Daval

Hey Folks,

My kids are getting a Wii for Christmas. They are quite young and this is the system they really wanted so we've bought it.

Now, I'm not a serious gamer by any means, but I wouldn't mind getting a few things for myself. I quite like the FPS mission based stuff so Call of Duty seems to call out to me.

Now my question is, how do these work on the Wii? Are they comparable to XBox or PS3? (I have neighbors who have these systems). What would be the difference in the Wii version versus the other two?

Also, am I able to get an Xbox type controller for game playing or do I have to use the Wii remote sideways?

Any other game suggestions would be appreciated. I've only really played two games - SOCOM 3 on PS2 and God of War2 on PS2


Thanks,
Dave

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"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill

Baraka_Guru

You'll likely find Wii versions of popular FPS games a bit "watered down," especially in terms of graphics. However, there is some advantages to the control system.

For example, I really enjoyed the controls on Tomb Raider Anniversary, because you can control Lara with one hand, and shoot by pointing at the screen with the other. Since I'm a PC player, I'm used to pointing and clicking to shoot, rather than moving a cursor around with a directional pad. Various shooting games on the Wii should be similar, just don't expect the wow factor of Xbox 360 and PS3 in terms of graphics.

I do highly recommend the "classic controller" for Wii. It's similar to the Nintendo Game Cube controller I think. It has the same button set up as some Playstation controllers I've used at least. This type of controller is great for your classic style games such as platformers, fighters, and racers.

If you're into FPS, I don't have much to recommend on the Wii, as I haven't played many of that type on it. It's not really the system's strong point. Though the one game that did really well was Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. That game itself should be a good introducton to what can be done on the system in terms of FPS and the Wii Remote. I see they also recently released Metroid Prime Trilogy, which is getting great reviews.

Other than that, Call of Duty: World at War and Modern Warfare received decent reviews, but they didn't "port" to the Wii well enough to compare to the other systems, again in terms of graphics.

Once you get the system, you will find that the Wii's strength is in a number of other types of gameplay outside of FPS. If you're a huge FPS gamer, you might be disappointed unless you enjoy other types of games.

As for the kids, it's the system I'd recommend the most. There is a slew of games that they'll absolutely love.

There are many genres of games to explore on the system. I recommend going to Metacritic.com to see what critics are saying about the top Wii games and maybe consider trying some of them out to see what the system is good for.

Good luck.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Daval

Excellent info - thanks mate!

__________________
"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill

Martian

The classic controller in shape resembles a SNES controller more than anything. It does have the added functionality of the analog sticks and additional shoulder buttons though. It comes with a bracket that will hold the wiimote, which attaches to the back of it. Overall, very convenient.

If you had a Gamecube, the Wii can play those games too, but you'll need an actual Gamecube controller for it.

Games like Call of Duty work surprisingly well on the Wii, thanks to the Wiimote's pointer. If you expect to be playing such games regularly, a Wii Zapper is a good investment.

In terms of games, I tend to prefer shooters on the PC so I can't make a lot of suggestions there. The Metroid Prime series is pretty good from what I understand. I also enjoyed Twilight Princess, though that may or may not be your thing. What might surprise and interest you most are the games that you can play with your kids -- games like Mario Party, Mario Kart and Smash Brothers are fun for all ages, and could be a good family activity.

Games are not compatible cross-platform. If you want to play with your X-Box friends, you'll either have to get an X-Box of your own or actually make the trip over there.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Reese

You can't go wrong with Mario Brothers, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Smash Brothers brawl.. Kids will love the minigame collections like Warioware, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Wii Sports.

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Daval

I have bought Wii Sports resort for the kids and Wii Fit for the wife.

The only console we've ever owned is the original XBox, and we had our neighbors PS2 for about 6 months when the mother wanted it out of the house due to bad report cards for the kids.

Another game I really want to get is Tiger Woods Golf. I tried that over at a friends house and loved it.

__________________
"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill

Redlemon

Pick up the Mario Kart. I can't stress that enough. It is still my 7 year old son's favorite game, after a year of ownership. (That might be offset by Lego Rock Band, which will be for Christmas.)

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Bill O'Rights

Mario Kart took a backseat to Lego Star Wars as my 7 year old's favorite Wii game, but is still a family mainstay. Wii is the only system that we own.

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snowy

We have really enjoyed this game. We like that when we're studying and working on school stuff, we can take a brief break to play a round or two of table tennis, three-on-three basketball, or spin control bowling.

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ironpham

I've found that the most popular games for the Wii tend to be the party-like games. Ones you can bring out at a party essentially - Wii Sports, Mario Party, Wario Ware, etc. Also, any game with the name "Mario" in it is a damn good game. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a fantastic multiplayer game (single player too). If you're looking for an FPS, then Wii is probably not the best system. I've heard Metroid Prime was okay, but outside of that I've not heard of anything worthwhile.

