Margaret Weis Productions

Written by Jamie Chambers, based on the television series by Eric Kripke.

35 page PDF, available free from www.rpgnow.com and elsewhere.

The Hunt Begins is an introductory kit for the Supernatural RPG from Margaret Weis Productions, which also holds the license for the Serenity RPG. Margaret Weis is a longstanding and well-respected name in the industry (dating back to the Dragonlance series of games and books) and it will be interesting to see whether this business model proves successful – there are numerous games which could be used to recreate a Supernatural-like game and one wonders who will is intended to be the target market for this system. Presumably it will be fans of the Supernatural TV show who might be lured into RPG playing through seeing the opportunity of playing their heroes (or playing with them, in the case of some fanfic writers). This poses something of a conundrum for writers and game designers who wish to hold the interest of the more serious gamer by providing a full range of 21st century RPG design technology while not putting off the newcomer with jargon and complexity. I hope it all works out for them (I collect my salary for teaching business so of course I hope everyone is successful, preferably after an extensive and expensive education).

Many people will be familiar with the Supernatural show, which at the time of writing is just entering into its fifth and presumably final series. It focuses on two young men, brothers, named Sam and Dean Winchester who follow their father into the family business of ending the existence of all kinds of monsters, beasties and ghoulies that litter mainland USA (Dean has a fear of flying and the show makes much use of the iconic car in which the brothers customarily travel). As the show has progressed, Sam and Dean have leveled up and found themselves able to kill increasingly powerful creatures, including a variety of demons. As the fifth series begins, they are set to confront Lucifer, who has risen from his ancient prison largely because the boys screwed up their previous campaign. The early shows had a fairly formulaic but successful format reminiscent of early X-Files before all that silly alien abduction stuff took over. In this format, the attention of the brothers would be drawn to the manifestation of a supernatural creature and they drive to the nearby town in the car, a 1967 Impala for those who care about such things, all the while pumping out at loud volume selections from Dean’s execrable music taste, as inherited from his father (Carry on, my wayward son indeed). Once in the town, they do a bit of ‘research,’ masquerade as FBI agents, priests or some other trusted individuals until such time as they are ready to confront the ghost, ghoul or werewolf, which they then use violence or occult knowledge or both to destroy. All the while, they stay in a succession of fairly grim motels and try to enliven their lives with junk food and possibly exploitative relationships with young women more or less desperate to escape the dreary mundane misery of small town America. So, a few jokes, some recurring minor characters, a lot of creative destruction and the progress towards the boss monster at the end of the level/series and there you are. This format continued until the fourth series, when the overarching Lucifer plot took centre stage (although there was still space for some jokey standalone episodes to be slipped in to the schedule, which is something quite impossible for British programs which have much shorter runs and aim, not always successfully, to make every minute count). No doubt Wikipedia or some such similar site has a list of all the episodes and events for players who need more information or inspiration.

So, in The Hunt Begins, we are introduced to the Cortex system (a proprietorial RPG system of the production company) and encouraged to form a new group of hunters to participate in the introductory scenario, “Of Wolf and Man,” about which all that really needs to be said can be guessed from the title. The Cortex system involves a range of different types of dice that RPG players will already own but newcomers presumably will not and the usual set of attributes, traits, abilities and so forth. Tasks are allotted a target number and characters must reach this with the dice they have allocated to the relevant score and any bonuses that might apply. There is scope for botching the roll and some guidance for combat and so forth. An example of play is provided for those who might benefit from such a thing.

No RPG rules system is perfect, of course: there are so many these days and they tend to include the kinds of features that the Cortex system involves. One problem of the approach is that players try to use the attribute or trait or special ability in which they might have specialized in order to achieve any particular objective. Since games designers these days have become as generous as the organizers of the kind of sports day for six year olds which are planned to make everyone to feel good about their personal prowess and in which everyone receives an equally valuable prize, this means every character is likely to pass every target all the time and it becomes frustrating and surprising to fail – at least for experienced players. It’s all a far cry from the early days of Traveller, for example, when it became something of an achievement just to survive character generation without death or major, crippling injury. I blame Oprah.

Players are encouraged to use role-playing by being awarded ‘plot points’ which can be used for second chances at dice throwing or some other benefit in play. In a group of players ready and able to work with each other at role-playing, this can be quite effective. Then again, it is possible to say that about any group – good play transcends the rules generally speaking.

Is it possible to create a satisfying feeling of horror when playing the game? Again, the answer depends on the group and its interaction to a significant extent. There do not seem to be any innovative features such as the loss of humanity mechanism for vampires that might promote consideration of the tropes of the genre (although I have not of course seen the full version of the game). Creating the wise-cracking, vaguely misogynistic feeling of the show would not be too difficult but the combat-heavy resolution of most of the early episodes might lead to a reductionist approach at the table (I roll, I miss; monster rolls, monster hits you etc). In these cases, there is a need for a skilful GM to lend the necessary colour to the scene.

