Existing comment:
Nintendo Wii
Action: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes the best elements of all of the previous Super Mario games and combines them to present a vibrant and challenging adventure. The design team incorporated the exaggerated spherical worlds seen in Super Mario Galaxy, then added innovative platform levels inspired by the genre-defining, 2-dimensional experiences of earlier systems.
The game focuses on exploration of a luminous, candy-colored world. The designers created intriguing puzzles and a seemingly infinite variety of goals and challenges, playing with scale and gravity throughout.
The seamless gameplay takes place against a backdrop of intense, detailed graphics and a musical score that combines remixed versions of classic Mario tunes with energetic new material. Super Mario Galaxy 2 stands at the pinnacle of its genre, proving that Mario is still going strong almost 30 years after his first appearance.
Target: Boom Blox
The designers at Electronic Arts worked with Steven Spielberg to create Boom Blox. Spielberg wanted to develop games that focused on strategy and creativity to play with his children.
All of the environments, obstacles, and characters in this game are constructed from colorful building blocks. The designers were inspired by the traditional game Jenga, in which players take turns removing blocks from a stacked tower and placing them on top until it eventually falls. Boom Blox adds complexity by taking advantage of the Wii's motion sensitive controller to incorporate a wide variety of methods to extract the blocks.
The physics-based animation provides the most compelling visual element, since the blocks tumble, collide, and fall with a high degree of realism. Boom Blox is perfect for families -- designed for multiple people to play together in the same room, inspiring connections and friendly competition.
Adventure: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the thirteenth installment of the popular series, which began back in 1987. In this game, the designers wanted to appeal to older players who had grown-up with Zelda and Link.
The Zelda games have always boasted a strongly developed world and back-story, but in Twilight Princess, players experience more realistic characters and environments than ever before. The narrative is familiar, with the inclusion of a sinister dark world that mirrors the light, but the visual contrast between the two is striking.
The shadow realm appears ethereal and indistinct, with soft, glowing colors… and dark environments conjuring the mystery of twilight.
Tactics: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure presents a fantastical adventure, filled with mind-bending puzzles and devious traps.
The designers took advantage of the Wii's motion sensitive controller to create ingenious interactions with on-screen objects. Many games for the Wii incorporate motion-based controls, but Zack and Wiki was one of the first to successfully integrate this feature into a puzzle-based narrative. Players use the controller as if it were the real item; a saw requires a sawing motion and a key a turning motion to unlock a door.
The vivid world is filled with treasure chests, tropical islands, and pirates. Added to this are elements inspired by Japanese anime – characters with exaggerated features and intense, fast-paced animation.
The vibrant environments, challenging puzzles, and seamless physical interaction sets Zack and Wiki apart as a unique adventure game. |