While the list below isn't a rundown of all of the reviews that ran this year on Kotaku, it is a fairly strong sampling. Use it to help you decide what you should and shouldn't get.

Which games make your list for wishlist or gift list?

A Boy and His Blob

Price: $39.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Platformer
Subject Matter:A Boy and His Blob is a platform game in which the titular duo use their wits and the Blob's transformative powers to overcome obstacles as they try to save the planet from an evil alien overlord.
Value: Moderately lengthy for a platformer, A Boy and His Blob's main draw is it's combination of platforming and puzzle-solving, using the unique morphing blob mechanic to create ladders, holes, trampolines and more to help traverse increasingly hostile environments. The graphics are gorgeous and the presentation is charmingly bare. It's almost artistic.
Buy it for: fans of the original game and people with a strong bond to their pets
Read the Full Review

Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Price: $49.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Marble-shooting, creature-battling action game.
Subject Matter: Based on the wildly popular collectible toy game and cartoon series, Bakugan follows in the footsteps of Pokemon but adds transforming marbles to the mix. The game does a good job of capturing the essence of the franchise.
Value: With a relatively robust single-player campaign and ability to battle up to three friends on one television in a slew of interactive arenas, this game is a pretty good deal.
Buy it for:fans of Bakugan and maybe even curious fans of Pokemon.
Read the Full Review

The Beatles: Rock Band
Price: The stand-alone game sells for $59.99, the Limited Edition Premium Bundle sell for $249.99, the Rickenbacker 325 Standalone Guitar and the Gretsch Duo Jet Standalone Guitar sells for $99.99.
Rating: Teen
Genre: Rhythm music game
Subject Matter: The Beatles: Rock Band is a musical journey through the history of one of the world's most popular bands.
Value: For those new to the Rock Band phenomenon and fans of The Beatles, this 45-track game is well worth a purchase because this is the only way you'll play The Beatles music in a Rock Band game. If you're not into the band, give this a pass.
Buy it for: huge Beatles fans.
Read the Full Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex
Price: $49.99
Rating: M
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Subject Matter: The Call of Duty series jumps from old school wars to modern combat in an edgy politically-charged tale of nuclear warfare.
Value: With Wii shooters few and far between, this is a must-have for FPS fans.
Buy it for: FPS fans who also happen to be Wii owners. Or your grandma, if you're trying to get un-invited to the family reunion.
Read the Full Review

Contra ReBirth

Price: $10.00 (WiiWare)
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action
Subject Matter: A new entry in the Contra series in glorious, Super Nintendo-era 2D.
Value: It's short and hard, like a body-building elf. ReBirth takes the classic 2D run-and-gun gameplay of the Contra series and...doesn't do all that much with it. It's a new game with an old look.
Read the Full Review

Dead Space Extraction
Price: $49.99
Rating: M
Genre: Dynamic on-rails first-person shooter.
Subject Matter: Sci-fi horror prequel to 2008's Dead Space, featuring survivors on the run from alien horrors.
Value: A short Wii game, but one of the best-looking and most exciting ones in recent memory.
Buy it for: Fans of the Dead Space series and Wii gamers looking for a game targeted to an older crowd; this one's too profane for kids.
Read the Full Review

DJ Hero
Price: $119.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Rhythm
Subject Matter: DJ Hero is a rhythm game featuring a replica DJ turntable so players can mix and scratch to the beat of original music mash-ups.
Value: DJ Hero features upwards fo 100 different DJ-driven mash-ups featuring songs from the 70's on up to present-day hits. Unlike the latest Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, however, it's only good for one or two players, so the party element just isn't there. The innovative turntable-based gameplay makes it a breath of fresh air in the currently band-centric music genre, but it certainly isn't as social.
Buy it for: Fans of eclectic music mixes and lonely Guitar Hero fans.
Read the Full Review

Excitebike: World Rally

Price: $10 (download only)
Genre: Arcade racer
Subject Matter: An update to the classic Nintendo racer Excitebike, with a few minor gameplay tweaks and a revised link.
Value: A touch pricey for what is essentially a modern day port of a classic racer, but I suppose nostalgia has no price.
Buy it for: fans of classic Nintendo games and pick up and play gaming.
Read the Full Review