On the whole, this is a professionally produced game that deserves some success and, best of all, is not overrun with needless internal illustrations. Let’s see if it resonates with the public – marketing issues (e.g. distribution, personal selling, point-of-sales support and so forth) are likely to be influential here. Perhaps Sam and Dean can be induced to permit a little product placement.

Become a fan of Heros of Newerth on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/heroesofnewerth

Step 2

Click on the Discussions tab

Step 3

You can look through all the discussions, most will probably help you get a free beta key. The discussion that I read and followed was FREE BETA KEYS GIVEAWAY, by Evgenij All.

The Method I Used

I got my free beta key by completing a few steps which were worth the free key. The person giving out the beta keys owns a social networking site (www.VK.com), and in compensation of joining his social networking site, Evgenij would email the beta key within a half hour (all you had to do was sign up, and email him with a link to the profile, your name and email address). He was true to his word and I received the beta key no more than an hour after creating a profile on his social networking site. It isn’t a scam or anything, it’s an actual social networking site, very similar to Facebook in it’s layout. 

Good Luck

I hope this method works out for you, or that you can find another method in the discussions on the Facebook page of Heros of Newerth. If you find any other good methods, why not post them in the comments so others can benefit too? Don’t post any scams or fraudulent links, I will delete those immediately. Thanks!

As any gamer worth his salt is aware, Modern Warfare 2 has hit the shelves and it didn’t stay there long. Wives and girlfriends have been mourning the loss of their men to the new first person shooter and with good reason.

The game has been receiving pretty good reviews across the board and, up until now, everything was going well with the launch. I did hear one report of the police being called because of the sound of gunfire, but I don’t really think we can blame that on anyone but paranoid neighbours.

The PS3 players have been unable to play the multiplayer version of the game because of a networking problem by Demonware, How long do they think the average gamer spends on the single player of a FPS? You need the first level to get used to that controls. After that the story line may as well be about coke addicted dragons for all anyone cares.

Demonware, an Irish based networking company, were meant to be handling the PS3’s Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer servers but a day after the launch the servers are already down and they’re feeling the heat from Activision.

It’s being reported that there is no programming error with the servers themselves, they were just not prepared for the traffic. Apparently, Demonware don’t read a lot of gamer forums. Even my mother, and this is saying something, new about Modern Warfare 2 coming out.

More bandwidth is to be added to the servers and they should be coming back online gradually. There may be some smaller problems while they add more to it but the majority of the playerbase should be fine. The PS3 owners will no doubt forget their anger when they finally get back into the fray.

Something tells me that Demonware won’t be getting of the hook that easily though. For the launch of Modern Warfare 2 to be this badly planned? That’s not going to go down well. When your audience is de-sensitized from violent games and have the taste of blood from their short encounter with the single player campaign? It’s a bad idea to anger them.

The game is based upon an imaginary war between the US and Russia.  The player acts as either an American or British soldier taking on missions.  It’s a first-person shooter game.  The game can be played individually or with a multi-player online function.  It is the sixth game in the Call of Duty series.  It’s a direct sequel to the fourth in the set Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare.   

The graphics in the game are excellent.  In fact, they are so good that it’s shocking, literally.  Today’s games are a far cry from games of the past.  In the early days of video games, a “bad guy” being shot looked like a stick falling onto the ground.  If the “bad guy” was laying on the ground, he was dead.  It was understood.  Today, in a number of video games including the new Call of Duty, a dead “bad guy” looks, well, startlingly dead.  He’s laying in a pool of blood and there’s a very realistic atmosphere to it.  Additionally, people are playing them on high-definition TVs with surround sound.  It creates a dream situation for gamers.  Unfortunately, it intensifies it for opposers. 

Far and away, the single most controversial episode in the game involves an airport scene where the player has to decide whether or not they want to participate in a mass killing to keep their cover with a Russian terrorist group.  The victims are civilians in an airport terminal.  Many people in both the public and the media are outraged by the scene, claiming it to be disgustingly violent and trivialising terrorism.  Some went as far as accusing that the scene was added specifically to create controversy.  Controversial games are reported in the media, thereby garnering free publicity. 

On the other hand, the game contains a special warning prior to the player entering this scene.  Also, there is an option which allows it to be skipped altogether.  Video game creators are caught between a rock and a hard place, to an extent.  Adding scenes such as this one are bound to disturb and anger some people.  Excluding the same scenes can leave some purchasers asking for more and feeling cheated by the game.  If Call of Duty decided against using this scene and taming down the game, it is possible that they could lose part of their fan-base which craves this type of entertainment.  Their competitors are certainly creating equally graphic and inhumane scenes.  Anyone who’s played the latest Grand Theft Auto can confirm.    

The game itself carries a warning label, too, on the outside of the box.  It’s rated M for mature which means that persons under the age of 17 are not allowed to buy the game.  At 18 years of age, some of the boys playing the game could be living through similar scenarios in real life with a military career.  Label ratings are enforced by the video game industry as a whole, but it’s an impossible task, when the purchasing is done by the parents.  A number of the parents buying this game and others like it are oblivious to its content.  This simply cannot be blamed on the video game or its manufacturer. 

