Save the hardcore Wii!

By: Michael Carusi | October 23rd, 2009

Before anything else I know that “hardcore Wii” sounds like an oxymoron, given Nintendo is being showered with money due to titles like Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii.  Despite the Wii having an overwhelming casual audience, there is indeed a small sect of mature titles on Nintendo’s seventh generation machine, although unfortunately they tend to receive the least attention of all the games available for the console.  Since it seems fair to assume that most Gamer Limit readers are regular gamers, I’ve decided to shine some light on this group of titles in the hopes of a few people finding something that may interest them.  The makers definitely deserve to be supported and rewarded for their efforts.  Not only are these all well made games, but the publishers took an admirable risk in publishing mature titles for the Wii.

House of the Dead: Overkill – It may be a standard rail shooter, but the presentation of Overkill is what clinches it.  The game features a 70s exploitation film theme teaming up an uptight white cop and a street smart black cop to battle zomb-err, mutants.  You’ll mow down mutant clowns, nurses, football players, and even rednecks.  Fun trivia: Overkill holds the Guinness World Record for most swearing in a videogame, with 189 counts of the word “fuck” alone.

Madworld – Really, where can you go wrong with a city-wide brawl where the objective is to kill people in the most creative ways possible?  The black and white graphic novel feel exaggerates the massive spurts of blood caused from impaling people with signs, hurling them into giant grinders, holding their heads against trains, and just flat out pummeling them into the pavement.  It’s fun, frantic, and bloodthirsty enough to put Kill Bill to shame.

Dead Space Extraction – This was one I recently reviewed, and it probably ranks among my top ten favorite reviewed games.  It’s a rail shooter that feels more appropriate for a console than it would an actual arcade, and the Dead Space world is as enthralling as ever.  The experience even manages to be scary, which is impressive for a rail shooter.  This is also one of the best games I’ve ever seen on the Wii; the graphical downgrade from the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 is relatively minor.

No More Heroes -Suda51′s Wii debut delighted mature Wii owners everywhere, and with good reason.  A mature, stylish setting, fun combat and entertaining side missions that make great use of the Wii controls make No More Heroes entertaining despite some problems with the open world.   This seems like a particularly important one to mention since No More Heroes 2 is in the works.

The Conduit – Okay, okay, that’s being mean. I admire the ambition behind The Conduit but it serves as an example of trying to do too many things at once.  Speaking as someone who values narrative, the story almost seemed like a byproduct of the desire to create a mature game on the Wii.

The Wii may not have the litany of mature titles that its seventh generation counterparts have, but mature gamers can find fun if they look in the right places.  Dead Space Extraction or Madworld may not have the earth-shattering sales of something like Halo 3, but the developers of the titles on this list should be applauded for putting effort into these games.