Wii Warm Up: Top title for 2009?

by David Hinkle { Nov 19th 2008 at 8:00AM }

So, yesterday we had some talk about 2009 and how there are plenty of great games releasing on the Wii. What we want to know this morning is what is the top 2009 title for you? What are you looking forward to most next year? We know it's a lot to ask, what with everything that is due to release.

Is it The Conduit? Is it MadWorld? Sin & Punishment 2? Well, out with it!

Tags: 2009, high-voltage, high-voltage-software, madworld, releases, sega, sin-and-punishment-2, the-conduit, treasure

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mr Khan @ Nov 19th 2008 8:23AM

From what we know is coming, i'm honestly looking forward to Sonic & the Black Knight the most

It just looks so... awesome

Nigeria @ Nov 19th 2008 8:25AM

House of the Dead and/or Sin and Punishment. The rail shooter renaissance is the best thing about the Wii for me. The Wiimote has even gotten a few of my friends into the genre.

And if PES is as fully featured as its HD cousins then that game could be cool as well.

Robbie Cooke @ Nov 19th 2008 8:27AM

It's got to be MadWorld, HOTD: Overkill and precious little else. As an Xbox 360 owner as well, The Conduit looks like a great effort, but what's the point when the machine doens't have the grunt to match the AI and physics (i.e. the gameplay, not just the graphics) of other FPSs?

Overkill should be a cracking Lightgun shooter, and MAdworld is likely to go down the 'the cool but seriously flawed' way of No More Heroes.

As someone who early adopted a Wii as only a very casual Xbox gamer (Halo, Fifa and out) I've had a real love-hate relationship with it. RE4, Galaxy, Kart and Metroid making it just about ok for the other 10 games that I traded that were plain terrible. But lets face it, these could easily have been on the cube.

With the exception of a new Wii sports (and preipheral) the E3 line-up was dreadful. TGS wasn't much better ... how can anyone get really excited about a bunch of random Japanese RPGs with meaninless names? Name me one Japanses RPG thats been good on the console sicne it launched. SaP2 is onrails and lacks any originality, and to be honest after RE: UC, Ghost Squad and HOTD I'll ahve had my fill!

Come-on Nintendo, lets hear a wii-speak enabled Time-Splitters 3, a Galaxy 2 and no more Wii-Music titles! Or how about a DEEP, feature-laden Wii-sports MMO that could cross the huge divide between their casual and core markets in a way that neither Galaxy or SSBB could

SoshiKitai @ Nov 19th 2008 11:27AM

The whole AI-thing about the Conduit does have a point... but as I see it:

Since it ain't an Xbox 360 game, don't expect gigantic areas with extra long firefights and cover-and-fire battles that could last forever + an ever-changing terrain that makes you change up your tactics every now and again.

-- instead, expect a game where the shooting is fast, the AIs just do patterns, and you get from point A to point B as lightning fast as you can while avoiding death.
...AKA like Timesplitters.

You don't really need extremely smart AI if he's gonna' die within two seconds after you spot him.
And it ain't like the enemies need to find cover and flank you if there literally ain't enough space to flank.

So as I see it, The Conduit can work, it's just not a "current-gen environment"... for a hardened Xbox 360 player: Just see it as an arcade game. Say what you will, but it's gonna' be fun!

SoshiKitai @ Nov 19th 2008 11:40AM

...and er... don't all Japanese RPGs have meaningless names? O_o

And a Timesplitters 3 won't be Nintendo's call...
...but it will be when the developers try to fight for "Wii Speak" capabilities.

...the problem with that is, Nintendo's still trying to be family-friendly (something I can respect)-- and voice-chat over online games have yet to prove it can be.
And community-driven referrals and warnings can't work, since a large handful of players would never rat out people/know HOW to rat out people/be abused or ignored by other players if they even think of ratting them out.

...henceforth, only a Wii Friend Coded game could allow something like Wii Speak to go without Nintendo destroying it.
And people would already vote "NO" to friend codes.
...but then Nintendo says "YES", then the game loses BOTH its chances in getting a no-friend code game AND Wii Speak. :P

It's always shady whenever a company doesn't say WHY they couldn't do something in the game. They just say Nintendo had a "discussion" with them. :/ I always wonder what's the balancing act here. (maybe Nintendo's planning to TAKE OVER THE WORLD! ... they're pinky, they're pinky and the brain brain brain brain brain brain brain --- narf)

Robbie Cooke @ Nov 19th 2008 11:52AM

You make some good points there to be fair. Conduit does look like a lot of fun and I may well buy it just so as to try and help support ‘risky’ releases on the Wii. It certainly does have Time Splitters feel pace wise, but I prefer the latter’s art-style and humour to the Conduits rather cool but generic alien fest.