Defenders claim:  it’s fictional and equivalent to watching a gory movie, it contains warning labels, it is adult entertainment and adults are free to choose what they want to play.  Opposers claim:  it is unnecessarily violent, it is much more involved than simply watching a movie, it creates a virtual world where rules that apply in reality are not adhered to, sending poor messages to both children and adult players.  It seems to me that everyone is right.  It is unnecessarily violent, but it is adult entertainment.  If you don’t like it, then don’t participate.  If you don’t want your kids to play, don’t buy it, although no one is with their kids 24/7 and they probably would play at a friend’s house. 

Perhaps the true problem lies in the old adage:  Ignorance is bliss.  When I was a kid and the “bad guys” fell to the ground, me and my friends thought it was great.  We had no idea that one day there would be high-tech games like this on the market.  We were content with what was available.  As computer technology expands, each new game on the market is going to have better graphics and more realistic surroundings.  The gaming companies will continually try to one-up each other with different scenarios and storylines.  The fact is that the Atari days are long gone and it’s only going to continue in the direction it’s going, like it or not, especially when the companies involved are making $310 million dollars in a single day.

This game is every conspiracy theorist’s wet dream turned into a first person shooter. It’s Doom meets the X-files, complete with David Duchovny as the main character. In this game you play as some kind of colorfully armored biohazard responder at area 51 where, surprise surprise, alien monsters are running amok. Apparently some super-scientist has let one of the genetic monsters loose in the base, and it’s spreading a virus that infects humans, turning them into more monsters, so in that respect it’s similar to Resident Evil. You start out with a team of buddies that are unkillable, when their not in a cut scene, who like to joke around. These guys make the first part of the game easy which is good because it gives you a chance to get used to the controls. You can just hang back, saving your ammo, while your invincible friends do the fighting. Predictably your teammates are killed off by a very big monster that you know is going to be a boss later on which officially ends the tutorial section. You get your butt kicked and end up infected with the virus. This is where the game gets both fun and trippy as you enter “monster vision” and run around killing fellow monsters and strange soldiers with your claws and weird tendril things you shoot out of your hands which restore your health. You start hearing voices and begin transforming back and forth between a human and a monster as you seek out a cure to the virus, and a means of escape from the base.

The weapons in this game are few, but varied. You start out with a pistol and soon get a rifle. You get grenades, a shot gun, and later on a few alien weapons including a rocket launcher which has very little ammo and a strange energy gun which can bounce off of walls to get enemies behind cover. You also get a few chances to mount some kind of weapon platforms and mow down enemies as they pour out at you.

The levels are all pretty interesting and add to the atmosphere of mystery and paranoia. You check out weapon testing areas, dissected alien space crafts, and even the studio where they filmed the moon landing. To add to the sense of just what goes on at area 51, you can collect little bits of information by scanning it with your wrist gauntlet. This gives you information on oddities that you find, as well as scan in notes and files that will wet your conspiratorial appetites. If you get all of the items in a level, you unlock a short video segment in which one of the two scientists you meet in the game talk about their mad experiments.

Of course every game has its flaws, and area 51 is no exception. For starters the story is confusing to say the least. Even after beating it several times, I’m still not to clear on what’s going on in this game. There’s no real explanation as to why you have control of yourself after being infected by the virus when no one else does. You do get partially disinfected at a point, but up until then the only reason I can think of is the creepy alien who communicates with you every now and again having something to do with it. The entire crisis started when one of the scientists intentionally released one of the mutant monsters in the facility, but didn‘t try to leave himself, all to get revenge on the organization. I guess you could just say that he is crazy to potentially endanger the entire human race like this, but he‘s supposed to be brilliant and it seems like a really stupid thing to do in my book. The game also introduces characters with out any real explanation of what’s going on. You run into another hazmat team, a giant alien in a jar, uninfected people still in the place. And there isn’t really any reason for the government to send in a four man hazard team into a facility the size of a city overrun with mutant monsters that want to kill us.

Another problem is repetition. Although some of the alien weapons are neat, you won’t get them until much later in the game, and will mostly use the guns you get on the second level: riffle and a shotgun. There isn’t much variety to the enemies in this game either. The first levels consist of infected people and head crabs. Latter on you run into more interesting creatures and black ops fellows, but once you go mutant, you can usually tear these guys apart pretty easily. In the last few levels you run into the grey aliens who hide behind a shield while producing black ops guys to attack you until you kill them

Still, area 51 is a good rental for any X files fan. The level designs are clever and immersive, and all the little tidbits give you a feeling of, “this is the stuff they don’t want me to know.” it’s only real replay value is in finding all of the hidden items to scan, or to try and make better sense of the plot.

The goal of the game is to get a five star park. As your popularity increases, you can unlock a new dig-site to access three new dinosaur species. Unfortunately you can only unlock 3 dig sites out of nine, and the first one is predetermined by the game. Each dig-site unlocks 3 dinosaur species, so you are limited to nine species of dinosaurs for your park. This problem is amplified by the fact that you can only have a set number of dinosaurs in the park at any given time, and they can’t breed. This is because they are all female which is from the movie, but it is a bit of a headache to have to constantly replenish your supply of animals manually. Even in the alternate game mode, site B in which there is no park, you have to constantly create dinosaurs manually rather than try to create a balanced ecosystem between predators and prey, which I think would have been a very interesting game mechanic.

