Now that the Wii has been out a few years we thought we’d give a list of our all time favorite games. In my house the Wii is still a regular attraction and in my opinion it’s still the best console out there for kids under 10.
My 6 year old beat Bowser the other day and has started going through the game all over again. It reminds me of the excitement I felt when I went through the original Super Mario brothers, tried to find all of the warp worlds, and made sure not to forget to jump on that duck to get an extra million men – icicle shape 7 – who even knows how many men that was. New Super Mario Bros. Wii does not disappoint in excitement, replayability, and overall story line.
2. Just Dance 2
This is one of those games that we all hate to admit that we played, and loved. It features a soundtrack that consists of 44 chart toppers including Avril Lavigne – “Girlfriend”, Beastie Boys – “Body Movin’, and James Brown – “I Got You (I Feel Good)”.
3. This is an unbelievable game for the casual or hard-core gamer. It’s a great family game as it’s easy to race against each other in multiplayer mode, but it’s in-depth enough that the serious gamer can try to unlock every car, character, and mode available. If you haven’t played it, then you’re missing out.
4. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Lego star wars is a blast. You get to play through all 6 of the star wars movies in around 50 hours of game play. The game brings you “Enhanced Force powers; new power-ups; new Challenge mode; revamped levels” and lots of puzzles that will keep your mind racing. This version on the Wii also uses motion sensor movements allowing you to experience all new ways of controlling up to 160 characters. The best part? Like many of these games that have been out for a couple of years, it’s now under $20.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
If you’ve ever played the Zelda series, then you know just how immersing the story line can be. The Wii remote takes this already great game to a new level allowing you to control Link’s actions through motion sensory bliss. Like any of the Zelda’s there are many puzzles that need to be solved and Twilight princess has a fun new horseback fighting system. This particular adventure is also fun because Link transforms into different creatures as part of the quest.
6. Michael Jackson The Experience
If you’ve ever needed a little bit of extra help learning the King of Pop’s moves, then “Michael Jackson The Experience” will help you do just that. The game helps you learn all his classic moves from over 20 songs including Beat It, Bill Jean, and Smooth Criminal.
Super Smash Bros. features a unique, easy-to-learn fighting system and allows you to pick all of your favorite characters from the last game and lots of newcomers including Pit from the Kid Icarus series, Wario, Zero Suit Samus, Ike from the Fire Emblem series, Meta Knight and King Dedede from the Kirby series, Pokémon Trainer, Diddy Kong, Lucas from the Earthbound/Mother series, Pikimin and Olimar from the Pikmin series and of course Sonic and Solid Snake. Up to 4 players.
Fantastic game play, incredible action, and an incredible looking game are combined in this incredible classic from Capcom that was initially released in 2007. Don’t let the age, or price (under $12) fool you. If you haven’t played it, then you should.
While Disney Epic Mickey did receive some criticism from various online gaming review sites the community, as a whole, really enjoyed it. It’s a great game for kids as Mickey uses paint and paint thinner to change the world and solve puzzles. Winner of Best E3 2010 Game from IGN.
10. Donkey Kong Country Returns
It’s back! If you played the original Donkey Kong, and enjoyed it, then take a look at Donkey Kong Country Returns. A good way to descibe it would be a slightly more difficult Super Mario Brothers. Unlike the first Donkey Kong, in this version 2 players can play at the same time. Diddy and Donkey Kong work together to perform all new moves.
Best Wii FPS/ First-person-shooter – Call of Duty: Black Ops
This seventh installment in the series is based on the cold war era and involves urban and ground combat in southeast Asia and jungle-themed combat in the Soviet region. Play multi-player or single player and enjoy all new weapons and vehicles from the cold war era (explosive tipped crossbows are fun).