Just got a Wii .... What did I miss?

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by Galactus

Whats that do?

You play games from backups that are stored on a hard drive.
The best thing about it is how much better the machine is, since loading times become almost null and you can even have a case display like iTunes of all the games and play what you want. I I did it to get some imports to work and after that I just saved every one of my games into the hard drive. Is that good

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by skiizim

This means somebody added custom firmware to get around some of the protocols of the Wii.

To answer your question, you missed everything!

I don't think it was modded,... I think what I read I didn't understand.

It has the latest FW after all and has no problems.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Galactus

Whats that do?

There are probably various types of custom firmware/updates out there, but one of the more popular hacks adds a channel called the Homebrew Channel to the Wii menu. Various compatible programs can be put on an SD card and can be used through the Homebrew channel. This includes the likes of emulators for older systems, and programs that will allow imported games to work on the system when they normally wouldn't.

Back when Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom first came out in Japan (a video game similar to Marvel vs. Capcom that put Capcom characters up against various anime characters), and it was unknown and up in the air as to whether or not the game would ever come to the US due to all of the copyrights of the various characters in the US, so I imported it and used the Homebrew channel work around to play it. Then like a year later a version did come out in the US which was missing one character, but had several more added (I believe this same version was also released in Japan as an updated version of the game), so I got that one as well.

There's some cool things that you can do with it. I am a firm believer in supporting the legit system and games, so all of my Wii games are legitimately purchased, and I have several virtual console games that I paid for and downloaded. But the emulators are nice for games that they simply don't make and haven't re-released. It's also a good way to play some older console games that never made it to the US (like Super Back to the Future Part II, which came out for Super Famicon (SNES) in Japan, and was actually a decent game).

I was recently messing around with a Mame emulator on it, which works alright, but the sound sucks.

[Retro81]

You missed Xenoblade, Last Story and Pandora's Tower and Mario Galaxy 2 which is one of the best 3D platformers ever made.

[gothic_hobbit]

You need to check out 'The Conduit'.

It's the best FPS on the system.

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by gothic_hobbit

You need to check out 'The Conduit'.

It's the best FPS on the system.

I disagree COD world at war was better for the wii.

Anyways, TS Just go and get first all the first party titles then there are a good bunch of 3rd party titles to get.

[Talal86]

A gold mine aka the virtual console

[caheaton]

Something not mentioned here, but of which the original poster should (or maybe is) aware....Nintendo pulled the plug on some of their channels, mostly killing the online content (news, weather, polls, etc). The shopping channel, downloads of games and the web browser are still good to use. Also, you can increase the console's versatility by downloading clients (channels) for Netflix, Hulu & Amazon Video. SD only of course, but very nice. Lately it seems like I've logged more hours watching Netflix than I ever have playing games on the Wii .

Like some others here, I'm not a hardcore gamer and so I found the Wii to be a nice fit for me. Some of my favorites on the console include: Family Game Night (great if you enjoy board games...connect 4 and battleship are my favorites in that title), Madden NFL and Wii Sports & Sports Resort. I've also had some fun with the Rock Band series (great when friends are over...I have 2 guitars and a microphone that I use with mine).

A good source for games at fair prices is Amazon (I usually buy used) and your local pawn shop. The Pawn Shop can also offer deals on hardware (example, a Wii guitar for $10, steering wheel for $2, etc).

Have fun!
Craig

[MasterChief3624]

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
Sin and Punishment (Virtual Console)
Excitebots: Trick Racing
*Xenoblade Chronicles
Super Paper Mario
Marble Mania: Kororinpa 2
*Ju-On: The Grudge (guilty pleasure)
Metroid Prime Trilogy
*Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Castle of Shikigami III
Epic Mickey
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Kirby's Epic Yarn


....probably a lot of others. Those are the best games I can think of off the top of my head.

The asterisk denotes games that are exorbitantly-priced nowadays, so tread lightly on those But luckily in the case of Metroid Prime: Trilogy, if you are interested in only the third game, you can find that one for... still a little expensive, but much less pricey than the trilogy.