Better dinosaurs attract more people which makes your park more popular. You also have to deal with keeping your park clean, and animals healthy which can be a chore until you research auto immunization and all the vaccines. Otherwise your animals become sick and you have to select them and order your helicopter to cure them, if you have the cure researched. Another constant hassle is the weather. It changes between seasons, but none of it really affects you other than the tornadoes which tear through your park, kill animals and people, and damage your buildings. This can be very annoying if you just spent a fortune on a pack of raptors only to have them sucked up to the land of OZ. Another frustration is when one of your animals goes on a rampage. This happens in the raptors so often I’m convinced it’s a glitch. This happens when your animals become stressed, they go crazy, kill any nearby animals, and destroy the fence. If you don’t react quickly they will eat the guests before they collapse and die.

The game does have a few other game modes in which you either take certain photographs from a jeep, kill rampaging beasts from a helicopter, or muster a herd of herbivores with a helicopter. There are also a few special parks in which you have a specific goal to meet such as get a good rating within a time limit or get a photo worth a certain amount of points. Despite all of this, the game only really comes down to doing one of two things: either breeding a bunch of carnivores and letting them loose to eat your visitors, or to zoom in on your favorite dinosaur and watch it like a peaceful nature show. Actually playing the game to make a five star park seems a pointless and unrewarding chore. Once you’ve unlocked the three dig sites you’ve chosen and bred all nine dinosaurs, there’s really no incentive to get a five star rating. There is also a limit to everything you can build which further limits your options.

This isn’t an exciting action game, and I can only really recommend it for dinosaur fans such as myself who can enjoy watching dinosaurs just walking around and grazing. The game does have a very relaxing soundtrack, and this game can put you to sleep if you let it.

Sure, Nintendo consoles get some M rated games time from time.  Nintendo 64 had games like Perfect Dark, Turok, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day.  GameCube had Resident Evil 4, Eternal Darkness, and Killer 7.  And Wii has Madworld, No More Heroes, and House of the Dead.  But you look at the piss poor sales for most of these games, minus the mediocre sales of Resident Evil 4, and you’ll see that most Nintendo fans are just zombies who keep moaning “Marioooo, Mariooooo, Marrioooooo” because they only want to keep playing Mario games and nothing else.  The Conduit, Madworld, and No More Heroes all sold terrible. Conker’s Bad Fur Day sold terrible on Nintendo 64.  Perfect Dark didn’t even sell that well on N64.  Killer 7 sold like garbage on the GameCube.  I know we are in a recession, and you can’t buy every good game on the market.  But instead of buying Super Mario Bros Wii, how about you act your age and get something more mature instead of trying to relive the days of owning an NES and SNES.  That’s all these Nintendo fans are doing.  They keep praying and hoping that Nintendo will create games that will make them love gaming again just like when they were 6 years old.

Well sorry kid.  You’re not 6 anymore.  Nintendo turning the Metroid series into a Halo wannabe isn’t impressing any adult gamers.  Your friends think you’re a loser for owning a stack of Mario games while they play Madden.  Majority of adult Nintendo gamers, and there aren’t many of them because not everyone is a loser, are usually big time nerds.  Adult Nintendo gamers like to flex their nerd muscles and memorize system specs of each of the competing consoles so they can argue over who is more powerful on message boards to make themselves feel smarter since everyone in real life thinks they’re dumbasses.

The Wii is the least powerful graphics wise.  It has the worst online gaming of the 3 consoles.  It has the least 3rd party support of all the systems. And it has the least hardcore first party software out of all of Nintendo’s consoles.  And the only reason adult Nintendo gamers hang on to their Wii’s is because of the virtual console.  The virtual console was put on the Wii because Nintendo knows their fans are a bunch of dorks who don’t want to act their age and only relive the past.  These dorks buy Zelda games every few years just because their clinging on to that branch of hope that it’ll be the next Ocarina of Time.  Instead of clinging onto Nintendo to help you relive your childhood, maybe you should go to a bar, cling on some breasts, and get laid.  I’m not talking about the women that most Nintendo fans date or marry.  Those women are ususally pretty ugly compared.  I’m saying, lose some weight, and get a girl with some double D breasts.

In the past year, tons of games have been released for the Nintendo DS and we’ve seen the introduction of the Nintendo DSi. Notable DS game releases this year include The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s Stardust Accelerator and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, but let’s start the countdown and see what you’ll be buying this holiday season!

#10 – Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

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Last year in 2008, Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 came in at #10 on our Top 10 list. This year, even though Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Stardust Accelerator was highly up for consideration, it unfortunately DID NOT make the Top 10 list this time around, mainly due to a very short single-player game mode.

This year, the 10th spot on the list goes to Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. In this turn-based game based upon the Paper Mario series, players collect items and use Skill Points (SP) in order to be able to use different attacks in battle. Also, various badges can be worn to obtain bonuses such as HP-recovery and an increase of Attack Power. Bowser’s Inside Story doesn’t really have any multiplayer components, so its replayability is limited. However, the storyline of the game, as well as the RPG aspects of it, are more than enough to warrant its position on the list.

