The year is at a close, which means the Blend Games staff will gather this weekend to drink cheap whiskey and discuss gaming in 2007. At some point a list of our favorite games for the year will come out of the ordeal, but before we get to that it’s time to look forward. After all, it was nice playing Super Paper Mario but it’s no time to get complacent with our gaming. There’s a brand new stack of titles just itching to be played. Hopefully none of them have any debilitating diseases that will require daily cream application.

Next up is Nintendo, which had a pretty stellar year in sales in 2007 with the Wii and the DS. But as loud as those cash registers were, they couldn’t over shadow the din of hardcore fans complaining that Nintendo might have sold out to the casual crowd. Fortunately for Nintendo, and unfortunately for the hardcore, it doesn’t look like Nintendo is going to be slowing down anytime soon with their motive of get as many games out there as possible for an ever increasing market. Well, at least their first party games are still good.

5. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Nintendo DS


One of the few highly anticipated titles not done by Nintendo, Tecmo’s handheld version of the classic ninja tale takes full advantage of the capabilities in the DS by enabling the player to use the stylus and the D-Pad to do all the attacks and movements. And the graphics are nothing to scoff at either. Just look at those visuals! Ryu stuns on any platform he’s on, and this new entry in the series is sure to be a standout title for the incredibly versatile handheld.

4 Wii Fit
Nintendo Wii


Utilizing a new accessory in the strangely long lists of devices for the Wii is the balance board, which will come packaged with this new weight loss simulator. The casual crowd will devour all the minigames available in the game (Ski jumping! Hula hooping! Tightrope walking!), and the hardcore might find something to love too if they gobbled up all the action in Wii Sports. Add another game on the list that your grandmother can play.

3. No More Heroes
Nintendo Wii


Though the hype on this one isn’t into the stratosphere like some games (See number 1 on this list for that), No More Heroes promises a whimsical storyline and some pretty cool Wii-mote slicing and dicing as this strange new game from Killer7 creator, Goichi Suda, is a cut above the rest (Sorry, I couldn’t help it). Not much is known about the game other than that it stars an anime fan named Travis Touchdown who wins a beam katana off the internet and becomes a paid assassin. Is there anything else you really need to know about the game?

2. Mario Kart Wii
Nintendo Wii


Mario Kart is the quintessential kart racer and also the quintessential party game, which makes it a no brainer for Nintendo to put it on the Wii. New to the series are motorbikes, and, for the first time ever, (Be still, my heart) online play, which is a feature gamers have been pining after for years now. It’s not really certain who’s officially in the game, or what all the tracks will be like, but expect something in the vein of ice tracks, Bowser’s castle, and a ghost house if history is known to repeat itself.

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Nintendo Wii


Quite possibly the most important game in the system’s upcoming line-up is also the game that’s been pushed back more than any in recent memory. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a continuation of the saga of bringing cuddly Nintendo characters (And this time, non-Nintendo characters) together to pound upon each other in a feast of mayhem and screen shattering chaos.

This version brings along online play, new characters (Solid Snake! Yay! King Dedede! Nay!), and a slew of other features that may just make the hardcore crowd give the Wii a second chance. And if you still have that GameCube controller around, use that instead, as even Nintendo admits that it’s the most suitable controller for the game.

Other titles we have our eyes on: Spore, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, Samba De Amigo, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin—DS