Network now...FEATURE
The Year Ahead: Wii Games
Wii Sports Resort
Nintendo
In-House
US Release: “Spring”
UK Release: “Spring”
The original was – for more than most – the very first encounter people had with the Wii. And though the game’s five clean-cut and (initially) undemanding sports packages provided an ideal demonstration of how the Wii Remote worked, Wii Sports quickly encapsulated the conflicting tastes of the console’s audience.
While the wider market continues to adore the Wii’s bundled disc of bowling and tennis jaunts, the game was disregarded by scores of core gamers from the outset. Exactly why remains a mystery; perhaps its accessible surface deluded many that there was no challenge underneath, or perhaps its failure to accurately render a boxer’s left nostril was all too much to bear.
Such neglect is clearly their loss. Behind Wii Sports’ abstemious appearance lies a robust understanding of tactical, fair and consistent gameplay, peppered with a series of challenges that make COD4’s Mile High Achievement seem leisurely.
Since Wii Sports Resort is likely to be your first encounter with Wii Motion Plus, and since it’s destined to repel its core audience with that insufferably twee Disc Dog demo, and since over ten other sports games will be included in the package, Nintendo’s upcoming serenade to the masses looks ready to repeat the success – and misunderstanding – of the original. 
MadWorld
Sega
Platinum Games
US Release: March 31
UK Release: March 31
What’s black, white and red, and is set to be the Wii’s defining title of 2009?
Though you have to wonder if Nintendo would consider MadWorld as the kind of third-party support it has been waiting for. With a gameplay objective succinctly outlined as “kill opponents as creatively as possible to earn more points”, it’s no surprise that Platinum Games’ debut title has already been refused classification in Germany.
MadWorld’s striking Sin City style of high contrast black and white is the perfect setting for its comically ultraviolent conquests, all of which end in gratifying mists and pools of deep red.
The game’s visual impact and inventive use of weaponry means such controversies will continue to stir. And though the mass-media’s noisy stance on violent game content rarely deserves the dignity of being examined, here, such scornful eruptions highlight the game’s purpose.
MadWorld doesn’t simply glorify violence, it worships it, and it wants to leave you wide-eyed at the pure spectacle of it.
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England and Wales company registration number 2008885
Yeah, the term hardcore is pretty vague. I think it just means a game that isn't too simple, its complex with at least a moderate difficulty, somewhat of a learning curve, and a story line at least trying to be more than "The Princess gets kidnapped by Bowser again." RPGs, FPSs, Fighters, 3rd person shooters/action games I think we can all agree are more for the "hardcore" crowd. The mom that bought Wii fit or the kids who only play Nurato wouldn't be able to get through the first 15 minutes of Fallout, but the "hardcore" would pretty much have no problem with most genres if they put effort forth.
I think of hardcore as people who have been gaming for a long time, people who grew up with the Atari, NES, were there for the SNES/Genesis console war, saw 3DO, Jaguar, CD-i come and go, remembered there one friend who had a Neo-Geo at his house and bragged how the games were all 100 bucks, played Bonk on their Turbo Graphics, flipped our when Nintendo refused to allow Mortal Kombat 1 to have any blood or gore, only to get psyched when they did allow it for Mortal Kombat 2, we remember when Nintendo told us to play it loud, or when "SEGA!!!" told us the Genesis had blast processing, or when Star Fox used the Super FX chip, we remember when Square Soft was developing an N64 version of Final Fantasy before they pulled the plug due to too low storage of the N64 discs, we remember when N64 used to be referred to Ultra 64 until a lawsuit made them change it. I could go on and on. We hardcore are out there, and we take pride in gaming (maybe a little too much).
That is pretty much what I consider hardcore as well and that is why I had so much trouble understanding what was meant below. Under this definition, half of these games would qualify as "hardcore"
I must say it looks like this will be an excellent year for the Wii. Madworld looks excellent, very pleasantly surprised that the newest trailer has revealed it will have more than 1 genuninely memorable character.
Deadly Creatures could be interesting. I have to agree that The Conduit's status as a must-buy rides on it having inventive level-design and good A.I., it's one hell of a technical achievement for the Wii but that's not enough to carry it to success. If Overkill keeps it short and sweet then its a likely purchase for me. Oddly enough I could do with a spattering of small bite-size games, its a real shame when games compete for disproportionate amounts of your time...Umbrella Chronicles being a good example (despite being far above average for a light-gun game).
Very interested in Fatal Frame too, not least because of the involvement of one of the most exciting game designers around today.
As a final note, I hope and pray that Sin & Punishment is at least half as inventive and thrilling as the original.
again, quite an exciting year for the Wii really.
Wii Sports was and still is the number one reason to buy a Wii (if you haven't already) and i have little doubt that the sequel will have the same appeal.
Deadly Creatures is very appealing, the Conduit could be good if it can recreate the better moments of Red Steel, which, rubbish sword fighting aside, was actually a lot of fun and far more natural to play with the Wiimote & Nunchuck than the usual twin sticks. Mad World will probably be another No More Heroes, loved by Edge but not by me :D
Monster Hunter especially - Fatal Frame, Madworld... enough titles to keep me interested. Also fun to see how much they can squeeze out of the machine.
I really hope Nintendo has a few tricks up its sleeve. as a 'hardcore' gamer, my Wii hsa been gathering dust since smash brothers came out...
So none of the "hardcore" games on this list appeal to you? What are you looking for then?
Aside from Wii Resort and maybe Punch Out and Deadly Creatures, this list seems to be standard "hardcore" fare.
"Hardcore" isn't what comes to mind to describe these games. "Quirky," maybe. I'll maintain an open mind to the new IPs, which is especially impressive for a 'top ten' list...but it would be nice to have a guaranteed experience here or there. The problem with experimental projects is that they tend to fail.
Also, I'm still angsty about nintendo's casual-only approach of the past year. Granted, that's the cost when they deliver 3 hardcore punches in the span of a single year (Mario, Zelda, Metroid). It was helluva lot of fun at the time, at least!
I guess I don't understand what you mean by "hardcore" games. At least half of thee games come across to me as "hardcore" and they all come across as "quirky" to you. I guess I just don't understand. Sorry.
Hardcore is a silly bloody term. It just means people who are dedicated to games, and hardcore games are just games for that crowd. This can mean anything as games can have so many options in. Some hardcore players want to perfect a game, some want to complete it and collect all the stuff in it, some want to get the fun of the experience. Some people appreciate a sense of identity and style, some appreciate innovation, some want violence and conflict- it goes on and on. So we really can't divide ourselves into groups of n00bs or not. When people complain about lack of hardcore on the Wii though, I think they are just saying lack of big good experiences, or whatever satisfies them.
Here's a blog about all this that's pretty constructive. N'Gai Croal recommended!:
http://insultswordfighting.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-taxonomy-of-gamers-t...
I just want a 360 that has wireless keyboard and mouse, a browser and a Microsoft Word application. I could bond with that shit, and actually buy it. In the mean time it's just PC TF2 for me
Casual generally means 'easy to get into' and 'mainstream.' I would take hardcore to mean the opposite of this. It's the difference beteween Harry Potter and War And Peace; Transformers and 8 1/2, Britney Spears and Chopin. I ain't bashing mainstream experience -- whatever floats your boat -- but some of us just want something deeper.