#9 – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

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Last year in 2008, Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals made it on the list at #9, but this year, it didn’t make the list at all.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky came in at #9, due to the amount of strategic play required in order to master it. In this 5th incarnation of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, players have to once again travel throughout the land to different dungeons, where they will attempt to reach the dungeon master and defeat it in order to further the storyline. Like before, there are tons of items and attacks available for easing the player’s journey through the various dungeons. As far as multiplayer goes, the same applies as before, with your friends being able to revive you in a dungeon if you faint. Although the multiplayer part of this game isn’t as strong as we’d like it to be, it’s still good value for your money.

#8 – Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

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Last year in 2008, Custom Robo Arena made it on the list at #8. Since then, it has been bumped off the list entirely.

Holding on at #8 this year is a game that’s not necessarily advised for younger audiences. In the Grand Theft Auto series of games, you take control of a criminal or mobster, and you have to complete various missions in order to advance the main storyline. In general, the games are a mixture of action, adventure and role-playing. Although most players criticize that this series of games contain high amounts of violence and adult themes, the overall storylines are often well-thought-out by the developers. In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, players can use the DS’ microphone and touch screen to perform various tasks, such as using their PDA and GPS, and even whistling for taxi cabs. It’s definitely a game suited towards older video game players, but it makes it on our list due to the amount of complexity the developers included.

#7 – Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

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Last year in 2008, Mario Party DS came in at #7. However, it did not make the Top 10 list this year.

The Kingdom Hearts series makes its Top 10 debut this year with 358/2 Days coming in at #7 on the list. Much like in previous versions of the series, this game focuses on traversing through a plethora of Disney worlds, in which the player must progress through in order to advance the story. Battles with enemies are turn-based, but are very strategic, with players being able to customize their characters’ attacks, items, and magic spells to suit their liking. As Square Enix developed the game, you will notice a high similarity in the way battles are conducted, compared to the Final Fantasy series. Included in 358/2 Days are 3D action sequences showcasing the capability of the DS to play short movie clips, similar to those of the PSP. Of course, the graphics aren’t as top-notch as compared to the PSP, but they’re not lousy either by any means of the word. There are also both cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. With the amount of content included in this latest installment of the Kingdom Hearts series, you would be doing yourself a disfavor if you didn’t at least try out the game.

#6 – Metroid Prime Hunters

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Last year in 2008, Mario Kart DS dropped in at #6 on our Top 10 list. This year in 2009, Mario Kart DS has been bumped up a notch to #5.

Dropping in at #6 this time around is Metroid Prime Hunters, a game that was considered, but left out, of last year’s Top 10 Nintendo DS list. The Metroid Prime series has always been known for its amazing first-person shooter (FPS) capabilities, and this game stays true to the entire franchise. Even though it was released in 2006, it’s still one of the best FPS games available for the Nintendo DS, mainly due to its graphics, online multiplayer capability, and immersive storyline. Once again, players control Samus Aran as they attempt to defeat other bounty hunters and aid the Galactic Federation. There are a variety of different weapons, environments and missions in the game, so you won’t be disappointed with the amount of replayability in this title.

#5 – Mario Kart DS

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Last year in 2008, Kirby Super Star Ultra made it in at #5. This year, Kirby just couldn’t reach the Top 10.

Moving up a notch from #6 last year to #5 this year is Mario Kart DS, arguably one of the best racing games currently available to DS owners. Just like with Mario Kart Wii, players attempt to outrace their opponents on a variety of different racetracks, each equipped with their own quirks and hazards. Different items appear on each track that will either help the player or hinder their foe. You can also choose between a multitude of available characters and vehicles. Mario Kart DS is best known for its replayability with friends over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Even though it was released in 2005, it’s still one of the Top 10 Nintendo DS games as of 2009.

#4 – New Super Mario Bros.

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Last year in 2008, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia crept up to 4th position on the list. This year, it didn’t make the list at all.

It’s a blast from the past as New Super Mario Bros. makes its list debut at #4 this year. Following the typical storyline of Bowser capturing Peach, the player controls Mario through side-scrolling levels in an attempt to outwit his famous Koopa foe yet once again. In this classic remake of the original Mario games, Mario can break open blocks, collect coins, and use powerful items or stomping maneuvers to defeat his enemies. With a total of 80 levels available through 8 completely different worlds, the New Super Mario Bros. definitely comes in as a must-have single-player game for the Nintendo DS. There are also a variety of mini-games available for some unique multiplayer action.

#3 – Pokémon Platinum Version

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Last year in 2008, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift kicked off the Top 3 Nintendo DS games. This year, it just couldn’t keep up, and was left off the list.

