As 2008 enters its final few days, the upstanding journalistic folks of the Associated Press have decided to take a huge ceremonial dump on what it believes are five of the very worst games of the year. Most of them are truly crap, but surprisingly the Wii's big E3 2008 showstopper Wii Music makes for quite a high profile target.
"In the age of Rock Band, using the Wiimote to mime playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" or "Yankee Doodle" just doesn't cut it," states the scathing article. "It's the most ill-conceived and poorly timed game in the stellar career of designer Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises. He'll come back."
Ouch! Nintendo games bore the brunt of the article, with not only Wii Music but CrossworDS getting a bollocking as well, accused of sloppy puzzle design that was "left to amateurs." A classic Wii minigame collection, Summer Sports: Paradise Island, rounded out the N-themed disasters, strung up as "yet another incompetently programmed rush job from the hacks at Destineer."
The Xbox 360 and the PS3 got off lightly in comparison, sharing the dual shame of Hail to the Chimp and Lost: Via Domus. The former was called a "substandard arena brawler in which it was nearly impossible to figure out which critter you were controlling," while Lost was likened to "computer-animated Internet fan fiction."
The article's worth reading for a laugh, but remember -- the crappy film licenses, substandard brawlers and endless pile of Wii minigame garbage will only keep on coming. Look forward to another list of pure sh*t next year.
Contest:
3:30 PM on 12.29.2008
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on the plus side with the never ending cascade of shitty games. the AVGN is always gonna have something to carve.
Plus, in this country the game comes in a nice spegial edition slip case. God i'm such a whore for thing's like that >.<
I've played music, recorded and performed music for over a decade, playing various instruments. I love music. I love playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
With that said, Wii Music is NOTHING like those games. It is wholly different and actually can teach a person a TON about music, if only the person has an ounce of creativity, feeling and intelligence. If you're super HARDXXXORE gamer that laughs at anything with more than two colors of the rainbow, then yeah, you'll walk away in ignorance trashing the game.
We wouldn't really expect much less, now would we? But for those that actually HAVE an attention span and an interest in the structure and subtle nature of music, Wii Music has a lot to dig into.
@dollrapist: I used to open to the suggestion that a game will be much deeper and more fun than it initially seems, but given Nintendo's track record with Wii games, I can't be that optimistic anymore.
Also, what the hell is with people's names on this site?
wii music is not a game it's a chance for people to learn music easily without pressure of winning or losing. people trash it based on comparison to Guitar Hero and many of them, probably havent played it considering it sold so little and they already had it in their mind that it sucked.
play the damn thing before you judge.
you probably were giggling like a little school girl when you saw this list Sterling just creaming your pants in anticipation to post it.
The most optimistic thing regarding the AP article is that NOA *might* sit up and notice the fact that the Associated Press are shitting over what they promoted heavily at E3. At the very least, Meaty Reg wouldn't be able to claim that Wii Music appeals to Nintendo's former base. Still, if it sells, they'll keep on churning it out.
There is just this accepted negativity and cynicism about any game that doesn't fit into the SHOOT AND KILL mold. The same people that will think that they actually "ROCK" and have talent playing Guitar Hero, will bash Wii Music, which truthfully to play well, and build your own song takes more nuance and insight into what music actually IS than Guitar Hero ever could convey.
I'm not bashing GH, cuz i dig that as well. Just illustrating that the overall attitude of websites and critics in the gaming world sadly are only representing the "quick-fix" ADHD crowd, because its WAAAAY easier to write to and communicate to.
It's easy to get a cheap and sick laugh, as opposed to make a real and cohesive point.
This is utter bullshit, and if you took half a second to actually think about it, you would likely see that. There are tons of well-liked, even massively successful (critically and/or with consumers) games that do not involve "SHOOT AND KILL." The fact that it has no violence in it has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with all the hate directed toward it.
Wii Music is a "lowest common denominator" game. In fact, it's not even a game, it's a plaything. A toy. I'm not saying that no one will ever have fun with it, but it's childish and extremely poorly thought out. "Waving your hands and playing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'" may only be part of the experience, but by God, that alone should inspire any sane gamer to laugh in its face. Perhaps if Nintendo hadn't introduced it to us as the Second Coming of Mario, it would be slightly less laughable.
And you've just showed your ignorance.
Hahahaha. Yes. What does "cut" it is pretending to be a rock star on a very expensive plastic guitar, staring at a 2x4 inch section of your massive TV.
It's all crap. Or it's all escapism.
Arguing rich-man's air guitar is better than rich-man's conducting, just just silly. Especially if you think you know what "Cuts" it in this world.
You speak wise words, sir.