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A Darklord

Price: $10 (download only)
Rating: E10+
Genre: Tower Defense
Subject Matter: In an twist on the genre, evil princess gets to stack one tower against invaders.
Value: Lots of levels, but the creators charge extra for a lot of the cooler items and features.
Buy it for: Tower defense fans who want a major change to the traditional formula
Read the Full Review

Ju-on: The Grudge

Price: $29.99
Rating: M
Genre: Horror, Action
Subject Matter: Relive the eeriness of the Japanese horror sensation in this "haunted house simulator."
Value: With a second Wii Remote, you can randomly inflict scary "haunting" moments on the person playing the game by mashing A.
Buy it for: Japanese horror film fans and anybody you secretly hate but don't dare give lumps of coal to.
Read the Full Review

LEGO Rock Band

Price: $49.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Rhythm
Subject Matter: It's the family version of Rock Band, with adorable LEGO characters.
Value:The value in LEGO Rock Band comes mainly from knowing your children won't be exposed to any suggestive lyrics or imagery, so if you're the type of parent/aunt/uncle that actually worries about such things, then there you are. Otherwise, you get somewhere around 44 songs that will just be released as downloadable content for the main game anyway.
Buy it for: Younger fans of good music who already have access to Rock Band instruments.
Read the Full Review

Little King's Story

Price: $49.99
Rating: T
Genre: Role-playing game mixed with empire-building
Subject Matter: A fairy-tale-style king at odds with increasingly clever and culturally-interesting enemies tribes and kings.
Value: High. Lengthy, imaginative single-player quest.
Buy it for: Wii owners who want a game that will last; fans of quirky, more artsy video games.
Read the Full Review

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias

Price: 1000 Wii Points
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Platform
Subject Matter: It's the sequel to 2008's LostWinds with the new ability to switch between seasons (winter and summer).
Value: Small touches, like the character being realistically refracted when standing behind ice, made us forget this is not a packaged retail release. The graphics and music are both deliver — as does the Wii Remote gameplay.
Buy it for: Gamers looking for a breezy and cute platformer.
Read the Full Review

Marvel Super Hero Squad
Price: $39.99
Rating: Everyone 10+
Genre: Beat-em Up
Subject Matter: A standard tale of good versus evil told with tiny, superdeformed Marvel characters
Value: While the adventure mode will only last a couple of hours, Marvel Super Hero Squad features a Battle Mode that lets your kids fight against each other using iconic Marvel Comics characters, so there is some lasting value there, if only for the youngins'.
Buy it for: kids old enough to enjoy Marvel Characters but not old enough to handle Captain America getting shot and killed
Read the Full Review

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Price: $49.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action RPG
Subject Matter: A highly Japanese hack and slash RPG with very striking 2D visuals.
Value:A gorgeous single-player action RPG, Muramasa has a great deal of gameplay but very little in the way of story development. Lots of over-the-top action and some very impressive boss fights make up for the overall lack of depth.
Buy it for: Japanese RPG and anime fans.
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MySims Agents

Price: $49.99
Rating: E
Genre: Action/Adventure
Subject Matter: Make your MySim into the ultimate secret agent by unraveling a huge mystery.
Value: Lots of customizable costumes and outfits, plus a secret alternate ending and bonus puzzles lend the game replay value.
Buy it for: Your kids and play it when they aren't looking.
Read the Full Review

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Price: $49.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Side-scrolling, nostalgia-tugging platformer
Subject Matter: New Super Mario Bros. Wii doesn't explore any new narratives, you're still Mario who is still trying to save the princess, but this time around you can play with three friends, and the game is there to help you when you get stuck.
Value: New Super Mario Bros. Wii feels like two games in one, and there are several mulitplayer modes to add to the fun after you've beaten the game.
Buy it for: Anyone with a Wii, anyone considering a Wii.
Read the Full Review

