I have never been a Super Mario fan. I am pretty bad at playing platform games, and the silliness of Mario did not appeal to me. Considering this, I was surprised to find myself enjoying “Super Mario 3D Land,” the Mario game on Nintendo’s latest handheld, the 3DS.

After five years, Nintendo’s gamble on motion controls has finally hit the jackpot. The newest installation in the venerable Legend of Zelda series, “Skyward Sword,” proves beyond reasonable doubt that motion controls can be exact, engaging and fun. “Skyward Sword” is the best game for the Wii this year, and should be on everyone’s holiday wish list.

“You’re going to suck at it,” my roommate Jesse told me. I tried not to take it personally, but I did. “What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“Look, Percy, you only like ‘Left 4 Dead’ and Nintendo games. ‘Civ V’ is completely different. You won’t like it.”

The Nintendo Wii was advertised as the video game system anyone could play, with simple, intuitive, motion-sensing controls. But for many Wii owners out there, it has instead become the video game system no one plays: It sits on your shelf, possibly next to your Xbox or PlayStation, and gathers dust until the next time [...]