It was the #1 game on our 2008 list, but has since slightly moved up to #3. That’s right. We’re talking about Pokémon Platinum Version, the latest installment in the Pokémon handheld series. After it made its debut in March of this year, Pokémon Platinum sold over 800,000 copies within the first 9 days of its release in the United States. Following the storyline of Diamond and Pearl, tech-savvy players who purchase Platinum will notice several in-game differences, such as updated graphics, a faster battle system, and an enhanced drawn-out storyline. The biggest noticeable differences come with the premiere of the Battle Frontier, the new Wi-Fi Plaza, and the VS. Recorder for keeping saved battle videos.

Aside from that, you’ll also enjoy the brand new Distortion World, which throws game physics right out the window. Pokémon Platinum also for the first time introduces the distribution of Key Items over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, where players can get exclusive items such as Oak’s Letter (for catching Shaymin), without actually having to go to Toys R’ Us to have it manually downloaded to their Pokémon game cartridge.

If you’re a fan of the Pokémon series, where you pit creatures against other creatures in turn-based battles in order to see whose battle strategy will win out in the end, then Pokémon Platinum is the game for you. And with great music, graphics and strategic value, that’s why it comes in at #3 on our Top 10 list of 2009!

#2 – The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

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Last year in 2008, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was the 2nd best Nintendo DS game out on store shelves. This year, Phantom Hourglass amazingly retains its 2nd place spot on the list.

Although it came out 2 years ago in 2007, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is still on our list, and it’s still in the same position as it was last year, at #2, beating Pokémon Platinum only slightly due to the creative use of the DS’ touch screen and microphone.

In this first exciting installment of the Zelda series for the Nintendo DS, you control Link as you traverse through various dungeons in order to save Princess Zelda, also known as Tetra. Link has access to a variety of different weapons and items in order to help him through his quest. Throughout the adventure, you’ll have to solve creative puzzles, face immense bosses, and even master the use of a boat. What has kept Phantom Hourglass from dropping to a higher position on the list is the fact that it uses the DS’ abilities in a way which has seldom been seen in other DS games. For instance, in order to advance, you might need to yell into the microphone to get someone’s attention, or you may need to close the DS and open it up again in order to see an entirely different view on your situation.

Phantom Hourglass is the best of both worlds. It’s a puzzle game, so you’ll need to use your brain to figure out dungeon mysteries, but it’s also an action-adventure game, so you won’t be bored to death. Even if you’re not a Zelda fan, you’ll be surprised at the amount of content included in this game.

#1 – The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

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And finally, as you all remember, Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum used to hold the title for the #1 Nintendo DS game as of 2008. Unfortunately, those games just could not hold on to that spot, so we have a BRAND NEW best-seller Nintendo DS game at #1!

This year in 2009, Zelda has dominated our list of the Top 10 2009 Nintendo DS Games. With Phantom Hourglass at #2 on our 2009 list, it’s only fitting that its popular 2009 sequel hold the position of #1 on our list. Coming in as the #1 Best Seller Nintendo DS game of 2009 as reported by IGN, the #1 game making its premiere on our 2009 list is The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks!

The highly popular sequel to Phantom Hourglass, Link must drive a train equipped with a powerful cannon as he travels across the land. He’s also now able to take control of a Phantom Guardian with the help of Tetra’s spirit, which will be required in order to solve key dungeon puzzles. One hundred years after the events of Phantom Hourglass, Tetra’s spirit has been separated from her body, and it’s up to Link to save her once again. New puzzles, new weapons, new environments, and even more humor than ever before, all combine to make Spirit Tracks the perfect Christmas present for the son or daughter in your family!

Other Great DS Games

In particular, many Nintendo gamers might wonder why I’ve left out a couple of other good games on this Top 10 DS Games List. I’ve tried my best to write a list incorporating what I believe are the best games of the system as of 2009, based upon gameplay, graphics, sound, storyline and replayability. If you believe there’s another good DS game that’s worth being mentioned, feel free to post a comment to my article and let everyone else know.

And that concludes our Top 10 Nintendo DS games list for 2009! I’d like to thank everyone for their suggestions, and I’d especially like to thank the game designers for creating such masterful pieces of both single-player and multiplayer gameplay!

Next year, we look forward to the SPECIAL PREMIERE of Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver, as well as the debut of Golden Sun to the Nintendo DS! I’ll see you back here in exactly 1 year for another brand new exciting episode of Top 10 Nintendo DS Games! Until then, remember that video games are developed for the people who play them, so keep on playing and game designers will keep on developing! See you in 2010 everyone!

In the past year, not much has changed regarding Nintendo’s latest home-based gaming system. Its price has dropped considerably to only $199 U.S. and many of last year’s best games remain on this year’s list. Notable Wii game releases this year include Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but let’s start the countdown and see what you’ll be buying this holiday season!

#10 – Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

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Last year in 2008, Pokémon Battle Revolution held on at #10. It has since been bumped off the Top 10 list entirely.

This year at the 10th spot on the list is a sequel to one of the most unique sports games released for the Wii. You probably remember Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Well, this game is a sequel to that, obviously to commemorate the 2010 Winter Olympics. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter games, players take control of one of many Nintendo or Sega characters and compete against each other in a variety of authentic events seen in the actual Olympics. Players can use the WiiBalance Board for some of the events as well. This game offers both cooperative and competitive game modes for intense multiplayer action. Also, the 2010 Winter Olympics will share in the royalties from this game’s sales, so you can feel good about purchasing it.

