Well, we've reached the midway point of the year.  What are your opinions of the first half's games so far?  Here's my own round-up:

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Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Wii) - Smooth Moves gets the distinct honor of being my very first Wii game.  An adequate entry in the WW series, with design sensibilities more in line with Intelligent Systems than R&D1.  For better or for worse, the series now feels like a testing ground for exploring Nintendo's latest system technology, and in the case of Touched and now Smooth Moves, I think they're successful endeavors -- yet at the same time, the fact they've arrived so soon during the system's lifespan leaves the nagging feeling that perhaps they're not the best that they could be.  B-

Parodius Portable, Twinbee Portable, Salamander Portable (PSP) - I lumped these together in order of preference.  Parodius Portable, in particular, was a godsent to me, considering what a fanatic I am for the series.  Konami didn't disappoint, with near-perfect ports of all four games, a new remake of the MSX original, screen ratio options to best suit one's playing preference, and speedy load times.  The same largely applies to Twinbee and Salamander, except for a wonkier save system and somewhat longer load times.  A+ / B- / B-

Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS) - First, mucho kudos to Capcom for continuing the PW series outside of Japan, right on up to part 3. (And hopefully, part 4.)  The effort in porting these titles over, outfitted with the DS-specific features like touch screen and upgraded soundtracks are highly appreciated, making these games even more enjoyable to play.  The localization this time around, while no Alex Smith, is still solid, save for the several grammatical errors littered throughout.  I double-dipped on this one, first picking up the Japanese version and then later the domestic one - and while Capcom did correct a number of the errors that plagued the Japanese release, there are many that, sadly, were not fixed for later releases.  Let's hope they take the time to better proofread PW3.  B-

Meteos: Disney Magic (DS) - I always thought the original Meteos had a great design, but when it came to the actual gameplay, things seemed a little too rush-rush and random to deem it a solid puzzler.  The new vertical screen and tiles orientation for Disney Magic does add extra depth, but sadly, the principle gameplay is still intact, flawed and all.  Plus, playing the DS on its side proves to be more burdensome than advantageous, as the frenetic movement with the stylus makes it uncomfortable to hold after even just a little while.  Does Planet Puzzle League suffer from this same problem, I wonder?  D

Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA) - I'll admit I was sore-headed about the insane slowdown and choppy animation that plagues this port - but it wasn't a make or break deal for me.  I knew I was going to be picking up the game no matter what, and enjoying it for what it is: FFVI, on a portable.  The music is faithfully replicated given the restraints they've had to work with, and the general flow of the game's quest is completely intact.  Two things that do bug me, though. First, the new translation; it's Woolsey's script for the most part, but obvious polish was made here and there.  It's some of that polish though, more accurate to the original translation it may be, that brought about some unwanted changes.  (See my other post here for some cited examples.)  My other problem is with the world map, especially in the World of Ruin; that on-screen map is just too ridiculously tiny and difficult on a portable to see where you're going properly, what with the red indicator blending in so well with the purple-colored water.  I wish Square did something along the lines of FF7, where they filled the entire screen with an enlarged transparent map that could be toggled on and off.  B+

Ubisoft's TMNT (GBA) - Side-scrolling arcade beat-'em-up, with tight gameplay and fluid animation.   The sense of progression is great; you're constantly earning new moves that really adds to the fighting.  It's a relatively short game overall, but awesome for pick up and play sessions.  It's great to see yet one more glimmer of life for the ol' GBA; never thought I'd see it in the form of TMNT.  B-

Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits (DS) - I picked this one up strictly for Contra, and I pretty much got what I expected; a perfect port of the arcade version.  Game-wise, this is a pretty decent compilation, but I think I'm going to have to agree that it's worth about ten dollars cheaper than the retail price.  Included titles range from mild to slightly more engaging diversions..... and with the exception of two or three favorites, you'll likely end up ignoring the rest of the games after the nostalgic novelty wears off.  One of the biggest pluses with having such a collection on the DS and not a disc-based format is zero load times..... so getting in and out of any of the fifteen featured games is fast and painless.  Nice customizable options, too, like button configuration for all the games, rapid fire, variable difficulty setting, and screen ratio settings.  Not bad, but you'll feel a lot better if you can pick it up on the cheap.  C+

