GregHowley.com

As any devotee of video gaming is aware, the most recent generation of game systems includes the XBox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii on the console front, the PSP and Nintendo DS on the handheld front, and of course the PC. With the exception of XBox 360 and PSP, I game on all these platforms. The only systems generally regarded as "Next-Gen" are the XBox 360 and Playstation 3. And although I have a real problem with the term "Next-Generation", since all these consoles are now current generation, I'll use it here to illustrate a point. The XBox 360 and Playstation 3 are the only consoles with high-definition display, and although the PC has had even higher definition graphics for years, graphics seem to be the game industry's only benchmark for what constitutes "next-gen".

I disagree.

Take a look at the Nintendo Wii. It's the only real console competition to the 360 and PS3, if you don't count the PS2, which is still selling amazingly well. The Wii is less expensive and has games geared towards a much wider audience, which is certainly part of why it's sold so well. But it doesn't sport high-definition graphics. Still, when I think of the best games I've played over the past year or so, they're nearly all games I've played on Nintendo platforms. Orange Box is the only exception that comes to mind, and I played that on a PC.

First, let's look at No More Heroes, a Wii game. Anyone who played Killer 7 knows that the game's creator Suda51 is INSANE, but that doesn't change the fact that No More Heroes is a lot of fun. So what exactly is it that serves to make the game fun? I'll tell you what - it's not the amazing graphics.

Firstly, it was the game's off-beat sense of humor. Crude at times, but always funny. Next, the innovative combat system. Holding the wiimote in either an upright or horizontal position determines angle of attack, and the incorporation of wiimote gestures for death blows and wrestling moves somehow makes it feel like a real battle. The need to recharge your beam katana and use of the wiimote's speaker as a cell phone are also nice touches. In short, Suda51's game is great because it's so very different, and the Wii's controls allow it to be so. This type of game simply could not have been made on the 360 or PS3.

Next, another very innovative game: The World Ends With You. I saw a blog article recently entitled How Can We Do It Differently? which enumerates the things that really differentiate the game.

1. Two Screen Combat: The combat takes place over two screens, with both party members fighting the same enemies asynchronously.
2. Separate Input Modes: The bottom screen character is controlled entirely by the stylus, the top one by the control pad.
3. Rhythmic Combat: To fight effectively, you must chain combos rhythmically between the two screens.
4. Elemental Spectra: Instead of the usual fire/water/thunder/etc RPG elements, TWEWY has positive/negative/neutral elements.
5. Trend Bonuses: Wearing pins that are trendy in a particular region of Shibuya nets combat bonuses.
6. Trend Setting: Wearing pins in an area will also gradually make that brand trendier.
7. Befriend Shopkeepers: Buying from the same shopkeeper frequently will unlock the hidden abilities of certain outfits.
8. Digestion: Eating food nets small stat bonuses, but it must be gradually digested in combat.
9. Reading Minds: You can read people’s minds, and often must do so to advance the story.
10. Implanting Ideas: You can implant ideas into people’s minds, which is also used to advance the story.
11. Fight When You Want: All regular combat is player initiated.
12. Run When You Want: You can escape from any normal fight at any time.
13. Mingle Mode: You can leave your DS in "mingle mode" and receive XP bonuses when another DS is wirelessly detected, even if they’re playing a different game.
14. Custom Shops: If you detect another player playing TWEWY while in mingle mode, you will be able to buy pins and items from their custom shop (and vice versa.)
15. Away Time: You get XP bonuses for time spent not playing the game for up to 7 days.
16. Controllable Difficulty: You can switch between easy/normal/hard difficulty at any time. Playing on harder difficulties simply nets you better loot from enemies.
17. Controllable Level: Your character’s level is on a slider, and can be adjusted at between fights. Fighting as a level 1 when you’re really level 20 nets you big drop bonuses.
18. Chaining Enemies: You can choose to fight more monsters in a row to increase the likelihood of pins dropping.
19. Shared HP Bar: The shared HP bar is double sided; the top player takes damage from the top, the bottom player from the bottom.
20. Integrated Minigame: Every attack pin in the game doubles in a surprisingly fun minigame called Tin Pin Slammer.

tWEWY is one of the most complex RPGs I've ever played, but the fact that the complexity is layered on very slowly and the fact that most of that complexity can be ignored with no gameplay hindrance makes the game accessible. Is the Nintendo DS "Next-Gen"? Not many people would argue that it is. But it leverages a number of the same flavors of innovation that have worked for the Wii. It's got a stylus, two screens, and a microphone, all of which are used to excellent effect in many Nintendo games. And another of the strengths of the DS is that you can play most of its games in 5-10 minute stretches. Many times I've fired up the DS for a single MarioKart race, a quick Puzzle Quest battle, or a quick brain test in Brain Age. At home, I'm unlikely to be able to play less than 15 minutes in Final Fantasy XII or No More Heroes.

Although I've never really played any XBox 360 games, I do have a PS3 now, so let's compare PS3 games. Aside from downloadable PSN games, I've only played two PS3 games. Firstly, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was okay. Fun, but nothing amazing. Secondly, Assassins Creed. Again, it's fun, but I'm not sure I'll even finish it at this point. I mean, I've got a copy of Okami that I'm dying to start playing. A Wii game with SD graphics.

So what's my point with all this? Only that pretty graphics do not a good game make. The Wii may not have high definition graphics, but I'd definitely place it in the same generation and in the same league with the XBox 360 and Playstation 3. I've certainly enjoyed the Wii more.