Viridian Dreams Forum

Hi guys,

In the hopes that I might introduce my wife to gaming and do some interactive fun together, I consider getting my first console. I think this is a good time, as PS3, XBox 360 and Wii clasic take a dive in price (or even can find good refurbished ones) due to the launch of the WiiU and the highly expected PS4 and XBox One.

I am basically looking for a console and some games that can be played by two people at a time. Nothing too complicated, as the only "gaming" experience my wife has comes from Farmville and small puzzle games like Luxor, Zuma or Candy Crush clones. I'll still keep my PC as the main gaming environment, but I want to "spice up" things a bit.

Comments and suggestions are appreciated, as my knowledge of the console games is very limited.

The Wii might probably be the best option in this case. Putting aside that it has the lowest price, it was the best suited of the current gen consoles for the moniker of “party console”. That means it has many games with co-op modes that can be enjoyed by experts and inexperienced players alike.

Some recommendations:

Platforming: New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Kirby: Return to Dreamland. I would probably add Donkey Kong Country Returns as well, but the nightmarish difficulty (as in "no Nintendo game had been this sadistic since the NES era") might be too much for someone inexperienced.

Minigame collections: Wii Sports Resort, Wario Ware Smooth Moves, Mario Party 9, Rayman Raving Rabbids. The Wii became infamous among hardcore players for the mountains of shovelware that plagued this genre, but the games I listed here are above the rest and are honestly very fun to play in co-op, specially with four people.

Racing: Mario Kart Wii. It can get a bit hectic, but it’s incredibly fun and the controls are simple enough to learn. Sonic All Stars Racing follows its steps and it’s considered its best imitator, but I haven’t played it to tell how good it is.

Music games: The Just Dance series from 2 onwards. I would probably recommend games from the Rockband or Guitar Hero series, but those require additional accessories (guitar shaped controls) and I’m honestly not sure how easy to find or cheap to acquire those are these days.

Misc games: Boom Blox Bash Party (a puzzle game of sorts), practically any game of the Lego series (my favorite was Lego Batman 2). There is also Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is technically a fighting game but it’s very simple to learn in terms of controls. Finally, if she doesn’t mind the excessive violence, there are the Resident Evil “Chronicle” games (Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles), on-rail shooters that are actually very simple to learn, but oddly very enjoyable, especially in co-op.

Flipside, PS3 means PSN, where you can get a number of earlier generation PS games in addition to PS3 titles. Also, free multiplayer.

But yeah, Wii or PS3. Screw 360.

But yeah, Wii or PS3. Screw 360.

Agreed. Micro$oft is just a bunch of greedy idiots.