Super Paper Mario (Wii) - Put this one over as one of the most hyped games most of us bought into.  It had the right idea and the right elements; combining the Paper Mario trademark of witty dialogue and story with classic Mario gameplay..... but sadly, the balance is severely skewered, where the former eclipses the latter in a very glaring way.  The pacing becomes ridiculously bogged down, and for myself, I simply lost interest halfway through.  A pity.  C-

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (DS) - What a lovely surprise this was!  What I thought would be something that relied purely on novelty and brand-name recognition turned out to be a robust, jam-packed adventure that's bursting with variety.  Light RPG-overworld exploring, DS-centric minigames, and card battle strategy; having any one of these elements as a standalone likely wouldn't amount to much, but coming together as a complete package, it really does come off as an enjoyable experience.  The visual flair and FF-arranged music score are charming, as is the sharp localization of the script.  Definitely my sleeper hit of the year thus far, and really, a surprisingly-quality title considering Square-Enix's now clockwork routine of churning out mediocre software after mediocre software.  A-

Singstar Pop (PS2) - This one came off as a tremendous disappointment for me.  After puting in countless hours on Karaoke Revolution Country, I was ready to take it up to the pop level with a song selection that was extremely appealing to me.  Unfortunately, nothing about the game comes even close to making it as good an experience as KR.  The microphones are shit, with volume output that's set much too low, and the standard audio options are completely absent.  The interface is awful, too; why they place the lyrics and the pitch separately from one another is beyond me, and is clearly a case of bone-headed design.  What a craptacular product; the worst fifty bucks I've spent in a good while.  F 

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (DS) - As to no one's surprise, Ouendan 2 easily finds itself being my primary candidate for game of the year.  It was a three-pronged attack on my happy senses: 1) Hearing the announcement of the game -- "IT'S A DIRECT SEQUEL TO OUENDAN!!!"  2) Hearing that it was coming so gosh-darned quickly -- who wasn't expecting a late summer release at the earliest?  And 3) The fact that it's freaken awesome.  Ouendan 2 delivers on all fronts, with a constantly improving interface, a beefy and addictive song selection, and new scenarios which are always entertaining to watch.  But it's the flow charts that's undoubtedly the best improvement; newly tweaked hit markers and fast and tight phrase bar patterns provide a wonderfully-challenging learning curve, yet remains indelibly enjoyable to play even when mastered.  And, of course, the recent addition of the EBA just adds icing to an already well-iced cake.  A+   

The Red Star (PS2) - Beat-'em-up meets shoot-'em-up in a surprising hybrid that works very well.  Though I haven't finished the game yet, I will say that the lack of variety drops this down several notches in my book.  The level designs and play mechanics are solid enough, but after a certain point, it all begins to feel incredibly repetitive.  I also have some niggling reservations about the gameplay, particularly the parrying techniques that leaves you vulnerable more often than not - and I do wish there was some more variety in the melee and gun weapons.  Great for at least one play through, but I don't see this as having any sort of lasting power.  C+

Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PS2) - Legend's gameplay with the environments and level designs of the original; a winning formula, to be sure.  Again, I'm still working my way through the game, but it's been fun and intuitive just controlling Lara through these great worlds.  The game also looks gorgeous.  The organic environments are well-rendered and immersive; there are few gaming experiences like scaling that waterfall in The Lost Valley.  B+

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Wii) - I'm just about to put the lid on the main quest, and I've gotta say..... it's been every bit the magically-satisfying experience playing this new version as it was the GC one.  My trepidations over the Wii controls have pretty much vanished; it probably took me longer than most to get the hang of it, but now it's not a stretch of the imagination to believe I'll never be going back to the GC controller again.  With a cleaner-looking resolution, even quicker load times, and no disc-swapping, this is the definitive edition of RE4 to get.  It's certainly the best "Wii" game I've ever played.  A+

Couldn't agree more.

