When I was a kid, I always looked for that familiar rectangular package underneath the tree. I was lucky to get one video game each year, so I had to make it count. Today, I can afford a few more. My wife said that I've been good this year, so I made her this Christmas list:
1.
Super Mario Galaxy
It is a Mario game. This means that Shigeru Miyamoto has lovingly crafted it from the far reaches of his imagination and brought it to life like a modern-day Geppetto. All the video game sites are treating this game like the second coming, so I don't think it's going to disappoint.
Why she'll buy it for me: Co-op play! You collect stars while I do everything else, OK honey? (More likely it will be the other way around!)
Metacritic rating: 97 out of 100
2. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
This one's a little old, but it's still the best shooter available for the Wii. This is the game that we all imagined when Nintendo first announced the Wii Remote. The ability to bust caps a la
Duck Hunt in grotesque environments that would make H.R. Geiger blush should make for some creepy fun.
Why she'll buy it for me: The hero is a chick. Girl power and all that.
Metacritic rating: 90 out of 100
3.
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
The underdog of the lot,
Zack & Wiki is an oddball puzzle/adventure hybrid that came out of nowhere, but quickly won accolades for its clever design. I miss classic Lucasarts-style point-and-click adventure games (before they devoted themselves entirely to milking the
Star Wars franchise) like the
Secret of Monkey Island and
Full Throttle, so this is manna from heaven. We need more games that aren't afraid to be quirky. Don't we have enough gun toting heroes with 'roid rage and femme RPG stars with daddy issues?
Why she'll buy it for me: It's a puzzle game. Do you know what the most popular game among women is? Hint: It's
not the
Sims.
Metacritic rating: 87 out of 100
4.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Wii owners finally get the chance to shred with Slash, Gene, Alice and more on the third installment of the
Guitar Hero series. I don't have to worry about shelling out for a second wireless guitar controller—I'll can rock out with anyone in the world using Nintendo's WiFi network. Best of all, the developers have decided to include a few indie rockers like Weezer's "My Name is Jonas", Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing", and the Stone Roses' "She Bangs the Drums." Thanks, Neversoft, for remembering the sensitive hipster demographic. We aren't all
heshers.
Why she'll buy it for me: She's always wanted to marry a bass player.
Metacritic rating: 85 out of 100
5.
MLB Power Pros
This cartoonish take on America's pastime surprised critics with its complexity lying underneath the cutesy style. Although it lacks real-world players and statistics, that doesn't keep
MLB Power Pros from being this year's best baseball game. I'm hungry for more peanuts and crackerjack after last year's
Wii Sports, and I've heard that MLB Power Pros will satisfy.
Why she'll buy it for me: It's adorable.
Metacritic rating: 83 out of 100
6.
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Like
Asteroids<font> on steroids,
Geometry Wars hearkens back to the halcyon days of seedy arcades, where teenagers enjoyed a parentless oasis of gaming. This subculture valued lightening-fast gameplay and mindboggling high scores over character development and fancy graphics. Galaxies brings the popular Xbox Live game to the Wii with sixty-four chaotic new levels, a unique Wii-centric control scheme and a bevy of new bells and whistles.
Why she'll buy it for me: Again we fall back on co-op mode.
Metacritic rating: 80 out of 100
7.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Those of us thirsting for RPG's after a decade-long draught can get their fix in
Radiant Dawn. Featuring a thoroughly Japanese storyline that undoubtedly includes a bunch of feminine dudes grunting at each other from really far away. Critics have been calling it everything from
fiendishly difficult and
absurdly difficult to
crazily difficult (seriously dudes, use a thesaurus), so it should take me a while to beat. It also features plenty of blue hair. What more can we ask for?
Why she'll buy it for me: True love blooming on the battlefield.
Metacritic rating: 79 out of 100
8.
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
The
LEGO Star Wars series is a union that no one asked for, but everyone is thankful that it came to be. LucasArts combined the first two entries to create
The Complete Saga, 36 levels and more bonus features than you can swing a lightsaber at. I hear there's an unlockable Indiana Jones LEGO, so I can finally act out my fanfic battle between Yoda and Dr. Jones. If only they had included that Asian kid from
Temple of Doom<font> so I could pit him against Artoo.
Why she'll buy it for me: LEGO Wicket.
Metacritic rating: 79 out of 100
9.
Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Continuing the longstanding videogame tradition of taking out Nazi's with true-to-life WWII weaponry (It's kosher to shoot demons, zombies, and nazis because they are pure evil),
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 supports the new
Wii Zapper, giving me ultimate immersion. I'll be throwing the Wii Remote over my shoulder to simulate a massive Panzerfaust rocket launcher and lobbing grenades with up to 31 other Americans who couldn't locate Normandy on a map in no time.
Why she'll buy it for me: She loves a man in uniform.
Metacritic rating: 79 out of 100
10.
Mario Strikers Charged
Mario and Co. battle it out in lightening-fast soccer matches, cleverly utilizing Wii motion controls and taking full advantage of the built-in WiFi connection. I moved to England this year, and the guys at work persuaded me to join them to watch some "football". What a snore! I want soccer players to be able to throw fireballs and chuck hammers at each other. How can real soccer compare?
Why she'll buy it for me: I'll get all my anger out by yelling at the cheap AI.
Metacritic rating: 79 out of 100
It looks like we'll be wearing many hats this Christmas, from Mario's
trademark cap to Slash's signature top hat to a +1 Helm of Grognor (she's starting to pick up the geek lingo). These games should keep me and my sweetheart busy until our tree's
needles start falling. Happy holidays!</font></font>
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