Action stations for Wii fans

This week, while many of us will be busy checking out the near sell-out Grand Theft Auto IV on either Xbox 360 or PS3 - see

first look here

- the mighty Wii continues on a roll.

Nintendo says its annual net profit has soared 47.7 per cent to a new

record high

on strong sales of both the Wii and Nintendo DS (with speculation online the

next version of the DS

may only be months away).

Nintendo has no trouble selling to audiences attracted either by the easy-to-use DS touch screen and the Wii's motion-sensing remote controllers or group fun interactivity - or those who want all.

The latest fitness game,

Wii Fit

, with its own balance board is out here on May 8 to capitalise on those who enjoy the Wii for the virtual reality sports such as ten-pin bowling, tennis and boxing.

And there are new titles out this week for those who chose Wii as their preferred console.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

(Nintendo. M)

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

is a turn-based strategy game with an RPG side that lets you customise your characters and propelled by a strong, complex storyline that had

earlier installments

on Game Boy Advance and GameCube, most of them released in Japan only. So it's about time an international version was released.

The game is divided into four chapters and contains 38 missions. A sign of just how involved this is; there are over 70 playable characters.

The story goes like this: The western land of Crimea conquered Daein but withdrew for economic reasons. The defeated nation of Daein is now ruled and oppressed by the powerful, corrupt nation of Begnion to the south.

Opposing them is the Dawn Brigade, under the guidance of Micaiah, who is seeking to free her people. The heavy plot twists and complicates but does a good job of revealing the motives for each faction. Races are either beast-based Lagus or magical Beorc, and character types vary considerably.

Graphically, it's not at next-gen level, but rather an old school style. The game claws its way up the rankings based on additions to the tactical battle system where elevation, involved player manoeuvring and 3D battles can be undertaken. This game is indeed a complex and well thought through RPG - and it's tough!

This is a deep game with days and days of gameplay, but only if - like me - you're into these rather slow-moving Japanese-styled epics and can cope with the screeds of text where the characters interact.

It's no wonder the Japanese kept this franchise to themselves for so long. The music and menu options are really good and you even have the choice of increasing the text speed and saving games mid-battle.

You can choose from a range of weapons, potions and spells and upgrade levels like you're a newbie. You find your enemies easily and can battle whom you please, effectively picking and planning your scraps. You can join up characters during fights and that will boost each player's stats.

The Wii remote works well in sideways operation (is also compatible with the classic or GameCube controllers) and it is in widescreen. It's a pity the graphics and character animation couldn't be a little cleaner to take advantage of today's excellent TV resolutions - though this will only be visible on screens larger than 32". Overall the game does a great job with zero slowdowns and runs far too smoothly.

Check out the fantastic intro to the game in the video below.

MadGamer rating: 8.5 / 10

Battalion Wars 2

(Nintendo. M)

For those seeking a tactical battle game, Battalion Wars 2 is the updated version of the fun GameCube game. The world (comprising six fictional factions) is at war after commanders of the Anglo Isles (the United Kingdom, complete with the accent) are fooled into thinking the Solar Empire (Japan) is developing a devastating super-weapon.

The good old 'weapons of mass destruction' excuse for invading a country! Nice one old chap.

You'll get to command the six various nations and use tanks, naval ships, submarines, planes and troops.

With Wii's point-and-click approach, it's a fairly simple operation using the Nunchuk controller, though giving specific unit commands in the hot seat is at times a challenge.

Though it is not deep enough to tax the brain the game is a lot of fun, reasonably fast paced, and the cartoonish graphics are colourful as well as there being online multiplayer game types, both competitive and co-operative. A very good game.

MadGamer rating: 8.5 / 10

Harvest Moon Magical Melody

(Nintendo. G)

Here's one for the youngsters over the last week of school holidays. Harvest Moon Magical melody is the latest in the quirky series in which you play a farmer (either male or female),

Soon have a wealth of animals and pets to tend and the odd crop to grow. You also have to collect 100 magical notes to get the Harvest Goddess to return to the world.

In this version, you interact with town folk in their day to day business, at shops, festivals, and on their farms. You can even fall in love, get married and raise a family. The highlights were obvious to me - minigames, treasure hunting in caves, earning a note doing nothing, culturing a rundown garden into a seasonal crop and a spot of river fishing.

MadGamer rating: 7.5 / 10