#9 – Wii Sports Resort

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Last year in 2008, Mario Party 8 took a #9 position on the list. This year, it’s no longer a Top 10 Nintendo Wii game.

At #9 this time around, Wii Sports Resort takes the spot. This sequel to the classic Wii Sports that came out in November 2006, Wii Sports Resort offers even more games to enhance your playing lifestyle. Classics like Bowling and Golf return, but are accompanied by brand new events such as Basketball, Archery, Frisbee, Swordplay, Power Cruising and many more. Players can also use the new WiiMotion-Plus accessory to even further enhance their precision movements with the Wii Remote, so there are no more frustrating putter swings like in the old Wii Sports. It’s definitely a fun and enjoyable experience for the whole family.

#8 – Super Paper Mario

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Last year in 2008, Mario Super Sluggers remained strong at #8. This year, it has dropped off the list. Taking its place is Super Paper Mario, which dropped a bit from its 3rd place position in 2008.

This third incarnation of the Paper Mario series focuses on Mario’s ability to take out Count Bleckas he attempts to prevent our hero from obtaining the 8 pure hearts that will put a stop to his evil plan of complete world domination. Old fans of the series will have to adjust to the new real-time battles included in the game, but with plenty of unique items, tons of different Wii Remote action commands, and a storyline which will take you laughing till the very end, Super Paper Mario is still a Top 10 Nintendo Wii game as of 2009!

#7 – Super Mario Galaxy

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Last year in 2008, Super Mario Strikers Charged was the 7th most popular game on our Top 10 list. Now, it’s no longer a Top 10 game, and its position now holds Super Mario Galaxy.

It was voted the best game of 2007, it was the #1 game on our Top 10 Wii list of 2008, and it’s still part of our Top 10 list of 2009. Super Mario Galaxy really puts the Wii’s ATI Radeon card to the test for graphics capabilities. Our hero must once again defeat evil king Bowser, but to do so, he’ll need to travel from planet to planet as he obtains stars that will power the ultimate spaceship to reach Bowser andsave Princess Peach. If you’re looking for an awesome single-player game, Super Mario Galaxy is definitely worth purchasing.

#6 – Mario Kart Wii

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Last year in 2008, Animal Crossing: City Folk made its debut at #6. It’s no longer a Top 10 Wii game, and Mario Kart Wii takes its place, moving up slightly from #4 on last year’s list.

In Mario Kart Wii, only the ultimate racer will prevail in this console’s most exciting and strategic competitive racing game. Place your Wii Remote inside the included Wii Wheel andtake a spin around a multitude of different racing tracks as you attempt to outrace your competition. You can even pick up items along the track that will help your performance and hinder your opponents’ chances of crossing the finish line in one piece. And prepare to take your competitiveness online as you challenge opponents across the world using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Are you truly the ultimate kart racer?

#5 – Metroid Prime: Trilogy

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Last year in 2008, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess kicked off the Top 5 games for the Wii. In 2009, Twilight Princess just didn’t make the cut and was removed from the list.

Fans of first-person shooters had their jaws drop this August when Metroid Prime: Trilogy hit store shelves. Retro Studios managed to include Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and MetroidPrime 3: Corruption on a single dual-layer video game disc. With shorter loading times, updated graphics, new playing controls and an immersive story, Metroid Prime: Trilogy will keep you shooting your enemies for hours on end. Although Metroid Prime 3: Corruption lacks multiplayercapability, I think you’ll still be happy with this special 3-game collector’s set in your Wii library.

#4 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up

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Last year in 2008, Mario Kart Wii came in at #4. Since then, it has moved up two spots to #6.

We’ve all seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward on the CW4Kids. With a brand new TMNTseries coming to Nickelodeon in 2012, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up is definitely a game that will keep you in front of your television set. Just like withthe Super Smash Bros. series of games, your objective in Smash-Up is to knock your opponents off the stage or lower their HP to zero in order to advance from one level to the next. With various battle modes such as Tournament, Arcade, Battle Royale, Mission and Survival, there’s plenty of replayability in this Wiititle. With the capability for 4-player online competitive battles, Smash-Up is the next-best game to Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

#3 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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Speaking of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it has moved up one spot on our list from last year, knocking Super Paper Mario into 8th place.

It’s the most intense multiplayer fighting game currently out on the Nintendo Wii, even beating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up. In the single-player story mode, you’ll have to advance from one level to the next as you attempt to stop the Subspace Emissary from taking over the universe. There will be intense battles, lots of items to pick up, anda level of graphics that only rival those of Super Mario Galaxy. With plenty of characters to choose from, a plethora of different stages to fight on, and numerous gaming modes to sink your teeth into, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is still 2-years-running the best multiplayer game for the Wii.

#2 – The Conduit

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Last year in 2008, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the 2nd best game of the year for the Nintendo Wii. Over the course of the entire year, it has only moved up one spot on the list to #3.

