The best Wii games of the year
The top Wii game of 2009Nintendo dug into its own past (as it so often does) and came up with a hit in 2009, bringing back the GameCube sci-fi action-adventure series Metroid in the form of a new Wii compellation, Metroid Prime Trilogy. Make that two hits; platformer New Super Mario Bros. Wii also scored with the critics in its new incarnation.
However, Wii once again struggled to match the other platforms in terms of critical acclaim, and the platform was missing creative breakout hits like 2008's Okami and World of Goo. Metroid was the only title to score 90 or above this year, and three of the top 10 (and four of the top 11) Wii games were in the music genre -- not a good sign in a year in which music games generally were considered to be retreads of the previous year's entries.
In the platform exclusives category, the Steven Spielberg-created puzzle/party game Boom Blox Bash Party went down easy with critics, much like its acclaimed predecessor. Critics also found "cutesy" strategy-adventure game Little King's Story rewarding, and downloadable WiiWare title LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias, a sequel to last year's LostWinds, also scored generally strong marks.
| Title | Genre | Metascore | Users | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metroid Prime Trilogy | First-Person Shooter | 91 | 9.2 |
| 2 | Beatles: Rock Band, The | Music | 89 | 9.4 |
| 3 | Guitar Hero 5 | Music | 89 | 6.6 |
| 4 | Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 | Sports, Golf | 88 | 9.5 |
| The best-reviewed sports game for Wii in 2009 ... and all time | ||||
| 5 | New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Platform | 87 | 9.2 |
| 6 | DJ Hero | Music | 87 | 6.0 |
| 7 | Little King's Story | Simulation, Strategy, Adventure | 87 | 9.0 |
| 8 | LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias | Action, Adventure, Platform | 86 | 9.2 |
| 9 | Boom Blox Bash Party | Puzzle, Action | 86 | 8.6 |
| 10 | Punch-Out!! | Sports, Boxing | 86 | 8.8 |
| 11 | Guitar Hero: Metallica | Music | 85 | 7.4 |
| 12 | Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 | Sports, Soccer | 84 | 9.4 |
| 13 | New Play Control! Pikmin 2 | Strategy | 84 | 8.5 |
| 14 | Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 | Sports, Soccer | 84 | 9.5 |
| 15 | Swords & Soldiers | Strategy | 84 | 8.3 |
| 16 | NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits | Action, Platform | 82 | 9.3 |
| 17 | Dead Space Extraction | Action, Adventure, Horror | 82 | 8.1 |
| 18 | Bit.Trip Void | Rhythm, Music | 81 | 10.0 |
| 19 | Dawn of Discovery | Strategy, Simulation | 81 | 9.3 |
| 20 | EA Sports Active More Workouts | Fitness | 81 | 9.8 |
| Who said it's just a gaming machine? "More" is the first of three fitness titles in the Top 40 | ||||
| 21 | MadWorld | Action | 81 | 9.0 |
| 22 | EA Sports Active | Fitness | 81 | 8.7 |
| 23 | Muramasa: The Demon Blade | Action, RPG | 81 | 9.8 |
| 24 | Wii Sports Resort | Sports | 80 | 8.2 |
| 25 | Rune Factory: Frontier | RPG | 80 | 9.0 |
| 26 | Wii Fit Plus | Fitness | 80 | 7.6 |
| 27 | Bit.Trip Beat | Action, Arcade | 80 | 9.6 |
| 28 | Boy and His Blob, A | Action, Platform | 80 | 9.3 |
| 29 | Bit.Trip Core | Arcade | 80 | 8.7 |
| 30 | Band Hero | Music | 79 | 6.0 |
| 31 | Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal | Adventure | 79 | 9.2 |
| 32 | Mini Ninjas | Action, Adventure | 79 | 9.2 |
| 33 | You, Me, and the Cubes | Action, Puzzle | 79 | 4.0 |
| 34 | NHL 2K10 | Sports, Hockey | 79 | 8.6 |
| 35 | Rabbids Go Home | Adventure | 79 | 9.4 |
| 36 | Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay | Adventure | 79 | n/a |
| 37 | House of the Dead: Overkill, The | First-Person Shooter | 78 | 9.3 |
| 38 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 | Sports, Wrestling | 78 | 9.2 |
| 39 | MySims Agents | Action, Adventure | 78 | 9.6 |
| 40 | New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat | Platform, Action | 78 | 9.5 |
The best PC games of the year
The top PC game of 2009Street Fighter IV, the latest installment in the venerable fighting franchise, was the best-reviewed PC game of the year, although the hit Dragon Age: Origins was nearly as heralded. The latter is a role-playing game that serves as a successor to the classic Baldur's Gate series, and it features robust downloadable content additions (which should keep coming for the next few years).
