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    Default Games of the Wiik: Another GOTD Countdown

    With things finally calming down around here a bit, I finally have some time to rifle off some theme weeks of GOTD posts. This week, I'll be doing a brief retrospective on seven of my favorite games on Nintendo's Wii, which are games I think will carry some appeal for older players who were never super into the console in the first place. So, here will be 7 of my personal top Wii games!

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    Default Ghost Squad

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    Kicking the week off is an unappreciated little monster of a game, Sega's Ghost Squad, GHOST being a ridiculous acronym, of course... Global Humanitarian...um... ostrich stripper team? Anyway, don't confuse this as an attempt to do some kind of FPS with motion controls; Ghost Squad picks right up where Confidential Mission left off as the spiritual successor to the excellent Virtua Cop light gun games.

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    One of the best things about these Wii gun games is that they allow you to get your light gun fix on a modern TV if you so choose, which is a great thing. Ghost Squad definitely has that Sega flair for the genre as well, carrying over their typical three mission structure, multiple paths, and straight-forward shooting action. No complex scoring system or cover mechanics to force your feet into the action here; just fast paced gun play interspersed with the occasional short form mini game, like brief sniping segments, quick time events, or tower defense moments that last for seconds just for variety. The camera is always on the move, the stages offer constantly changing set pieces, and enemies keep coming from all angles.

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    If you've played any of Sega's light gun games, you pretty well know what you're getting into here. There are, however, a few wrinkles. You can select the fire mode of your gun to single, three round burst, or automatic fire, but you have limited ammo for fully auto in each stage. Unless you're trying to really go for a high accuracy run, the single fire is pointless, and you'll likely stick with burst most of the time. For special events and boss fights, you occasionally use a different weapon such as a rocket or grenade launcher, or a sniper rifle to clear the path in some stages. The game shows you which route you took, and clearing different routes gives you both upgrades to use in future plays and new, more challenging alternate routes through stages. This brings a lot of replay value to the game, making it a good time even in single player to see new areas and unlock new weapons and costumes. You always wanted to fight terrorism in a panda suit, right?

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    For a Sega gun game fan, there's a lot to like here, but there are a few fair criticisms that can be made. For one, it's easy. Like, really easy. You can fire a ton of rounds before needing to reload, and the three round burst is absurdly effective. Bosses are also much easier than most, especially compared to LA Machineguns or Confidential Mission, the first even being a glorified QTE. Also, during the river chase stage, enemies can be difficult to see against the color palettes of their vehicles. Still, this is more than made up for with smooth shooting, fun camera shots like hanging upside down from the ceiling, and tons more replay than most light gun games, as levelling up the stages themselves is possible, giving new exciting areas to prevent over familiarity.

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    If you like a good light gun game, Globetrotter Humping Ops Sensual Team Squad is a treat. It's a blast co-op, has party challenge modes, and the single player game brings surprising replay value along for the ride. It's a slam dunk, and currently costs next to nothing. Play it!
    Last edited by celerystalker; 09-13-2017 at 02:28 AM.

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    Default Games of the 'Wiik'?

    Well, now aren't you the clever one. :^p

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    Default Data East Arcade Classics

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    It's hard to get more "classic" than a compilation of vintage arcade games, and Data East Arcade Classics offers up a nice mix of well-known hits alongside some less popular, yet quality titles. Given the ubiquitous Namco Museums and Genesis compilations, it's a nice change of pace to dig into Data East's back catalog. It may not be as loaded with golden age point play classics like Atari, Taito, Namco, and Nintendo's respective catalogs, but Data East's output in the late '80s and early '90s is wonderfully representative of what made arcades exciting in those days- big, colorful sprites, loud music, and lots of punching bad guys in the dick. What's not to like?

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    So, being a compilation, what really matters here are the games. Included here are Burgertime, Super Real Darwin, Bad Dudes, Secret Agent, Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory, Street Hoop, Heavy Barrel, Magical Drop III, Two Crude Dudes, Caveman Ninja, Express Raider, Lock 'n Chase, Bump 'n Jump, Side Pocket, and Wizard Fire. Now, it'd take way too long to go over each game included here, so I'll just touch on a few favorites. Also, as a side note, Caveman Ninja is better known as Joe & Mac, and Secret Agent as Sly Spy. Hell, Secret Agent even vocally says "Sly Spy" on the "Secret Agent" title screen.

