The other day, as I was getting my hair done (no, being a games journalist doesn’t mean you can’t get your groom on), I found out that my hairdresser is a huge gamer. As she colored the locks, she divulged her love for Nintendo games (Wii and GameCube these days), her collection of Mario characters hanging in her car, and of her son’s pride in his gamer mom. She described how she and her husband and her son once passed the controller around for hours as they conquered Zelda: Wind Waker and went on about how heated the competition gets in her family’s nightly WarioWare sessions. Jen totally changed my mind about gamer moms – she’s not just buying whatever her kid wants and plopping him down in front of the TV – she’s as into the games as he is – and that makes her a total badass.

Wii gamers – and those who shop for Wii gamers – you know that your task this holiday season is daunting. You see, the Wii has some fantastic, amazing games. And it has a hell of a lot more terrible, crappy pieces of shovelware. You have to sift through the gargantuan pile of complete crap to find the gems – but don’t despair. We’ve got a nice, comprehensive list of 2008′s very best Wii titles – and a few older picks for new owners.