This category isn’t reserved to the worst game of the year - that would be for one of the many baby/horse party games - but rather the game that brings out the worst in all of us. From the disgustingly lackluster re-unveiling at E3 in July, Wii Music’s unpopularity gripped most gamers almost immediately. Perpetuated by journalists and forum posts, these hard-feelings posed the question to the hardware giant: What the hell is this and why is this your biggest game of 2008?

Above: Never forget

Miyamoto’s insistence that Wii Music is a toy and shouldn’t be considered a full game in the traditional sense (even saying it’s “more interesting” than a game) only further alienated gamers. We all looked to Nintendo for reassurance that pleasing the “casual” audience wasn’t the company’s largest concern, which it turns it out it is, evidenced by the “hardcore” release of Animal Crossing: City Folk as the bone it threw our way so we’d stop bitching about Wii Music. One GR editor described this year as, “I feel like Nintendo’s breaking up with me.”

And once it was released, there was nothing particularly innovative about it. There certainly wasn’t any risk involved, or even reward. Hell, for a play-thing there was hardly any longevity past a lazy afternoon. No, through and through, Wii Music is exactly what it was always projected to be: a toy burned to a disc that automatically played notes to songs no matter when you decided to flail your arms. Whether that destroys the barrier between casual and hardcore gaming is up for you to decide, however we feel you may already know the answer.

Above: The only coverage we gave Wii Music

And for such a big stink that was made, the reviews and player support have certainly been tepid. Even with continual justification, Nintendo can’t seem to grasp why the baby game they developed isn’t as popular as the baby games they publish. Maybe Nintendo used to mean something. But for now, all we see is cemented proof that the Wii is a non-gaming gaming system.

Again, not the worst game of the year, but certainly one of the most controversial. Producer Denis Dyack championed this 10-year-in-the-making Diablo clone by starting flame wars on NeoGAF and challenging games journalism to be more critical to games that weren’t made by him. But how does the game play?

Too Human is a slow, unrepentant bore that dares you to find it interesting. The storyline is dullsville, the graphics almost laughable and the characters completely uninteresting (naming people after mythological beings doesn’t make them compelling). So much effort went into development that we almost feel bad for saying Human plays like an uninspired mess. Repetitive enemies, a superfluous loot system, same-y character classes and dumb perks are just icing on top of a spunk-flavored cake.

Not done hating? We’ve got crusty old Anti-Award articles from 2006 and 2007 that are chock full of games you’ve already forgotten or traded in.

Jan 7, 2009

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