Reviews In Retrospect- Chicago developer's "Disney Guilty Party," "Metroid: Other M" And More

Disney Guilty Party
($39.99) Nintendo Wii
Rated E for Everyone

A sort of souped-up video game version of the classic board game Clue, Disney Guilty Party is an amusing little mystery party game. It's made by Chicago game developer Wideload Games, a company already known for it's brand of slapstick humor from titles like Hail to the Chimp and Stubbs The Zombie. The zany tone is also found in Guilty Party, where you play as the sleuths of the Dickens Detective Agency to investigate a series of crimes and identify - you guessed it - the guilty party. Part of the fun is playing with up to four players as you all interrogate suspects together through minigames until you crack the case. If you're looking for a casual Wii game that might attract even non-gamers, Disney Guilty Party is on the case!

Metroid: The Other M
($49.99) Nintendo Wii
Rated T for Teen

Samus, the badass female bounty hunter from the Nintendo classic Metroid has certainly changed from her days as the strong, silent type. In the The Other M, Samus is suddenly chattier than the women on The View as she tells you all about her backstory, her personal history with the other characters, and way more than you've ever wanted to know about what she's thinking. But ignore the chatter and enjoy the classic side-scrolling Metroid gameplay with an added twist - you can point your Wii remote at the screen and switch into a first person mode. Nintendo's also done a great job with the graphics - this is one of the best looking Wii games out there.

Mafia 2
($59.99) Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Rated M for Mature

From The Godfather to The Sopranos and their countless imitators, pop-culture has never really lacked in tales of the Italian mob, but 2K Games's new Mafia 2 makes a strong case for dusting off the old mafiaso trope and experiencing what it's like to become a "made man." The game expertly follows the story of Vito Scaletta as he rises from cigarette selling thug to big time mobster. As good as the story is, the setting might be better. The game takes place in the 1940's in Empire Bay - a fictional city that feels like a hybrid of New York and Chicago - and the Mad Men-like attention to period detail is amazing.  If you've ever wanted to evade the police in a car chase while listening to the smooth crooning of Dean Martin or Bing Crosby, Mafia 2 is your game.

NHL 2K11
For Nintendo Wii
($49.99) Rating: E10+

The Wii might be known for it's simplified, pick-up-and-play sports titles, but there's nothing dumbed-down about NHL 2K11. 2K Sports tosses just about everything at you - goalie moves, body checks, dekes, even puck juggling - most of them controlled with gestures from the Wii Remote. If you can get past the rather steep learning curve (it takes a good while to teach yourself to press B and swing your arm to shoot) there's plenty of simulation style fun to be had. This might be the closest you'll be able to feel to being Patrick Kane without sneaking on to the United Center ice.

A retail copy of each game featured here was given to GameSmith for reviewing purposes.