Also, some games allow for the usage of Gamecube controllers. Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart come to mind.

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ratbastid

I don't have a Wii, but I've played the heck out of a friend's unit.

I REALLY enjoyed Mario Galaxy, and Rayman's Raving Rabbids (I think there's a sequel too) have been FUN party-style games.

Fremen

I hope you're popping for four controllers. It's well worth it.

My sister's family has a Wii and we have a blast playing Wii Sports on holidays.
I love the tennis, homerun hitter and the bowling.
They bought the Wii Resort one, but for some reason it's unplayable now. It was fun while it lasted.
It had archery, table tennis, some kind of wakeboard thing, kayaking and a bunch of others. (funny story....me and a friend were playing the kayaking game, trying to figure it out, just paddling back and forth through the gates. We keep doing this for about ten minutes and we're both getting real tired. So, we decide to quit when we get nowhere fast. Then as we're exiting, we find out we've been practicing for ten minutes, instead of actually racing!)

Also, I believe you have to have the Wii Plus to play Wii Resort.

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Martian

If not four, two wii-motes is the absolute minimum. This is an important point, since the system only ships with one.

Also worth looking into is a charging dock for the wii-motes. I honestly don't know how Nintendo hasn't released an "official" version of this yet, but there's plenty of third-party options to choose from. It'll save you a small fortune in batteries, and also gives you a nice tidy place to store the wii-motes when they're not in use. You can get models that hold two or four, to accomodate your needs.

This raises the real issue with the Wii. The cost of owning the unit is less to do with the console itself, and more to do with the accessories. Don't expect to drop $200 on the system, buy a couple games and be done.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Baraka_Guru

A charging dock, while nice, isn't necessary. We simply picked up a rechargeable battery kit, with 8 AAs. It's well worth it.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Daval

The wii sports resort game comes with two additional remotes - that's the main reason I bought this one. the game and two remotes for 60$ seemed like a deal.

I assumed the console came with two remotes with charger base - I didnt realize they used regular batteries. I'll look into that - thanks.

I guess I may have to buy a 4th remote now too.

My friend has these thick silicone skins over his remotes - it has to be like 3/8" thick in spots - I assume this is to protect your walls, children TV, etc. Do you all recommend them?

What else are must have accessories?

I did try a driving game with the Wii using a steering wheel thingy but it just felt so awkward and unresponsive - but that was with only about 5 minutes of me trying it.

---------- Post added at 08:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 AM ----------

Also for the Toronto area TFP'ers, where is the best place to buy Wii stuff cost wise? I'm in Mississauga.

---------- Post added at 08:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 AM ----------

actually I just checked the box (I have them stored here at the office so kids don't find them) and the Wii Sports Resort has two Wii Motion Plus included. these are not remotes? What are they then?

So I'm still going to need to shell out for 1 - 3 more remotes at $50 each? geezuz

__________________
"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill

Redlemon

I don't use the skins, as they don't work with the recharging stands that I use.

The Wii Motion Plus is a little cube that attaches to the bottom of the remote, which somehow makes the motion much more exact and specific. I don't know how. So yes, you need to buy at least one more regular remote.

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snowy

The Motion Plus accessory is a component needed to play Wii Sports Resort.

Wii MotionPlus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The version that comes with Wii Sports Resort is sort of like a WiiMote condom--it has the block that attaches to the bottom of the WiiMote, and then a silicone skin that fits around the rest of the WiiMote.

We use rechargeable batteries with our WiiMotes. Easy enough. We almost always have 8 spare batteries charged up to swap into the WiiMotes.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Martian

It contains a gyroscope which, in conjunction with the accelerometer in the remote itself, allows for more accurate detection of rotational vs. linear motion; without the Motionplus, the only way the Wii has to detect rotational motion of the remote is via the sensor bar. Thus, the motion plus allows the wii to map much more complex functions than would otherwise be possible.

/nerd

The skins aren't strictly necessary -- you're correct in thinking that they're for protection, but it's as much for the wii-motes themselves as it is for your furniture children, or pets. A lot of people think they're uncomfortable to use -- as long as you use the wrist straps you should be fine without them.

Four remotes is definitely the ideal, but you can get by with two. It'll really come down to game selection; games like Smash Brothers are perfectly playable with two remotes, and a few games (notably Big Brain Academy, which you may also enjoy with your kids) can use one for multiple players.

The wheel accessory isn't strictly necessary either. You'll get one included with Mario Kart if you choose to purchase that game, but honestly I find it more comfortable without it.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Daval

So where is the best place to get a remote at the best price? (in the GTA)

__________________
"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill