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We had pondered the idea of getting a Wii for the flat for a while but ultimately didn’t get one because nobody is a hard-core gamer and those of us who could be would rather not be tempted to waste their time in that way. Yet, the toy itself and the reputation it gained for having cool games and controls, kept amazing us. And now we used a birthday party as an excuse to borrow a Wii for the weekend.
People are absolutely right, that Wii Sports thing is excellent. First of all it’s so nice and easy that even I get it. And the games you play are so nice and short that it’s perfect to use during a party. Consequentially pretty much all of us have a bit of a tennis arm right now because we kept playing that. It did take a while until we realised that you really just have to mock the arm movements and don’t need fully engage in the game.
The sad thing is that the other games we borrowed (Mario Party something and another one with evil white rabbits which some teenagers in the video store recommended) were quite shite and not really entertaining. I suppose there are better games than those which provide similar entertainment to the Sports pack.
And, yeah, this morning I absolutely ruled in bowling…
April 14, 2008, 0:22
It is a wondrous thing, isn’t it? I play 9 holes of Wii golf several times a week to unwind at the end of a day.
My wife is completely addicted to Elebits.
April 14, 2008, 2:08
..those of us who could be would rather not be tempted to waste their time in that way.
All those endorphins released are worth it, especially with the Boxing game.
Not sure if you’d like it very much, given your rigorous tastes, but Super Mario Galaxy is quite an amazing game. It works with two players but it really is a single player game that requires a darkened room and a couple of hours to waste. One of the few reasons to get that new TV.
April 14, 2008, 11:43
@Scott: I played a round of golf yesterday night and thought that was quite relaxing as well. I suppose it’s even more relaxing without the tennis arm…
@G: The boxing just killed us. After three rounds of virtual boxing we started feeling exhausted and sweaty (yikes!).
I might have enjoyed a proper Mario game with jumping and running. The one we had was just pants. I suppose that’s what you get for borrowing stuff you have no idea about based on the cover art and the judgement of random teenagers who were standing nearby and whose opinion you asked…
All that said, I am really not a gamer type. I may have spent endless hours on stuff like Sim City and Civilisation when I was younger but I just stopped being interested in such ‘big’ games. Now it’s just short-term entertainment I’m looking for and I’m happy with an occasional game of Tetris or Ballerburg. The only game I really am missing is Bolo. I was a huge fan of that and it struck an excellent balance between strategy and action.
April 14, 2008, 12:25
Hey, say nothing against Mario Party! If you know what to expect (a virtual board game), it’s quite awesome. It does, however, require four friends with a few hours to waste. Also, Mario Kart Wii. Best game ever.
Some other neat Wii games:
- Mario Galaxy
- Smartypants (great for parties)
- Guitar Hero (also great for parties)
- Wario Ware (again, party game)
- No More Heroes
- Metroid Prime 3
- Resident Evil 4
- Zack & Wiki
- Super Paper Mario
And coming soon:
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Okami
Oh, and if you liked Bolo, there’s a super-simplified tank game on Wii Play.
April 14, 2008, 12:55
@LKM:
Thanks for the hints. I’ll keep them in mind in case we do this again. I think I had something like the other Mario games in mind, but to me game illiterate self it wasn’t clear that there are different types of Mario games.
April 14, 2008, 16:19
All the reviewers hated Mario Party, so you’re in good company with disliking it. Mario Galaxy on the other hand is nice once you get a couple levels into it and have a good sense for the controls. When Wii Fit comes out later this year, that will be the game to do. Like Wii Sports, but using your feet as well.
April 20, 2008, 7:54
All the reviewers hated Mario Party
Because it was similar to the previous games, not because it was a bad game. It’s a ton of fun.
April 22, 2008, 9:35
