I never actually played Red Steel. Watched a friend play it, decided not to play it despite its newness and hype (I think I had read the review by that point which swayed my decision). Nevertheless, I won't write off the sequel for the reasons you mentioned above. They were among the first to pioneer new controls, and there has been much refinement since.

Nostalgia can still be a powerful thing. For someone new to gaming, will these games really impress? It's really hard to say. Pac-man is a really influential game in the history of video games, but I'm not interested in playing it today. I had fun playing the Championship demo from Xbox Live Arcade, but not enough to buy it and play it for more than one session.

I don't know that anyone is really going to want to play Doom after playing the current crop of console or high end PC shooters. Don't get me wrong, it was great, I probably sunk acouple hundred hours into that game and various mods a decade or more ago. But when I played the Xbox Live Arcade demo, something was missing. Maybe using the controller instead of the keyboard was part of it, but it just didn't feel as compelling.

All that said, I've downloaded a few games from the VC or XBLA; Super Mario World and Castlevania : Symphony of the Night being the standouts, and I would recommend them. I think it might be relative to when you started gaming. If you started gaming with the NES, some of the games on the VC might still appeal to you. If you started being a serious gamer this generation, some of those games may look positively ancient to you.

Super Mario Galaxy. Brilliant level design, excellent controls, undeniable charm, and flat out enjoyable every step of the way.

I don't know if Halo 3 has what it takes. I played it again last night split screen co-op, and the pop-up was horrible. It's still a great game, and maybe the multiplayer is a big factor (haven;t played it online), but playing it again last night made me see a few things wrong with it.

Rock Band could also surprise.

dazilla, take a breath! Full stops are your friend!

I recall that some developers were surprised with the Wii's success, and before its release there was an air of uncertainty due to the different control scheme. Once it became a success, developers were keen to jump on board. Of course, there is a gap between deciding to make games and their actual release. So I guess there will be some better quality games during 2008 that have had a bit more time in the development cycle.

Is that possible? I'm assuming yes, the nunchuck can be used as a pointer, it's just less inutitive and not been done before.

3rd person view, nunchuck ananlog stick to move, holding Z makes you cling to cover. You can aim from cover, when you press fire, you pop out.