Sitting pretty at #2 is a game that focuses upon the alien invasion of Washington D.C. in the near future. The Drudge is an alien race that will use subspace conduits to stop at nothing in order to conquer humanity. It’s up to you to use your superior weapons and tactical skills to take them down. And with a visual experience similar to those of games seen on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t switched over to the Wiimonths ago. With up to 12 players trying to shoot each other down online over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and plenty of weapons and environments to choose from, The Conduit is definitely the best online shooting game currently available for the Wii.

#1 – New Super Mario Bros. Wii

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And finally, as you all remember, Super Mario Galaxy used to hold the title for the #1 Nintendo Wii game as of 2008. Unfortunately, it just could not hold on to that spot, and it moved up to 7th position on the list, which means we have a BRAND NEW game at #1!

There are those of us who prefer to stick to playing classic titles, as opposed to newfangled first-person shooters. When it comes to classics, Nintendo is not one to disappoint. When Mario first made his debut on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, it was a huge success for Nintendo. Decades later, we see the revival of a classic NES title in all of its glory. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the first Super Mario game to actually feature simultaneous cooperative multiplayer, where up to 4 players can team up to take down Bowser’s minions and once again save Princess Peach from the evil Koopa’s claws. New items such as the Ice Flower and the Propeller Suit will keep you one step ahead of your foes and will be need to be used strategically in order to advance between levels. Even though it lacks online multiplayer, the revival of a true classic in New Super Mario Bros. Wii definitely earns it the #1 spot on our list of Top 10 Nintendo Wii games as of 2009!

Other Great Wii Games

In particular, many Nintendo gamers might wonder why I’ve left out a couple of other good games on this Top 10 Wii Games List. I’ve tried my best to write a list incorporating what I believe are the best games of the system as of 2009, based upon gameplay, graphics, sound, storyline and replayability. If you believe there’s another good Wiigame that’s worth being mentioned, feel free to post a comment to my article and let everyone else know.

And that concludes our Top 10 Nintendo Wii games list for 2009! I’d like to thank everyone for their suggestions, andI’d especially like to thank the game designers for creating such masterful pieces of both single-player and multiplayer gameplay!

Next year, we look forward to Super Mario Galaxy 2, Star Wars: Battlefront III, Red Steel 2, Metroid: Other M, a brandnew Legend of Zelda, and of course, many other exciting titles as well! I’ll see you back here in exactly 1 year for another brand new exciting episode of Top 10 Nintendo Wii Games! Until then, remember that video games are developed for the people who play them, so keep on playing and game designers will keep on developing! See you in 2010 everyone!

That’s all there is to it, to be honest. The gameplay is almost identical to previous Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, save for perhaps a few more unlockable items (in the form of photos, videos and tracks concerning the band’s career). Guitar Hero’s “Star Power” is replaced by “Beatle Mania” but it works in the same way and the system for the star ratings is easier to see but exposes itself as being as flawed as the points system (the cumulative multipliers still ensure that you’re more likely to score highly if you cock up in earlier in a song than later). The graphics are a little improved, with enough detailing on the band’s faces to see who’s who in an endearingly stylised way with some nice changes over time as they age, and there are some fabulous cut scenes and psychedelic backgrounds to ensure the visuals maintain the same charm as the music. In fact sometimes the visuals are too much: one can’t very easily play and watch the pretty pictures at the same time, but presumably these are added more for the game’s capacity as a party game than for solo enjoyment, giving others in the room something to watch. The resulting experience is a little bit like playing through both the “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Yellow Submarine” films but without the humour, sometimes leaving me pining for the films themselves.

Unfortunately all these pretty extras come at a cost: the story mode is criminally short with only 45 songs to play (compared with the 80 or so on similar recent titles), and though the decision to group songs chronologically rather than by difficulty is cute but ensures that most of the songs are pretty easy, leaving no learning curve. The different difficulties could have made up for this if they weren’t so disparate: Medium is uniformly easy, hard is uniformly hard. So does the rest of the game make up for it? Well almost. Of course if you like the general format and you like the Beatles, you’re going to enjoy it, even I’ll admit it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also more than a little disappointing. The short soundtrack means that lots of real classics are removed: Help, Eleanor Rigby, Strawberry Fields Forever and All You Need is Love, among others, are missing, despite the latter being referenced a dozen times in the cut scenes and unlockables. Presumably these will appear on downloadable content eventually, for those willing to spend even more money on tracks that are already in their CD collections. In terms of Beatles history it’s also heavily sanitised, early band members are neatly omitted, for example, so purist are likely to be disappointed too. To keep players going, the game throws in achievements awards for anything and everything, from calibrating your machine to playing bass left handed, though there seems to be some faults in the achievement system: my copy would award me for things I hadn’t done on some occasions and on others would award me with nameless achievements, though I can’t tell whether this was a problem with my copy alone or with the game’s design.

It may not be quite the sublime experience suggested by title, but it’s still a very enjoyable game, a brilliant concept strengthened by some stunning visuals, and if you’re not smiling as you strum through “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “I Am the Walrus” and “Dear Prudence” there’s something very wrong with you.