games of 2009 which unfortunately didn't make an impact on sales charts, and it is presented without much negativity or hostility toward Wii which seems to be an increasingly rare thing these days.
The stigma surrounding Dead Space Extraction is kind of a shame, as it sounds like it is a good game in its own right. I'm not personally very interested in that type of game, but I might check it out if I find it on sale or something.
Little King's Story was one of the best games released this year. It would seem most people have passed on it due to its overly "kiddie" presentation, which personally I love the style of the game but can understand why it is a turn-off. Plus, such a style belies the relatively complex game found underneath the bright and cheery surface.
ExciteBots may be my pick for overlooked game on Wii, period. Once again I think its style is what turned people away, as racing transforming animals and insects is just too goofy for most. Sadly I'll bet it would have met better sales if it were titled Excite Truck 2.
To be fair, We Cheer has gotten some decent reviews. It would seem it delivers what it promises, so I can think of worse examples of games that shouldn't sell but do. Game Party comes to mind...
:o and :rolleyes: at Sexy Poker. Even worse than its existence is that people downloaded it.
There are other games listed there that are on my to-buy list as well.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Kairon on December 25, 2009, 08:13:33 PM
To this day I'm still frustrated that people look at We Cheer and immediately let their prejudices dictate the game's quality.
Actually, this is a bit of an opinion piece. I'm not sure that all the stuff is being considered in that write-up. For example, while the author pities Dead Space Extraction and House of the Dead Overkill, he doesn't seem to acknowledge that plenty of gamers seem to have pretty strong feelings about NOT buying rail shooters that, to me, are like slices of heaven.
*pounds ground*
WHYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?! Why dear god must there be so much prejudice against cheerleading games AND rail shooters?!?!?
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: SilverGrey on December 25, 2009, 09:58:29 PM
I love We Cheer! I have We Cheer pompoms! And even better, there are excellent incriminating videos of my friends playing We Cheer. Everyone who I've ever convinced to try the game always comments that it's harder than they think it should be, and everyone always enjoys it. Still haven't unlocked all the songs, maybe someday. Can't comment on Little King's Story as I just got it for Christmas, but I'll hopefully have some comments soon. I'm very intrigued to try it.
I also just realized by saying I loved We Cheer, according to that article I contributed to poor sales of MadWorld by buying We Cheer (although not We Cheer 2). That was such a strange juxtaposition though, most of the other games they tried to compare it to a similar game, but MadWorld and We Cheer wouldn't come even close to having the same kind of audience. That seemed a cheap shot to me personally.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 25, 2009, 11:12:41 PM
Tenchu4's a good game. Reasonably strong production values and unique motion gameplay on the system. But somehow, it's just a niche game on multiple fronts this gen: it's about ninjas, it's puzzle-stealthy, it's rated M, it's single player, it's motion-controlled.
Deadly Creatures? Creepy solo platforming. Unique atmosphere. Solid buy.
Boom Blox Bash Party? Sent to die by EA. Injustice.
Rune Factory Frontier. The game I would be playing if it weren't for new game releases and LIFE.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 26, 2009, 12:43:31 AM
I'm proud to have bought about half the games in that article, but not proud to have only actually played one of them (ExciteBots) and I think I only played that for the Wi-Fi night. Though, considering I bought 30 Wii games this year and how many of those I haven't even seen the title screen of, that ratio's about right.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: KDR_11k on December 26, 2009, 02:15:29 AM
Some of those games don't deserve to be on the list. The Conduit? Yes I own that one but I wish I didn't.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: DAaaMan64 on December 26, 2009, 03:00:16 AM
Tenchu4's a good game. Reasonably strong production values and unique motion gameplay on the system. But somehow, it's just a niche game on multiple fronts this gen: it's about ninjas, it's puzzle-stealthy, it's rated M, it's single player, it's motion-controlled.
Boom Blox Bash Party? Sent to die by EA. Injustice.
Really good.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: broodwars on December 26, 2009, 03:11:37 AM
There are an awful lot of games on that list that don't deserve to be noted as "tragically overlooked." Madworld; The Conduit; and Muramasa were all medicore at best, and Dead Space Extraction was a well-intentioned but buggy P.O.S. The only games on this list I'd say deserve to be there are possibly Little King's Story, Deadly Creatures, and from all accounts Excitebots. Thing is, I haven't played any of those 3, and as of this posting I still don't care enough to do so.
Did Punch Out really sell that poorly? I'm going to be going in tomorrow (well, "today" really) and picking it up, so that's one sale from me, anyway.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Luigi Dude on December 26, 2009, 06:11:36 AM
No it didn't, the people at GamesRadar who wrote that should have checked their facts better. While it's true that Punch-Out did sell around 150k in it's first month, it also sold around 150k in it's second month as well. Then in it's third month it managed to get into the NPD top 20 again.
