Wii games for mentally handicapped

Gdiguy

Important background: my younger brother (now 20) has Down's Syndrome, and my parents are giving him a Wii for his birthday in a month or so, and asked for game recommendations... and while my Wii knowledge of games I want to play is mediocre, my knowledge of easy to play games is significantly lacking. So... suggestions ahoy!

They currently have an xbox (my old one), and the stuff he enjoys playing now is typically games of the type where you basically can't fail, and it's pretty easy to have fun - the big three hits have been Amped, Smashing Drive, and Tiger Woods Golf. I'm unsure how the wii sports games will go over, though I suspect bowling and boxing will be pretty easy - are the other bowling Wii games pretty easy to play? I was thinking Lego Star Wars/Indy might be ok since you can't die (especially if I can get my dad to play along), but otherwise I'm kind of flailing in the dark.

And I already told them to just go rent stuff from blockbuster, but if there's some obvious targets to go for that would help out a bunch

Thanks!

The_Scarab

Boom Blox.

Even if you ignore the challenges and the game mechanics, the tactile sensation of moving your hands and causing almost 1:1 reactions from the blocks on screen is incredibly rewarding, and fun. There is plenty of fireworks and bright explosions. A visual feast, simple to play and easy to understand. There are freeplay modes too.

BuhamutZeo

Rayman raving rabbids I and II, definately.

JAEF

Elebits is pretty simple and enjoyable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z-usFlMLQE

Neva

I really don't think Elebits and Boom Blox would be a good idea for someone with Downs.

UncleChet

The obvious wii play. The games are pretty easy, and mostly fun and its' a second remote. I'd stay away from raving rabids honestly. The games are fun and all, but some of them can be pretty frustrating, like the stupid out houses. Carnival games while badly reviewed is another option. My niece and nephew (and their mom) can't get enough of this game. Maybe on of the more flasy and colorful racers?

quovadis13

Mario ________

Capt Howdy

Endless Ocean. You dive, explore, and interact with marine life. I recommend it to anyone that hasn't played it.

Plus the cutscenes are awe inspiring.

Gdiguy

Thanks guys... I had forgotten about endless ocean, that actually does sound like it could be a hit... carnival games probably also. Do you have any suggestions on the flashy racers? I really have zero idea (and me having zero idea is going to equal my parents buying whatever the Best Buy employee tells them to)

quovadis13 wrote: »

Mario ________

Mario itself I think is definitely not going to work, it's one of those cases where the game is kid-oriented but definitely requires more learning/conceptual skills than he's going to have; mario cart might work though (though i doubt he could actually beat it on easy, my family could probably race)

The elebits video was interesting - is it easy to get to an untimed/free type of area?

Rayman I think he'd get a big kick out of, so even if a few of the games are not going to be great I think the comedy factor probably will win out

AaronKI

I think the untimed/freeplay mode in Elebits has to be unlocked for each level. It might work if someone wants to go through and unlock all of the free play modes for him, but otherwise I think the time limit might end up being frustrating. (Actually... can elebits saves be transferred? If they can, I bet you can find a save file online where everything is unlocked.)

As for flashy racers, what about Excite Truck? Here are two lists of most of the racing games on the Wii from IGN, which might help you get an idea of what there is to choose from: "Racing" and "Action Racing".

Edit: Bummer. It looks like Elebits saves can't be copied or transferred to SD cards. So that's not an option for unlocking free play.

Neva

Gdiguy wrote: »

Thanks guys... I had forgotten about endless ocean, that actually does sound like it could be a hit... carnival games probably also. Do you have any suggestions on the flashy racers? I really have zero idea (and me having zero idea is going to equal my parents buying whatever the Best Buy employee tells them to)

quovadis13 wrote: »

Mario ________

Mario itself I think is definitely not going to work, it's one of those cases where the game is kid-oriented but definitely requires more learning/conceptual skills than he's going to have; mario cart might work though (though i doubt he could actually beat it on easy, my family could probably race)

The elebits video was interesting - is it easy to get to an untimed/free type of area?

Rayman I think he'd get a big kick out of, so even if a few of the games are not going to be great I think the comedy factor probably will win out

It's been a long time since I played Elebits, but I believe you have to unlock unlimited play by beating levels or the game. It can be frustrating to do, because you'll usually have to play the level once or twice at the very least just to figure out what you have to go for to cut time, or the level will have goals like "don't make any noise", or there will be a bug that pops up so you can't even complete a level {something like wonky physics somehow knocks over a very large object that you can't lift yet right in the middle of your path so you can't get by}. Also, the controls and precision are not as smooth or work as well as that video would have you think. It is a fun game, but I definitely would not recommend it for someone with Downs.