Taito Legends 2 and more specifically, Puchi Carat. Really, the only game I've touched this year thus far and I couldn't be happier with it. Everyone who remotely considers themself a gamer needs this compilation (well, unless you've already gone the emulator route).

Only other game I bought was SNK vs Capcom Cardfighters DS and it's really cumbersome compared to the old NGPC game. I really don't feel like wrestling with the various cards and set-ups, whereas the other one was pick-up-and-play fun. Not recommended.

Oh yeah, and Art of Fighting Anthology. Fighting game masochism at its' best. Nice having AI in a 2D fighter that fights back for a change.

Except I would give it an F.  It truly failed at whatever it was it aspired to be.

Haven't really played that many of this year's games so far unfortunately, but Phantom Hourglass kicks total ass, WAY more than I had expected.

Trusty Bell/Eternal Sonata is nice, but not very varied. The serious parts are pretty good, there's a lot of drama, and the rare bits that actually deal with Chopin's real life were handled pretty well, but the game itself is so-so. It DESPERATELY needs a map, but you never get one EVER no matter where you go, which is annoying.
The battle system is pretty clever, actually making active use of light and shadow in realtime, but it's also rather monotonous. So far I've played 3 JRPGs on 360 (Trusty Bell, Blue Dragon and Enchanted Arms) out of which Enchanted Arms was BY FAR the most enjoyable, but that's probably only me. The Japanese voice acting is great, very humorous, where BD and TB have nothing but your regular whiny Anime voices and childisch dialogue.

I still have to get TR Anniversary and RE4Wii, and I'm looking very much forward to playing them.

Most of the games I've played this year have either been PC (Planescape: Torment, Oblivion, Tomb Raider: Legend) or older console games.

However, I did take brief looks at Odin Sphere (too difficult for my tastes) and Grim Grimoire (too cute for my tastes).

Best game = HOTEL DUSK: ROOM 215.

The character development is bar none for a gamesoft.

Bookworthy storyline with plenty of plot curves, and believable characters with multiple layers to their personality that got peeled away a little at a time to get to the core truth of their actions.

The art style and music are both top notch as well.
It's an A+ production, anyone who has a DS *must* play this.  Seriously.

I thought Enchanted Arms was fun, but nothing I've yet to buy or even considered buying.  Sadly, those that I know with a 360 are too bigotted and couldn't get past the flaming character or just refuse to give the game a fair shot.  I look forward to Blue Dragon and especially Eternal Sonata.

First, thanks for the reviews! As I mentioned quite a while ago, I personally think we should do away with the never used "Retailers" forum and replace it with a Review forum!! That being said, it's nice to read other people's reviews. I would like to point out, that FFVI although a handheld, can easily be played on your television with the GameBoy Player! So yeah, for a handheld the map is tiny, but on the GBP it looks great

cheers,

-avatar!

The Red Star - PS2

Easily the best beat'em up-slash-shooter I've played in a long, long time. I've already played through it three times and still have cravings to go through it again. For $20, it's a damn steal. The least it'll do is make you realize how much of a softie you are when it comes to a good action game.

Tomb Raider Anniversary - PS2

Wow. What an awesome, awesome adventure game. Sure, there are a few cheap parts and an occasionally crappy camera, but that's just being faithful to the original (nudge, nudge). The $30 price tag makes it a cheap investment, and given the amount of isolated adventure and nostalgia that the game brings, it's (also) a damn steal.

Super Paper Mario - Wii

The biggest gaming disappointment from recent memory.

That's it for me this year so far. I'm reliving last gen's classics (Sly Cooper series, Viewtiful Joe, Shadow Hearts) instead of plunging into more new releases this year. Hotel Dusk is on my list of games to check out, though, so maybe I'll grab that later on this summer when I'm looking for a new DS game to play. Thanks for the recommendation, Carl!

EDIT

Oh, yes. How did I forget about TL2? What a great little disc full of awesome games!