I don’t agree that scripted A-B points is that fun though … I had Medal of Honor Heroes and although it was smooth, it was boring because soldiers just went to one spot and then emptied their clip until they died. Now the Wii should be more powerful than last-gen consoles (even if not by much) which doesn’t bother me because my old Xbox produced the AI from Halo and the Physics from Half-Life 2 … what does bother me is that nothing on Wii has come close to even bothering these games technically which are years old – they’re not huge or particularly complex but are still brilliant. That’s what I’m hoping for. Hopefully Conduit will have the excellent multiplayer, and without the ridiculous language of the Xbox 360 community! Actually, I may take a peek at the new Call of Duty on Wii ….

jborah007 @ Nov 19th 2008 8:28AM

I am so ready for Madworld!! A great way to make it my favorite wii game is multiplayer

Don't know about Sin and Punishment though on account My first Rail Shooter experience was Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles

Ray Ray @ Nov 19th 2008 8:30AM

Madworld, HOTD: Overkill and Punch Out are my top 3

BalaDoce @ Nov 19th 2008 8:38AM

Punch Out!!!

Dopple Boppler @ Nov 19th 2008 8:41AM

Punch-Out definitely. MadWorld looks cool and all but to me nothing can beat the fact that there's finally gonna be a new Punch-Out.

I'm sure I'm gonna love Sin and Punishment 2, but the pricing is going to have be pretty cheap; as a 12 dollar Virtual Console game I had no complaints, but I don't know if I would feel the same if I have to pay full price for that kind of gameplay nowadays. Assuming that there's nothing really big about the title to be revealed, if it costs more than like, 30 dollars for it then I'll have to give it a temporary pass.

Daryl @ Nov 19th 2008 8:48AM

Not the conduit. I'm not a fan of that type of thing.

Either Mad World or the wii exclusive Sonic and the Black Knight. A wii version of spore is rumored, though there is no deadline attached. If it does come out in 2009, it could also be the best.

Daryl @ Nov 19th 2008 8:49AM

House of the dead is another possibility.

EvilEmperor @ Nov 19th 2008 9:10AM

I am looking forward to Arc Rise Fantasia, Fragile, and the next Tales of Mothership.

samfish @ Nov 19th 2008 9:13AM

MadWorld for me, what with it's God Hand pedigree and all. If I'm allowed to buy only ONE game in 2009, I'd pick that.

Also really pumped for Sin & Punishment 2.

kyle @ Nov 19th 2008 9:17AM

TECMO BOWL... although i'll be shocked if it actually comes out next year...

davedrastic @ Nov 19th 2008 9:33AM

In the 18 months or so I've had the Wii i've learned not to expect much from any release, no matter how much the hype nor how excited the fanboys are.

The Wii has sucked me in, spat me out, yo-yo'd me around and largely impressed me as much as something slightly better than the PS2 but significantly less impressive as the PS3/360 can.

Motion controls are a jip, we've learned that. Wii Balance Board is a jip, and hardly utilised. Third parties "don't get it" we're told officially, leaving us to delight in platformers and Zeldas' as if they some how compare to the modern gaming offered on other platforms.

Wii sales have been through the roof, but satisfaction levels through the floor. The Wii has been my first Nintendo purchase and unless they somehow utilise the Wiimote and Balance Board a hell of a lot better than they have thus far, it will certainly be the last.

So says another generally disapointed Wii owner.

If Nintendo wants to pander to die-hard Nintendoids and those that haven't ever picked up a controller, they could have bloody told me so I wouldn't have invested in their unit. Instead they sucker me in and offer me very little. Trick me once shame on you, trick me twice, shame on Sony for not lowering their price sooner.

SoshiKitai @ Nov 19th 2008 11:51AM

'Third parties "don't get it" we're told officially'

That's the main killer for most people.
Told officially? I'm not sure if we need official proof. :( Just try out any other game out there for the Wii...
Other than a few (surprising) exceptions, those 3rd party games aren't just terrible... they're TRREIRBABEL!!! Or just suck.

Nintendo's been trying to keep the Nintendo-fans happy while trying to keep the casuals interested in QUALITY games (you don't have to think it's innovative/great/or even good... the fact is, it's A LOT BETTER than the other casual crap games) as to encourage their next purchase... and the 3rd parties, for the most part, aren't helping. :?

So sorry if ya' died from an awful disease because of the Wii, but not all of us are even close to being as sick as you. Not all of us are even Nintendo-hardcore-fans. Some of us just really really really like the Virtual Console and WiiWare games, and are surprisingly satisfied by it. And it keeps us interested until the next big game.

