My wee Wii queries

[Trout]

Yes, I have one now. I feel like a caveman with a box of matches, so inexperienced am I, but I utterly love the tennis game on Wii Sports and I can't wait to get more stuff.

As I'm stuck at work with no chance to play it until tomorrow night, I thought I'd say hi to the other Wii people here and tap into the hive mind with my idiotic questions.

I know this is the best place on the web and you'll all be patient with me.

1) How do you play online? I've never done this with any gaming, ever. I take it I need to buy some other kit? Please forgive the stupidity of the question! I haven't read much of the instruction manual yet.

2) Can anyone recommend any decent entry-level games? I need something I can play while a two-year-old is in the room, so Resident Evil-style stuff might be a bad idea.
Does anyone have Mario Kart? I still have an old SNES set up in the spare room and maintain it is the best computer game ever created. Is it worth getting for the Wii?

3) Where should I go to buy games? Any tips on the cheapest place would be appreciated.

4) Finally, can I assume a British Wii is specific to the UK or Europe? I'm off to the States and Canada soon and thought about getting games (cheaper) over there. I bet Nintendo have that covered, though.

Thanks, in advance, for your help, folks!

- Trout

[satchmo]

1. If you've got broadband thats all you need, it has built in wireless!

2. I haven't got it yet but it looks awesome. If you go online you can also download loads of old Nintendo classics for a few quid each. Oh and Super Mario Galaxy is a work of genius.

3. Don't pay more than 30 quid for a game, cheapest places are usually supermarkets.

4. As far as I know it's region coded so don't buy any Canuck games!

I'll be getting Mario Kart in a few weeks we should organise a squaxx tournament! There's a thread with everyones Wii codes somewhere.

[Trout]

Thanks, Satch!

I'm pleased to hear I don't need more stuff for the web. I'll look into that.

I have a terrible habit of getting tech and not bothering to get the most out of it. Various fancy mobile phones, for example, lie around my house, their potential untapped.

My sister also recommended Super Mario Galaxy earlier. I fear a platformer may be beyond me, this early on, but I'll have a go at it at her house next month.

Other Wii comments/ recommendations would be welcomed, all.

Cheers

- Trout

[satchmo]

No probs!
The online gaming is just starting to take off, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros are the ones that'll kick it off I reckon. But there's loads of other great stuff you can do with it online, the Mii competitions and the global news channel are great, and the virtual console has some real classics on it!
You can use it to watch the iPlayer now too but I havent tried it yet.
Endless Ocean is another good game to get, it's a budget title where you just swim around looking at stuff, but it's beautiful and actually quite moving. I reckon kids would dig it.

[satchmo]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1WOEMGtAqg" target="_blank">Endless Ocean

[Radbacker]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympics is a blast, easy to play and lots of fun with up to four people.  Your littly might still be too young to play it but she'll love how bright it is.  oh and Mario Galaxy is very easy to pick up and play I have a mate who has never picked up a controller in hios life and he was jumping around having fun with in 5 minutes of picking it up (it does get friking hard if you try for all the stars).  I have heard Zak and Wiki is quite fun and more in style with the older point and click adventures (MOnkey Island etc) but using the Wii-Mote for mini games.  Unfortunatly I dont have a connection at home so cant tell you much about playing online but I've always prefered being in the same room as my competetor.

CU Radbacker

[The Amstor Computer]

Not much time to add to this thread at the mo, except to say that Mario Kart Wii is fantastic, with a really nice, typically Nintendo feel to its online modes. It may be more limited than its competitors' online offerings, but it works a treat for what it is.

