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This made development for multiplatform releases a little tricky. Some developers opted to skip bringing their games to the platform altogether. Publishers were also known to commission separate developers from the mainline version of the game to develop the Wii edition. The end results across the board were certainly interesting.
7 Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
UbiSoft released Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands to coincide with the distribution of the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring film, released in May 2010. The game takes place between the first two entries of Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia trilogy. The Wii also got its own version of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, thanks to the team at UbiSoft Quebec.
This game should have been a complete disaster, but the reality exceeds expectations. It tells an interesting story that takes place in an ancient kingdom overrun by a malevolent force. The gameplay and controls were tailor-made for the Wii, providing some amazing platforming challenges. Also, the Prince has some entertaining banter with a genie that accompanies him along the way.
6 Transformers: Cybertron Adventures
High Moon Studios took on the Transformers franchise with a pair of games that tells the story of the War on Cybertron between the AutoBots and Decepticons. The first of these titles is Transformers: War for Cybertron, a third-person shooter where players can choose to fight alongside Optimus Prime or Megatron.
The Wii did not get War for Cybertron. Instead, it got Transformers: Cybertron Adventures from developer Next Level Games. Players can still fight for Optimus or Megatron, but rather than a third-person shooter, the game is a lightgun arcade shooter, a genre that experienced a renaissance on the Wii hardware, thanks to its pointer controls. Players automatically move through game environments while stopping to take cover and target baddies. Unfortunately, transforming at will is not an option, but vehicle segments do diversify the action.
5 Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop
This game earns its place on the list simply because of how bizarre it is. Dead Rising premiered on the Xbox 360 in 2006 as a technical showcase for the then-next-gen hardware, boasting hordes of zombies on-screen at one time. Photojournalist Frank West enters a shopping mall that acts as a playground to engage in all kinds of hilarious zombie carnage.
Dead Rising would eventually shamble its way onto the Wii in 2009 in the form of Dead Rising: Chop ‘Til You Drop. The decision to port the game to the underpowered, waggle-centric Wii was a perplexing one. Capcom and Tose certainly deserve credit for taking on the task, building upon the engine for the Wii version of Resident Evil 4, another horror game ported to the Wii hardware. Of course, some compromises were made to the final product, like limiting how much room players had to move around and fewer zombies on-screen at a time. It also has crazy cover art.
4 Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis was one of the big juggernaut franchises from Sega, having debuted with the first Virtua Tennis game in 1999. Future installments would appear on multiple consoles, including the Wii.
What makes Virtua Tennis 4 on the Wii stand out from the other titles on this list are its motion controls, no doubt inspired by Wii Sports. Apart from needing regular recalibration, swinging the Wii remote from a first-person perspective is an exhilarating experience. Hitting the ball gives a satisfying pop, and the game’s roster of professional players features some of the greats.
3 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by Lucas Arts provides the ultimate Sith power fantasy. The game follows Vader’s secret apprentice, codenamed Starkiller, as he slices and dices Jedi, Rebels, and Imperials alike with overpowered abilities. The game also tells the story of the rise of the Rebel Alliance, a concept being revisited in Andor on Disney+.
Duties for the Wii version of the game would be handed over to the late Krome Studios in Australia. For the most part, they succeeded. Swinging the Wii Remote swings the lightsaber, and flicking the nunchuck Force pushes foes. Flinging enemies around is a thrill, and blocking laser blasts by tilting the Wii remote makes one feel invincible.
2 Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
EA’s Harry Potter games take players through a loose interpretation of the events of the movies. The sixth entry unravels the story of Harry’s rival, Draco Malfoy, as he attempts his initiation into Voldemort’s Death Eaters. It also follows Harry as he and Dumbledore attempt to find a way to defeat Voldemort.
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The Wii version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is an “open-school” game where Harry can walk from one end of Hogwarts Castle to another in real-time with no loading screens. The fact that the Wii can handle this kind of technical feat is impressive on its own. The Wii-exclusive motion controls also add a touch of magic to the experience, allowing the use of gestures to cast spells and brew potions.
1 Call Of Duty Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition
One of Activision-Blizzard’s big juggernauts is the FPS series Call of Duty. The series experienced a shakeup in 2007 with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which changed the setting to a modern-day conflict in the Middle East.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare would later come to the Wii in the form of Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition, which is a miracle on its own. Of course, the weaker hardware required that the graphics be scaled back, but other than that, it works fairly well with the pointer controls, just as long as the sensor bar is picking up the Wii remote.
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