In the latest NPD thread at Neo Gaf, one of the members that has access to NPD numbers said that as of the end of November, Punch Out is very close to the 500k mark. Considering how most Nintendo hardware and software have boast in December, Punch Out should end up crossing the 500k mark in North America by the end of the year. Even though 500k isn't a huge number when compared to other Nintendo franchises, when you consider that the Punch Out series was dead for 15 years and this type of arcade style game is no longer popular, these numbers are great.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: SixthAngel on December 26, 2009, 08:13:10 AM
To this day I'm still frustrated that people look at We Cheer and immediately let their prejudices dictate the game's quality.
Its the traditionally male dominated gaming consoles. No one laughs when at people who play football or play Madden, no on laughs at cheerleaders yet they do to the game. Reviewing We Cheer was the best things this site did in a while.
I've got to agree with Muramasa. Though I always expected it to just push itself over breaking because of the kind of game it is.
edit: I just checked and notice the list uses only the first month sales for things like Punch Out. I don't trust first month sales on the Wii.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Peachylala on December 26, 2009, 10:57:54 AM
No it didn't, the people at GamesRadar who wrote that should have checked their facts better. While it's true that Punch-Out did sell around 150k in it's first month, it also sold around 150k in it's second month as well. Then in it's third month it managed to get into the NPD top 20 again.
the latest NPD numbers said that as of the end of November, Punch Out is very close to the 500k mark. Considering how most Nintendo hardware and software have boast in December, Punch Out should end up crossing the 500k mark in North America by the end of the year. Even though 500k isn't a huge number when compared to other Nintendo franchises, when you consider that the Punch Out series was dead for 15 years and this type of arcade style game is no longer popular, these numbers are great.
There are an awful lot of games on that list that don't deserve to be noted as "tragically overlooked." Madworld
Madworld wasn't awful, it was just too damn short for it's $50 price tag.
Let's hope Platinum's next Wii game isn't so short.
I wasn't arguing that Madworld was "awful" (though I do think it has a whole handful of actual ideas it tries to stretch over too long a period of time. It would have done better as a WiiWare game if that's all they had to go on), just that it most definitely wasn't a title people should have bought when it released.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Chozo Ghost on December 26, 2009, 10:34:37 PM
Rune Factory Frontier. The game I would be playing if it weren't for new game releases and LIFE.
Who needs LIFE when you have a "life" in the game. :P
The Rune Factory universe is more fun than the real world. I wish I could live in that world for real. So many cute girls and monsters to kill. What more could a male dream for??
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 26, 2009, 11:28:48 PM
That was such a strange juxtaposition though, most of the other games they tried to compare it to a similar game, but MadWorld and We Cheer wouldn't come even close to having the same kind of audience. That seemed a cheap shot to me personally.
I guess they couldn't find anything on Wii that is similar to MadWorld so they chose some game they perceive as "shovelware" at random? I'd be shocked, SHOCKED if they had actually played We Cheer 2 at any point before writing that article.
There are an awful lot of games on that list that don't deserve to be noted as "tragically overlooked." Madworld; The Conduit; and Muramasa were all medicore at best, and Dead Space Extraction was a well-intentioned but buggy P.O.S.
They received generally positive reviews from critics so people seem to like them. And I certainly hope that you aren't implying that they deserved to be outsold by things like Game Party 3...
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: broodwars on December 26, 2009, 11:34:20 PM
There are an awful lot of games on that list that don't deserve to be noted as "tragically overlooked." Madworld; The Conduit; and Muramasa were all medicore at best, and Dead Space Extraction was a well-intentioned but buggy P.O.S.
They received generally positive reviews from critics so people seem to like them. And I certainly hope that you aren't implying that they deserved to be outsold by things like Game Party 3...
No, they deserved to be outsold by Zack & Wiki; A Boy & His Blob; and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Now those are some overlooked games (and I believe AB&HB is on that list).
As for the "generally positive reviews", let's just say that the bar on the Wii is set so far low that anything that even manages to step a toe over it gets praised by reviewers used to reviewing the likes of Game Party 3.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 27, 2009, 01:30:27 AM
As for the "generally positive reviews", let's just say that the bar on the Wii is set so far low that anything that even manages to step a toe over it gets praised by reviewers used to reviewing the likes of Game Party 3.
Considering how overrated Super Smash Brothers Brawl is, you might be onto something.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on December 27, 2009, 05:07:51 AM
Boy and His Blob was not on the list. Maybe he isn't counting games released more recently because they may still have some sales in them over the holidays?