As for entry-level stuff, try:

Wii Play (second remote included)
WarioWare: Smooth Moves (plenty of bizarre and embarassing microgames)
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (straightforward puzzling for one or more players, with a neat "bulk up your brain" hook)
Endless Ocean (an easy-to-pick-up scuba-diving game)
Kororinpa (a marble-rolling puzzler)
Smarty Pants (a multi-player quiz game)
Wii Chess (as the name suggests! A basic, budget chess title)
Wii Fit (out this Friday, but carrying a hefty price tag due to the inclusion of the Balance Board peripheral)

If you want to venture further afield and you think a bit of stylised shooting action is appropriate, you could try some of the lightgun-style games available, which are still straightforward enough for most new gamers. Try:

The House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return
Ghost Squad

You could also look into WiiWare games, small downloadable games launching sometime in May. You can buy these through the Wii's Wii Shop Channel, either paying by credit card or redeeming Wii Points card you can buy in shops. Prices should range from £3.50-ish up to £10-ish depending on the title:

Critter Round-Up (a farmyard-themed puzzle title)
Pop (a bubble-popping, high-score driven multiplayer game)
Tetris (play local and online multiplayer bouts of the classic puzzler)
World of Goo (a quirky puzzle game with a twist of Lemmings)
LostWinds (a sidescrolling game where you control both your character and the wind spirit that aids him, using both parts of the Wii controller)

Hope that helps a little!

[Wils]

Does anyone have Mario Kart? I still have an old SNES set up in the spare room and maintain it is the best computer game ever created. Is it worth getting for the Wii?

We got it last Friday, and we both think it's aces. Malchi's *much* better than me, though! It has new tracks together with ones from all previous Mario Kart games, more characters to choose from (including an unlock where you can use your Mii) and new vehicles like motorbikes, off-roaders and turbo-charged baby buggies.

If you do get it (which I would heartily recommend) and you want a second wheel, don't get one of the generic ones from Gamestation, as they're really uncomfortable compared with the official ones, which are only about a tenner themselves.

The summarise: Buy Mario Kart Wii... NOW. :)

[WoD]

Mario Kart is great - mini-WoD loves it.

Super Mario Galaxy...Fantastic, and mini-WoD (5) plays it easily...so...that should set the bar for you!!

[Roger Godpleton]

If you decide to look for something that can't be played with a two year old in the room then No More Heroes is the way to go. The European version doesn't have any blood in it so if necessary you could just skip the risque cutscenes.

It's the best game of this year so far, although it's slightly worrying that I emphasise so much with the main character.

[SamuelAWilkinson]

Mario Kart is, without a doubt, the shiznit. There have been discussions in my household as to whether it tops the SNES version, and it's got sizeable backing, mostly due to the brilliant implementation of the wheel, and the way that your Miis get a look-in - how awesome is that mall level?

Also in the reccommended bin:

Resident Evil 4 - and I believe they're Wiimaking Resi 0 as well. Though obviously not for playing with your sprog in the room.

Bully, which is basically all of high-school fiction condensed into a video game from the chaps behind GTA. You do the math.

House of the Dead, though you may want to pick up a gun peripheral. Trust me, it makes it a jillion times more fun.

Mario Smash Football (or something, I forget what it's called exactly) is also pretty damn fun.

Zelda is also an absolute beaut.

[SamuelAWilkinson]

Oh, and I forgot to add that the cheapest place for buying games is either Amazon/Play or a trip down your local Morrisons.

[The Amstor Computer]

I believe they're Wiimaking Resi 0 as well

Unfortunately, it's less a Wiimake and more of a straight port. There were rumours it would drop the tank controls for a point and click interface, but I think that might have been a mistranslation of the magazine it appeared in. At the moment it looks like a quick & dirty port (no widescreen, no new controls, no new content etc.) and it seems you'd be better off with the GameCube version.

[SamuelAWilkinson]

Arse. Really? That's surely a bullet in the foot, especially since the Wii can run 'Cube games anyhow.

[The Amstor Computer]

Yup. It's a baffling decision - unless they add some meaty extra content there's no reason not to opt for the (far cheaper) GC version instead. If the point & click interface was in, if they re-rendered the cutscenes, if they added widescreen and prog-scan support and if they added a smidgen of extra content, I might be on board. As it is, my old copy is perfectly adequate.