Shacknews Biggest Surprise Game of 2017: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

When rumors spread early in 2017 that there would be a Mario and Rabbids crossover game, many Shackers were skeptical. Shacknews was delighted with our E3 2017 demo of the turn-based strategy game that we dubbed "Mario XCOM" around the virtual office. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle went on to win our Best Surprise of E3 2017 award. It should come as no surprise that Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle has been awarded the title of Shacknews Best Surprise Game of 2017.

The game has the trademark Rabbids humor and respectfully played within Mario's universe. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle exceeded our expectations. Nintendo also deserves some credit for trusting Ubisoft with their beloved hero. We can only hope that this will lead to further collaborations down the road. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle also gave us one of our favorite new video game characters of 2017, Rabbid Peach. 

We are delighted to award Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle the title of Shacknews Best Surprise Game of 2017.

Be sure to keep up with the rest of The Shacknews Awards as we celebrate the Year of the Games: 2017.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.