former lurker here first post. So, after the nintendo conference I was pretty disappointed not just because I had been getting excited about all the new games that would be announced at E3 for months. After it had come and gone with few announcements, I realized that the Holiday lineup still had a fair share of games to get excited for, and things started to get a little brighter. So I started coming up with this list, and realized there is actually a good amount of Fall 08 titles for the Wii and, even though I would not consider ONE of them a hardcore AAA exclusive, the one strength of the lineup is its variety of new and interesting concepts. That I think is the real strength of this machine, and why even at first I was considering getting a 360, I realized the diverse lineup of games on the wii still interests me more, as games like Gears of War, Fable, and Prince of Persia may look fantastic, but still usually fail to hold my interest long enough to see them to completion.
I really tried to stick to confirmed Holiday games, as I wanted to start getting an idea of what I was going to get. Games that may very well be announced such as Dead Rising or Fatal Frame for a holiday release I’ve held off on, as I think we really needed one place to see and debate the merits of the confirmed lineup, which is also why this is separate from the wii games of 08 thread. I’ll update accordingly should there be anymore surprises
So, a list of "promising" 3rd and 4th quarter titles that will grace the little white box.
Warioland: Shake It - September 29, 2008
Nintendo had this game hidden away at E3, not even announcing the demo in their E3 press release. Impressions however were positive, with people pointing out the great animation and smart implementation of waggle. The Basic gameplay was revealed to consist of searching for some hidden character, and then racing back to the start of the level via a different route after finding said character. Looking pretty good, although the Famitsu score was less than encouraging.
Deadly Creatures – December, 2008
Exclusive Mature games on the wii this holiday? Unfortunately the pickings are slim. Deadly Creatures however, looks to be the best M rated holiday title on the wii, even if it is by default. The game is certainly looking sharp, and previews have been overwhelmingly positive. The soundtrack, said to be dark and ominous and full of realistic chirps and clicks. The only consistent concern is the fear that the game may become repetitive, or that the camera issues present in the demos will not be fixed.
De Blob - September 22, 2008
I'm really feeling this one. THQ's other game has apparently come together quite nicely, and has also started appearing on recent lists of quality third party efforts alongside games such as Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes. The game is at its heart an open world platformer where you have to restore color to a world that has been overtaken by a greedy corporation. Between this game and deadly creatures, I find it amazing I may actually be spending more money on THQ games this winter than Nintendo titles. The E3 demos revealed the variety of gameplay, and I recommend checking them out. Lets not let this one befall the fate of other 3rd party gems on the wii.
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - Fall
Though this game has no firm date, I believe it has been confirmed several times for release this fall. A sequel to the hit gamecube game, I honestly don't know much about Symphonia 2, only that it is the most high profile RPG on the system to date. Supposedly a new Monster raising system has been incorporated, and all signs indicate this to be a worthy succesor to the the Gamecube classic. Also, this game has already been revealed as only the first Wii tales, as a "Mothership" title has already been announced for next year.
Guitar Hero World Tour October 2008
Not much to say other than its coming, and with the entire feature set of the HD versions, including the create a song mode and the odd marketplace like online area.
Rockband 2 - 2008
Even less to say here, other than that its coming (we think).
Samba De Amigo September 23, 2008
Developed by Gearbox software, Samba’s saving grace is great graphics and the dual remote configuration. The rumored included maraca attachments just add to the appeal of this title. One of the first retail titles to use Pay to Play for downloadable content, Samba strikes me at least as the second must have rhythm game for the Wii (behind Guitar Hero).
Animal Crossing: City Folk November 16, 2008
The big Hardcore Nintendo game for the year, Animal Crossing introduces Voice Chat to the Wii in the form of WiiSpeak. Although very similar to its predecessors, Animal Crossing: City Folk should be exactly what fans of the first two installments wanted.
Little Kings Story 2008
This game looks great, the style, development pedigree, gameplay, and trailers have all screamed quality. Published by XSEED this holiday, this is probably my most anticipated Wii game for the Holiday Season. Anyone who doesn’t check it out, should. 
Sam and Max: Season 1
Not much to say here, other than that the PC games were awesome and Tell Tale seems to have retained the look and feel of the series on the Wii. If you missed the episodes on Steam, definitely check this out. 
Call of Duty: World at War
One of the other games demoed at the Nintendo Conference, Call of Duty is developed in house by Treyarch on the COD4 engine. Online multiplayer is in this time, and this may hold over FPS fans until the Conduit releases next year. The muddy trailer made it hard to get a really good look at the game, however the early screens do show some promise, and the developer has pledged to produce the best looking game on the Wii. 
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed September 16, 2008
All indications are that this LucasArts multiplatform title is turning out quite nicely on the wii, something that bodes well for the relatively hidden Clone Wars, also from Krome Studios. The graphics hold their own, and the game is supposedly a fun action brawler in the vein of Lego Star wars, but with a more mature scenario. Exclusive levels and multiplayer modes make this one of the few multiplatform 3rd party titles to be excited about. 
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - November 2008
Not much is known about Star Wars: the Clone Wars, other than that it will be released this fall as a Lightsaber fighting game from Krome Studios. Their experience with Force unleashed should help them put together a decent game, and the Nintendo conference trailer looked pretty solid. One of the best games of the Nintendo conference. I know, that doesn’t say much.
