IGN Nintendo's Most Anticipated Games of 2008 Revisited
IGN Nintendo Team
At the start of 2008, each editor on the Nintendo Team took to the task of picking ten games that they were most looking forward to for the year, be it on the Nintendo Wii or Nintendo DS.
Now that it's August, half the year has gone by and several of the games that we were anticipating have seen their releases. And with the Electronic Entertainment Expo come and gone, several other games have made themselves known -- many of which have done their best to make it on our lists. We also can't forget that 2008 marked a year where the Nintendo Team grew by one: Daemon Hatfield gets to cut his chops with his premiere Top Ten list.
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IGN
At the start of 2008, each editor on the Nintendo Team took to the task of picking ten games that they were most looking forward to for the year, be it on the Nintendo Wii or Nintendo DS.

Now that it's August, half the year has gone by and several of the games that we were anticipating have seen their releases. And with the Electronic Entertainment Expo come and gone, several other games have made themselves known -- many of which have done their best to make it on our lists. We also can't forget that 2008 marked a year where the Nintendo Team grew by one: Daemon Hatfield gets to cut his chops with his premiere Top Ten list.

Enjoy.

Matt's Most Anticipated Games of 2008

8) Little King's Story

Genre: RPG Simulation

Developer: Cing Inc

Publisher: XSEED Games

Why?: Read our official description for this game sometime and you too will be convinced. "The makers of Wish Room, Harvest Moon, Chulip, Final Fantaxy XII and Dragon Quest VIII team up..." Uh-huh. Little King's story promises to jump you into a truly stylized 3D world filled with rich characters and gorgeous settings. Your goal is to become king and manage your kingdom -- expect a satisfying mix of RPG elements and simulation-inspired challenges along the way. The more I get to see the game in motion, the more I'm convinced it's going to be a truly unique and standout product when it arrives later this year.

6) Prince of Persia: The Fallen King

Genre: Action

Developer: Ubisoft Casablanca

Publisher: Ubisoft

Why?: Ubisoft has spent nearly two years developing this completely stylized DS-exclusive Prince of Persia platformer and as a fan of the series, I'm really excited. The colorful new look and simplified 2D presentation have me itching to sit down and have a go. The mix of traditional and new controls has me intrigued. And the promise of some really good platforming, not to mention enemy battles, make this latest entry one of my more anticipated handheld games -- even, that is, if I'm not totally sold on the newly redesigned and aged-down look of Prince himself.

Other Games Worth Noting: There are several titles I would have liked to add to my list, but sadly, they don't come out until early next year. Of course, I'm referring to The Conduit, MadWorld and Fatal Frame. There are also a handful of projects that I simply couldn't find room for on my top 10, mostly because I haven't had the chance to play them in any capacity yet. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for Wii is supposed to be excellent, and I'm a Potter nut. It could shoot right up my list in the coming weeks. Same goes for titles like Skate It! and Shaun White. Madden is great fun this year, too. Meanwhile, I'm obviously looking forward to DS games like Chrono Trigger, Tecmo Bowl, and Peggle.

Turn the page for Craig Harris's Most Anticipated Games...

Craig's Most Anticipated Games of 2008

9) Skate It DS

Genre: Sports

Developer: Exient Entertainment

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Why?: We've already shredded on the Nintendo DS with Tony Hawk three times (with a fourth one rumored to be on the way by year's end), so honestly I'm looking for a fresh take on skateboarding for the handheld. The console version of Skate brought a lot of realism to the skateboard videogame design and, while it was a frustrating learning curve doing even the most basic of moves in the game, it also had a really awesome sense of reward when you did it right. That feeling appears to have moved over to the Nintendo DS version of Skate It, and while I'll reserve my final judgment for when the game's finished, I'm really excited to play this awesome-looking portable rendition.

3) Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People

Genre: Adventure

Developer: Telltale Games

Publisher: Telltale Games

Why?: Strong Bad is awesome. I am an attractive person. Ergo, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People is definitely for me. This WiiWare game brings the Homestar Runner universe to the videogame scene in a point-and-click adventure, and with the Brothers Chap fully behind the creation and development there's going to be a whole lot to love. The first episode of the game comes out relatively soon, and it's promised that it won't be a very long wait for the follow-up as the next volume will only be a couple of months behind.

Other Games Worth Noting: I wish I had more picks to offer -- Nintendo usually has a lot of great hard-core games in development, but it seems that the company's more focused on appeasing the non-gamer crowd as of late. Despite the company's focus at E3 and attempts to brainwash the gaming community, WiiMusic will never, ever make my list. Ever. But if I have to list games I'm truly looking forward to that didn't make the cut, Legend of Kage 2 from Taito/Square-Enix, and Atari's N+, both for the handheld, probably just squeaked out of the list. As did Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia -- I'm definitely looking forward to this one, but my excitement level's not quite as high since this will be Number Three on the DS in almost as many years.

Turn the page for Daemon Hatfield's Most Anticipated Games...

Daemon's Most Anticipated Games of 2008

3) Wario Land: Shake It!

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Good Feel

Publisher: Nintendo

Why?: I love me some 2D platformers. If they're done well. And nobody does it better than Nintendo. While most Wii games look like something my plumber dragged out of my toilet, Wario Land sports some beautiful hand drawn artwork. It's definitely disappointing that Nintendo couldn't be bothered to make it wide screen, but you can't win 'em all. There's also my worry that the shake mechanic will get old. But Wario's got charm and style, and there's nothing else like it on the Wii.

2) Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People

Genre: Adventure

Developer: Telltale Games

Publisher: Telltale Games

Why?: Who can resist a title like this? Granted, when you base your game on a license you're kind of restricting your audience. And Homestar Runner, while a cult favorite, isn't exactly a household name. But those of us who are down with Strongbad and friends are happy to finally have a game set in this insane universe. I've been excited about this one since it was announced, but now that I've been playing it I'm happy to report it lives up to my expectations. Strongbad's Cool Game makes me laugh out loud often. Not only am I a Homestar fan, but I also dig the old school point and click adventures. So what did I do to deserve this?

1) KORG DS-10

Genre: Music

Developer: KORG

Publisher: XSEED Games

Why?: As a musician, I'm excited to turn my DS into a badass synthesizer for around $30. I've been looking for a way to take the system onstage and use in live performances. There are a lot of homebrew applications that turn the DS into a music making device, but none of them really work well as instruments. The Korg DS-10 is a fantastic sounding synth. It looks like it will be suitable for both performance and sketching out musical ideas on the road. The touch screen step sequencer makes plotting synth lines a breeze. This won't be for everyone, but musicians should find it quite useful.