The Wii U just launched a few weeks back, and we’ve already pulled together a list of our top ten favorite Wii U games of 2012. Now that we’re in 2013, there’s a whole lot of excellent stuff to look forward to as well. Keep in mind that this list only includes titles that are officially confirmed for Wii U. As the year progresses, even more games will be announced, and some of the games listed may end up cancelled or worse – turn out to be duds. But for now, we’ve got high hopes for Nintendo’s shiny new console, and these are the games we’re most excited about.
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Aliens: Colonial Marines (Release Date: Quarter 1, 2013) |
| Hailed as a true sequel to the Alien franchise, with a story taking place after Alien 3 and picking up with the plot in James Cameron’s Aliens, Colonial Marines looks like a thriller that we can’t wait to play. Colonial Marines is a first-person shooter developed by Gearbox (Borderlands, Brothers in Arms, also worked on ports of Halo, Half-Life, and Counter Strike), with a story written by writers from the television series Battlestar Galactica and using concept art from the original Alien trilogy. 20th Century Fox has confirmed that Colonial Marines is official canon to the Alien series. If just those little tidbits don’t have FPS and sci-fi fans salivating for this game, just check out the trailer below. Releasing in February for Xbox 360 and PS3, Nintendo has listed Colonial Marines for a Q1 Wii U release. |
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Rayman Legends (Release Date: February 26, 2013) |
| The bright, colorful, and amazingly fun Rayman Origins was a sleeper hit on the Wii. Praised for it’s excellent platforming and brilliant art design, it scored well with the critics. And while we’ve heard that sales weren’t quite as high as they should have been, thankfully Ubisoft was willing to give Rayman another chance with Legends as a Wii U exclusive. With crisper graphics and even more variety in levels, as well as adding rhythm based levels and even more co-op action, we are certainly excited for Rayman Legends. It’s also the only game on this list with a confirmed release date, meaning that it’s only a few weeks’ wait to start playing our most anticipated games on 2013. |
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Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate (Release Date: TBA March 2013) |
| Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii was a fan favorite and even sold moderately well here in America. Well, at least enough for Capcom to give the Wii U upgrade a chance next March. Fans have been drooling over screenshots and trailers since it was first announced a few months ago, and thankfully North America won’t have to hold out too much longer, as the game is scheduled to be released in March. |
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Lego City: Undercover (Release Date: TBA, Early 2013) |
| The licensed Lego games developed by TT Games have gained a solid reputation as being fun, family-friendly affairs with a quirky sense of humor and great co-op play. Undercover takes a step away from licensed franchises and presents an original world based on the City playsets starring Chase McCain. Since the game is being published by Nintendo, Undercover looks to be one of the biggest and most polished Lego games yet. While we haven’t had a chance to get our hands on a playable build yet, what we’ve seen in demos and trailers certainly has us excited. |
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The Wonderful 101 (Release Date: TBA, Early 2013) |
| Introduced at E3 2012 as “Project P-100″, The Wonderful 101 takes the strategy genre and mixes in 100 different super heroes, which, when combined, can form powerful different special attacks. We had a chance to play the game at E3, and frankly, we are incredibly excited for this one. First off, it’s developed by Platinum Games, known currently for titles like Bayonetta, MadWorld, and the DS RPG Infinite Space. Before that, many of the team at Platinum were part of Clover Studio at Capcom, responsible for classics such as Viewtiful Joe and Okami. That said, we’re excited for anything that they announce, and The Wonderful 101 is no exception. It was announced as being a “launch window” title for Wii U, meaning we will hopefully see this sometime before March 2013. |
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Toki Tori 2 (Release Date: TBA, Early 2013) |
| The original Toki Tori was an adorable puzzle/platformer for the Game Boy Color (GBC). Released late in the lifespan of the aging handheld, it went on to be a favorite here at NintendoDude (alongside the equally amazing latecomer to the GBC, Shantae). A WiiWare remake was released a few years back with greatly cleaned up graphics and a few new puzzles and items, but it still retained much of the charm of the original game. Toki Tori 2 is throws brand new puzzle mechanics and new items and looks to add a whole new level of puzzle insanity, while keeping all of that cute, fluffy charm. Originally scheduled to be released close to Wii U launch, Toki Tori 2 was given a slight delay so the developer could give the game another layer of polish, which is fine by us. That said, they still anticipate the game to be releasing soon, so the wait for this one won’t be too much longer. |
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Pikmin 3 (Release Date: Spring 2013) |
| Nintendo’s strategy game featuring adorable creatures called Pikmin was an instant hit when it launched on the GameCube. It spawned a sequel that improved on the original in every way, including an added multiplayer component. When the Wii launched, Nintendo re-released both Pikmin games with enhanced Wii controls for even more precision. At E3, we spent a few minutes with Pikmin 3, and while the game is prettier than ever, it was the smooth controls and the idea of local co-op that has us most excited. This one is also considered a “launch window” title, so expect Pikmin 3 sometime before March. |
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Two Brothers (Release Date: TBA 2013) |
| This indie RPG was originally introduced to the world through Kickstarter as a project for PC, Xbox 360. The game is heavily inspired by classic action/RPGs of the past, especially of the NES, SNES, and Game Boy era. With heavy emphasis on the Game Boy. In fact, the developers of the game fully intended to re-create a world that looks like it could have existed on the original monochromatic handheld, but loaded with features that we’ve come to expect in a modern game. The story revolves around the titular two brothers and their quest to bring color to the world. Any time a developer throws around words like “Zelda”, “Earthbound”, and “Fire Emblem” when talking about inspiration, and even goes so far as to create a display booth designed to look like a giant Game Boy, retro fans will turn their collective heads. Oh, and yeah, this game is coming to the Wii U eShop sometime later this year. Definitely. Excited. |
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The Cave (Release Date: TBA, Early 2013) |
| Ron Gilbert. Tim Schafer. If those two names don’t ring a bell with you, either you are too young to know any better, or you must have missed out on some of the funniest adventure games ever created. Long story short, these two men were part of the brains behind the insanely humorous point-and-click adventure games Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle and the Monkey Island games (among others…) When LucasArts shuttered plans for more adventure games, Tim went on to form Double Fine Productions where we got games like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend. Ron Gilbert went on to make the riotous DeathSpank among other pursuits. Anyways, now Tim and Ron are back working together on a brand new adventure game called The Cave. It’s coming to the Wii U early this year, and on pedigree alone, we seriously can’t wait for this one. |
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Bayonetta 2 (Release Date: TBA) |
| In a surprise curveball no one could have predicted, hardcore action game Bayonetta 2 is getting a sequel. On Wii U. Published by Nintendo. In fact, word on the street is that if Nintendo hadn’t stepped in, the project might not have ever happened. Either way, we’re excited. While we won’t be providing a full review of the original (we only cover Nintendo games), we can heartily say that Bayonetta is a blast to play, and an off-the-wall (but welcome) choice to be published by Nintendo. It’s loaded with over-the-top violence, innuendo, religious themes, and pretty much everything else Nintendo has managed to avoid pretty much since the original NES. That’s probably why we’re so excited for it, because it’s a marked change in how Nintendo does business with third-party developers, and hopefully it’s a sign of even more good things to come. While Bayonetta 2 hasn’t been confirmed for 2013, we’re still excited for it, even if it doesn’t arrive until 2014. |
The Most Anticipated 3DS Games of 2013
This list only includes games that have been officially confirmed for release on Wii U. Did we miss one of the games you’re looking forward to? Disagree with our list? Let us know in the comments below!
