WiiBlog Gaming Awards 2008

At this point of the year most sites have already conducted their “Top Games Of The Year” lists. I figured that creating another list of ‘Top 5 Games Of The Year’ that would undoubtedly feature Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and World of Goo would just be white noise. So, instead we’re going to have an awards ceremony this New Years Eve to commemorate different aspects of gaming throughout 2008.

Forewarning, the WiiBlog Gaming Awards will feature negative awards along with the positive. Because both aspects of the Wii need to be heard, for no other reason than I like to make up goofy sounding award names.

Best Video Game Character Newcomer – Travis Touchdown

No More Heroes wasn’t a perfect game by any means. In fact I’m still debating as to whether I liked it or not. What is definite is that No More Heroes has a unique style, and distinct sense of humor. The heart of the game’s style is undoubtedly found in its protagonist, Travis Touchdown. This manga loving, wrasslin’ watching, beam katana wielding assassin is one of the most refreshing characters in gaming this year, not just the Nintendo Wii. Needless to say we need more characters like Travis Touchdown in the video game world.

Makin’ Copies…Nintendonator…Nintendomestier…Makin’ Copies Award – Animal Crossing: City Folk

I wish I could have sat in the developer studio for Animal Crossing: City Folk and kept pulling off the ‘makin’ copies’ line Rob Schneider made famous on SNL. In a year when we saw so many long standing Nintendo franchises see releases on the Wii, this award is being given to the game that changed the least. Animal Crossing: City Folk had many things going for it before its release. First, there is a massive AC following; some who are rabid and will rip into you if you disturb their shirt pattern making, town visiting society.

With the release of Wii Speak, and the idea of visiting other people’s towns online I was hoping for a re-imagining of the AC series. What I got instead, was the same ol’ Animal Crossing with new features that you can tell the developers never really tapped into. The city aspect of the game is nothing more than a change of setting when you need to buy things. The online portion of the game is quite stripped down, and really is only fun if you’re into doing the same ol’ Animal Crossing activities only with someone online.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a huge Animal Crossing fan. I was hoping for so much more with City Folk; it was a let down but atleast it had Wii Speak packaged with it.

Third Party Go-Getter Award – de Blob

It’s no secret that the Nintendo Wii has been dominated by quality first-party titles. There have been a decent spread of third-party titles as well, but a lot are just cashing in on the huge hardware sales. When a great third-party title does come along, it continues to renew the love of my white wii remote. This year the third-party game that rolled along and really impressed me was de Blob.

There’s not much to dislike about de Blob, and his fight against the colorless corporation, I.N.K.T. As you roll de Blob around, and watch the city come to life with color it’s one of the most pleasing moments in gaming this year. There were problems just like with any game. The lack of an in-level save made for some long sessions, especially if you were going for 100% on the stages. Although you had to play for awhile to get anywhere, the music made the trip an absolute treat. Each track that accompanies a certain “mood”, has a distinct melody with all of them pleasing to the ear. The gameplay is simple, but with the way the levels are laid out it makes for an overall satisfying experience.

Indie, Shroom Trippin’, How Did I End Up With A Goat Wife? Award – World Of Goo Story, and Levels

It would be easy to just make a “Creative Game” award, and call it a day. World Of Goo would undoubtedly win this award, but I want to talk about certain aspects of the game that earned it what I consider the most prestigious award given.

If you’ve played World Of Goo, then you know that this 2D Boy developed game is unlike anything you’ve ever played. Whether that’s a good thing all depends on what kind of mindset you have.

First, the story that your goo balls go through is about as abstract as a story can get. I’m still not quite sure what the plot is about, even playing through it three times. Are the goo balls representative of us? Are they a commentary about our reliance on material things, such as oil which most of the goo balls look like? Depending on my mood I either love World Of Goo’s story, or absolutely hate it. If I’m in a mood to take something psychedelic and contemplate the meaning of life I love it. If you’re wanting to just sit down and play a game without thinking too much, then you might just want to ignore the overtones.

The story might have a love/hate relationship, but the level design in World Of Goo gets nothing but hugs and kisses from me. The levels are no less weird than the story, but instead of thinking about morals you’re just trying to get your goo balls to the pipe to be sucked through. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of another puzzle game, or any other game that has such an extraordinary level design than World Of Goo. So far it’s been fruitless, as I can’t think of a game that can compare to World of Goo’s stage designs. There’s no wasted levels, or parts of the game. You can tell that 2D Boy took extra special care of every puzzle ridden crevice of the game.

I Broke My Controller/TV Because Of This Cheap Ass Gameplay Element Award – Mario Kart: Wii Items

No, that hole wasn’t put in my TV because of over exaggerating my Wii Tennis stroke. It’s there because I just got hit with the freakin’ blue spiky shell for a third time in this damned Mario Kart race. Not to mention the thunderbolt that hit me as I was going off a ramp, that dropped me in a lava pit.

I’d go on further but I can already feel my heart rate rise thinking about getting item pounded in an online race.

As Retro As Gen 1 Transformer Action Figures With Oven Burnt Marks Award – 20 Deaths In Concrete Man Stage (Mega Man 9)

Just like the previous award, Mega Man 9 could be responsible for broken Wii remotes around the world. Instead of the remotes being broke because of cheap elements, Mega Man 9′s retro-style difficulty is the culprit. When I first booted up Mega Man 9, I was on cloud nine. It had been along time since I had played a game that challenged me like the WiiWare Blue Bomber download.

Playing games this day and age always makes me wonder if the games back on the NES really were that hard, or I was just too young to be any good. After playing Mega Man 9 it’s obvious that the difficulty has simply decreased over the years. I’ve died in Mega Man 9 more than any game I’ve played this year. I started keeping count on the number of deaths I accrued in each stage before finally beating it. My record is 20 deaths in the Concrete Man stage; before finally beating it on my 21st attempt.

Although there were times I was ready to throw my Wii remote against the wall, or give up, the feeling of gratification was well worth it. Beating a stage of Mega Man 9 will give you warm and fuzzy feelings greater than any game out this year.

The Essence Of The Wii Game Award – LostWinds

If you blinked this year, you might have missed LostWinds. One of the WiiWare launch games, LostWinds may have been a short title. What it lacked in length, it more than made up for with fun, clever gameplay.

The game reminded me of Metroid in the way that the game world was laid out. There were no load screens, and the entire game world was accessible from the beginning. Of course you had to obtain power-ups to enter certain areas.

LostWinds greatest strength came by way of its control layout. Every action in the game besides walking is coordinated with a Wii remote motion. If you want to jump, you better be good at flicking your Wii remote up and down. Games that rely heavily on motion control usually feel tacked on. LostWinds’ motion controls add to the experience more so than detract it though. I think that when Nintendo was creating the Nintendo Wii, they had games like LostWinds in mind when developing the Wii Remote.

Ok, that’s it for this year’s crop of awards. 2008 was one of the best years that video gamers have had in quite some time. The Nintendo Wii might have peaked early in 08, but we still had a large selection of games to waggle through. Here’s hoping that 2009 is going to blow 2008 out of the water. I’ll be back next week, when the New Year is underway. Everyone be safe, and be sure to use the wrist strap if you do some drunken Wii bowling for New Years.