Rabbids Go Home
Price: $49.99
Rating: E10+
Genre: Comedy platformer
Subject Matter: Three manic rabbit-like creatures and their shopping cart put to task to rob humanity of its junk in order to build a pile and pathway to the moon. Plus, the Rabbids can and must yell the clothes off ridiculous people.
Value: A pleasant and funny adventure that will last a weekend, but longer for those who want to collect 100%.
Buy it for: Gamers who want a game that makes them laugh out loud; fans of platforming looking for a Mario alternative; people looking for the Rabbids to finally star in something that isn't a mini-game compilation.
Read the Full Review

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Price: $49.99
Rating: M
Genre: On-rails shooter, Resident Evil retrospective
Subject Matter: Single-player or co-op light gun shooter takes on Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica, wrapped up in a short, new pre-Resident-Evil-4 campaign, all presented with RE's mix of horror and cheese (though this one isn't scary).
Value: Light gun games are usually very short, but this one has three campaigns and enough unlockables to offer at least nine hours of first-time play.
Buy it for: Resident Evil fans; people looking for a less innovative Wii light gun game than Dead Space Extraction and a less outrageous one than House of the Dead: Overkill, but, of the three, the one with the most content. A solid game.
Read the Full Review

Spyborgs

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Beat-em Up
Subject Matter: Spyborgs is a simple arcade-style beat-em up with cartoon tendencies.
Buy it for: Young children and early teens who've yet to develop discerning tastes.
Value: $19.99 could very well translate into keeping your kids quiet (or at least only yelling at each other) for a few hours, or some quality parent-child bonding time. It's not particularly exciting, but it'll do in a pinch.
Read the Full Review

Sword & Soldiers

Price: $10 (download only)
Rating: E10+
Genre: Side-scrolling real-time-strategy game.
Subject Matter: Vikings vs. ninjas vs. Aztecs
Value: High, given the amount of levels, the gleefully violent cartoon visuals and the creative campaign.
Buy it for: Fans looking for cartoon violence on the Wii and fans of Patapon the only game remotely like this.
Read the Full Review

Wii Energizer 4X Charging Station

Price: $49.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: N/A
Subject Matter:An induction panel that charges up to four remotes at a time.
Value: With four rechargeable battery packs included with the induction panel, this seems like a fairly good deal.
Buy it for:Wii owners sick of burning through batteries and people who have their console set up in a place where space is at a premium.
Read the Full Review

Wii Fit Plus

Price: $19.99 (game only), $99.99 (with Balance Board)
Rating: E
Genre: Fitness, Sports
Subject Matter: A slew of next mini-games and a handful of new exercises round out Nintendo's home fitness tool.
Value: With a new multiplayer function and the ability to weigh your cat, baby or dog, Wii Fit Plus pushes its fun on the whole family.
Buy it for: Yourself because you're too lazy to go to the gym, your grandparents who need help getting over last year's hip surgery, or your brother-in-law who should really be watching his weight.
Read the Full Review

Wii Sports Resort

Price: $49.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Casual sports
Subject Matter: Wii Sports Resort drops you on an island with a dozen sports to attempt using the Wii's new, more accurate MotionPlus device.
Value: Packed with a MotionPlus remote add-on and a hefty collection of sports, this is a must have for Wii owners.
Buy it for: Fans of Wii Sports, casual gamers, anyone looking for some family time on their Wii.
Read the Full Review

I think it bears noting that I never played the original A Boy and His Blob for two reasons. First, the reader understands why I don't comment on how well the game adheres to the original - I have no frame of reference, so I cannot comment. Second, it speaks of the popularity of the NES title that, despite never having played the game, I still understand the premise and basic gameplay mechanics. A blob lands on Earth, seeking help in defeating the evil emperor who have taken over his planet. He meets a boy, and together they discover that feeding the blob different flavors of jelly beans grants it the ability to transforms into shapes that conveniently aid in the platforming adventure they embark upon to defeat the aforementioned evil emperor.

With a basic understanding of the game in hand, I ventured into the delightful world of this new A Boy and His Blob. What did I gain, aside from a killer craving for jelly beans?

Loved
Storybook Graphics: The sharp 2D graphics of A Boy and His Blob look as if they were lifted straight out of a children's storybook. The backgrounds are vibrant and colorful (if a bit repetitive at times), which serves as a sharp contrast to the simple style used to render the blob and your enemies. I found myself completely charmed by the game's style.

