EDIT: UPDATED 6/25/2007 - Thanks to Horseshoe for reminding me this thread was here by adding his own info
Bought on Launch Day at Target after waiting 14 hours overnight.
[Games I own]
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Rating: 5/5
Info: It's Zelda... that's about all I can say if you know the series. The story is interesting, the music is always great, and the gameplay is fun and engrossing, even if a bit easy. If you are a Zelda or RPG fan, you will love this game and play it many times over during the life of your Nintendo Wii. Progressive scan and widescreen only add to this game's beauty.
Madden 2007
Rating: 4/5
Info: For Madden's first outing on Wii, the control schemes are pretty good and make the game soooooo much easier to play than the PS/Xbox brothers. Graphics, in my opinion, are actually lacking compared to the Gamecube Madden 06 version, but i think this will be cleaned up by 08 and if you have progressive scan and widescreen, it does make a HUGE difference on this game. No online play in this outing... maybe next year. There are some cool mini games though... like backyard 2v2 football.
Wii Sports
Rating: 4/5
Info: For a "free" game with the system, you really can't ask for much more (except perhaps online play). It features Bowling, Boxing, Golf, Baseball (homerun derby style) and Tennis. All the games feel fairly accurate as far as using the Wiimote as you would during real life, with slight exception to tennis (though I think I just suck at it). It's a great party game and the only con is that you have to pay $40-$60 (if you want the nunchuk for boxing) for each extra controller to play with friends when they are over.
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Rating 3.5/5
Info: This is an interesting party game and more of a tech demo of sorts in Party Game format for the Wii. The graphics are actually one of the best for the Wii launch titles and they are very nice and some of the mini games are hilarious (cow tossing) so for what it is, I do enjoy it.
Elebits
Rating: 3/5
Info: Another tech demo of sorts for the Nintendo Wii. Also the first title with "online" ability in the U.S. (though limited to sending screenshots and custom levels... gay). Use your Wiimote as a gravity gun of sorts (ala Half-Life 2) to move around furniture and other household items... including a house to find little cute creatures called Elebits which are responsible for the blackout in the city you live in. A incredibly challenging game in the later levels, but its missing something... just haven't figured out what...
Excite Truck
Rating: TBD... early impressions 4/5
Info: For a racing game, this is pretty fun. I am not much of a racing fan but got this for christmas from my parents and I have enjoyed it a little bit. The controls are a little loose (Wiimote used as a steering wheel) but I'm just not used to it yet. You get points for crazy jumps, crashes and tree runs, so that is cool
. Overall, a good racing outing by Nintendo... still, no online play.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz
Rating: 2/5
Info: I got this game at launch mostly for Maria (my wife) because she doesn't like the complexity of most games. However, both she and I have found this game to be EXTREMELY frustrating. The control scheme is basic... use the Wiimote as a tilt bar to roll the monkey ball in the direction you desire. Only problem is... the developers decided the central point (where the ball is at rest) should be when the Wiimote is pointed slightly upwards (as if pointing towards top of tv when sitting down). This is ridiculous and not natural, making it nearly impossible in my outing to maintain any sort of control and consistency. if I can fix this, I'd enjoy the game and give it maybe a 3.5/5.
Mario Party 8
Rating: 3/5
Info: This game is just like all past Mario Party games so if you like those, chances are you'll like this one enough to buy it if you play with friends. I enjoy the new Party Modes (there is one that is similar to Monoply now) and some of the new mini-games with the motion detection are pretty cool, but you can tell this game is just another rehash and still runs pretty pokey which is why I only give it a 3/5. My wife loves it but notices the repetitive nature of it now as well. They need to either add online play for the next one or completly revamp/speed it up as Mario Party 1-8 is essentially the exact same game with different mini-games and boards.
SSX Blur
Rating: 3.5/5
Info: This game is pretty cool and if you like the SSX series, I definitely recommend picking this up. The graphics are great and the controls are pretty tight (except for the Uber Tricks) which allows for some fast-paced snowboarding. Parts of the game are confusing as far as where to go next and the level of difficulty in the game is fairly high compared to previous games which I eventually mastered. All in all, it's a sound buy once the price drops to $30ish.
Super Paper Mario
Rating: 4/5
Info: This game is pretty amazing as far as technology and innovation go in my opinion. It's a mix of 3D and 2D AT THE SAME TIME. While I don't think its as good as Paper Mario on Gamecube, which was plain awesome, it is an excellent game and worth spending the money on if you like Mario platform games. The only thing that turns me off to this game is the huge amount of sheer text, storyline crap. While it is great to have a storyline and most of the storyline is pretty humorous, it gets pretty damn thick in parts.
[Games I want (that may not be out yet)]
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (6/1/2007)
Super Smash Bros: Brawl (6/1/2007)
Super Mario Galaxy (4/1/2007)
Madden 2008 ( August 08 ) - FIRST NINTENDO MADDEN WITH ONLINE PLAY!
