Nintendo E3 '09 Conference

Wow... just wow. This has been an amazing year for E3 so far. So how did Nintendo fare? Well, I'll leave it to my list of hilghlights to answer that.

 

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

 

My hype factor: 9.5/10

 

Flash back a couple years. "New Super Mario Bros." comes out for the DS, and long-time 2-D Mario fans everywhere are pleased. Now comes E3 '09, and a new game on that idea has been announced for the Wii. With all the features of older games, NSMBW has gone for the throat of the co-op community with the ability to play with 4 people simultaneously. It looks incredibly fun, though a little hectic at times. This will hit shelves around the Holidays this year; and expect it to rake in a huge amount of money for Nintendo.

 

Wii Sports Resort + Wii Motion Plus

 

My hype factor: 8.5/10

 

The Wii Motion Plus. A Wiimote attachment that will turn the Wii into what it was supposed to be. Every tiny movement will be read by this device, and you'll see the effects on-screen. This will be bundled with Wii Sports Resort, the sequel to the amazing game. Expect it to be just as fun as the original. This hits shelves on June 27, I believe (it may have been July)

 

Kingdom Hearts Wii

 

My hype factor: 10/10

 

Very little was shown; but what was shown was incredible. We even got a glimpse at a four-player split-screen mode. All your favorite characters are back, and some new faces have surfaced as well. Keep an eye on this game.

 

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

 

My hype factor: 8/10

 

Coming to North America and Europe this fall, another Mario & Luigi game. Another RPG. If you haven't tried the Mario & Luigi series yet, now's your chance. We weren't shown much, but it looks to be similar to the earlier Mario & Luigi titles.

 

Golden Sun DS

 

My hype factor: 10/10

 

After lying in wait for six years, the epic Golden Sun RPG franchise has surfaced again, this time on the DS. All we were shown was about fifteen seconds of gameplay, but it looks a lot like the Golden Sun we all know and love. Or, at least some of us know.

 

Super Mario Galaxy 2

 

My hype factor: 10/10

 

What is there to say? More Galaxy. More Mario. More Rosalina. And also Yoshi. I'm definitely getting this one. Expect this to hit stores early/mid 2010.

 

The Conduit

 

My hype factor: 9/10

 

Now THIS, I didn't see coming. Not once until E3 did I hear ANYTHING about this game. A Halo-esque FPS that looks, surprisingly, good. :o I'll be keeping an eye on this hidden gem.

 

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

 

My hype factor: 9/10

 

Again, not much else to say. This follows Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield in another of their adventures. Seems to be more similar to RE4, but with more of the feel of the older RE games.

 

Metriod: Other M

 

My hype factor: >9000/10

 

The Team Ninja intro shows. A blonde woman walks around some people in military outfits, and walks up to a man. The man looks at her and says, "Any objections, Lady?" That's when I knew this was a Metroid game; that woman was Samus Aran, and the man was Adam Malkovich. :D I'll admit; I was shrieking like a little girl when I saw this.

If I had to only pick one of all of these games, of both Nintendo and Microsoft, this would be it. Nintendo had been criticized recently for having few violent, more mature-oriented games. So, what do you do? You give Retro Studios the boot, and call in Team Ninja. Yes, Team Ninja. The guys that gave us Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Other M was shown to have many different styIes of gameplay; from 2-D action, to first-person shooting, to third-person action. The influence of Team Ninja is clearly shown in the action sequences. This is the must-buy for the Wii, I can already tell.

 

My only disappointments were a lack on details of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, lack of details on Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, and no sign of a new Zelda game for the Wii.

 

So, with all that, I believe Nintendo had just as good, if not better of a conference than Microsoft had. Sony will need a miracle to top these.