Lockdown Wii Library Delve

[davyk]

Started going through my Wii games that have been on the shelf for years.

First up Gottlieb Pinball Classics....I first had this on PS2. It's quite a nice game but that version just crashed at random so I went for the Wii version.

The control is really rather nice and understated. nunchuk stick is the plunger, B on wii mote and z on nunchuck for flippers. You can nudge by jerking the wiimote and nunchuck and it matters which one you use. It seems to be consistent and adds a certain something.

The Wii resolution really isn't up to the task with certain tables - particularly with some of the camera views on the busier tables. Camera settings are good but the genre really needed the leap to 360/PS3 before getting good enough. The simpler tables work well enough though and with the more complex table it's a question of learning them sufficiently.

Quite fond of the genre generally so this is a pleasing surprise as it holds up well. Going back to it after several years I thought it might have waned.

[tomwaits]

Pinball Hall of Fame - Williams Collection on the Wii was the beginning of my digital pinball obsession. The control scheme worked great, and the wizard goals were a real challenge. Spent a lot of time completing every wizard goal on every table. The Williams and Gottlieb collections from the Wii era also have a couple old tables that never made it into Pinball Arcade. (Jive Time and Ace High)

[davyk]

Have the WIlliams Collection for 360. Really nice collection too.

My first video pinball experience was way back on the 2600. I was surprised how entertaining it was (admittedly this was back in the 80s) and I've enjoyed the genre ever since. My own favourites are Dragon's Fury on Megadrive, Digital Pinball on Saturn and Pro Pinball Trilogy on Dreamcast but generally I enjoy any of them. There's a nice game on Ps2 called Flipnic and the oddball Odama on Gamecube too.  Pinball Fx2 on 360 is stunning.

[tomwaits]

Yeah, I've played most of the pinball video games since the 2600 too. Always enjoyed the genre but I think Farsight was the first with accurate versions of real-world tables and the OCD-inducing 'wizard goals'. Even though I have a LOT of retro pinball games and all of the Zen tables since Zen Pinball 1, I've spent more time playing Farsight's games than any of the others. PS4 Pinball Arcade has 101 tables with 10 goals per table. I've got about 35 goals to go... don't even want to think about how many hours I've spent playing Farsight pinball since the Wii Pinball HoF titles.

Zen getting the Bally/Williams license seemed like a good thing but it's been really disappointing to me. Their console versions have censored artwork and audio, and Pinball FX3 'features' like 3d characters/table enhancements and cheats like slow motion and rewind. Some can be disabled, but it's still not realistic real-world pinball. And, Zen hasn't released ANY non-Farsight tables or ANY Zen original tables in the 18+ months since getting the license. Disappointing.

At least Zaccaria Pinball is coming to PS4 this summer. Old EM/SS tables, but I'm looking forward to any new PS4 pinball and it will probably release before any new content from Zen or Farsight.

[davyk]

I like the games that build impossible tables - Dragon's Fury and Flipnic are examples of that although recreations of real tables bring the pure enjoyment of a professionally designed table - fond of both schools.

[Garou]

Great topic,

For me and the family its all about Wii Sports and Wii fit, boring i know but classic and works up a sweat. 

[davyk]

Wii Bowling is an evergreen classic. It was only improved by the Wii Sports Resort version that uses M+ and throws a few new modes in.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if lots of families boot it up every Christmas just to play Wii Bowling.

In the broadest sense, Wii Bowling , is in the frame for best videogame ever - as an electronic interactive social experience. It is very hard to think of something better.

[Ryuhi]

I have been playing some more niche games on my Wii. Currently playing no more heroes and tatsunoko vs capcom.

[davyk]

Tatsunoko v Capcom is a glorious firework display - I went online with it when it came out and I got my arse handed to me every time.

Got the branded arcade stick for it. Lovely thing - though I had to upgrade the buttons to Sanwas - they started to become unresponsive. Easy to do though - it's all connected up inside with plugs - no solder.

[davyk]

Playing Tetris Party Deluxe.

Really excellent game with a pile of content - plenty of modes that are new games using the basic Tetris theme. Excellent   4 player modes including some 2 vs 2 modes.

Even the striaght up battle mode is great - there are optional weapons you can get and use against your opponents which are a great leveller. I'd recommend picking this up if you remotely like Tetris and puzzle games generally.

This was originally a WiiWare release but it got a Deluxe disc borne release with some extra modes and options. Both versions had a very good online mode back in the day which sadly is long gone.

[Ryuhi]

That is cool about the buttons for the TvsC fight stick. I personally use a GameCube remote though. Random story about how I discovered the game. I was at university at the time and no one had an Xbox or PlayStation in my house but from reason we thought super street fighter 4 was on the Wii. We went to a local game store to buy one but where disappointed until my housemate spotted Ryu and Chun li on the cover of TvsC and we asked to try the game in the kiosk they had there and loved it and obviously went ahead a bought it.

The light show it produced plus the fact and we where the only ones who had it meant that it was a great social teams when friends were in the house.

[davyk]

Big Brain Academy has aged quite well. It uses simple cell shading which is best for the subject matter but means it has aged well.

It is a compilation of games/tests that exercise certain mental abilities. It will track your progress as you improve and it gives you gold medals to aim for but what makes it shine as a lockdown game is the multiplayer . There's an excellent 2 player battle mode that has you racing to the top of a ladder - each rung climbed after successfully completing a mini game. In the day you could save your best performances in this mode and send them as a file to friends on line for them to race against.

There's also a 4 player mode that has players taking turns to pick a game off a grid and get scores depending on how well you do. It's a satisfying mode and my 20 and 21 year old daughter consistently thrash me at it (and the 2 player race mode) - their basic speed just defeats me now.

It's quite low key and maybe a bit light on content - but this was a budget release and the presentation is slick and the higher difficulty levels are really very tough - no kids' game this at that level.

[davyk]

Kind of obvious but Mario Kart Wii

What a game this is. We used to play this online split screen with 2 players - clocked up dozens of hours. I got gold on all the cups but my younger daughter (20) has taken it to the next level and is working at unlocking everything - currently on the home straight getting star ratings on 150cc mirror mode.

Tonnes of content in this. Plenty of new and retro tracks and a great time trial mode. Still a great single and MP game. Pity the official servers are down but locally it's still great.Sure the detail drops once you go above 2 players MP but it still plays great. An evergreen classic even with the updates (which I am not too sure about - not a fan of transformations - even the bikes in the Wii version had been raising my eyebrows - it should remain a kart game).

[Ryuhi]

Mario Kart truly is the ultimate party game no matter what console. I mainly play Mario kart 8 but love the Wii version too. Just all round good fun. Would disagree about other vehicles being added. I am personally a big fan of the quad bikes.

[davyk]

MK8Dx is the one reason why I may dip into this generation of console.

Little else remotely interests me.

PS4 and Switch both seem to be good consoles for 2D shmups - so I'm more likely to get a Switch if I get anything.