As the wife of a video game addict, I am talked into playing a lot of games with the husband that I really don’t find all that interesting. This usually leads to my almost unhealthy competitive side coming out (I HATE losing) and me leaving the room in a huff. That said, there are a lot of good 2 player games out there that couples can play without too much frustration, rivalry, and bickering. I’m starting this series with my favorite games for the Wii since it is the most popular gaming system on the market right now (go Nintendo!) but will also be doing a post for PS3 and XBox360 games as well so keep checking in each week.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (1-4 players)
There is a newer version of this game, but I still like the 2007 Wii edition the best. This is what is called a typical “button masher” game, a game that you can still win by just hitting random buttons frantically even if you don’t know the actual combos. It is your typical fighting game (think: Mortal Combat or Double Dragon) with a wide array of characters with unique abilities and special moves, all featured in the ridiculously popular Anime. If you don’t want to spend the whole time fighting each other, you can also team up and battle characters together so you don’t spend the entire night getting your butt kicked. Note: This game can be used with the standard Wii Remote and Nunchuck or classic GameCube controllers. The GameCube controls are much easier, but there is a bonus move that is really hard to pull off using the motion control in the Wii remotes. I stick to GC controllers, the bonus move isn’t that great.
If you have never played a Mario Party game you, my friend, are missing out. This is a classic video board game with each player taking turns working their way around the board avoiding various traps and sabotaging the other players in order to obtain stars and ultimately victory in the Mario World. There are always 4 players in a game so if you only have two players the computer will play the other two. At the end of each round there is a mini game that everyone plays, the mini games vary and are fun, quick and easy and a chance for you to gain some of the oh-so-coveted endgame bonus stars. Believe me, those bonus stars can steal a solid victory away from you in a heartbeat. The game uses the Wii remote only and some of the motion control in the mini games is a little spotty so if you find a mini game that you just hate you can block it from game-play in the menu. Note: you can change the number of turns each player takes but a 10 turn game takes about 45 min- 1 hour.
Wii Sports Resort (1-4 Players)
This is a new version of the original Wii Sports that came with the system. The original Wii Sports had 5 games: bowling, boxing, baseball, golf and tennis and was designed to show off the motion control of the Wii. It proved to be a fun game but also showed off the limits of the remote. This version is revamped with twelve new games: Swordplay, Wakeboarding, Frisbee, Archery, Basketball, Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Power Cruising, Canoeing, Cycling and Air Sports. The motion control is not perfect but the games are so fun you can overlook it’s flaws. My favorite is the Swordplay and I haven’t gotten the hang of Archery yet but it is still fun. The games are fun with couples or kids and all who play will find something that they are good at. There are a whole bunch of remote add-ons to make the game more realistic and the game can come bundled with the Wii Motion Plus, a small add-on component that makes the motion control even smoother.