I maintain my C- grade for Super Paper Mario, as I don't deem the game to be a total failure.  The graphics are terrific, for one thing - and there's great fan service aplenty.  And the writing, excessively-abundant though it may be, is undeniably sharp and well-written.  Maybe I'll pick it up again someday and finish it off.

I've been saving Hotel Dusk for the summer lull; maybe it's time to crack this badboy open?   Should keep me good and busy until Phoenix Wright 3 next month. ;)

I strongly disagree with that statment. The Red Star throws new enemies and a shit-ton of pretty crazy bosses at you throughout the whole game. There are new enemies and strategies being introduced all the way until (literally) the last level. Also, I've seen some gameplay videos from the GBA version of TMNT and they looked pretty mundane and reminded me of a 16-bit generic beat'em up, especially when compared to Red Star.

Since the GBA one was mentioned, I'll add that the TMNT console version (I played it on 360) was a complete and total disappointment.  The only good thing was that they released the arcade game on XBLA.  Here's hoping they'll do the same with the Simpsons on XBLA later this year.

Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata just might make me buy an XBOX 360, but then again the PS3 is dropping 100 bucks...

I don't know if Puzzle Quest was released late last year, but I've been addicted to that one for a while.  B+

Super Paper Mario looked like it was going to be a delight, and I'm going to agree with everyone here that it was a bit of a disappointment.  I haven't finished it, mostly because the lengthy text and the fact that you can't just sit down for a couple of minutes and play through a few levels. 

How sad is this?  I just recently beat Kingdom Hearts 2 and am now starting FF XII.  So yeah, I'm kind of behind the times, but that's what happens once you marry, have a baby, work, and try to finish college at the same time.  (last semester!! woo hoo!)

I had gone the MAME route before picking up each of these comps but having shorter lists of games to choose from at a time makes me want to try out games that I normally wouldn't in MAME. I had never tried TL2's Crazy Balloon or Grid Seeker in MAME but they're my faves in the comp. Art of Fighting 2 is so obscenely difficult that it feels like I've won the lottery when I win a fight. Would it have killed them to add a gallery to the AoF comp?

Angela: Have you played Planet Puzzle League?  Imo, easily the best DS game so far this year.

Same here. Problem is either incompatability or too many games. TL2 had some stinkers on it, but for the number of greats I get on my home system, it was the best $20 I've ever spent.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS)
-I've only played about 1.67 cases so far, so it's really too early for me to judge, but I love it so far.  B+

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Wii)
-Extremely short, but a very fun time.  B+

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)
-More of an interactive novel than an actual book, Hotel Dusk spun a good yarn and comes well recommended.  B

Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA)
-FF6 is a great game.  This port is so-so.  B-

Super Paper Mario (Wii)
-I think the reason so many are disppointed with this game is that Nintendo kind of misled us by creating the impression that this was going to be a platform game, which it most certainly is not.  Once I understood that it was an Action/RPG, the game made more sense to me and I began to enjoy it.  I'm at 32 hours now and almost finished.  B

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (DS)
-It's super addictive Ouendan, but the songs aren't as good as in previous efforts.  A

Dawn of Mana (PS2)
-It's the second worst Mana game ever made.  Do not buy.  C-

Planet Puzzle League (DS)
-Take the best puzzle game ever made, add slick touch-based controls, worldwide online play, and a host of single-player puzzles, and what do you get?  2007 GAME OF THE YEAR SO FAR!  A

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
-A fun diversion, but would probably be a lot more fun if I had a group of people to play the multiplayer modes with.  A nice game, but should have been $20 like the DS version.  B

Bottom line, the first half of 2007 hasn't been very good for games, especially when compared to the first halves of 2005 and 2006.  The first half of 2005 had RE4, Minish Cap, and Ys VI while the first half of 2006 had Chibi Robo, Super Princess Peach, New Super Mario Bros., and Brain Age.  Hopefully the second half of 2007 will make up for the rather slow year we've had so far.

Tetris DS.

I believe they misled us by creating the impression that this game would actually be good and not suck balls.