I'd also say Boom Blox Bash Party and Ghostbusters were also overlooked.
I also second the vouch for Tenchu.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Peachylala on December 27, 2009, 11:56:29 AM
Tenchu 4 is amazing. Unlike another stealth game I will not mention *coughmgs4cough* you had to use stealth.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: ShyGuy on December 27, 2009, 02:44:26 PM
I really liked Deadly Creatures.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 27, 2009, 04:56:10 PM
Does anyone have sales data for Boom Blox Bash Party? The first game was a million-seller so it seems weird that the sequel would be overlooked. Though the packaging of the game certainly didn't help; I'll bet it would have been more appealing if it were titled simply "Boom Blox 2" instead of putting "Bash Party" on the centre of the box making it look like just another generic "party" game.
What in the would is Tenchu 4? I thought it was a fighting game...
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Ymeegod on December 27, 2009, 05:01:39 PM
I loved Madworld myself--yeah 5 hours is way to short but it had humor and the one of the better game "credits" endings of the year.
House of the Dead Overkill--again funny as all hell--great final boss ending FMV. Sick but I couldn't help but laugh.
Little King Story--saddly they never fixed the controls and pathfinding but yeah I think overall this would be my vote for most overlooked considering it sold less than 200K.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Ymeegod on December 27, 2009, 05:09:30 PM
Last I knew Boom Box Bash Party was less than 250K (VGC had it at 170K). Yeah, EA should have waited another year (BOOM Box was just released last year) and should have included Motion Plus.
I love the idea of the game but the controls were iffy. Think the game would have been greatly improved with Motion Plus.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: broodwars on December 27, 2009, 05:11:35 PM
What in the would is Tenchu 4? I thought it was a fighting game...
It's a stealth action game along the lines of (though supposedly more entertaining than) Metal Gear Solid. I've never played the Tenchu games, but they seem to have a following. Problem is, Batman: Arkham Asylum kind of spoiled me when it comes to making stealth fun, and I doubt any game from a "proper" stealth franchise is going to do much more than disappoint me by comparison (as both Assassin's Creed games did, though they aren't really stealth games).
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Peachylala on December 27, 2009, 10:21:48 PM
Tenchu 4 wasn't over-hyped by the game media like Assassins Creed was.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on December 28, 2009, 03:01:06 AM
Tenchu 4 did strike me as a medieval MGS but it also gave off a Thief vibe for me with all the light and shadow stalking and body hiding.
The only major flaw was the sword fighting which suffered from touchy motion controls. M+ would have greatly improved the experience I believe.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Kairon on December 28, 2009, 04:21:49 AM
The first game was a million-seller so it seems weird that the sequel would be overlooked. Though the packaging of the game certainly didn't help; I'll bet it would have been more appealing if it were titled simply "Boom Blox 2" instead of putting "Bash Party" on the centre of the box making it look like just another generic "party" game.
Hmm... are you suggesting that the sequel was actually sabotaged by nothing less than its new packaging?
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on December 28, 2009, 04:34:48 AM
It did spawn a classic James Jones Rant.
I think that waiting a bit longer for the sequel would have been better.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Kairon on December 28, 2009, 04:39:24 AM
Just wondering, has EA ever waited more than a year between sequels?
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 28, 2009, 04:41:14 AM
The upcoming Medal of Honor.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 28, 2009, 04:42:09 AM
The first game was a million-seller so it seems weird that the sequel would be overlooked. Though the packaging of the game certainly didn't help; I'll bet it would have been more appealing if it were titled simply "Boom Blox 2" instead of putting "Bash Party" on the centre of the box making it look like just another generic "party" game.
Hmm... are you suggesting that the sequel was actually sabotaged by nothing less than its new packaging?
Was it the sole reason? No, I don't think so. But considering how many garbage games have "Party" in the title, and the stigma surrounding "party" games on Wii, I do think it wasn't a good idea to tack on the word to the title instead of calling it "Boom Blox 2".
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Peachylala on December 28, 2009, 12:33:40 PM
EA wanted to commit creative suicide?
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 28, 2009, 05:51:08 PM
More like EA thinks they know the Wii userbase better than they really do.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on December 29, 2009, 05:48:13 AM
The only major flaw was the sword fighting which suffered from touchy motion controls. M+ would have greatly improved the experience I believe.
I really liked Tench 4 as well. I finished it twice. I have to agree with you about the sword fighting. There were times when I'd be really enjoying the game and then get discovered and have to enter one of those horrible fights. They made me want to break my Wii remote in frustration or cry or do both. I also hated the last boss battle it took me HOURS to win it on my first play through.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Mop it up on December 29, 2009, 07:50:08 PM
What in the would is Tenchu 4? I thought it was a fighting game...