Like you said, Mario Galaxy would be a bad choice. Mario Kart might work, as it's pretty easy to pick up and play, although the items on the track might cause frustration. He will probably love Wii Sports, so Carnival Games might be a good idea too.

Edit: I don't think beating easy on Mario Kart will be a problem for him if he plays something like Amped, especially on some of the simpler tracks that don't have many turns or sharp corners.

Beck

He might really enjoy Mario Kart and Excite Truck. Maybe rent them first to see if he enjoys them?

Improvolone

Not that I can think of any to reccomend, but the Virtual Console is shock full of games and shouldn't be forgotten.

Djiem

Boom Blox doesn't seem like a bad choice to me.
I think that most of the time, people who suggest games for non-gamers/mentally handicapped people/people incapacited in any way/little children forget that you musn't judge only the game itself, but the presentation. Is it easy to navigate around the menus? Are the controls easy to use at ANY given time from the insertion of the disct to the actual gaming?

My suggestions would be:

Boom Blox
Mario Kart Wii
Wii Sports (obviously)
Wii Play (but you might want to unlock all the games for him first, the game with poses is really not intuitive in any way)
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Elebits? (again, you might want to unlock some free modes for him first, also I don't remember how intuitive the menus are)

DHS Odium

These have already been mentioned, but I'll throw in my suggestions.

Wii Sports - which will come with the wii
Wii Play - will net you another controller and some minigames
Boom Blox - Multiplayer is great, has simple controls and an easily understood concept. There are a variety of modes too, so while doing the Jenga stuff might not work, throwing balls to destroy stuff will.
Excite Truck - easy to play, really fun and bright

Do you think any of the lightgun games would work? Link's Crossbow Training is fun and comes with the gun shell, so is House of the Dead 2+3, I'd stay away from Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, it's a great game, but I think it would be too complex, there's more to it than Link or HotD.

I'm going to vote against Elebits, wasn't that smooth when I played with friends, and everything had a harsh time limit I felt.

Don't forget you'll get access to GameCube games as well, and the Virtual Console, and WiiWare.

There's also the more expensive Wii Fit. This might not be a good choice, however the balance game are fun and challenging, but easily understood. Problem is these all have to be unlocked. I would look to future games using the board as well, this might be a viable option in the future.

Djiem

I would have recommended We Ski in conjunction with the Balance Board if the menu navigation was simpler.

psyck0

AaronKI wrote: »

Edit: Bummer. It looks like Elebits saves can't be copied or transferred to SD cards. So that's not an option for unlocking free play.

There is a homebrew app that lets you do just that. I am not certain I trust it 100% yet, but am asking around.

quovadis13

Gdiguy wrote: »

quovadis13 wrote: »

Mario ________

Mario itself I think is definitely not going to work, it's one of those cases where the game is kid-oriented but definitely requires more learning/conceptual skills than he's going to have; mario cart might work though (though i doubt he could actually beat it on easy, my family could probably race)

Dont forget about Mario Party. Its filled with stuff that has a universal appeal.

Capt Howdy

Rabids comedy wins everyone over, plus a lot of the games have very simple controls.

Links Crossbow training is pretty easy, and a lot of fun. Plus you can't die.... I think. My two and a half year old son loves it, and he does ok. I'm sure your little brother could kick it's ass.

Forget Lego Indy, it's not as easy as the Lego moniker might suggest. Plus it's a bit twitchy. Lego SW is a a great choice.

Mario Party can be pretty easy; it just depends on who you are playing against. (Never, and I mean ever, play Pikapuff at ANY Mario Party. He FUSES with the game, and then runs a devil's threesom on all the poor souls involved)

Mario Kart on 50cc is as close to easy as any racing game will ever be. Unless you're on starbridge, that shit is a shitstorm no matter how slow your shit can go.

One more plug for Endless Ocean: You can have dolphins and killer whales as dive partners, and you can train them to do Sea World tricks!!! Plus, swim with Great White Sharks; great whites man! And they won't try to attack you. If that isn't the definition of 8-) then what the hell is? $29.99, just throwing that out there too.

