FEATURE
10 Games Anyone Can Play
Turned off by today's overly complex video games? Check out ten of our favorite accessible classics.
Let's face it -- today's video games are a complicated affair. Joypads, once compact and easy to grasp, now bristle with more sticks and buttons than the International Space Station. PC games all too often require complex controls, lengthy tutorials and vast investments of time. Here's the perfect antidote for this epidemic - ten of our favorite easy-to-play hits.
1. Wii Sports
Thanks to Nintendo's genius decision to bundle it with every single Wii console sold, Wii Sports is a huge hit. Even a year and a half after the console's release, it remains probably the best example of the Wii's innovative control system. All the same, its greatest success doesn't have anything to do with either of those things: it's all down to the instantly familiar games Nintendo chose to model. Everyone understands what ten-pin bowling is all about, and Wii Sports doesn't overcomplicate its games in the slightest. Yes, it might be a touch basic, but it's still our go-to party game for the Wii.
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2. Puzzle Quest
Even the isolated tribes of the Patagonian rainforests have grown bored of Bejeweled. Superb though it is, this block-swapping puzzler doesn't exactly lend itself to long-term addiction. Aussie developer Infinite Interactive somehow hit on the brilliant idea to combine a competitive, two-player take on Bejeweled's classic gameplay with a large-scale game structure straight out of a Lord of the Rings-style fantasy epic, and a real jewel was born. You'll find it's available on just about anything that could conceivably be used to play games, so no matter how well-off you are for gadgetry it's still a top choice.
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3. Phoenix Wright
Part graphic novel, part adventure, this courtroom drama pits you, as defense attorney Phoenix Wright, against a series of court cases. Thanks to the Nintendo DS's microphone, you can actually join in the cases by shouting "Objection!", "Hold it!", or "Take that!" at your handheld. Needless to say, don't play it on the plane, unless you're keen to meet nice men in uniform.
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4. Brain Age
How old is your brain? Get into this huge-selling Nintendo DS classic, and you'll discover the answer to that question isn't quite as simple as it first appears. Developed in association with brain researcher Dr. Ryuta Kawashima (who famously refused the $11 million in royalties his game generated) Brain Age purports to sharpen your intellect with a series of rapid-fire brain-teasers. Does it work? It apparently didn't for Kawashima, whose floating head has become something of a DS icon, but it might for you. Play a little every day, and maybe you'll help your grey matter fend off the ravages of time - and it comes complete with 100-odd Sudoku puzzles to help pass those tiresome commuter traffic jams.
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5. Bookworm Adventures
You've played the original Bookworm - now take your spelling to the next level with Bookworm Adventures. Complete with potions, treasures, monsters, boss challenges and all the trappings of conventional games, Bookworm Adventures hides impressive depth beneath its cute, wormy exterior. If you can spell, you can play it - and if you can't, you can probably still play it, although not as well. Either way, give it a try.
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>> Check out five more top video games that anyone can play.
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Posted: 20 Feb 2008