...well, not only that, but some of us (including me) have a taste in certain types of casual games (Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon) and seriously wonder why people just can't enjoy it.

davedrastic @ Nov 19th 2008 7:44PM

@ SoshiKitai

It's good that you're enjoying the games that you mentioned but for me VC and Wiiware just don't hack it, I aint interested. If I wanted basic games I'd get them for my PC, there's millions to choose from. Or I'd still play my PS1 games, which I don't of course because they're old and done.

Also, the whole cutesy games that you mentioned are just not for me. I'm a 30 something hetero male with a job and bills to pay that grew up on NWA and hardcore rock. I've been playing games since the age of 8, or younger, being raised on all the classics from Pac Man to Pole Position, Rectron to Ridge Racer. Now these types of games are fast-paced, infuriating, addictive games that pushed the boundaries at the time of their release, and the whole cutesy games with animated characters with over-sized heads walking around pastel-shaded make believe towns that I've got to build just does not hold any interest for me. If I were 8 it may do, but not as a grown adult.

Now my GF does find some interest in the cutesy games, as a rule she loves anything childish, but even games like MySims gets boring once you realise that in order to progress with the game you have to sacrifice huge amounts of your life, and for what? So you furnish your virtual room? We have better things to concentrate on. Cooking Mama, Trauma Centre and things like this invoke an immediate "oh this is cool and inventive" as I use my wiimote to disect a tumour or chop an onion, but after an hour long session it sinks in that there is largely no real gameplay outside of the "gimmicky" use of the wiimote.

So then we move onto the Nintendo franchises... Wii Kart, by far the best game and genuine fun, but not very challenging for an adult so for me it doesn't pull me back unless my brain is literally too tired to engage in anything taxing. Mario Galaxy, probably the best platformer ever by far, but it's still a platformer and I don't want to collect any stars/coins/gems either as an Italian plumber, a blue hedgehog or anything else you care to design. The whole platformer genre is a con and should have died out years ago. Zelda, actually this is quite sweet and engaging but a little slow and not much of a wow factor, a nice game but not exactly awe inspiring. Wii Music... shall we leave it there?

That leaves the third parties that have got it right, such as No More Heroes which is frankly a hopeless game - hack n slash gameplay no better than Golden Axe circa '85. So it has a "cool" character that does lawn-mowing, woop-di-doo. GTA it aint. Original it aint. Medal of Honour 2 is probably the best, and until recently the only, FPS on the Wii with online multiplayer and has major flaws. Not saying it's an awful game, but even a die-hard fan will have to note the list of flaws it has when compared to a 360/PS3 FPS.

And now we can look forward to the Conduit which looks like Metroid on Ice, and Madworld which will be another beat-em-up but we know will never match Tekken.

I don't think that I need the best graphics ever, I'm very happy with the graphics on most of the Nintendo releases so I don't think there's any reason why there can't be more challenging, fast-paced games. Until recently there's not been a selection of FPSs', I can't think of that many racing games (Speed Racer is fab though), there's nothing to match Unchartered. Frankly the vast majority of the full release games have been mini game compilations, PS2 ports, cutesy games, explorer games and just crap budget games.

Investing in a Wii isn't the biggest investment i've ever made, but let's not pretend it was chump change as it wasn't. So I think it's about time now that they come up with some engaging and challenging games that impress on some level for those like myself. I have some hope for the Conduit but I don't see anything else on the cards and it would be nice to have a better selection than just one up-coming game.

Shadow31 @ Nov 19th 2008 10:14AM

I realize this isn't answering the question, but this is starting to bug me. NWF, when regards to next year's titles, always lists 3 or 4 of these: Madworld, The Conduit, Punch-Out, and Sin & Punishment 2. Okay, fine, you guys like these titles... but seriously, if that's all you really think of when it comes to Wii releases next year, that is quite barren.

As for me, I'll be looking forward to... well, Banjo Tooie is an XBLA release, but for Wii...? Hmm... I want news on Mario, Zelda, or Pikmin. Other than that, the WiiMotion Plus (I know it's an accessory, but I don't know any good games that use it; I got bored with Wii Sports quickly).

SoshiKitai @ Nov 19th 2008 11:56AM

:P Barren? Yes.
Awesome? Very yes.

We don't know much about next year yet... but from the little that we've heard, we're VERY excited about.
Pardon their enthusiasm for those games.

8-bit.artist @ Nov 19th 2008 5:08PM

they say these 4 because these 4 are the only big titles announced for 2009 so far. mario, zelda and pikmin are just "being worked on".

im hoping they are working on a new fzero, star fox, kirby or kid icarus for 2009, but right now, thats just wishful thinking.

