Just got a Wii - please recommend a good game!

[lyzziesmom]

I've kinda been wanting a Wii, but am not one of those people who will get up early and stalk the store employees or battle rabid crowds trying to get one. I'd always just figured if I happen to find one then it's meant to be, if not then it's not. So for some reason I was drawn to the Electronics department at Target yesterday, which I don't normally go through unless I'm shopping for something specifically. Sure enough, they had 2 Wii's sitting there! So of course I bought one, and also picked up Wii Play since it comes with a Wiimote and is only $10 more than the controller alone.

So far we LOVE our new Wii! It is SO much fun! But I'd really to buy a "real" game rather than a collection of mini-games. I've played Guitar Hero on the store demo before and it's fun, but I'm not sure I want to plunk down the cash for it just yet.

I'm looking for recommendations and opinions on games my family might like ("my family" being myself (34yo single mom with very little free time) and DD9, and DD4 who wants to play but really doesn't "get it" yet). DD9 likes Mario games and Nintendogs-type games (blecch!) and is not very coordinated, so anything with complicated moves is out for her. In the Wii Sports package, she loved the bowling game but hated the tennis and baseball, they were too confusing for her. I like games that are not too in-depth since I might not have time to play for days or even weeks at a time and don't want to forget what I was doing in the game. I love the Sims on the PC and Animal Crossing on the DS -- games where you run around talking to characters and collecting items are fun for me. Also I don't want anything violent (no shooters or fighting/war games). I don't want to have to buy any additional equipment (special controllers) and want something both DD and myself can enjoy, not necessarily together although that would be a plus. I also might want Wii Fit eventually -- any opinions on that from people who have it?

I'm thinking of either My Sims, The Sims Castaways, or Carnival. Can someone who has played these games give me their honest opinion? Are they fun? Re-playable? Easy?

Any recommendations or reviews would be greatly appreciated! I'm also thinking of seeing if Blockbuster rents Wii games, so we can "try before we buy." Does anyone know how that works if we save progress in a rented game? If we later bought the game, would we still have our saved game or would we need to start over?

There are just SO many choices!

 

[sassystamper31]

We have three games for our Wii ~ NBA Live 08, Hannah Montana, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games...in addition to the games that came with the Wii.

We play the Mario one the most. Though it's a bit difficult to get the hang of, even for me! It has summer Olympic events.

We don't play our Wii a whole lot, but it is fun when we play it.

Enjoy your new toy!

 

[SydneyBristow]

~Mario Party 8- is a lot of fun and something everyone can play together.

~Mario Kart- Love this one, it's up to 4 players.

~Star Wars Lego- So much fun and Indiana Jones Lego is coming out soon. This game is only for 1 or 2 players though.

 

[Mean Queen]

My DD (almost 9) is very similar to your DD. She tried Carnival and really loved it. We haven't bought it yet. Her favorite games have been Raving Rabbids 2, Mario Kart, and Smooth Moves.

 

[HARASW]

My DS and DD love the carnival games.

 

[FutureMrsC]

Wii Fit is absolutely incredible!

I enjoyed a game called Elebits, though I'd recommend renting it before you purchase it. It's a "hide and seek" game of sorts, finding these little blobbish creatures that hide in a wide variety of appliances and furniture. Not violent, but just a little weird.

MySims is fun, too... very similar to Sims & Animal Crossing. Also popular has been Wario Smooth Moves... it's silly, but my younger cousins (7 & 11) really enjoy it... as well as my brother (21), husband (25, and myself (24).

HTH!

 

[Mnementh]

I third the Mario Kart suggestion. Excellent game and each cup (a set of four tracks) takes no more than a half hour to play, so if you're short on time, it's perfect.

Also, no one has mentioned Super Mario Galaxy yet. Absolutely AMAZING game! You said your DD9 likes Mario games, so I'm sure she'll enjoy this one. It isn't too long, either, so yet again, you can be short on time and still be able to play it.

As for saved data on rented games, I believe the data is saved to the system rather than the game, so you should be fine if you rent a game and save the data.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I recommend Rayman Raving Rabbids (either 1 or 2)!

 

[HelenePA]

Mario Kart! DD is playing it right now.

 

[Annette_VA]

I have boys that are 7 & almost 5. The almost 5 year old is the biggest Wii fan in the house. He loves Mario Party 8 and Mario Kart.

Lego Indiana Jones is out, but we got that for the DS instead of the Wii because that's what the boys asked.

Personally, I love Boom Blox. I've never much gotten into the Wii, past the initial run with Sports, but man I'm hooked on Boom Blox!!!

We got a Wii Fit earlier this week. Haven't had much time to play with it yet, though.

 

[scotlass]

Wii fit is sooooo cool.....

 

[Piecey]

I have Sims Castaway and I love it. I haven't played in awhile but have been itching to pull it back out..

We have Carnival games, too but it got old for us. We played once and that was it. We might go back but I doubt it.

I looove Wii Fit. I also love Mario Kart-- so much fun!

 

[Mysteria]

Another vote for mario kart.

Glad to hear the good reviews on wii fit. Now just to find one.

 

[rcraw45425]

Wii Fit, MArio Kart, Carnival Games and the one my girls and their frined are playing right now......Guitar Hero!

As for renting, I know that Movie Gallerie rents, I think they are the same price as the movie rentals. They are not, however, super quick on getting the new releases.

 

[HelenePA]

blockbuster has a game pass, I think its 22$ a month (in store) and you can rent as many games as you want (1 out at a time, they have a higher priced pass for 2 out at a time) we did this for awhile but our blockbuster sucked and never had anything good in so we switched over to gamefly.com

 

[Mean Queen]

Wii fit is sooooo cool.....

I forgot to mention I love my Wii Fit also. Just make sure you have room to move. There is a great Wii thread on the budget board with reviews of many, many games.

 

[tae1218]

Mario Kart is great. DD and DH are playing it right. Another favorite in our house is Mario Party.

 

[PeabodyJen]

My DS9 got a Wii for his birthday last weekend, and our two favorite family games are "Boom Blox" and "Zack and Wiki."

The Boom Blox game is simple but it is a complete and total blast; Steven Spielberg helped develop it. This is probably my personal favorite.

Zack and Wicki is an adventure game with tons of puzzles in it that have to be solved along the way. You have the use the wii remote in all kinds of different ways...ring a bell, saw a stick of wood, etc... It's also a really fun game.

You can do a search for both online and read a bit more about them. Have fun!

 

[lyzziesmom]

Thanks for all the suggestions! We went out and rented Carnival yesterday and I'm glad I didn't just buy it. It's very cute, but I can't see myself replaying it very much and it's also pretty frustrating for DD. I also bought a used copy of Cranium Kabookii and it's going back because something is wrong with the disc, it doesn't display the words properly. I'm kind of glad because you have to have at least 4 players, and I somehow missed that on the box, so we couldn't play it right anyway. It looks fun if it worked right and if we had enough people though.

As a side note, I was shocked at how expensive game rentals are at Blockbuster -- almost $9.00!! I might have to check out gamefly.

I should have just listened to DD -- she wanted to rent many of the games you guys have mentioned here but I wanted Carnival. Oh well, learned my lesson! Kids sometimes DO know what they're talking about! Shhhhh, don't tell her I said that.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

My DD loves Gutiar heroes, but keep in mind that you better like guitar heavy music if the Wii is in a room where family will be.

I may kill someone if I hear Slowride on the radio.