Wii games for poor graduate students?

[wilson]

On my limited budget, I must choose my video game purchases carefully. I think I'm going for two games for Christmas. I'm virtually certain my brother is getting me Mario Kart, and that's definitely one I want...just don't even try to talk me out of it.
The other, however, is still up in the air. Has anyone ever played Okami? It looks very cool to me, and it has gotten stellar reviews. I'm definitely going to rent it and see how I like it.
Any other suggestions? I'm willing to be convinced to try any game in any genre.

[blazindw]

If you don't have Super Smash Bros. Brawl, your search for the best Wii games to get for Xmas is complete. Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Best games on the Wii so far.

[wilson]

If you don't have Super Smash Bros. Brawl, your search for the best Wii games to get for Xmas is complete. Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Best games on the Wii so far.

Funny...Smash Bros. has never done much for me, on Game Cube or on Wii. It's too spastic for me. I never picked up much on putting together combos, etc., so I always felt like I was just pushing random buttons over and over.

[nyr484]

If you like golf, definitely go for Tiger Woods Golf. If you like music, Guitar Hero 4 is fun. I've heard good things about Okami but haven't played it myself. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition is an old one but it is probably the best game I've played on Wii. If you don't have that one, that's definitely what you should get. Same goes for Twilight Princess... if you still don't have it, get it.

[blazindw]

Funny...Smash Bros. has never done much for me, on Game Cube or on Wii. It's too spastic for me. I never picked up much on putting together combos, etc., so I always felt like I was just pushing random buttons over and over.

I never got it for the Gamecube for that very reason. However, I did get it for the Wii, and it is much better.

In addition to that, I also recommend Guitar Hero 3. The guitars are expensive, but bundles have been on sale lately (I got it for the 360 for $50 on Black Friday), so check out the sale papers. I wouldn't recommend Guitar Hero Aerosmith unless you REALLLLLY like Aerosmith.

[wilson]

BTTT.
Thanks for the recs so far. I already intended to check out the new Zelda too, so I'm happy to hear positive confirmation on that.
As for Guitar Hero, etc., they never really got me going, and my bro has GH and Rock Band 2 on Xbox 360...we don't need any more.
Blazin, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt that SSB was like that on Game Cube, but I rented it on Wii and found it to be largely the same...got any tips?
Anybody got any more recommendations?

[blazindw]

Blazin, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt that SSB was like that on Game Cube, but I rented it on Wii and found it to be largely the same...got any tips?

Yea...play it ad nauseum until you're like "oh man, this is awesome!" Playing with 3 other friends helps too. Surprisingly, it only took me an hour of playing before I was hooked.

[wilson]

Yea...play it ad nauseum until you're like "oh man, this is awesome!" Playing with 3 other friends helps too. Surprisingly, it only took me an hour of playing before I was hooked.

So it's one of those "persevere until you get the hang of it" games?

[blazindw]

So it's one of those "persevere until you get the hang of it" games?

Not necessarily, I knew how to play...just one of those "It ain't no fun without your homies" type of games.

[billybreen]

If you don't have Super Smash Bros. Brawl, your search for the best Wii games to get for Xmas is complete. Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Best games on the Wii so far.

That's a shame -- I don't really like fighting, racing, or rhythm games, so I can't get into these two or the GH/RB franchises.

After a long hiatus, I finally finished SM Galaxy and am working on Twilight Princess. So at least I'm getting some quality Wii action somewhere. Any suggestions beyond the first party titles would be great. GameRankings.com isn't showing me many high quality options.

[darthur]

Okami is very good if you are into RPGs. It is quite similar in spirit to Zelda games, although it is more original. Twilight Princess, while immaculately constructed, can seem over-familiar to people who have played Ocarina of Time before.

I love Smash Brothers but I am not sure the Wii version is all that different from the GC version. One difference though is an extensive and enjoyable platformer single-player mode, which can be easily enjoyed by anyone and might get you ready for actual brawls.

Paper Mario has also gotten very good reviews, although I have not really tried it myself.

[billybreen]

Okami is very good if you are into RPGs. It is quite similar in spirit to Zelda games, although it is more original. Twilight Princess, while immaculately constructed, can seem over-familiar to people who have played Ocarina of Time before.

I'm all about the RPGs. I'll give Okami a try. Thanks!