Here's Your Blob, Go!: If you want to delve into the story behind A Boy and his Blob, read through the game's manual. Once you start playing there are no words; no tutorials; no encyclopedia containing pertinent information. You figure out how to play the game on your own. In other titles this might have been a negative, but A Boy and His Blob plays intuitively enough that you don't need such distractions.

Choose Your Own Jelly Bean: Once you get into the thick of things, A Boy and his Blob affords you a certain amount of freedom in terms of how you progress. While I'm sure there are specific ways of overcoming obstacles that WayForward had in mind, judging from the predetermined set of transformations available to your blob in each level, but there are multiple ways of approaching certain problems that, if successful, leaving you feeling very pleased with yourself.

More To Love: A Boy and His Blob contains 40 levels of gameplay, which is more than enough to keep you blobbing all day long. Then every level contains three treasure chests to collect, which in turn unlock special challenge levels for you to play through. That's 80 levels worth of gameplay, plus the joy of obsessively searching for treasure chests. I'd say that's more than enough.

The Hug Button: The game has a button assigned to giving hugs. Every game should have a game assigned to giving hugs, not just A Boy and his Blob and Army of Two.

Hated
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs: A Boy and His Blob pretty landscapes are rife with graffiti. Everywhere you go you'll find quaint wooden signs, defaced with symbols letting you know exactly what form your blob should take in order to progress. As you progress through the game they get fewer and farther between, but they still make an appearance now and then, taking away from the most enjoyable aspect of the game - trying to figure out how to progress using the tools given you. An option to turn them off entirely would have been quite welcome.

Pet Pathing: The most frustrating element of A Boy and His Blob for me was waiting for the blob to catch up, which happens quite a lot. In many instances the blob simply comes when you call. In others, it feels like you have to hit the call button over and over again, like an impatient person waiting for the elevator, while the blob slowly made his way back to your side.

Even though I had never played A Boy and His Blob before, I have to admit that I came into this review with some idea of what to expect. The original was such a unique experience, that the re-creation had a lot to live up to no matter who was playing. Now I'm not sure what those of you who played the original game experienced, but I found myself quite pleased with the re-creation as a whole. The sharp and colorful 2D graphics, soothing music, action puzzle-based gameplay, and minimalistic presentation all add up to a gaming experience that can only be described as delightful, and that's not a word that I use lightly. Hell, that's not a word that I use ever. Enjoy it while it lasts; I'm off to stock up on jelly beans.

A Boy and His Blob was developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Majesco for the Wii on October 13th. Retails for $39.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the game proper and played through at least half of the bonus challenge levels.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Sure the game is out in 12 days, but it's Majesco's title and they can set aside a whole month if they want to. Each week they'll be showing off new screens, trailers, and concept art for the game, kicking things off with some concept art showing off the title's lovely hand-drawn art style, along with the official box art. Stay tuned for more A Boy and His Blob as Blob Month continues.

A Boy And His Blob, beloved NES platformer only some of us on the team have played, has inspired a Wii successor from the makers of the crushingly hard Contra 4. Oh yes, you will struggle in this one too, it seems. The guy from the company that's publishing the game did — and he's beat a version of the new game already!

What Is It?
A Boy And His Blob is a Wii spiritual successor to the the 1989 platformer of the same name. The new game is being made by WayForward and sports lovely hand-drawn graphics. The game is classified as a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer. It stars a duo that needs each other. The boy can't fight; he feeds jelly beans to the blob, which makes it transform into a ladder, a rocket ship, a hole in the ground, etc. Enemies are lurking and lots of pits full of spikes are one misstep away. The game has the boy and his blob adventuring through 40 main stages, initially set on Earth and then back on the blob's home planet where a despot has taken over. There are also 40 challenge stages.

What We Saw
I played one level that was definitely not from early in the game. I took a cue from a sign and turned blob into a rocketship. I had the boy ride him through a maze of earth and trees. But I fumbled and died. I watched a rep from the game's publisher breeze through some opening levels and become flummoxed by later ones. This game gets hard.

