Like Ezra, I am the proud new owner of a Wii. Like him, I have only a few games, and want to know which others I should get. I lean more towards the "Winter Sports" type games (what I'm currently playing) than shooting things. Suggestions?
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Nintendoville
25 Mar 2008 05:44 pm
Comments (38)
I haven't played SSX 4, but I loved the first three. They're strictly snowboarding games, but have both racing and trick competitions.
get Super Smash Brothers. just came out. excellent multiplayer game that doesn't require a huge investment of time to enjoy. and it actually has really good handicapping features that let people of very different skills compete against each other. also has an online mode, but i haven't tried that yet
get Wii Play, because it's like $10 and there are a couple reasonable games on it (especially tanks), including easy ones that someone visiting can play without any experience.
Get Lego Star Wars if you have any interest in Star Wars... it's light-hearted fun (I have the xbox version, but the Wii version would probably be just as fun).
Wii Sports and Wii Play are both fun.
The Wii-mote works pretty well for driving games.
Most of the other games we have are kids games. They like the Cars game. Mater National uses the thumbstick to steer, which is a pain. My daughter likes Surfs Up and Super Paper Mario Bros.
The Zelda crossbow training game is great fun. It's dead cheap (for a wii game) and comes with a free gun adapter for your wiimote.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W5Y49G/
WarioWare: Smooth Moves is lunatic, bizarre, hilarious fun.
Biathlon?
Guitar Hero III (The only GH available for Wii).
If I describe it to you, it sounds lame.
If you watch someone play it, it looks silly.
If you play it, it's loads of fun.
(It's also $90 because of the special controller, but worth it.)
Update to the latest firmware and keep it updated.
It will use your existing wifi router.
Get rechargeable batteries for the controllers and the charger base. The thing eats batteries.
Haven't played the Wii version, but I'll second the recommendation for Super Smash Brothers just based on past experience. That is the ultimate group game for those times when you have a bit of friendly aggression to work out, but don't want dark and sinister.
The old N64(!) cartrdiges, if you can even find one, fetch 2x-3x times their original retail on eBay these days.
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Brothers
Legend of Zelda Twighlight Princess
Super Paper Mario
Guitar Hero III!
That and Wii Sports have kept me happy since I bought it in January. Seriously, I've needed no other games.
I third Wii Play. It's a blast. Make sure to buy it in the pack that includes a Wiimote. Play is absolutely not worth its $49 standalone price, but when it's bundled with a Wiimote, you're getting Play for $10, which is definitely worth it.
Check out Rayman's Raving Rabbids for a gonzo game with some rather amusing minigames.
If you could put together a youtube video of you and the rest of the Atlantic/TAP/Reason writers playing Rayman's Raving Rabbids after some sangria, that would be awesome.
If you lean more towards Winter Sports-type games, it sounds like mini-games are your thing, in which case, I echo the above recommendation of Rayman Raving Rabbis and WarioWare as well as WiiPlay (and make sure you get it with the WiiMote included - much better value for money).
Ditto on the Rabbids. Definitely need others to play with though (too silly for solo play).
Wario World is the funnest party game you will ever play.
1. Guitar Hero III - My Wife hates video games and she loves this one.
2. Zelda - Only if you like traditional type games.
3. Mario Kart - It does not come out for a month...but come on, it's Mario Kart.
Lego Star Wars games were a big hit around my house. Super Mario Galaxy is a mental twister, which can be a lot of fun. Wii Play is nice, but tedious.
Guitar Hero is a lot of fun to play, especially if you ever dreamed of being in a rock band as a kid.
Smash Bros Brawl= So good, Super Mario Galaxy= So good, High School Musical Sing Along= so good.
I second Wario Ware as a great party game.
Occasionally I find it useful to be made to feel dumb and Big Brain Academy is an enjoyable and effective way to keep the ego in check. Also a good party game, especially if your friends are also quite smart.
Trauma Center Second Opinion is also pretty fun.
Do they have a cricket game yet? (They'd be silly not to given India and the number of Indians living outside India). If or when a cricket game becomes available I shall HAVE to buy my first ever games console (is that the correct terminology?). Until then, to hell with them...
Super Mario Galaxy, without a doubt. 2007 game of the year and one of the most fun experiences of all time. It is super casual, as even my mother, who bought herself a Wii to play Wii Sports and Wii Play, became addicted to the game.
Smash Brothers is a great game, but probably not up Megan's alley, unless she has someone to walk her through the concept. If she does, then go for it. It's one of those games that people will still be playing the heck out of years from now.
Oh, and a great puzzle-adventure game with some good atmosphere is Zack and Wiki. Greatest game no one's heard of.
