21 Upcoming Wii Games to Drool Over

• By Alicia Ashby
• August 07, 2008 11:21 AM PST
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GamePro names the 21 games we're most excited to play on the Wii.

It has come to GamePro's attention that certain parties on the Internet want you to believe that there are no decent games coming out on the Wii. These people are malicious liars, and you should not believe them. The Wii has so many great games coming out for it in 2008 and 2009 that we had a hard time narrowing it down just to this list of the twenty-one best, most promising titles.

Are they the same hot games coming out for the PC, 360 and PS3? No, but they shouldn't be. The Wii is all about unique hardware giving gamers unique experiences, and you'll find over 75% of the titles on this list are either console exclusives or loaded with Wii-specific features. So settle back and educate yourself about the 21 greatest games Wii owners - and in many cases only Wii owners - get to look forward to enjoy in the next

#21: Wii Music

ETA: Late 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: Two years ago the world got the first glimpse of Wii Music, when Shigeru Miyamoto used an early version of the software to conduct an orchestra as it played the theme from Legend of Zelda. This fall, you'll be able to play Wii Music, too, and share the joy of creating music with everyone. Use your Remote and Nunchuk with up to three other friends to play parts in a six-part band harmony, using one of over sixty instruments of your choice. While the E3 demo was sorta lame (we blame that drummer dude), the prospect of performing classic Nintendo tunes with friends is pretty interesting.

Click here for more screens of Wii Music.

#20: Red Steel 2

ETA: September 16, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: Little is known about Red Steel 2 right now which was confirmed in the Official Nintendo Magazine, aside from one tremendous fact: it will be one of the first third-party games to support the Wii MotionPlus accessory introduced with Wii Sports Resort. That means the clunky swordfighting so many complained about in the original game is going to be replaced with the smooth, precise, realistic sword battles you can get a taste of in Wii Sports Resort's fencing mini-games. With an overhauled swordfighting system, Red Steel 2 could deliver on all of the sword n' gun crime action that the original game promised.

#19: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

ETA: September 16, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed you'll be able to use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as you take on the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice in an adventure that spans the gap between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. Use your Sith powers to hunt down and slay the surviving Jedi scattered across the Galaxy, while also eliminating any Stormtroopers or Rebels who try to stand in your way. Use your Force powers to push enemies away, hurt objects, leap impossible distances, fire the Dark Side's force lightning, and dive upon your enemy with speedy aerial dashes moves. It's being developed by a different team than the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, and will include exclusive stages as well as versus mode that should tide you over until The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels comes out (more on that game later).

Click here for more screens of Force Unleashed.

#18: Samba de Amigo

ETA: September 23, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: One of the original arcade rhythm games, Samba de Amigo, is coming back for the Wii, with new Wii Remote support that removes any need for expensive peripherals. Shake a pair of Wii Remotes like maracas in time with the beats onscreen, aiming high, low, or at waist level. Strike a pose when the indicator comes up onscreen, holding the Wii Remotes as indicated. Pick from dozens of hot Latin songs, and post your scores on the global Leaderboards. You can even make a Friends List to compare your scores to those of people you know. Finally, when you've played all the songs to death, you'll be able to download new songs via the Wii Pay & Play service. If Nintendo lets a few classic Mario tunes free from the grip of Wii Music, we'd download them in a second.

Click here for more screens of Samba de Amigo.

#17: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels

ETA: November 1, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: Enter the world of the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, and use the Wii Remote to engage in long-awaited lightsaber combat. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels, you'll be able to play as one of ten characters, including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Grievous, Asajj Ventress, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, and Ahsoka Tano. Carefully composed 3D graphics capture the look and feel of the animated film. Parry blows in defensive stance, or use the power of the Force to overwhelm your opponent with super-damaging blows. Lock sabers and play one of a variety of mini-games to see who can ultimately gain the advantage. While we're discouraged that the game won't include Wii MotionPlus support (boo on Nintendo's ultra-secrecy), LucasArts has been working on making Wii Lightsaber controls for some time now and we bet it'll be near perfect when the duels start.

#16: Call of Duty: World at War

ETA: November 11, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: The Wii version of World at War is going to offer everything the PC/360/PS3 version of the title will, along with extra features the other versions of the title won't support like Wii Zapper support and improved camera movement. Running on a modified CoD 4 engine, Call of Duty: World at War takes the Call of Duty franchise back to World War II. This time the emphasis is on conflict in the Pacific Rim, pitting you against the devious tactics of the Imperial Japanese army and the hostile jungle environment. Use the flamethrower to burn out the enemies waiting to trap you. The game's premiere at E3 caught the eye of many critics--it's one of the best looking Wii games we've seen yet. If the gameplay can match the visuals, the Wii could finally have a FPS on par with the HD consoles.

Click here for more screens of Call of Duty: World at War.

#15: Animal Crossing: City Folk

ETA: November 16, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: Now you can take the fun of the GameCube's hit Animal Crossing online with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Visit your friends' towns, or welcome up to three friends at once into your town to play games or just mess around. Each copy of Animal Crossing: City Folk ships with the new WiiSpeak microphone, designed to sit freely in the room and let everyone present enjoy talking to your online friends. Visit the new Big City area to customize your characters with new haircuts and costumes. You can even make your main character look like your favorite Mii! As long as we can still deface our friends' towns, we'll gladly take another trip to Animal Crossing.

Click here for more screens of Animal Crossing: City Folk.

#14: Castlevania Judgment

ETA: November 18, 2008
Why You Should Give a Damn: Everybody wanted a Castlevania Wii game. Nobody really expected a 3D fighting game, but life's full of surprises like that. Castlevania Judgment is, in fact, a non-stop stream of surprises. The Wii controls are light and floaty, with plenty of waggling for attacks and dodging. All of the environments are from classic titles in the Castlevania franchise, and you can collect and unleash sub-weapons on your opponents. Every character has characteristic attack, dodge, and super moves you can use to defeat your opponent. There will be fourteen playable characters, including Simon Belmont, Alucard, Maria Renard, Dracula, and Death. If anything, it's a nice change of pace from the 36 straight awesome-yet-cliched 2D adventure-RPGs we've been seeing on the portables.

Click here for more screens of Castlevania Judgment.

#13: No More Heroes 2

ETA: TBA
Why You Should Give a Damn: Okay, yeah, technically this game hasn't been announced yet. Come on, it's only a matter of time. Sales were solid, reviews were good, and creator Suda51 is on record wanting to make a sequel: "Then he confessed, 'Actually, I'm really willing to make a sequel version--and right now I'm asking if it can be made...I think No More Heroes is a great game, there's no other action game like it for the Wii. If it was a band, it would be really energetic, like the Arctic Monkeys.'" No More Heroes was one of the greatest Wii games to date, and when the sequel hits, it's going to be even better.

#12: Wii Sports Resort

ETA: Spring 2009
Why You Should Give a Damn: Wii Sports is great, but you can only play the same six events for so long. Wii Sports Resort offers an all-new selection of events, and comes with the Wii MotionPlus add-on. With Wii MotionPlus, the Wii Remote becomes more sensitive than ever. Your Mii onscreen will copy every move you in an incredible new realistic way. Throw a Frisbee, steer jetskis, and even swordfight your friends as every movement you make registers onscreen with absolute accuracy. We can't wait to hear what other summer games Nintendo has in store. Suntan lotion rubdown contests, plz.

Click here for more screens of Wii Sports Resort .

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