Sonic Unleashed - November 2008
After the blockbuster Sonic and the Secret Rings introduced tilt controlled Sonic to the world, this Wii Follow up actually returns to classic controls. Not much is known about the wii version other than it is handled by Dimps (creators of Sonic rush) and that it will have a different level layout than the 360/PS3 version. Still, due to Sonic’s popularity amongst the Wii’s audience, expect more than a dumbed down port. (No picture available)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All Play - August 26, 2008
The first Tiger Woods Wii to be developed alongside the HD versions, Tiger Woods 09 is said to have seen some major improvements over the previous iterations. The graphics have undergone a major upgrade, and the new swing mechanic is said to be matched only by Camelot's We Love Golf (although the swing mechanic is more simulation as opposed to the arcadey camelot game). New modes and minigames could make this Tiger the first true wii golf sim.
Madden NFL 09 All Play - August 12, 08
Featuring the 5 on 5 mode and the new Call Your Shots audible system (derived from PES 08), the new Madden Wii will hopefully deliver on the promises of 07 while fixing the shortcomings of 08. Once again, the increased resources this year really show, as the graphics have a noticable upgrade. As long as the Online is fixed (which has been promised) this could also be the year of the first true Madden experience on the wii.
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 - November 2008
The core 2008 WWE game was a solid game (supposedly) that just lacked most of the features fans had come to expect. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009’s most interesting feature (after all the new modes) is the taunting system. Who wouldn’t want to make the suck it motion with the wii controller and see that action replicated onscreen?
Facebreaker: KO Party
In the absence of that Nintendo Punch Out title, Facebreaker is once again the most promising boxing title to hit the system. The graphics look slick for a wii game, and although there is no balance board support, the team seems to have really nailed the controls. They also have been teasing some exclusive characters, which I imagine would be none other than Little Mac. 
Skate It - December 2008
Demoed extensively by EA and developed by the makers of the original Skate, Skate it looks to be coming along quite nicely, at least for balance board owners. The IGN livewire demo was great, and skating around and doing tricks via different pressure areas on the balance board looks to be a ton of fun.
Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip - October 2008
Demoed by the infamous Cammie Dunaway, this is the first wii game to take a shot at snowboarding since SSX blur. The balance board controls appear to be spot on, and the game has been given accolades for its stylized graphics. To tell you the truth however, the character models in screens just look awful to me, however the environment looks ok. It could be just the quality of the captures. I also expect the speed of the game to make things look alot better in motion, but I still wish this was just SSX blur 2
Mario Super Sluggers - August 25, 2008
The next entry in the mario sports line, Sluggers has come a long way since the wagglefest that was first shown off. The graphics are pretty good, and this could be a competent and fun baseball game for the wii, even if it has been simplified to an arcadey experience.
Castlevania Judgement - TBA 2008
I was one of the Castlevania fans gunning for a full action game, and in truth was disappointed as I am not a fan of fighting games. Reactions have been all over the place on this one, with some websites pegging it as a fun 3d arena brawler and others finding it to be rather uninspired and generic. The jury is still out on this as far as I am concerned. 
MySims Kingdom - October 2008
Basically MySims with a deeper storyline and advanced gameplay elements, Kingdom takes MySims into this pseudo fantasy land and builds on the old foundation. The creator has apparently been completely overhauled and the game is better optimized, so the framerate issues in the previous iteration should be gone.
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party - November 2008
An overhauled graphics engine and focus on deeper minigames makes me slightly optimistic about Rabbids 3, as the second one failed to capitalize on the charm of the first and was little more than a “shake as hard as you can” waggle fest. Hopefully Rabbids 3 will be more of a return to form for the series. The dancing segment looks much better.
Monster Lab - October 2008
Published by Eidos, I really hadn’t seen much on this game until today, when gametrailers posted their development walkthrough. Good graphics, online battles, and pretty deep gameplay. Looks skewed for a slightly younger audience, but still looks pretty good. Hopefully we start to hype this one up a little more, definitely one of the more promising original IPs. Check out the walkthrough
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36577.html
Tomb Raider Underworld
Nothing has been seen of the wii version of the game (or any of the other versions for that matter) but based off of the anniversary port, we can expect a pretty good conversions for this multiplatform game. Between this and monster lab, Eidos’ wii support isn’t half bad actually.
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars Fall 2008
We've known about this one longer than most of the releases on this list, a hybrid between an action and a platformer, the graphics have been pretty impressive, even if the art style doesn't jibe to much with me. Publisher Gamecock has released some quality games in the past (dementium) but not too much has been said about this title, and videos have looked a little sluggish. I'd put this one on the same list as Monster Lab, Sonic, and Castlevania - games that still need to really prove themselves.
So that’s it for confirmed Holiday 08 Wii releases, feel free to add anything I might have missed. Also the Wiiware release slate has some pretty big hits coming, in the form of Megaman 9 and Animales de la Muerte. I’ve included a list of some of the more promising ones I remember.
Animales de la Muerte
LIT
World of Goo
Tetris Party
Bomberman Blast
Alien Crush Returns
Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People
Megaman 9
Gradius Rebirth
Strongbad’s Cool Game for Attractive People
As for my personal picks, I’m dead set on
Little Kings Story
De Blob
Deadly Creatures
Tales of Symphonia
Warioland
Guitar Hero
I’ll be watching
Force Unleashed
Tomb Raider
Facebreaker
And if either Skate it or Shaun White turn out to be stellar or worthy of the investment in the balance board I might check those out as well. Madden I was all set on getting, but I might wait for the inevitable motionplus version next year, same with Tiger or Wii Love Golf. Facebreaker looks good, but I'm holding out for Punch Out. However, if Little Mac is in the game, I think that would put to rest rumors of a new punchout in development. I will probably by all of those wiiware games, meaning I need a new fridge. There is a lot of promising stuff here, and while I'm sure some of it will dissapoint, I hope the reviews show me I'm wrong.
(mostly)
Currently Online 
