Top 5 Anticipations For 2009

It’s not the first Friday of the year, but it’s the first Friday in which I’m physically able to do a Top 5 list. If you listen to the whispers, or shouts depending on where you hang out, then 2009 looks like it could be the year of the Nintendo Wii. You could argue that the past two years were, but in fairness 2008 was lacking at least in the second half of the year. In light of the great year ahead, here’s my Top 5 Anticipations for 2009.

5. Violent Wii Remote Motions

I think that in 2009 we’re going to see an increase in Wii/TV accidents. Not because people are getting more clumsy, but because we’ll all have more opportunities to make over exaggerated motions. Looking at all the bloody, and gloriously violent games coming in 2009, you can bet the ‘M’ rated purchases will see an increase.

MadWorld is the over the top violent game I’m looking forward to most. After viewing numerous screenshots, and videos I’m highly impressed with the black, white, and red motif that the dev team has been able to pull off. From the gameplay videos that have been shown, the animations look tight and deliciously over-the-top.

It still has much to prove in terms of gameplay, but it’s kind of hard to go wrong making motions for throwing someone into a spiked wall. Or ripping people’s hearts out.

The Conduit is another game I’m salivating over, as it looks to bring some much needed FPS action to the Nintendo Wii. The Conduit has had an interesting dev history, as it went through most of its life without a publisher. Only until recently did Sega pick up the publishing rights to it, letting gamers rest easy.

It might not be as bloody as MadWorld is going to be, but the violence will be there none the less. Could this be the ‘Goldeneye’ title for the Nintendo Wii? It promises to bring multiplayer action to the Nintendo Wii like never before, so that’s a good start in living up to its high expecations.

4. Nintendo First Party Game Announcements

Many of my gut feelings about Nintendo came true in 2008. I called that Nintendo was delibarately holding back many of its announcements during their E3 conference. Of course later in the year, Nintendo decided to hold their own conference to announce many of its upcoming 2009 titles.

I’m not going to go so far as to say that Nintendo will have a smaller showing at E3 this year. What I do believe is that Nintendo is going to bring “it” when it comes to game announcements this year. Although we saw two great game releases in 2008 with SSBB, and Mario Kart: Wii, Nintendo didn’t really give us much to look forward to after that. I think that we can expect that to change sometime in 2009. I’m not going to predict ‘when’ we can expect an announcement but keep your ears & eyes open.

We’ve still yet to see a Star Fox release on the Nintendo Wii. Factor 5 is supposedly working on an unannounced Wii game. Could Nintendo, and the once prized developer of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron be collaborating together? It seems like its been forever since the Kid Icarus rumor was started last year, perhaps Nintendo will finally unleash that upon us.

Whatever happens, I believe we can expect big news coming our way in 2009 from the House of N.

3. Headshotting Zombies

The #5 (Violent Wii Remote Motions), and #3 (Headshotting Zombies) listings could go hand and hand. The most important factor that makes them different; zombies. There’s something about imagining dual-wielding 9mm’s and capping zombies in the head that can instantly bring a smile to my face. If you have a powerful enough PC, play Left 4 Dead and try to tell me that there isn’t something special about a zombie apocalypse setting.

The Nintendo Wii looks to provide more zombie corpses than any other console in 2009. We’ve already had four games announced that are guranteed to release this year. Not to mention a secret Silicon Knights development, which could bring even more undead action.

- House Of The Dead: Overkill

I’ve had very few reasons to pull out my Wii Zapper and enjoy some amazing on-rails shooter action. Zelda’s Crossbow training is fun, but breaking up pots and shooting Skulltulas can only go so far. House Of The Dead: Overkill looks to be the game that has me knocking the dust off my zapper peripheral.

If you don’t believe me, then check out Sega’s B-movie esque trailer and report back.

- Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers

You’d think that House Of The Dead: Overkill is as over the top as you could get. Tamsoft looks to prove them wrong with their hybrid of bikinis and zombies. I won’t lie, the combination strangely intrigues me. Luckily, the zombies aren’t the ones wearing the bikinis but two deadly/sexy sisters will be.

The game has been criticized for objectifying women, as demonstrated by this trailer, and this one as well. While I won’t argue that the game is or isn’t objectifying women; is it anything new? If anything the game is so over the top that it’s a parody of the objectification. Ok, I know I’m just making excuses for it.

- Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop

If you don’t have a Xbox 360, and thought Dead Rising looked like fun then you’ll finally get your chance in 2009. Capcom, in what I think was a smart move decided to bring their zombie slaying title from the Xbox 360 to the Nintendo Wii. As someone who’s played the original Dead Rising, I think its style will mesh perfectly with the motion controls of the Wii Remote.

Aiming will no doubt be easier, and impaling a zombie with my metal spike that twists round and round will be made that much better with motion controls. Capcom did their Resident Evil 4 port right, so there’s no reason to doubt them with Dead Rising.

- Animales de le Muerte

It’s always refreshing to see different takes on the zombie genre. It doesn’t get much different than Animales de le Muerte. It’s a game about animal zombies, that escape from a zoo in Mexico. There hasn’t been a lot of news announced about it lately which leaves me worried. I didn’t find any news of it being canceled this year either, so I’m suspecting we’ll see it sometime in ’09.

2. Wii Remote MotionPlus

The idea behind Wii Remote MotionPlus is what most Nintendo Wii owners have been wanting from the very beginning. 1:1 motion controls could be considered the golden goose when all is said and done. Depending on if Nintendo is actually able to deliver on the promise. Judging by the E3 footage, it looked relatively smooth.

The game that is coming bundled with Wii Remote MotionPlus is kind of a bummer, Wii Sports Resort. A Link/Ganon sword fighting game would have been much more welcomed but atleast it’s finally arriving.

1. Punch-Out!

There might not have been many first party titles announced last year, but Punch-Out! is all I needed to hear. I probably sound like a broken record, as I continually express my love for the Punch-Out! series whenever I get a chance to.

It’s safe to say that Punch-Out! is the game I’m anticipating the most more than any other, on any console this year. Nintendo hasn’t released very many details about the strategic boxing title, but I’ve got ideas already racing in my head.

First, I wouldn’t mind seeing a push back for a release date if Nintendo wanted to implement MotionPlus into Punch-Out!’s controls if they haven’t done so already. The balance board would be a welcome addition as well, as it would make bobbing and weaving that much more fun and engaging to pull off. If Nintendo is ambitious enough with Punch-Out! it could demonstrate all of the peripherals that Nintendo has released thus far.

It’s been too long since Bald Bull and l have gone to fisticuffs, and 2009 is as good a time as any to throw down again.

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What are you anticipating most in 2009? Could this be the greatest year that the Nintendo Wii, or any other Nintendo console has seen? Is anyone as excited about Punch-Out! as I am?