I took a look at D3’s upcoming Wii games for 2009. When I saw the list of games they were showing I was unenthused, but they have some surprisingly promising games.
Ben 10: Alien Force - Vilgax Attacks was a big surprise. There have been two Ben 10 games for the Wii, based on the cartoon series, and they were both unexceptional 2D brawlers. So I was shocked to see Vilgax was a Tomb Raider-style 3D action adventure game. Ben has the ability to transform into a variety of alien creatures with various abilities like wall climbing or gliding, and must use these abilities to fight enemies and solve puzzles. The game is pretty good looking and the part I played through was quite fun. I find myself surprisingly eager to play this when it comes out. Planned release date: October 2009.
The Secret Saturdays: Beasts of the 5th Sun is a 2D platformer based on yet another cartoon series I’ve never heard of. The most interesting aspect of the game is the player's ability to take control of weird creatures called “cryptids.” Some cryptids control machinery that blocks your path, in which case you can stun one to turn off the machine. Some fly, so you can take control, move them to where you need them and use them as grappling points to swing across chasms by a rope. I’m always leery of licensed titles, but the game actually seemed pretty fun. Planned release date: Fall 2009.
Family Party: 30 Great Games: Outdoor Fun struck me as a rather underwhelming collection of mini-games. I remember last year D3 showed me the first game in the series, Family Party: 30 Great Games, but never bothered to send me the game when they released it, so I don’t think I have to worry about this one. Planned release date: September 22, 2009.
Astro Boy: The Video Game bears a strong visual resemblance to the terrific Game Boy Advance title Astro Boy: Omega Factor, with the same platformer/brawler design and the same cool weapons. But the best part of Omega Factor was the game's intricate story, something that we cannot expect from this game, which is based on a movie and which, like most movie-based games, will offer not a story so much as it will cut scenes that remind you of things from the movie. Still, the controls and level design seem solid so this will probably be a pretty decent game.