How Far Along Is It?
The game is set for a fall release, and while it's still being tweaked, I was told that it's now possible to play it through to the end. It's pretty far along.

What Needs Improvement?
The Difficulty: There's no reason that a cute game has to be easy. But when a person who has played the game a lot is struggling, that's a sign that the difficulty spikes are too jagged. I saw too many blind jumps and too many really tough leaps for any of us who still have a few strands of hair on their head to be willing to play this game through. As it is, this game could make me bald with frustration. We don't want that.

What Should Stay The Same?
The Look: The game is charming, lovely, and all the other adjectives you'd want to apply to a sweet storybook-looking adventure. Blob is adorable, even when he gets red out of anger. Even cuter is when boy hugs blob. It's probably how you looked when you were young and hugged your favorite pillow. That adorable.

The Transformations: The blob turns into some cool stuff. The old hole-in-the-floor trick — slipping a hole-shaped blob under an enemy so that it drops to a cave below — never gets old. Blob as ladder. Blob as parachute. Blob as coconut that acts like a bowling ball. I liked it all.

Checkpoints: You know, tough as this game is, at least it has lots of checkpoints. The Majesco man who had trouble in the later levels would always get a quick second, third, fourth, 10th try at these jumps, because the boy would always come back to life just inches from where he croaked.

Final Thoughts
I'm worried that this game's difficulty could ruin it for players who would otherwise find it delightful. It's nice enough to play a Wii original that looks this good and has this much personality. It'd be a pity if WayForward and Majesco can't tune down the difficulty some — even if the original was, I'm told, very hard — so that more of us can enjoy it.

Since official figures from such an obscure license might be wishful thinking, this sculpt by Appy is probably as close as we'll get to touching something from the game. Well, maybe not touching. Hugging.

Below, a bonus: his take on a Team Fortress 2 engineer (engineeress?)

[Reskiy @ Flickr, via GameSetWatch]

IGN also has the first interview with the developers of A Boy And His Blob, a quintet of reps from publisher Majesco and developer WayForward. But the reading can wait until after seeing the game in motion.

The Blob Team Speaks [IGN]

First revealed to varying degrees yesterday via Nintendo Power, A Boy and His Blob is indeed a rebirth of the classic NES adventure game, developed by Contra 4 developer WayForward. Along with the gorgeous graphical redesign, the new title expands upon the original, delivering 40 levels of gameplay filled with hidden treasures and unlockable bonus content. New jellybean flavors have been added to the games repertoire of shaft-shifting sweets, including Bubble Gum Bubble and Caramel Cannon, adding a new twist to the already tried and true experience.

A Boy and His Blob for the Wii is due out later this year in the U.S. and Europe. Until then, enjoy the 12 new jellybean-flavored screens bellow!

The re-imagined A Boy And His Blob will be handled by Wayforward, developers of fine products like Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS and LIT for WiiWare, reveals Nintendo Power. It also has first screens of the 2D, hand-animated game, plus how we'll be using the Blob on the Wii.

It's substantially different from the NES original.

Instead of simply feeding the Blob jellybeans to transform him into things like ladders and trampolines, the Boy will be able to use him offensively, turning him into an anvil or a cannon or a human-shaped doppelganger. Oh, and much, much more, of course.

The gorgeous looking modern day remake is planned for a Fall release (as a fully-fledged retail product, we gather) but you'll have to check the April issue of Nintendo Power for further details.

A Boy And His Blob Preview [Nintendo Power]

The classic NES adventure game A Boy and his Blob is being "reinvented" for the Nintendo Wii. So says the April issue of Nintendo Power, indicating that Pitfall creator David Crane's jelly-bean eating hero Blobert and his pal, the boy, will soon be making their triumphant return.

Remember A Boy and His Blob in NES? Then you're old! But this reinvention of the property on Wii is simply stunning.

How stunning is it? We'll have to check back on March 5th for that particular information, as right now Nintendo Power is teasing us with a blurry image of the article. That, or wait for the April issue to go on sale March 17th.

Nintendo Power - April Issue [Nintendo Power]