[Oh Canada]

OK so I finally did it. I've held off as long as possible but we are finally bringing a video system into the house. I just didn't want guns/war/killing around my 4 year old. I mean, he'll have enough time to learn about that....right now I'd like to keep the innocence around.

So we bought the Wii play along with the system. Parents...are there any games you would recommend for a boy who's JK age? He keeps talking about a "Freddy Fish" game he plays at school but I don't know what it all entails.

Thanks for your help

[blazindw]

Super Monkey Ball.

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

1) Another vote for Okami . . . with a caveat. IMO, it plays much better on the PS2. You'd think the Wiimote would be a natural for the "paintbrush" style gameplay but I haven't found the controls to be very well done. That said, on any system Okami is a really wonderful game that's definitely worth a look.

2) I've also had trouble getting into SSB seriously. It may be because I come from the old-school SFII obsessive-compulsive chain combo school of fighters, but SSB always feels like aimless button-mashing to me. If you treat it as light pick-up-and-play-with-buddies it's endless fun. Just don't take winning/losing (or trying to use strategy with your character) too seriously. Embrace the button-mashing silliness and it's tons of fun.

3) I would like to suggest taking the $40-50 you would spend on a new cart (ok, disc) and spending it on Wii points for the virtual console. I've had more fun revisiting Ninja Gaiden, Simon's Quest, Actraiser, SMB3, etc ad infinitum than I have with almost any new games. There are also a ton of really great new games available for download. For an old 80's kid like me Mega Man 9 has been the most fun I've had in front of a TV in years.

Others: Mario Galaxy is transcendent, Resident Evil 4 kept me sane while slogging through writing my student note for law review, Metroid and Kart are fun, and Wii Sports is still a hit for any group gathering more than a year after we got the system.

[Turk]

OK so I finally did it. I've held off as long as possible but we are finally bringing a video system into the house. I just didn't want guns/war/killing around my 4 year old. I mean, he'll have enough time to learn about that....right now I'd like to keep the innocence around.

So we bought the Wii play along with the system. Parents...are there any games you would recommend for a boy who's JK age? He keeps talking about a "Freddy Fish" game he plays at school but I don't know what it all entails.

Thanks for your help

I thought we were going to be the last holdouts; glad to know we're not the last ones to go Wii Wii Wii all the way home...

My kids are grade school age, so I think we'll start with Wii Sports - that's what they say their friends play all the time, but this is a surprise so we need to be discreet. (In fact, every time the little gobblers bring up the subject of Wii or any of the game systems, Mrs Turk and I have dismissed the subject with extra vocal helpings of scorn and contempt in two-part harmony... heh heh)

Keep those suggestions coming, us lurkers thankyouverymuch...

[devil84]

Let me put in a vote for Rayman Raving Rabbids. I've only got the first one, and I've got 2 and 3 on my list (particularly 3, since it works with my WiiFit).

Raving Rabbids works well for all ages above, oh, about 8ish. There's some mild potty humor, and the Rabbid characters take a special sense of humor. Eight year olds, grad students, and parents of teenagers are about right. :D Lots of party-type games are unlocked after you play through the game (which is really just a series of party games).

I'll also second Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. Lots of great mini-games. Nobody, not even the video-gamers in the bunch, will win them all. The 8 year old, the teenager's mom, the twenty-something cousin, teenagers, and even Grandma and Grampa can excel at one of the crazy games here (and then fail miserably at the next one!).

Between these two and Sports, we've spent a number of family holidays amused by the Wii, with at least three generations participating.

We added Guitar Hero last year, but many people didn't want to "perform" songs, since it's really a one player at a time game (particularly when you only have one guitar!). I personally enjoy Guitar Hero on my DS system, as it's more portable and I don't hog the Wii/TV. It's worth it if you like music -- you don't have to be a musician, though drummers seem to excel at it way too much (that would be my son and my husband).

Super Mario Galaxy is a nice two-player game. Not a family game like the others, but my daughter (sophomore at State) and I had a good time playing that together.

My son enjoys the driving ones: Mario Kart and Need for Speed Carbon. He and my husband enjoy Madden 07 football, too.

I got WiiFit for my birthday, and I really like it. However, it's a solo activity (and it will display your weight to everyone in the room if you click through screens too quickly). There are some really fun games, like hula hoop and snowboarding that are fun. I wish it was something you could do in a group.