Don't forget to go buy some classic Nintendo games. (You buy them online thru your Wii homepage.) I love the Wii system, but you'll be shocked at the joy you find playing the original Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, etc. Sure, it's reliving childhood...but isn't that what videogames are all about?
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll second anony_mouse_'s recommendation of Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. It's a terrific multiplayer experience.
You might also enjoy Mario Party and Guitar Hero III.
Get WarioWare. Then again, all I seem to "play" anymore is WiiVotes.
While Guitar Hero III is a great game, unless you enjoy speed metal the song selection might not be to your liking. Perhaps Rock Band, which unfortunately costs an arm and a leg but is in every other way superior, would be preferable. Since Rock Band includes multiple instruments and has a karaoke component, it's a superior interactive party game, though single player is still the primary experience.
Since you enjoy sports mini-games, try Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. My nieces love it when they come to visit, and I'll even give it a go though this sort of game isn't my bag. As a bonus, its olympics are set in Wiiville, or some other place that explicitly isn't Beijing.
No Tibetans died to bring you these games.
@Patrick
Is Rock Band even available for the Wii?
Is Rock Band even available for the Wii?
Not yet, but soon. They officially announced it a few months ago.
Jeet, you've outed me! I own an xbox as well as a wii. I'd still hold out, were I buying for the wii, for Rock Band. It's superior in every way from songs to instruments to, well not price. I also found GH3 a disappointment compared to earlier versions. Too much nu-metal.
Strongly recomend Wario Ware it is a relentlessly silly game it is embarassing to play and hillarious to watch other people play. It is very easy to get into.
I also recomend the adventures of zack and wiki. It is an adventure game sort of like myst but much more light hearted and with a more arcade sensibility. Every level has you trying to use objects to solve puzzles to get a treasure. Levels take 10 minutes to an hour. It is one player but play by comittee is satisfying.
Mario galaxy is a lot of fun but it is a big single player game. It is easy to play but it takes a long time and is sort of a traditional video game. You run around space jumping on things and avoiding obstacles. It is a great game but it might not appeal to you.
Smash brothers is a lot of fun but it might not appeal to you with out buying an old fasioned controller the game is sort of awkward, and if you don't have lots of nintendo nostalgia lots of the appeal will be lost on you. It is a game of cartoon characters getting into fist fights.
"Perhaps Rock Band, which unfortunately costs an arm and a leg but is in every other way superior, would be preferable."
I find the songs very blah in Rock Band, and the instruments break a lot. I prefer the set-list of Guitar Hero III, but that probably says more about my musical tastes than anything. However, I'm convinced that Rock Band is the most fun 4 people can have playing a video game. It's also more of a party game than Guitar Hero III, so it's easier for new people to pick it up imo.
Smarty Pants is a lot more fun than Big Brain Academy, if you want a trivia game. It lets you customize questions by age (so adults can play against children on a level playing field), doesn't lecture you as Big Brain Academy does if you get something wrong, and has some amusing uses of the Wiimote to increase your chances of getting questions right.
I don't own a Wii (heck, I don't even play console games anymore) but I LOVE Yatzhee's reviews of video games and he has a bunch about the Wii and various games for it. This is my favorite.
BTW -- NSFW or Children due to language.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/3059-Zero-Punctuation-Zack-Wiki
I don't own a Wii (heck, I don't even play console games anymore) but I LOVE Yatzhee's reviews of video games and he has a bunch about the Wii and various games for it. This is my favorite (and the most recent).
BTW -- NSFW or Children due to language. Really, really graphic language.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/3059-Zero-Punctuation-Zack-Wiki
Like others before me, I say get GH III - my wife (who's pretty much uninterested in video games) loves it & completely destroys me at it.
Wario Ware is also lots of fun - especially if you have a group of people to play with.
Before you buy anything - go rent it, you'll know within a day or two if it's something you'll play more than a handfull of times.
"I am the proud new owner of a Wii"
Could you be any nerdier? Economics and now a WII. Sheesh!
WarioWare is good, but Rayman's Raving Rabbids is better. both are exclusively party games. do not get Rabbids 2; it's alright, but the original is a lot better (and cheaper).
i've found that pretty much all the golf games are pretty good, including Super Swing Golf, which turns golf into a psychotic Japanese drug-fantasy. Blazing Angels is a good WWII fighter-plane game. Resident Evil 4 is one of the best games i've ever played, but it's a shoot-'em-up.

As a former Nintendo "super agent" I would recommend Mario Galaxy and Metroid of course. Zelda is great if you played the others and want the nostalga kick.
I'd know more if I could just stop playing Wii Sports!
Posted by Llywelyn | March 25, 2008 5:51 PM