Every year goes by and fewer and fewer homes have Wiis. The staggering sales numbers prove time and time again that the Wii is what families want for their console of choice. But what to get the gamer in your life who only owns a Wii? Fear not, our holiday Wii gamer guide is here to help!



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Action Fans: Dead Space Extraction and MadWorld

Less of a rail shooter and sometimes dubbed “a guided first person experience,” gamers can immerse themselves in expanding universe of Dead Space with Dead Space: Extraction. Set before the events of the original Dead Space, gamers fight off hordes of Necromorphs–re-animated dead corpses of humans–after the Red Marker is removed.

Sporting some amazing graphics for the Wii, it also has some puzzles to change up the pace of the action, and multiple pathways. Players will can pick up and play this title with little or no experience in the Dead Space universe thanks to the accessible storyline and intuitive controls. Dead Space: Extraction is a great entry to the survival horror genre.

Despite its critical acclaim, DS:E had less than stellar sales, but that shouldn’t stop you from gifting this to your favorite Wii owner.



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Not to be confused with the Tears for Fears song of a similar name, MadWorld is another mature title for the Wii that undeservingly saw less than stellar sales. MadWorld has a unique starkly contrasted black, white and red all over art style that can only be found in films and comics like Sin City. Nothing says “Happy Holidays!” like some delicious chainsaw mutilations and impalement.

While heavy on the style, MadWorld is also not shy of some amazing action and gameplay. Despite being incredibly fun and a relatively new release, MadWorld can be found for a mere $20 at most retailers. Be sure to pick up a copy for your loved geeks this holiday season.

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Role-Playing Fans : Final Fantasy



If it ain’t broke…

Thanks to the virtual console, gamers can enjoy the RPG that not only saved Square from extinction, but also permanently placed them on every gamer’s maps.

The original Final Fantasy is not only perfect for nostalgic gamers, but it’s great for retro gamers, or just gamers who need to know their roots.



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Shooter Fans: The Conduit

The Conduit isn’t a port. It doesn’t suck. The Conduit delivers on both an exciting and engaging single-player campaign, but also a pretty well thought out multiplayer component.

The Conduit may deliver the same old story of the first person shooter genre–man has gun… must kill aliens–but it does it well showing off a very impressive 3D engine with some excellent lighting and texture effects. One of the best parts of The Conduit, you can tinker the controls to EXACTLY how you like them.

The Conduit might not be something to write home about if you have any other consoles, but if you or the person you are purchasing for only has a Wii, then The Conduit is a must own game.



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Platformer: New Super Mario Bros. Wii



Finally Nintendo took the winning Mario formula and added simultaneous cooperative play. It is also the testing ground for Sigeru Miyamoto’s “Super Guide” system. If a player fails in-game challenges over eight times in a row, they have the option to let the computer guide them through. Putting these two features together creates one of the best cooperative experiences to hit consoles this holiday season. Gamers old and new will be giggling in delight at their screens once again.



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Family: Wii Sports Resort



Wii Motion Plus made Wii Sports Resort all the more enjoyable than the original Wii Sports with it’s 1:1 detection ratio (meaning, when you swing your arm in real life, you swing on the screen at the exact same time in the exact same motion. No more delay!). Fencing, archery, wakeboarding, table tennis, golf, bowling, canoeing, and…. need I go on? This title is an excellent family romp that will be great to play when any relative comes to visit during the holiday. It might not be a bad way to work the tryptophan out of the system, too.

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Stocking Stuffers (Great Games For $20 Or Less):





Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Swords and Soldiers, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Excitebike: World Rally, Secret of Mana, Super Metroid



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Games that Wii fans should have:





Metroid Prime Trilogy, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mega Man 2, Super Mario RPG