It's a ninja game where you actually have to act like a ninja, i.e. youneed to use stealth to kill foes instead of straight-up fighting. It'sa flawed title, but in spite of that it's fairly unique, and I heartilyrecommend it for its current $20 price tag.
Last I knew Boom Box Bash Party was less than 250K (VGC had it at 170K).
For what it's worth, one of the VGC mods (who worked with Bash Party'screator) says that the game's actually fairly undertracked by VGC,which is something of an oddity for that site.
Oh, and according to that same guy, the original is heavily overtracked by VGC, which is much more in line with that site's MO.
Theonly major flaw was the sword fighting which suffered from touchymotion controls. M+ would have greatly improved the experience Ibelieve.
I dunno: if combat was too easy/accessible, it would have gone far towards defeating the need to use stealth. As it is, I did everything I could to avoid fighting because the system was so difficult. If I could use Motion+, I probably would have forsaken the stealth part more often.
That said, there were a few fights that were unavoidable. I hated those so much... :-\
Don't most non-Nintendo companies seem to think they know the Wii userbase better than they really do?
Nah. They just skip the system entirely, so they never have to think what the userbase is composed of.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on December 29, 2009, 11:45:30 PM
I avoid the sword fighting for the most part as well. Remember that if you don't carry a sword you won't get into those fights, you're just forced to restart.
It should be streamlined and easier because of the forced boss fights because there is when I get most frustrated with the mechanics.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 29, 2009, 11:58:29 PM
Turn off the Wii Mote icon, it doesn't help. Boss fights are simple 2-3 try endeavors, based on memorization and reaction time. I noticed it was a matter of reading their moves after I discovered the faulty QTE icon could be disabled (thus clearing the screen which helps you see the opponent). They're about as forgiving as Soda Popinski, and the regular enemies are unfairly fast, unless there's an audio cue I'm not reading properly.
The game does nearly nothing to hint at how to properly handle the fights.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: noname2200 on December 30, 2009, 12:05:26 AM
Huh, I never thought to stop and look at their animations: I just went with what the Wiimote told me. Maybe I'll give that a go next time. Thanks!
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Peachylala on December 31, 2009, 11:48:12 AM
Most boss fights in any game are about reading the animations. This is solely the way to get around alot of the bosses in Darkside Chronicles. (add in a powerful weapon into the mix though)
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Chozo Ghost on January 02, 2010, 02:37:41 AM
So if Ningurl is right, the onscreen wiimote move guide is not only not helpful at all but actually harmful. Its harmful because it tells you to do something that is wrong, so even if you do what it says you're going to get killed.
Is that correct?
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: KDR_11k on January 02, 2010, 03:08:15 AM
I believe it tells you things way too late and blocks your view of the enemy.
Either way, overlooked games include Onslaught and Water Warfare, WiiWare got pretty good FPSes but noone even acknowledged their existence. Everybody just went "wait for The Conduit" which then turned out to be a supreme dud.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Kairon on January 02, 2010, 03:35:30 AM
I still need to try out Water Warfare.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on January 02, 2010, 04:36:38 AM
I enjoyed Onslaught. Conduit came out before WW in NA by about a week or two so no one noticed it because we were having way too much fun with Conduit to notice.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 02, 2010, 04:44:20 AM
I'd recommend Onslaught for its arcade satisfaction, but not for being a good FPS. It just happens to be in first person. And no, the controls aren't good enough for going thru The Conduit. Conduit is all right as an outdated single player FPS, I can get into it unlike Goldeneye. I don't need the multiplayer portion.
Does Water Warfare have a singles campaign?
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: KDR_11k on January 02, 2010, 06:13:23 AM
It has an SP mode that consists of 38 short challenges (some being specific match types, others being stuff like "steal the treasure without being seen" or "shoot all the targets"). Lasts about 2 hours, you can get gold medals in it but there's really not much to it.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Peachylala on January 03, 2010, 01:35:32 AM
So the general consencious is that a port (Modern Warfare Reflex) is better then a made straight up for Wii FPS?
****, Nintendo better get cracking on hiring the people who did the port job.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: Stratos on January 03, 2010, 03:07:05 AM
In my opinion the only thing Conduit has over CoD4 is WiiSpeak support.
If they release a port of the sequel a year or two down the road that includes WiiSpeak and local multiplayer I would be happy.
Title: Re: Best overlooked Wii games of 2009
Post by: KDR_11k on January 03, 2010, 03:59:29 AM