I personally don't see what's wrong with the port. Of course it's not a "perfect" translation of the SNES game, but so what? Why the mediocre score?

cheers,

-avatar!

Panel de Pon/Tetris Attack/Puzzle League always has been better than Tetris, just not as widely known.

Not yet, but with both XLord's and your own high praise of the game, I'll be sure to check it out soon enough.  My only concern is if, again, it plays as uncomfortably as Meteos Disney Magic with the DS on its side?

In the meantime, though, I've started on Hotel Dusk -- a game that's definitely apt for side-playing.  I'm enjoying it lots; the fact that you can interact with just about everything is a neat touch of authenticity, and I like the look of the characters and the simultaneous overhead/first-person view in the hotel.   And I like Kyle; I'm tempted to pick all the answer choices that portrays him as a bastard (instead of a semi-bastard), but I have a feeling the game will end itself prematurely if I did that. o_O

I haven't played any other version of Puzzle League, but it plays like a dream.  You can switch how you want to play too (stylus/buttons, vertical/horizontal, right/left handed).  My only problem with it is that I miss my damn stop on the subway if I get into it and sometimes if I play too long I can "see" the blocks after just like in Tetris.  Clearly not the game's fault, though.

I wouldn't consider a "B-" to be a poor score by any stretch, but the chief reason for not getting a higher score is because of the changes to the music to fit the GBA hardware.  I'm sorry, but the music is the best part of the game, and hurting the music makes this a less than optimal way to experience FF6.  Still better than the PSX version, though. :-)

I've never played Meteos Disney Magic, so I can't speak to that, but I have no issues playing PPL book-style.  Feels fine to me.

I just picked up Planet Puzzle League this afternoon, and it's not bad. I like it more than Meteos, but less than Tetris DS. I have been having a lot of fun with the Garbage mode. My only real frustration is trying to train my brain not to attempt to move blocks vertically, but I guess that's part of the challenge. Overall, I'm glad I grabbed it.

Ah, I'm actually in the middle of playing this game at the moment.  I recently made a trip back to the States and noticed it on the shelves.  Having never even heard of it, but being a huge fan of Kemco's old interactive games for NES (Shadowgate, Deja Vu, The Uninvited) I picked it up on pure whim.

**No spoilers below, but if you haven't played the game and don't want your opinion skewed by mine, you may not want to read below**

I'm on Chapter 7 I think, and so far I'm definitely enjoying the game.  I agree with Carl about the characters, story, and dialogue (especially) being very well-developed.  The character design is indeed great, and I love how the characters make various animated expressions while speaking.  They seem almost life-like (especially Rosa).  However, I can't share all of Carl's enthusiasm as I can't help but feel the game is rather limited in a number of ways.  Particularly your ability to interact with your surroundings and how the game progresses.  Basically, it spoon-feeds you the entire way.  If for some reason you don't know what to do next (it's usually made quite clear), 90% of the time all you have to do is roam the halls of the hotel (where the entire game appears to take place) and wait for a dialogue scene to trigger.  Furthermore the hotel you're confined to is quite small, and once you are allowed to enter a new area and explore it, you rarely have to go back for any reason.  I would have liked to have seen more puzzle encounters and obscure leads in order to advance the story.  A bit more freedom, basically.  And while the dialogue scenes are intriguing (which I kid you not make up about 70% of the game), your interaction in those is pretty limited as well.  When you have to choose what to say, there are always 2 options, and 95% percent of the time the correct option is laughably clear.  It's like:

"What should I do?"

A. "You should f--- off!  Ha ha!"

B. "You should ask X what he thinks."

I also wish they would have incorporated some kind of action scenes, like the shoot-outs in Snatcher or Policenauts, except with the stylus.  True, the story (thus far anyway) hasn't made any of that necessary, but I was really hoping for something like that, as it would have added so much more to the game.

At any rate, I'm finding it to be a total blast from the past and completely refreshing.  Anyone who likes digital comic/interactive games should definitely give it a go.

- Justin Pfeiffer