Chatty: Diablo III, Dragon's Dogma
FileShack: Unity of Command, Skyjacker
Daily Filter: Planetside 2, Deadlight
Weekend PC digital deals: strategy-o-rama
38 Studios, Harry Potter Kinect - Shacknews Daily: May 25, 2012
Best of 2010 Awards: Wii Exclusive
by Shack Staff, Dec 29, 2010 7:00pm PSTWii Exclusive: Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby's Epic Yarn wove itself into gamers' hearts this year with its syrupy-sweet fabric-based visuals and decidedly unpunishing difficulty. Bead-collection, hidden items, and creative level-design help keep more experienced gamers engaged, but young kids and those who don't usually game will also find themselves hard-pressed not to have tons of fun with the little pink hero. Kirby's shape-shifting abilities keep the action fresh, and optional mini-game-based levels do a lot to extend the experience.
Some might see the game's completely nonthreatening nature as somewhat of a detractor, but we think that's really one of Epic Yarn's best qualities. Rare is the game that is inviting to both long-time gamers and newcomers, and that spans generational appeal. Kirby's Epic Yarn's wide appeal, accessibility, and unique visual style are a few of the main reasons why it gets our best Wii game nod for 2010.
Runner-up: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2 had to meet some pretty high expectations in order to dethrone its predecessor. Luckily for gamers, Mario's latest galactic adventure was able to take its winning 3D plat-formula to new heights with the introduction of some new game mechanics, and oodles of levels in which to utilize them. Sometimes, it's better to just straighten out some spokes than try to reinvent the wheel, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 iterates on Mario's prior outing enough to outclass most of its competition.
Nominees: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Monster Hunter Tri, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, and GoldenEye 007
[Wii is part of Shacknews Best of 2010 Awards. For more information, including selection methodology, see this introduction.]
Comments
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 10 replies.
I thought it was a fun game but SO simplistic. Literally about all you could do was stick out your tongue to grab enemies and jump. The platforming was incredibly easy and you couldn't die at all. The shape-shifting was awesome, but usually didn't last that long and wasn't on every single level. There were also a limited amount of things to shift into.
My biggest disappointment was the lack of any real puzzles. From the trailers I thought that unzipping parts of the world would lead to clever puzzles. Instead, it was just grab this incredibly obvious thing to unzip a platform that will be incredibly easy to jump onto and never really got any more complicated than that.
I think it's a fun game for kids with a great art style, but don't understand why that constitutes being better than Galaxy. Being accessible to kids is cool and all, but generally doesn't garner game of the year status. Adults generally want at least some challenge. I think Mario is still accessible to a young age, but provides enough challenge for adults.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.