Wario Land Shake It:

This is the beautifuly animated 2D platformer on the Wii but if you are expecting something like Mario, well its not. This is not a fast moving, presicion jumping type of game, its more of a slow paced, get around obstacles type of game. The slower pace does take a while to get used to but as you play you will enjoy the variety in levels and types of "puzzles" they throw at you. Some make bad use of the wiimote, like aiming something to throw, or shaking the wiimote for practically everything. The game is rather easy if you just plan to get through it, enemies offer almost no challenge, there aren't any hard platforming bits. The challange of this game comes from doing the many in game missions, each level has certain goals you can accomplish like don't get hurt, don't touch water, get a certain amount of coins. If you plan to go for these then the game will take you a good amount of time, if not expect a 5 hour game.

I do admire the amount of secrets in each level, I never played a level one time and found everything. Its definetly a game that encourages replaying it but the question is would you want to. I don't know, nothing in this game feels that special, that different from any random solid platformer. The best part of the game are the boss fights, each very different from the last. Other than that its just a rather boring trek through a game that feels that it could have been done on a handheld. Now I am all for console 2D games but I do expect something more epic when it comes to this platform, I did not get that feeling at all. Its good, I can see some people really like it but it not being the precision type platformer Mario is and it being a rather hohum experience makes this game forgettable.

Overall Score: 7.2

Mega Man 9:

A dream come true, like a long lost NES game MM9 brings everything you loved in clasic MM games and puts it together in one game that is almost a celebration of everything Mega Man. The gameplay is at its core MM2, no powering of the mega buster, no slide, just shoot and jump. The only addition to that formula is the store mechanic from MM7 and 8, which is useful to help newcomers get through this difficult game.

It follows the same exact formula as the NES games, choose one of eight bosses to enter their level and at the end defeat them to take their power. These levels are some of the best the series has ever had, I think all of them have a certain type of puzzle or obstacle that is totally unique to the others. MM9 has the best level design in the series, it continues on past the bosses and into the Wily stages where it makes great use of the boss weapons. Speaking of these weapons, they are all very useful and the game makes sure to give you areas where every single one of them will have a moment to shine. I was blown away that this 9th game in the series felt so fresh, so polished, it really is right up there with MM2.

There maybe a slight issue with the initial difficulty of the game, for some reason it is very hard to start. I think its cause each level has some type of new obstacle that takes a while to get used to. Also not knowing the boss weaknesses makes the game a guessing game at first. But stick with it guys, as you play everything clicks and you notice its not that hard at all. MM9 is a bit short, some of the later MM games had more Wily levels, this one has about as much as MM2. To keep you coming back the game has extra modes like time trial complete with online rankings. The game has built in challenges which will test even the most hardcore MM players. For a fee you can unlock protoman and the fun as hell endless mode. Endless mode is a mode where you keep clearing screens until you die. The best part about it is that all the screens are new, its like having brand new MM mini-levels, they do start to repeat as you play over and over but its nice to have.

Overall MM9 is the ultimate MM game. I am not sure that it surpasses the genius that was MM2, I still feel that game had better enemies and music but MM9 is right up there. This is an instant classic that you can own without getting up, one of the best downloadable games ever made. Buy it now.

Overall Score: 9.2

Oblivion:

I am really late with this one so it will be super short. You have all played this game, you know what it is. I don't know if I ever put so many hours into a single player game like this, its like a single player MMO. It is so engrossing, so epic in size that you can't help but lose yourself in this world. I found the story to be good, many of the side quests were a ton of fun, the main quest has plenty of epic moments. The combat is much improved over Morrowind, its still not the best as fights can take too long at higher levels but it works. I don't care for the leveling system, I hate that all enemies scale with you. A lot of the world does feel like it was copy pasted, especially the dungeons, there are a few that are actually unique and those really stand out. If more of the game was like those few dungeons that offered unique puzzles and situation this would have been one of the best games ever but it falls short. It still offers over 200 hours of quality entertainment, easily one of the best games of this gen.

Overall Score: 9.5

And yes I know there is a review section but I feel these are too short for a proper review so I put them all together.