Pretty much as the thread title suggests… I bought the spouse a Wii for Christmas, but didn’t realize that it doesn’t come with many extra components. For example, it’s already obvious that we’ll have to buy a second controller. But beyond that, I’m pretty lost about what’s going to be absolutely necessary to function.
Any ideas? So far as I know, he’ll probably get some more elaborate sports games, that fitness thing and at least some classics. Like, do they have Frogger? Anyway, I hope y’all get the gist. Any help will be appreciated. And even more so if it doesn’t cost me several more hundred bucks.
Did you husband ever have an original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega, or Nintendo 64? There’s a TON of classic games available on the Virtual Console, and a lot of good original games on the WiiWare channel (MegaMan 9 and Gladius Rebirth being my favs.)
Beyond sports games, what does your husband like? If he’s a Mario fan, both Super Mario Galaxy and SUper Mario Brothers Wii are great choices (the first is a 3D Mario like an updated and awesomer Mario 64, and the latter is more like an updated classic Mario game, with side-scrolling and whatnot.)
If he likes action games, then he HAS to get the Metroid Prime Trilogy. It’s the first two Metroid Prime games that were originally on the Gamecube, but updated with Wii controls to make them even better, and then it also has Metroid Prime 3 which was originally released by itself for the Wii. It’s three full games for $60, so you can’t go wrong.
Thanks Bouv. So far, he doesn’t really know what he likes (beyond Age of Empires) and I was more curious about what sort of gadgets I need to buy to go with the functioning of the system. I mean, are color-coded plastic encasements necessary? 'Cause I’m pretty sure they’re not. Heh.
I love Mario Kart Wii, which surprised me considering I’ve had exactly zero interest in any other racing game ever. It’s the game that I suggest to people who have a Wii. Mario Party is also pretty fun and utilizes the unique controller abilities in various ways.
Lots of games come with an extra remote, so don’t worry about that. You will need a nunchuck if you don’t already have one.
You mentioned the fitness thing, and my partner and I really do enjoy Wii Fit. You need a balance board as well as the game, so it works out quite expensive, but we find it actually a good way to get exercise at home as well as play games.
If he likes shoot-em-ups, House of the Dead II is excellent fun. The guns are pretty cheap.
The guitar hero and rock band games are good sociable fun, but you do need to spend a fair bit on extras for them. This works out quite well - it means we all know what to get my GF for Christmas and birthday presents for a couple of years, and she’s always been bloody hard to buy for.
Wii party is terrible. The little games in general are, IMO.
Definitely the extra controller and nunchuck. If you have a Game Stop nearby, they are a great place to buy used and new stuff. We have bought a bit of used games from them and have never had a problem.
Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution are our two favorite games. I’m seriously looking at the Wii Fit Plus, but I still have to lose a bit of weight before I can consider it: I think the upper limit is 330 pounds.
Boom Blox is good for when you have friends over. Shooting stuff, exploding stuff, and different versions of Jenga (where you have a tower of blocks and everyone pulls one block out at a time - if the tower falls you lose). Works better if people are a bit drunk.
Super Mario Galaxy has as close to universal appeal as any game I’ve ever heard of. People LOVE that game, and very few people dislike it. You don’t need any special accessories to play it.
I got it for my nephew, and indeed, both he and I love it, and I highly recommend it to anyone with a wii. My sole criticism of it is the issue I have with many wii games(and the reason I personally will never own a wii)… The Wiimote is imo the worst controller ever for fps and platformer games. All its good for is the sports games and racing games.
I just started TombRaider for the Wii, and after a while I was looking for a Gamecube controller option. Sadly, there isn’t one.
For the OP, remember that your Wii will also play Gamecube games, with a Gamecube controller. That’s a good source for inexpensive games. If your husband played arcade games 20 years ago, you can find collections of them for the Gamecube. Namco put out at least a couple collections. (If you buy a third-party Gamecube controller, make sure it says “Wii compatible”. Not all are.)
Thanks everyone for the suggestion. There are several that I think my husband will like and I’m definitely going to show him this thread so he can decide for himself.
Huh, I didn’t care for Super Mario Galaxy. Granted, I haven’t played it much, but it just didn’t grab me like I was hoping.
Super Mario World for the Wii, OTOH, is outstanding.
You’ll want some party games. Of these, I like the Rayman’s Raving Rabbids series (there’s like three; you should be able to find one cheap) or WarioWare Smooth Moves. The Jack Handy-like announcer in this one is hysterical. And the stuff that he reads sounds pornographic, but isn’t. It’s funny. And fun.
I can’t argue with your opinion of it, but it is undeniably more accurate than a standard console controller for shooters if you learn how to use it properly.
As for platformers, the only negative I can think to strike against that is the lack of a dedicated camera-stick, though the control-pad often mitigates this, such as in Mario Galaxy.
I’ve been playing with the PlayOn suite, which allows media streaming through the Wii. Not only can you stream your own content from your PC, you can stream Netflix on demand movies, Hulu, ESPN online, Amazon, CBS, NBC and many more.
Works like a dream after you get the settings right.
I got a Wii and a Wii Fit Plus for Xmas. I’m loving the Fit stuff and have actually exercised 6 days in a row now. (not to mentioned lost about 2 pounds)
