Holiday Gift Guide 2010: Wii Games @ Gaming Target

Written by Matt Swider on November 24, 2010

Special Feature: A lot of people say that the Wii doesn't have a lot to offer this holiday season. We beg to differ. Check out the eight games that we think should be at the top of your Wii wish list.

Donkey Kong Country Returns

We recommended New Super Mario Bros. Wii last year, and this holiday seasonя┐╜s top prize goes to another 2D side-scrolling franchise reinvented for Nintendoя┐╜s console: Donkey Kong Country Returns. Both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are back in Rareware form, and while Rare isnя┐╜t the one developing this game, Retro Studios has done a great job of capturing the spirit of the SNES titles. Swinging from vines in the jungle, blasting off in barrel cannons, beating the ground for hidden banana bunches and collecting tucked-away letters that spell K-O-N-G make this all-new game feel like the classics. Best of all, two players can simultaneously monkey around in this version.

Disney Epic Mickey

Mickey Mouse hasnя┐╜t starred in a video game in seven years, and itя┐╜s been 16 since heя┐╜s helmed a really good game, Mickey Mania. Thatя┐╜s about to change next week when the vault opens and Disney Epic Mickey makes its way to Wii. Equipped with paint and paint-thinner, everyoneя┐╜s favorite cartoon mouse (sorry, Biker Mice from Mars) must transform the dark and twisted environment around him. He must also defeat Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disneyя┐╜s first the commercial successful character and the dastardly villain responsible for the gloom and doom. Weя┐╜ll admit, we donя┐╜t play very many third-party games on the Wii, but this Warren Spector-led title has just as much appeal as a first-party Nintendo game.

Big Buck Hunter Pro

Motion-controlled hardware is all the rage on Xbox 360 and PS3 this holiday season, with Kinect and Move selling out in stores. Nintendo hasnя┐╜t come out with new Wii hardware since the last yearя┐╜s MotionPlus accessory and there hasnя┐╜t been a worthy MotionPlus game since 2009я┐╜s Wii Sports Resort. Enter: Big Buck Hunter Pro. Yes, itя┐╜s easy to dismiss this as an old arcade game and я┐╜not your thing.я┐╜ But, after a few rounds of shooting bucks, antelope and moose, youя┐╜ll be so addicted that youя┐╜ll start to have a southern drawl to match the announcer and make anti-PETA comments. The most convenient thing is that it doesnя┐╜t cost $.50 each time to play.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Thereя┐╜s a good chance youя┐╜ve already collected all of the stars and green stars in Super Mario Galaxy 2 considering this game released six months ago. But, if you were too busy with Alan Wake or Transformers: War for Cybertron during those weeks leading into summer, then this Mario platforming sequel deserves many of your hours. Itя┐╜s not often that Nintendo releases a direct sequel to a Mario game or a Yoshi-featured title, so take the opportunity to triple jump into this near perfect follow-up.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

We understand. The overly cute graphics look like theyя┐╜re fit for pre-schoolers and, recently, Kirby hasnя┐╜t been the hottest Nintendo character on the block. In fact, the only thing я┐╜hotя┐╜ about his last console game, Kirbyя┐╜s Air Ride, was all of the hot air Nintendo was blowing to support the disappointing GameCube title prior to launch. But, Kirbyя┐╜s Epic Yarn is different in that it returns to its 2D platforming roots and has yarn-based graphics that flow across the screen for a creative presentation. Weя┐╜re not going to spin a я┐╜yarnя┐╜ and go on and on about how this game appeals to everyone and has a secret darker side. Itя┐╜s just as bright and cheery as it seems in screenshots. Likewise, it isnя┐╜t the most challenging platform game; thatя┐╜s why we left DKC Returns at the top of the list. Nevertheless, this is two-player Kirby game is imaginative enough to earn a spot in our Holiday Gift Guide.

GoldenEye 007

GoldenEye 007 was one of the few very successful N64 games that didnя┐╜t see some sort of remake despite its immense popularity. But, it wasnя┐╜t like companies werenя┐╜t trying. Legal issues doomed the XBLA version of Rareя┐╜s 1997 classic, leaving us with their HD port of Perfect Dark. Thankfully, Nintendo finally allowed Activision, the current Bond license holder for video games, to release a Wii remake. Itя┐╜s by no means a strict shot-for-shot remake of the 64-bit game from 13 years ago; it fleshes out the story, adds new missions and includes online multiplayer. The Complex and Temple are no longer part of the multiplayer madness, but Oddjob is still the cheapest character in the game, and we couldnя┐╜t be happier.

NBA Jam

NBA Jam, how we've missed you! The original extreme sports franchise has returned after a seven year absence and we couldn't be more excited. While the Wii version lacks the HD graphics and online capabilities of its PS3/Xbox 360 sibling, the familiar two-on-two roundball action is as fiery as ever.

NHL Slapshot

NHL 11 is the top hockey game on Xbox 360 and PS3, with NHL 2K11 trailing far, far behind. However, EA Sports didnя┐╜t release it for Wii and, instead, opted to create a peripheral-based hockey stick bundle called NHL Slapshot. This Wayne Greztky-helmed entry isnя┐╜t as deep or realistic as NHL 11, but using the hockey stick (really, a plastic holder for the Wii remote and nunchuk) is surprisingly accurate. We prefer the NHL 11 because, year after year, itя┐╜s been the ideal hockey simulation and it includes fighting. Still, NHL Slapshot is an interesting first effort by EA and one thatя┐╜s appropriately geared toward Wiiя┐╜s family audience.