Top 10 Nintendo platform exclusives of 2008

The best Wii and DS games released this year.

By now you've hopefully seen our Top 50 Games of 2008 and viewed our Top 10 Games of 2008 Christmas video feature (if not, why not?), but what about the best games made for each individual format or platform holder? Good question. Luckily we've thought about the answer, and put together the Top 10 Nintendo platform exclusives of 2008. Before you get the pitchforks out and rustle up an angry mob, this list deliberately disqualifies titles like Call of Duty: World at War and Tomb Raider: Underworld (and any other games that appeared on another console). These are games that you can only buy for Nintendo platforms.

10. The World Ends With You, Square-Enix - DS

What we said: The World Ends With You is a refreshing, cool RPG that's simply bursting with new ideas and interesting gameplay mechanics. It's easy to lose yourself in the game, spending hours obsessing over clothes shopping, building up ridiculously high combos during battles and hunting down unique pins. It will please fans of all things Japanese the most and probably alienate others, but there's something about TWEWY that makes it just a little bit special.

9. Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City, Nintendo - Wii

What we said: It's hard to be down on a game that, when judged on its own merits, is great fun and addictive, but it's equally hard to look past the fact that this is essentially the same game we've been playing since it belatedly arrived on the GameCube. After the DS game it's also odd to be forced to play in front of a TV screen again, with the hop in and out nature of the gameplay just feeling better suited to a handheld. Still, newcomers will find this a lot of fun, while veterans are likely to find it hard to resist once again crossing with animals in their town.