The Great 2011 Holiday Haul

I get my jollies from finding games marked down like this. I actually scored this one for $14

Before I begin, I must clarify that by "holiday" I am referring from the month period between mid-December and mid-January. Truth be told, there was only one game waiting for me under the tree Christmas morning (Mario Kart 7), but I did acquire quite a number of titles with Christmas/birthday money and the after holiday sales. But enough of that, on to the games!

That's a lot of Wii games...

Amazingly enough, all of the games I purchased are not included in the above picture. Not pictured are Alice: Madness Returns, Shadows of the Damned, Rayman Origins (all three received from a sweet Twitter friend who works at EA Australia), Cursed Mountain (which I bought today), and Fatal Frame II, which is currently en route (an online order). Oh, and it's also worth noting that Sakura Wars~So Long, My Love~ was also given to me by another awesome Twitter friend who happened to have an extra copy. I cannot wait to try it out!

Out of all my purchases, I'm most excited for Little King's Story and The Legend of Starfy. I have been waiting to find a copy of Starfy new for $20 or less for ages now, and I got mine for $14! Oh, do I love a good deal. Little King's Story is quite hard to find in Australia these days, and I scored it for $13 used at an EB Games, but since I traded in the copy of Mario Kart Wii I got with my Wii console (sad, I know, but I don't think I'll play it now that I have MK7. Anyone want an extra Wii wheel, feel free to ask in the comments), I got it for free!

Endless Ocean 2, Cursed Mountain, and Rayman Origins are the only games I've played so far, and Rayman Origins is really the only one I've spent a significant amount of time with. I won't go into too much detail, but as I mentioned in a previous post, it's definitely one of my favorite games that came out in 2011!! As for Endless Ocean 2 and Cursed Mountain, I've only played about 1 hour of each, so I can't really give my impressions of those yet. With Endless Ocean 2 I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the above water sequences, and some of the goofy tasks it has you do, like fend off sharks with a signature Wiimote waggle. The scuba diving (which is the meat of the game, of course) is great fun, though. Cursed Mountain has a really great atmosphere so far, and I'm really digging the icy mountain setting. I'm a chicken when it comes to horror games, though, so I don't want to play it by myself, or in the dark! Way to ruin the mood, I know...

How come no one told me there was a Princess Apricot in Little King's Story?
Clearly she is going to be my new favorite character

So, I know it's a bit late, but did any of you get any games over the holidays, or make any game purchases that you've been enjoying lately? January's a good month to catch up on one's backlog, I think. So, what have you been spending your time with?

Wii on the Horizon

First of all, a very happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US! We don't have Thanksgiving here in Australia, of course, but that doesn't mean I can't be wistful for the turkey and cranberry sauce... The major holiday in November over here is Melbourne Cup Day, but with all the dressing up in expensive hats and betting on horses, I'd say it emphasizes few different priorities... 

But Thursday wasn't a normal day for me! Far from it –– this Thursday marked the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in Australia. Well, technically the street date was broken (yet again), so you could pick up the game if you preordered it as early as Tuesday, but I got mine yesterday (don't get me started on street date breaks in AU).

Pretty sleek, no? 

As most of you should know by now, there's one big hurdle I'll need to overcome before I can play my copy of Skyward Sword. Namely, I don't have a Wii! I know, I know, a little late to the party...

It's not exactly a question of "if" I'll get one, of course, but more like "when" –– I know there will be some holiday sales soon enough and I can't decide whether I want to hold out until they roll around in December or not! So many decisions! In the meantime, I asked some of you on Twitter what games you'd most recommend for the console, but I decided I'd like to open the floor up to everyone. First, let's see what games I'm most looking forward to playing...

Murasama: Demon Blade
Basically, all you have to do is utter the word "Vanillaware" and I'll be there. The company's amazing art direction (though the lead artist's penchant for bubble breasts and thunder thighs leaves something to be desired...) never ceases to take my breath away, even if I'm not always a huge fan of the gameplay. Murasama's focus Japanese mythology makes it a must-have in my book.

Resident Evil 4
I'm putting this sucker on the list because I know my husband would quite enjoy it. I saw a significant portion of the game played back when it came out for the PS2, but I'm really just awful at tense games where I'm required to shoot things. I've heard the Wii controls really shine in this game, so I would love to see my husband give it a go. Honorable mentions in the category of "games my husband and I can enjoy together" would be Donkey Kong Country Returns (can you believe he's never played the original?) and maybe House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return.

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: The Labyrinth of Forgotten Time

There are few video game animal mascots I love more than chocobos. Actually, probably the only thing I love more than chocobos are moogles (sense a pattern?). I've never gotten into the roguelike genre before, and figure chocobos and cute things might soften the potentially harsh blow the traditional roguelike might have (I'm really a wimp when it comes to games). Also, Cid's design in this Final Fantasy spin-off is pretty rad (right). 

Little King's Story

I'll be honest, I don't really know a whole lot about this game. But what I do know, I like, and this is definitely one of the top games on my "must pick up immediately" list. From what I've seen/heard, it seems like a Harvest Moon-type life simulator with some unique gameplay elements, and if that's the case, then I'm all for it! 

Rhythm Heaven Wii

I shouldn't need to say much about this one. I loved Rhythm Heaven on the DS, and it goes without saying that I'll pick up this next installment. Problem is, I'll have to get a big chunk of play time in before my husband gets his hands on it! If he gets half as obsessed with this one as he did the last, he won't stop until he's got gold medals on every song! We still find ourselves humming some of those tunes... 

I can't wait for this game

Well, of course there are many many more Wii titles I plan on picking up eventually, including classics such as Kirby's Epic Yarn and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (I've seen a significant portion of the first already, would rather experience Yoshi). Any titles you think I should add to my list? Let's hear your top Wii games!