I rented the new WiiMusic game and was less than impresed. I was looking for the ability to play the melody, not just tap out the rhythm to a pre-programmed melody. I'd love for someone to tell me that I just "didn't get it" and that you can control the melody as well as the rhythm.

Don't forget that you can rent games from places like Blockbuster so you can try before you buy!

[wilson]

I rented the new WiiMusic game and was less than impresed. I was looking for the ability to play the melody, not just tap out the rhythm to a pre-programmed melody. I'd love for someone to tell me that I just "didn't get it" and that you can control the melody as well as the rhythm.


Sadly, I don't think this is the case. It's been getting universally terrible reviews.

[bluelou]

World of Goo on Wii Ware is incredibly addictive. Especially fun with two players. It's a puzzle game where you build structures (out of goo - hence the name) to get across various obstacles.

maybe not exciting to kids, but great for the older gamer...

[devil84]

Sadly, I don't think this is the case. [WiiMusic] been getting universally terrible reviews.

That's too bad. I was really impressed with the range of instruments available. But the "jam sessions" were about like a 4 year old on a piano (except pick your instrument) -- very haphazard notes. My kids won't practice like that on their real instruments, why would I want to do that in a virtual world? Surely there had to be something more than what amounts to shaking Wiimotes/nunchucks to influence the speed/volume of random notes...I guess I was wrong.

I'm glad I rented it for $7ish instead of buying it! I guess I'll go back to trying to beat Guitar Hero.

[bjornolf]

My five year old son LOVES Mario Kart, SSBB (super smash brothers brawl), Mario Party, Super Paper Mario, and Super Mario Galaxy. I also happen to like all of those. He DESPERATELY wants the Spongebob game, but I'm a little afraid of that. :eek: You might want to throw something like "wii games for little kids" into google. I've found some good suggestions that way.

As for adults, Mario Party is a lot of fun with friends, as are the Rabbids games. I REALLY liked Twilight Princess, but I've been a Zelda addict for 20 years. I enjoyed RE4 very much, but you have to be into the FPS/Horror/Survival genre to get into that one. The Metroid Prime games are ALL stellar.

I'd probably look to try to stretch those games a little more by going the Gamestop or e-bay route. ;)

[YmoBeThere]

Do you TA, etc. for any undergrads? If so, have you been nice to them? I think you might be able to tell where I am going with this line of questioning.

[Oh Canada]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've looked at the blockbuster route but to spend $15 on a rental here in Canada seems a bit excessive. I'd rather hear it from people who've actually played the games so thanks!

[wilson]

Do you TA, etc. for any undergrads? If so, have you been nice to them? I think you might be able to tell where I am going with this line of questioning.

Well, I know where my mind is going with that line of questioning, but if I typed it here, I think the board software would tell me that "I'm a real wanker for saying this."
And I didn't TA this semester anyway...that will be in the spring.

[OldPhiKap]

I have two younger kids. MarioKart and WiiSports are the tops in their world.

[bjornolf]

My cousin is my first son's (age 6) godfather, and he got this game, de Blob, for him for his birthday a few weeks ago. It's gotten a little cheaper than the usual $50 (we saw it at Walmart for $40). He LOVES this game. He loves painting (art is his favorite subject and painting is his favorite part of art). This game takes his two favorite things in the world, Wii and painting, and combines them in an adventure game. I even have a blast playing this game. It's hilarious too.

The premise is that there are these bad guys called the INKT corporation that have stolen all the color out of the world. Your job, as de Blob, is to absorb color (red, yellow, blue) and repaint the world while fighting off the INKT soldiers. You can also combine colors to get purple, orange, green, and brown. The different colors have different effects on the world, and the more colors you use to paint certain things, the more points you get. There are cut scenes between levels that document the INKT minions responses to your actions which are TOTALLY hysterical.

Anyway, for younger (less than 9 I'd say, though artistic kids who are older and love art would like it too I think) girls or boys, I think this is an AWESOME game. I like it too, but you have to be into that kind of thing. It's humorous in the same way that the Lego games are. If you like those, you'll probably like this one too.

http://www.ponygames.it/shop/images/wiinew/deblob/De-Blob-US.jpg