The first bolded one, Donkey Kong Country Returns, is my all-time favorite Wii game, and among my favorite games of all-time. Absolutely get that.

The second bolded one is a niche game, much in the same vein as Castle of Shikigami III.. but if you like that type of shooter, it's absolutely worth it, too!

[bhampton]

Thanks for all the replies.

My kids love Mario Kart and Sonic All Stars Racing.

And Super Smash Bros, and Zelda.

We play Super Mario Bros together but we all get angry in minutes.

(Seems Sonic All Stars Racing got kind of bad reviews. I guess because it was such a copy of Mario Kart but it's a good game of it's own and my kids like it better than Mario Kart. The Madagascar Kart game is horrible ... ha ha.)

[toddly6666]

I just bought a jail broken Wii the other day with an external hard drive including around 336 games. Been going through all of them trying to find the good games. So far my two favorites are:

NINJA REFLEX
SPORTS RESORT: ARCHERY

Does anyone recommend the most fun 4-6 player game for 8 year olds?

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by gothic_hobbit

You need to check out 'The Conduit'.

It's the best FPS on the system.

No, just no.

There is no reason to play FPS on the Wii, especially for an existing PS3 owner.

The only exception I'd make to this is Metroid Prime 3/Trilogy, but I'm not really comfortable calling Metroid Prime a first person shooter.

Also, The Conduit is just not a very good game.

---

@bhampton

I'll avoid the long RPG-like games which are good on the Wii, since your existing PS3 library doesn't really contain anything of the sort - in fact it's almost all action games aside from Gran Turismo and EyePet.

My picks based on your existing library of PS3 games:

Sin and Punishment 2
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Super Mario Galaxy (both 1 & 2)

@toddly6666

Err... the Wii only supports 4 controllers at a time unless Gamecube controllers are also connected. In any case, you're best off with Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Smash Brothers for local multiplayer madness on the Wii. Also the Raving Rabbids games can be fun for young kids.

[klauswhereareyou]

Muramasa the Demon Blade (cool 2-D, nice animation style)
House of the Dead: Overkill (Fun lightgun game)
Metroid The Other M (terrible cut scenes, but the actual game is good)
No More Heroes (Better than the second one, more stuff to do, longer)
Data East Collection (arcade collection only released on Wii)
Red Steel 2 (Good use of Wii Motion Plus)
The Godfather:Blackhand Edition (Fun, inventive, wii waggle controls)
Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom (better than Marvel vs. Capcom 3)
Sin and Punishment Star Successor (awesome on-rails shooter)
Zack and Wicki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (fun point and click adventure)
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (lots to unlock here)
Ghost Squad (another fun lightgun game)

[toddly6666]

Punch Out is a masterpiece - this and Paper Mario are my favorite Wii games so far.

[purple_rain]

NHL Slapshot is the best hockey game for Wii.
NBA Jam is worth checking out too.
If you're into shoot 'em up games, give House of the Dead: Overkill a try.

[bhampton]

Thanks,

A friend and I played House of the Dead Overkill all the way through in one sit the other day... I can't believe how quickly we made it through... seems kind of short.

I also have an Extended version of that one on Ps3...

My kids have been loving the Wii so much... they don't even like the PS3.

Today I saw used Wii's for $70 at Gamestop which reminds me of what an amazing deal I got.

Kids can't get enough Mario Kart and Smash Bros.

-Brian

[bhampton]

I think Wii is my favorite game system ever.

Not close to as AV powerful as the PS3 but tons more fun.

Wii is the only system hooked up to my HT. I have my PS3 upstairs with a flat screen and the DreamCast is on extended vacation.

[CtrlCtrlFast]

I'm kind of surprised that nobody has mentioned madworld.

[grape_jelly]

Originally Posted by CtrlCtrlFast

I'm kind of surprised that nobody has mentioned madworld.

I thought it was dreadful, honestly. All style and no substance... and even the style grew tired after the first few segments.

[FuzzyFella]

Definitely check out Super Mario Galaxy. Lots of fun.