Ho Ho Ho, ‘Tis the Season and all that. Nine out of ten priests agree that the best way to commemorate the birth of Our Saviour is to waste a few Goombas and maybe even Ridley, the resourceful leader of the Space Pirates from Metroid.

If you’re looking for a Wii to decorate the underside of your Christmas tree, best of luck to you. But if you do happen to be as lucky as a leprechaun or if you know someone who bought Nintendo’s latest system before everyone decided they wanted one, you’ll want a few good games just in case Wii Sports doesn’t enthrall you forever.

Metroid Prime 3 — The whole world already knows Samus is pretty bad-ass, and Metroid Prime 3 reinforces that fact with more of the same fighting and exploration that made the original Metroid Prime such a lovely title. What’s more, Samus is forced to battle her deadliest enemy yet–herself. Dun dun duuuun.

Super Mario Galaxy — When it comes to running and jumping, Mario is king. You wouldn’t think that fat little guy has the moves he does, but wow. Super Mario Galaxy tests Mario’s old abilities and gives him a few others; now he can blast through space, run around tiny planets and take on topsy-turvy upside-down enemies. He makes it look so easy.

Battalion Wars II — Battalion Wars is the spiritual successor to the Advance Wars line of strategy war games, though the battle commands are all given in real time versus turn-based increments. Goofy characters accompany some serious challenges as you command platoons of grunts, flamethrower veterans, bazooka-wielders and all the fun accessories that come with them.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn — The Fire Emblem series, on the other hand, is still turn-based and has been since its Famicom conception. The Wii installment does add some gameplay bonuses though, like the ability to save at pretty much any time; in other words, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn still subscribes to Nazi rules, but it’s a little gentler than usual. Of course, true to the spirit of Fire Emblem in general, if you lose your Pegasus knight because of one jackass archer equipped with a longbow, your My Little Pony princess ain’t coming back.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion – Frostbite and snow blindness aren’t the only medical emergencies that the doctors in frigid Alaska have to deal with. Using the Wii-mote, you can perform sutures, suction, and bandages to keep those patients alive. This sequel adds voice acting and more of the same ER-style intensity from the DS and Wii originals.

• December is X-Play Holiday Special Month
• Street Fighter IV’s Sexy Collector’s Edition Revealed
• New 360 Dashboard Update is Entirely Optional
• Spore Galactic Edition Beaming Down
• Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition Announced – XBOX 360 and PS3
• Limited Edition MGS4 Playstation 3 Model in the Works?
• MGS4 Final Box Art Revealed, Limited Edition Hardware Coming to North America
• Lair Price Drops, A Lot

No Comments » No comments yet. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.