Shadow31 @ Nov 19th 2008 11:23PM

Dude, Soshikitai? Speak for yourself. None of those four titles interest me. You can't assume four titles will cater to the entire gaming crowd. If I liked shooters I'd own a 360, and I never liked Punch-Out. Madworld has potential with me, but I'm not that excited and that's only one game. At the very least, can't they build on any existing franchises? Sin & Punishment doesn't count because it's not really a franchise yet.

guttertalk @ Nov 19th 2008 10:41AM

While The Conduit, Tenchu IV, Fragile, Monster Hunter 3, Final Fantasy, Sadness, Arc Rise Fantasia, and Fatal Frame 4 are the games I'm very interested in, the game I'm most interested in is . . .

one that hasn't been announced.

For one, there's the Factor 5 game that hasn't been detailed. We know this team generally does superlative work, so it's something to look forward to.

And there's the possibility of a High Voltage RPG. (I'm hoping that at least one other company announces an RPG for 2009.)

And we know that Nintendo hasn't announced all of its 2009 games, which I'm sure will include some core title.

KaBob799 @ Nov 19th 2008 11:16AM

Pikmin 3 =D

Russ Carroll @ Nov 19th 2008 11:32AM

Uh...WiiSports The Resort

This one isn't even close for me. It goes back to the roots of why I first loved the Wii and if it is worthy of praise, will greatly 1-up itself.

Louie @ Nov 19th 2008 1:08PM

Ghostbusters, PLEASE?!?!

TheOverlord#2(AC FC: 1161-3212-7729 Pre-Game Night: Wednesday 7pm) @ Nov 19th 2008 3:02PM

I honestly can't decide between Sin & Punishment 2 and The Conduit. The Conduit is what i'm leaning towards, but if Nintendo announces online leaderboards and/or time trials for S&P2, i'll be back in the middle.

Evan @ Nov 19th 2008 4:15PM

Cave Story and Klonoa for me.

None of the mentioned games (The Conduit, MadWorld, Sin & Punishment 2) are on my list. If I wanted to play shooters, I'd own a 360!

Matias @ Nov 19th 2008 4:44PM

All the rpg's coming to the wii, I'm starving for them, specially Rune factory frontier and the new Tales mothership game.

And Fragile.

leonus11 @ Nov 19th 2008 4:59PM

for me it's either Monster Hunter TRI, Fragile or Sonic and the black Knight. funny enough my friend has BASHED games such as Mushroom men the Spore Wars, Deadly Creatures, Tales of symphonia dawn of the new world, MAD WORLD, Fragile and many others. to put it short and simple? he has bashed EVERY Wii game thats releasing in 2009. heck he's even bashed Nintendo themselves. then again he is a 360 fanboy so thats to be expected.

kervin @ Nov 19th 2008 10:32PM

Rock Band 3 lol !!only 1 year to go!!

kraz @ Nov 20th 2008 8:21AM

Of these titles i'm probably looking forward to the conduit the most. It's and fps, which i enjoy from time to time, but more importantly it looks like it tells a dramatic story. That's how the wii has dissappointed me. No games with really involving stories. I think the new tales of symphonia will fix that, but i won't be picking that up for about a month. (People get pissed when you buy the presents they got you). Hopefully we're not getting the best games in 2009 right up front. Hopefully there will be more conduits, and madworlds, and hell one of the games i'm excited for the most is the updated rygar. I never played the old game, but with the new enemies i'm glad i didn't. This game looks like it is going to be awesome. I hope for more serious titles in 2009. And i definately mean more than 4 or 5. By the by, i'm not looking forward to fatal frame 4 or any of the japanese rpg's because i no longer presume any nintendo of japan title will get localized... ever. That way i'm not incredibly dissapointed when it just doesn't happen. Buuuuuut, hypothetically if localization was a certainty i would go nuts over fatal frame, and probably fragile too. Fragile looks so very very interesting.

kraz @ Nov 20th 2008 8:23AM

oh, and while we're being hypothetical, sadness looks like it could be AMAZING. But hypothetically meaning, it would get made and not get f*#ked up.

Just_a_guy @ Nov 30th 2008 12:39PM

I'm looking forward to the conduit and madworld most.

I hope the conduit shows us just how FPS games on the wii are the best possible, and with madworld, I hope this is the breakthrough M rated game which shows that M rated games have a place on the wii.

Zacharycreaky66 @ Nov 30th 2008 1:49PM

I am really looking forward to getting Pikmin 1 and 2 for the play on wii thing. Pikmin 3, Wii Sports Resort, and Chibi-Robo for play on wii. I am thinking about getting the Metroid Prime games for play on wii and I am DEFINETLY getting the new Nintendo DSi.