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    So, for Starters, Heavy Barrel. It's a top down run 'n gun that originally used rotary controls in the arcade. They were good enough here to use a twin stick mode with the nunchuck, which, while not the same, is far superior to the bullshit controls in SNK's compilations for their own rotary games. It feels slightly slow to me, as I have the actual arcade board as well, but not so much that it's a huge deal. It's a great game, although I personally prefer SNK's stuff. Burgertime is a bonafide classic, and helping a fatass chef make gigantic burgers while being accosted by weiners is a magical homophobic fever dream that's a blast to play for scores. Lock 'n Chase was a pretty popular Pac-alike, and Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja is basically Kung Fu on steroids and trickle down economics.

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    Those are probably the best known games here, but there are other winners as well. Street Hoop is like NBA Jam's angry cousin who refuses to get his GED, but can sure dunk! This game killed at my last tournament, and definitely got the trash talking amped up. Magical Drop III is a very fun puzzle game that offers a pretty unique experience compared to other games like Tetris, Columns, Bust a Move, Puyo Puyo, etc. I wish Money Puzzle exchanger was here instead, but Magical Drop is still great. Sly Spy is basically Bad Dudes starring James Bond, but it is very fun, and throws a little more variety in with swimming and motorcycle stages as well. Wizard Fire is a cool isometric beat 'em up that is actually a sequel to Gate of Doom, and Caveman Ninja is a good action/platformer in the Wonder Boy tradition.

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    There is a lot of fun to be had here. As well as you may know the handful of classics here, you may find you really dig a vertical shooter like Super Real Darwin with its bizarre DNA power up system, or maybe you just really like Side Pocket. I don't know why you would, but, hey, that's for you to know. As compilations go, Data East Arcade Classics feels very fresh to me in its variety of styles and in its containing a fresh set of games that hadn't yet been included on countless other discs. Sure, there's a bit of screen tearing here and there, but any Wii fan with a taste for classic arcade games needs this disc.
    Last edited by celerystalker; 09-14-2017 at 09:48 AM.

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Emperor Megas View Post
    Well, now aren't you the clever one. :^p
    I have to include a quota of puns and dad jokes in order to create an offset for the bevy of weiner jokes I'll inevitably use.

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    Default

    That Data East collection has been on my radar for a while. Bummed I didn't get it at its cheap 'new' price, cause now it is like 50 bucks.

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    Default Rooms: The Main Building

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    One of the real sleepers on the waggle box for me was Hudson's Rooms: The Main Building. An odd amalgamation of point and click adventure and sliding puzzle, it puts the player in a twisted magical world called Rooms Street. Trapped by a cryptic sentient book, you must solve the puzzle of each of the game's rooms via a combination of sliding room tiles and utilizing items and devices to reach the exit. Can you escape the rooms and get back home to reality?

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    Things start out simply enough, just requiring players to perform simple tasks like moving rooms, grabbing keys, and climbing ladders. However, soon enough wrinkles are added, including one way teleporters, flooding rooms, color coded locks, and more, gradually ramping up toward some pretty clever puzzles. You have unlimited lives in Rooms, so your reasoning takes far more relevance than your manual dexterity. Some puzzles do require timing as well as planning, though, which can create some nice intensity when you reach those rooms.

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    Each area has a number of paths to reach different rooms, and your goal is to reach the treasure chest areas on the map, where you will receive key items. These items are used in the overworld in simplistic point and click puzzles that advance tge story and unlock new areas. These segments are not particularly taxing, but they are nice window dressing to keep thegame cohesive while providing a nice diversion after a series of more intense puzzles. The graphics are basic in both areas of play, but have a nice steampunk/noir look that sets a mysterious, fun tone to kick back with. The music suits it well, too, adding to a comfortable, yet interesting atmosphere.

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    Rooms is not a hard game; what it offers is a relaxing, thoughtful experience I'd almost liken to sitting down with a logic puzzle book on a nice day. It does have a puzzle building, versus, and challenge puzzles to add to replay, not to mention a ranking for how few moves you took to solve each puzzle to keep you coming back for more. If you're looking for something to soak in on a weekend, fire it up! As a side note, there's also a DS game if you prefer to play portable. Anyone play this one?

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