Aiserou

I'm also going to recommend Wii Sports. I have a 19 year old brother with Down's, although it sounds like he is at a lower level then your brother. He's never been able to play games but my mother got him a Wii for graduation thinking he could figure out the motion controls. His favorites are tennis and boxing. With tennis we put him on the front and either one of us or a bot on the back, so he just gets to swing away and the back line catches what he misses. With boxing he can play up to about 600 points and then with the way it scales to your skill he wins about half of them with it bouncing back and forth against harder and easier opponents.

He wasn't able to really play Mario Kart, he can't seem to figure out button controls and he doesn't understand how a steering wheel works, so that game is out. Although sometimes when we play multiplayer we give him an extra controller and he thinks he's playing. If your brother can figure it out though, he will probably have a lot of fun.

Gdiguy

Aiserou wrote: »

I'm also going to recommend Wii Sports. I have a 19 year old brother with Down's, although it sounds like he is at a lower level then your brother. He's never been able to play games but my mother got him a Wii for graduation thinking he could figure out the motion controls. His favorites are tennis and boxing. With tennis we put him on the front and either one of us or a bot on the back, so he just gets to swing away and the back line catches what he misses. With boxing he can play up to about 600 points and then with the way it scales to your skill he wins about half of them with it bouncing back and forth against harder and easier opponents.

He wasn't able to really play Mario Kart, he can't seem to figure out button controls and he doesn't understand how a steering wheel works, so that game is out. Although sometimes when we play multiplayer we give him an extra controller and he thinks he's playing. If your brother can figure it out though, he will probably have a lot of fun.

Yeah, they'll have Wii Sports, I'm sure boxing will be fun... but yeah, my brother's actually pretty high level for someone with Down's, though when I said that he "played Amped" I really meant that after like 4 years now he can just barely do flips... it's more that it's the kind of game where you're just going down the mountain however you want, and if you don't score enough points it's still fun for him

The Wii Ski I actually noticed and was thinking of since he really loves skiing, though i'm not sure if his coordination is good enough to do it with the balance board... Link's training also might be interesting, though I think he'd probably be a bit too scared for House of the Dead

The Lego games would probably be more something he and my dad could play co-op, since while they're easy(ish) there's still some areas where I'm sure he couldn't figure out what to do (hell, there were some areas I couldn't figure out what to do)

Thanks though everyone, you guys rock..

Capt Howdy

Rent Lego Indy first; I'ts good, but the glitches made me glad I rented before buying.

Did I mention you can ride a blue whale in Endless Ocean? (I need help, I know) Oh, and whale sharks! You can ride a lot of big marine life. (Seriously, I have a sickness, and I am seeking professional help. I.... I swear I am)

Heffling

Just as a note, you may also want to expand your search to include Gamecube games, as the Wii can play these as well. Hit up your local gamestop for a controller and you may find a few cheapies that will help him out.

Myself980

I'm not sure about Rayman, some of those challenges are very harsh. The damn marble obstacle course had me close to madness with frustration. If it nearly stopped me dead, I'm not sure about someone with hand-to-eye issues. There are othersm but that was one of the more egregious examples.

I have no idea about the sequel though. I'm gonna back up the Lego games and Play though, they're simple but fun.

TheStig

Paper Mario is retardedly easy, does that count?

Djiem

TheStig wrote: »

Paper Mario is retardedly easy, does that count?

Again, it implies a lot of reading and menu navigation. It's easy, but is it simple?

Gdiguy

In the vein of gamecube games that a friend suggested - a) is donkey konga compatible on the Wii (I figure the game is, but controller?), and b) can anyone comment on how easy the "easy" difficulty level is? My brother loves playing drums, so if it's ridiculously easy in terms of response/timing it could be something he'd get a kick out of

*edit - by controller i meant the special bongo things, I wasn't sure how the wii was about GC peripherals

Staxeon

The Wii will play any gamecube game, and actually has 4 gamecube controller ports and 2 memory card slots built in.

Djiem

Gdiguy wrote: »

In the vein of gamecube games that a friend suggested - a) is donkey konga compatible on the Wii (I figure the game is, but controller?), and b) can anyone comment on how easy the "easy" difficulty level is? My brother loves playing drums, so if it's ridiculously easy in terms of response/timing it could be something he'd get a kick out of

*edit - by controller i meant the special bongo things, I wasn't sure how the wii was about GC peripherals

Donkey Konga on easy mode is easy.
If you're getting bongos, might I recommend Donkey Kond Jungle Beat? Getting high scores require skills, but finishing a level at all isn't hard.