PC gamers in the market for vowels can also pick up the most unusually titled game of the year: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, which, if reviews are to be believed, may be as much fun to play as it is to type, thanks to its addictive, arcade-style action.
| Title | Genre | Metascore | Users | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street Fighter IV | Fighting | 91 | 8.7 |
| 2 | Batman: Arkham Asylum | Action, Adventure | 91 | 8.8 |
| 3 | Dragon Age: Origins | RPG | 91 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Left 4 Dead 2 | Action, First-Person Shooter | 90 | 8.8 |
| 5 | Braid | Platform | 90 | 8.8 |
| 6 | Empire: Total War | Strategy | 90 | 6.6 |
| 7 | DiRT 2 | Racing, Driving | 90 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Football Manager 2010 | Sports, Simulation | 88 | 9.4 |
| 9 | Plants vs. Zombies | Action, Strategy | 88 | 9.2 |
| 10 | EVE Online: Apocrypha | MMORPG | 88 | 8.7 |
| 11 | Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box | Racing, Driving | 87 | 8.1 |
| 12 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | First-Person Shooter | 86 | 2.1 |
| 13 | Resident Evil 5 | Action, Adventure, Horror | 86 | 8.1 |
| 14 | Sims 3, The | Simulation | 86 | 7.5 |
| Although it falls short of its predecessor, it's the top non-sports sim of the year | ||||
| 15 | Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, The | Adventure | 86 | 9.7 |
| 16 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II | Strategy | 85 | 8.2 |
| 17 | Machinarium | Adventure | 84 | 9.3 |
| 18 | Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy | Adventure | 84 | n/a |
| 19 | Torchlight | Action, RPG | 84 | 9.3 |
| 20 | AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity | Action | 84 | 8.6 |
| 21 | Time Gentlemen, Please! | Adventure | 84 | 9.1 |
| 22 | Out of the Park Baseball 10 | Sports, Simulation | 83 | 8.3 |
| 23 | Need for Speed SHIFT | Racing, Driving | 83 | 5.1 |
| 24 | Red Faction: Guerrilla | Third-Person Shooter | 83 | 8.8 |
| 25 | Dawn of Discovery | Strategy, Simulation | 82 | 8.7 |
| 26 | King's Bounty: Armored Princess | Adventure, Strategy, RPG | 82 | 9.2 |
| 27 | Borderlands | First-Person Shooter, Action, RPG | 82 | 8.0 |
| 28 | Football Manager Live | Sports, Simulation | 82 | 2.9 |
| 29 | Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 3: Lair of the Leviathan | Adventure | 82 | 9.2 |
| 30 | Gridrunner Revolution | Shooter | 82 | 8.4 |
| 31 | DCS: Black Shark | Simulation | 82 | 7.7 |
| 32 | Battlefield 1943 | First-Person Shooter | 82 | 7.7 |
| 33 | Osmos | Puzzle | 81 | 9.0 |
| The best-reviewed PC puzzle game of the year features a hypnotic score and can't-miss price | ||||
| 34 | Sims 3 World Adventures, The | Simulation | 81 | 9.0 |
| 35 | Fallout 3: Broken Steel | RPG | 81 | 6.8 |
| 36 | League of Legends | MMORPG | 81 | 9.5 |
| 37 | Mirror's Edge | Action, Adventure | 81 | 8.3 |
| 38 | Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, The | First-Person Shooter | 80 | 7.2 |
| 39 | Left 4 Dead: Crash Course | First-Person Shooter, Action | 80 | 6.2 |
| 40 | AI War: Fleet Command | Strategy | 80 | 8.8 |
We're sorry, but comments are closed for this article.
Comments (185)