Wii beasties — 'Paper Mario' leads the latest Wii wave

Nearly six months after its U.S. debut, Nintendo's Wii is still really hard to find. That hasn't put a dent in its popularity: In March, the Wii easily outsold its flashier competitors, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.

New Wii owners are probably still catching up with such gems as "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "WarioWare: Smooth Moves." Those of us who got Wiis before Christmas, though, are waiting for the next big game. Where's "Super Mario Galaxy"? Or "Metroid Prime 3"?

Companies outside of Nintendo, who initially underestimated the Wii's popularity, have been scrambling to produce software. Some publishers have been revamping older titles, like Electronic Arts "The Godfather" or Ubisoft's "Prince of Persia: Two Thrones," with a few Wii remote features tacked on. In time — sooner rather than later, we hope — we should be seeing more games that have been designed from the ground up with the Wii in mind.

—" Super Paper Mario" (Nintendo, $49.99): "Super Paper Mario" was originally slated for the Wii's predecessor, the GameCube, and it rarely takes advantage of the Wii's motion-sensing remote. That's not to say it's a bad game; indeed, it's one of the most entertaining adventures to appear on the new console so far.

On its surface, it looks a lot like a classic, two-dimensional, side-scrolling action game, a la the original "Super Mario Bros." But it has a great gimmick: With the press of a button, you can flip the action into 3D, revealing secret passages and ways to escape enemies who were unavoidable when you could only move left or right. The developers have packed the game with all sorts of clever puzzles that require you to continually flip back and forth between 2D and 3D, making "SPM" more a test of wits than of reflexes.

The story begins with Princess Peach being kidnapped again, but the writers are fully aware of video-game cliches and create consistent merriment by subverting them. It's one of the funniest games ever, offering equal doses of comedy and challenge. Three-and-a-half stars out of four.

— "Bust-a-Move Bash!" (Majesco, $39.99): "Bust-a-Move," which has been around since the mid-1990s, is a classic matching game in which you shoot marbles toward the top of the screen, eliminating them by combining three or more of the same color. In "Bash," you move the Wii remote to determine the direction in which you shoot the marble.