Which Wii games have simultaneous multiplayer?

The Game Room
1

Like a lot of people, we got a Wii for Christmas. I’m looking for multiplayer games in which the players need to play together to accomplish the goal. Not all multiplayer games have this. Most seem to have the players take turns or they play independently side by side.

For example, the Tennis and Baseball games have the simultaneous play I’m talking about. The players are playing against/with each other. However, Bowling and Golf do not. In those games the players take turns. Also, Mario Kart does not. The players are just racing in their own part of the screen.

So are there any recommendations for games where the players literally do play together

2

Mario Galaxy has a really lame version where one person controls Mario and the other person controls this little thing that collects star bits and shoots them out as Mario goes around.

3

The Lego series of games all have two-player cooperative capability. My kids like all of them (some were the Gamecube versions, but those will work on the Wii if they don’t have Wii versions). Dance Dance revolution supports up to four, but you need a mat for all players (actually, my kids like to have one person do the feet, and another shake the Wiimotes).

Rampage is up to three player, although they’re cooperating in destroying cities!. :eek:

Wii Music is up to four player.

4

The various LEGO games that involves other franchises: LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Indiana Jones, and LEGO Batman. They feature two player simultaneous play (on the same screen) where the two players have to work together to beat the levels. Even in one player mode you’ve still got both player characters playing at the same time with the other one being controlled by an AI. So it’s really designed around a two player concept. Also, the second player can jump in and out of the game at any time.

5

My husband and I accidentally discovered that, at least in LEGO Star Wars, you can accidentally hurt another character by smacking them with your lightsaber/other weapon. Oops.

I had typed “can accidentally hurt another player…” and corrected it, only to realize that you could if you’re too close and smack them with the controller. :smiley:

6

My kids quickly discovered that you can do it on purpose, too. :slight_smile:

7

That’s exactly the info I’m looking for. I’ll start checking out those games. Do the LEGO series have a lot of replay value?

8

In the LEGO games, you start out with only a couple of character options, and unlock more as you go along. If you then replay the game, you can jump to different “scenes” in the game, pick any characters you want to use, and so on. This can even unlock new areas because certain characters have special powers that can get you into previously unaccessible spots. It’s not majorly plot-changing or anything, but it’s more exploration and variety.

9

Boom Blox has some cooperative gameplay. The game overall is hella fun.

10

My wife does not game and is hooked on Lego Batman right now. There is alot of replay value in it.

11

I’m confused by this. Mario Kart’s multiplayer is just as “simultaneous” as Wii Sports Tennis/Baseball is, the only difference is that you’re playing on your own screen segment, as the game wouldn’t really work any other way. You’re still racing against the others in a single environment-it’s actually just like the Wii Sport Boxing game, if you’ve tried that. It sounds like you just may not be a fan of “split-screen” gaming.

Anyways, there are a few other games you may want to consider, that are not “split-screen:”

Samba De Amigo: A hilarious and very fun (and tiring!) music game where you have to shake the controllers (maracas) in time with the music–it’s much more fun than it sounds. Try it out–has awesome music and is only $30, I believe. It maxes out at 2-Players though.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl: An awesome party/fighting game that’s pretty easy to get into. Everyone battles it out on the same screen, and it’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had. But if you’re new to gaming, and don’t have fast reflexes, it may be a bit too advanced.

Mario Galaxy: This is more of a love/hate type thing. It’s primarily a single-player game (and an amazing one at that), but it does feature an optional cooperative mode where the single player controls a cursor on screen and can help the other by collecting stuff, blasting enemies, and doing other things. Cool, but may be an acquired taste.

Boom Blox: I second the poster above, this is a very fun game that 4-people can play in both competitive and cooperative modes. It’s very easy to play and quite fun, but it’s not “simultaneous,” as the players do take turns playing, like Wii Sports Golf.

Wii Play: This $50 game is actually 10-games (or thereabouts) in one and comes with a Wii Remote, so in effect, the game only costs $10 (assuming you need the Wii Remote). The game’s not anything too special, but it does have a couple of games on there (laser hockey, and tanks!) which are 2-player and pretty fun. But I would suggest this if you need another controller, as the game itself isn’t worth the asking price.

12

I’ve got to echo the LEGO series, as well as Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

LEGO Batman is especially good at this; though you can play it one-player, I’ve found that in doing so, the AI often doesn’t do what it “should” – that is, if you need one player standing on a ledge while the other works the controls, the AI will do neither instinctively. You have to position one player on the ledge or in front of the control box, switch to the other, and do the other action. In some scenes, the AI will do it, but in others, you’ve got to juggle. This is made much easier, and a lot more fun IMO, but using two players to accomplish the goal. I’ve not played the LEGO Indiana Jones game, but LEGO Star Wars was fun, as well.

SSBM clearly is a lot more fun with two people, even if you’re not reaching a “goal,” per se. Fighting another person is usually a lot more fun than fighting AI, unless you’re at exceptionally different skill levels.

13

Guitar Hero III (the only rhythm game with which I’m familiar) has a co-op mode which I understand requires two guitarists playing together. I believe it has additional songs. And of course Guitar Hero World Tour and the Rock Band games allow multiple players on different instruments, although I haven’t played them so I don’t know what the presentation is like.

–Cliffy

14

By simultaneous play, I mean that all players must directly work together to accomplish the goal of the game.

In Tennis and Baseball, each player is directly reacting to the other player’s action. I’m hitting the ball my opponent sends my way. We’re not playing independent side-by-side matches. We’re playing directly against each other where my opponent must react to my action or else lose the game.

In Mario Kart, you might only interact with the opponents when they are in the same area of the track. If one player zooms ahead, the players may never see each other. You are competing with them from the aspect that you compare times to determine a winner, but the players don’t necessarily have to even interact with each other to finish the race.

I hope that makes more sense.

15

Okay, I kind of get what you’re saying…but Mario Kart is really quite interactive between the players, much more so than most racing games. Are you guys using the items you get from the “?” boxes? :stuck_out_tongue:

16

This was basically what my 4 year old son did for me while I played SMG. By the time he was 5 he knew it sucked and he was being duped.

17

My friend was watching me play the game, and she wanted in, but wasn’t comfortable taking control of Mario. Her gaming experience included: only dabbling in 2D Mario’s on the NES, beating Super Mario World, and got 32 stars in Mario 64. She always liked Mario, (and I don’t blame her), but there were other people over and it HAD been a while.

I gave her the pointer, and she hated it as a function. Everyone then commented on how useless it seemed. It took some convincing, but she mustered up the courage to take the game on all on her own. She did ok, but struggled a little. I was proud that even though she got a “game over” screen, she wanted to give it another shot. I then made myself the second player, because I realized I had never really tried it for myself before… and let me tell you, we were looking at the function in the wrong way. I REALLY help out while she got her bearings.

18

Oops, forgot to add Boom Blox Love. It’s really a good game for a good range of people. Win or lose, who doesn’t like to see blox being boomed?

19

When I get a perfect chemical blox chain reaction…boom…boom…boom…it almost makes me want to cry, hyperbolically speaking of course.

20

IIRC the game Thrillville: Off the Rails has a bunch of mini-games, several of which are 2-player. I played this game with my friend and I recall a shooting game (Bandito Chinchilla) and a tank game (possibly Tank!). There were definitely more.

The games had nothing to do with the rollercoaster game itself, but from what I am reading that is a very popular game, too.