Best of the best: the first revolution

Everyone has an opinion about what makes a good game. You've got one, we've got one (or several, as there are several of us here), and the reviewers, they all have their own preferences, too. Sometimes, however, those opinions all just seem to coincide, and then we know a game is truly something special.

As part of our celebration of the first year of the Wii, we thought we would do a comparison of the best-reviewed games released for the system alongside our picks for the top games. Sometimes they overlap, but we slipped in a few extras that we feel just might be worth your time.

The Year's Best Games (according to metascores)

1. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo): 97%

2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo): 95%

3. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Capcom): 91%

4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo): 90%

5. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Capcom) 87%

These are the top five games, per review scores, from the first year of the Wii. The first thing that one might notice is there are only two publishers represented here: Capcom, and of course, Nintendo. The second is that these are all pretty solid games, whether or not they're your particular cup of tea. Are they the best the system has had to offer this year? Clearly, someone thinks so. But we're not sure we agree ... at least, not completely.

The Year's Best Games (according to Wii Fanboy staff)

1. Super Mario Galaxy

2. Wii Sports

3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

5. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

But here's where things get interesting. Since we're not scoring these games (except by racking up bruises while we fistfight over the final list), 2-4 all ended up tied with the same number of votes -- and every one of us had at least one other game that we thought should be featured. After all, we're serious fans, and this is serious business here; we're choosing the best games from the console's first year! We can't be limited in our selection criteria!

Wii Fanboy's Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

• WarioWare: Smooth Moves

• Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

• Guitar Hero 3

• Mercury Meltdown Revolution

• Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure

• Rayman Raving Rabbids

• Cooking Mama

Some of these games still manage to rank pretty highly by metascore; Guitar Hero 3 rolls in at number six, while others are way down that list. But this is about more than just scoring, or graphics, difficulty, and control schemes -- this is about the games you can have fun with, by yourself or with family and friends. Looking back at the first year of the Wii, we see options. We see choice. We see a lot of quality in gaming, including one of the highest rated games of all time. Many of us have had moments of doubt this year, but breaking it down, Wii owners really do have a lot to be happy about -- and let's hope next year is even better.