Games for the Wii – my top 5 choices

Let it be known that I LOVE the Wii. We dithered for ages before finally deciding to buy a Nintendo Wii, and when we had got it home and set it up for our first go at Wii Sports (included with it) we wondered why we hadn’t bought one sooner. It’s not as if we hadn’t had a go anyway, since a couple of people we know had already got a Nintendo Wii.

For the first week we just played the Wii Sports disc, which has five assorted sports on it to try out. In case you don’t know, the five sports on that disc are as follows:

• Tennis

• Baseball

• Golf

• Boxing

• Bowling

Tennis is my favourite, firstly because it’s great and secondly I love tennis anyway. You just have to remember not to swing too enthusiastically without rearranging your living room furniture first! We’ve taken out a lampshade, a plant and nearly a member of the family so far… (true).

Anyway back to the Wii. We’ve gathered a nice collection of games so far, and this has led to me trying to decide what my favourite five games for the Wii are. So this has been a hub in the making for some time, but now I’ve whittled the list down to five and I’m ready to share them with you.

Check out my five top games for the Wii here, together with my reasons for choosing them.

This is quite simply my top favourite, and not just because I love tennis. It’s a great game with plenty for tennis fans to get their teeth into. I haven’t got my head around playing with Motion Plus yet, but even without it this Wii game is sensationally good.

You can play against top tennis players like Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova and more, and as you get better you get more skills as well. You can choose the top show courts at Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open and the US Open, and you even get Pat Cash commentating!

BEST BIT?

Definitely the fact that the other players learn how you play. I eventually managed to start beating one of the other players by using a specific technique. I was really pleased with myself until the next time I played that same player. They suddenly started moving into the area of the court I was always putting the balls into! After my annoyed reaction I realised this was an even better game than I first thought. It made me move ahead and learn even more skills.

Certainly one of the best games for the Wii and wonderful if you want to work up a sweat while playing too.

I’m not a huge fan of Mario but this Mario Wii game is brilliant. Here are some of the sports you get to try out:

• Swimming

• Hurdling (hysterically funny, at least when I attempt it)

• Table tennis

• High jump

• Hammer throwing (also hysterical, I think my best attempt was actually succeeding in getting the hammer out of the circle)

• Archery

• Rowing

There are more too, and you will no doubt have your favourites as we do. It can take a while to understand how each different game works, as it depends on what actions you have to perform. But it’s a great family game and also a good one to play on your own. You’ll also end up with aching arms, especially after the swimming! Brilliant fun and well worth the money.

BEST BIT?

Definitely the fact that you can play with the whole family, and swap between the Mario characters as well. As games for the Wii go, this has to be an all round favourite for lots of reasons. You’ll keep coming back to it over and over again.

This was the second thing we went out to buy after the Nintendo Wii itself. My partner and I both wanted to get some exercise and not have to dread doing it, and Wii Fit Plus seemed like a good way to do it. We’d already worn ourselves out playing the Wii Sports disc so it seemed like the next best step!

I thought the Wii Fit Plus was brilliant and still do. It tells you off if you haven’t been on it for a while; I actually skipped a few weeks once when we were having a new kitchen put in and various other things going on at home. When I turned Wii Fit Plus back on again my Mii had gone to sleep!

Anyhow, you can look forward to LOADS of great activities to do on Wuhu Island, the island that also features in one of the other top games for the Wii – Wii Sports Resort. My favourites at the moment are jogging, yoga, chicken flying (has to be seen to be believed) and probably juggling, although I’m not very good at that one. I seem to be ok at the chicken thing though, which is a bit disturbing really. My Mii also looks hysterical in its chicken costume as I wear glasses!

BEST BIT?

It’s really, really hard to narrow down all the great aspects of this game for the Wii. But I suppose I’d have to say personally it’s the yoga. I didn’t intend on using this bit at all because I couldn’t see the point to be honest.

But once I’d tried the yoga once or twice I really noticed the difference in how I felt. Even if you spend most of your time doing the more entertaining, amusing and fun activities on Wii Fit Plus, try giving yoga a go as well. It’s really worth it.

I know I picked the other Mario Wii game at the Summer Olympics, but this one is just as good and it has a whole host of different sports to try as well.

Some sports are better than others – figure skating is a bit strange but it’s ok – but you’ll get used to going through them all and then picking out your favourites. I love the bobsled one and the skiing is good too, although it takes a while to get the hang of it.

It strikes a balance between being too difficult and not hard enough. It’s great for the whole family while still giving you a healthy dose of exercise every time you play it.

A lot of the best bits of this Mario Wii game are similar to the Summer Olympics game. For example you can switch between all the Mario characters; some of them are better at certain sports than others. It might take a bit of time to get used to the different controls for different sports, but it’s worth persevering as you’ll get a lot of fun out of the game.

BEST BIT?

You can import your own Mii characters to play as too, if you want a change from Mario and Sonic. Oh, and trying to do the downhill skiing (even if you don’t win it can be funny to keep trying!).

This might feature the same island – Wuhu Island – as you will see in Wii Fit Plus, but it is so well rounded and has so many great things to see and do, you will keep on going back to it time and time again.

Check out some of the activities you can get up to on Wuhu Island:

• Swordplay

• Frisbee

• Bowling

• Canoeing

• Basketball

• Cycling

… and others as well, twelve in all. My favourite is cycling, although it takes some skill to keep pedalling, get ahead of the other Miis and not run out of puff at the same time. There are lots of different routes as well, so you’ll never get bored of playing it. The best thing that ever happened was when I went head to head (or so I thought) with another player. We spent ages trying to get away from one another on the screen before we realised we were riding a tandem together. Ahem, ah well you live and learn!

BEST BIT?

Air sports! It gives you a rest from some of the more ‘active’ things you can do on Wii Sports Resort, and you can also fly around Wuhu Island and spot loads of different sights. It’s possible to fly round during the day, at dusk and at night, and it’s quite addictive so be warned!

So that’s my top five games for the Wii, and as you can see they’re all active ones that are great for building your fitness as well. This is one of the main reasons we bought the Wii in the first place, and with so many different games for the Wii available you’re bound to find some that you’ll enjoy too.

Have fun!