Did you know that amazingly talented programmers are making FREE games for us to enjoy on our Wii consoles. These guys and gals are gamers who know what makes a good game, and they also know how to write computer programs. So they have made the kinds of games they enjoy and have posted their games on the internet for you and me to download for FREE. So, how do you download and play these? And what are some of the best Wii games to download? Read on, my friend…
How do you do all this?
The downloading part is easy. There are sites that host these for free download. You just find the sites, read the descriptions of various games, pick the ones you like, and click download. You can do this from your computer, or (if your Wii is connected to the internet) directly to your Wii. I have a list of games and sites I would like to give you. Check out the end of the article (don’t worry; it’s free).
The other part is the “how to get your Wii to run these games” part. There are two ways: a “mod chip” or a “soft mod.” The mod chip requires soldering, is fairly expensive, and voids your warrantee. It also could “brick” your Wii (that is, make it not work). The soft mod is a software modification that is cheap, safe, and can be undone/redone and doesn’t void your warrantee.
Modifying your Wii
I have a set up that walked me through step-by-step, build-in video and written instructions, all the software, and includes lifetime upgrades to the kit. All you need is a cheap SD card (really cheap these days — about $5). And the whole set up is quick and painless, but the thing I want to talk about here are the FREE games…
Which games are best?
Since everybody likes different kinds of games, you’ll want to check the game repositories yourself, BUT…
I’ve listed just a few here to whet your appetite:
DOOM – Yes, Doom has now been ported to the Wii! If you like to shoot cartoony evil monsters, like I do (they deserve it, you know — they’re evil!), then this is a MUST have. If you own the computer version, you just add the computer files to the SD card with the Wii game and play away! If you don’t have the computer version, you just use the shareware (9-level demo) file that is free to download and use.
SUPER MARIO WAR – Have you ever played “Crash Bash” for the (original) Playstation? It’s kind of like that. You are Mario, and you are beating up other Marios… You can battle your friends. Great fun!
GUITARS ON FIRE – This is a free “Guitar Hero” clone. It is designed after Guitar Hero 3, and is very good. You can use the regular controllers or the custom guitar controllers. This is a fun one, if you like these types of games. It’s well worth the free download (or your money back)!
BUGGIN’ – Swatting bugs has never been more fun! You know, it’s just like whack-a-mole at the arcade… just with bugs! Multiplayer support is there, too. (It is amazing how simple games are fun now, with the Wii controllers, you know?)
And there are so many others… you’ll just have to check these out for yourself! But, suffice it to say that there are games of ALL categories for you to pick from. There are solitaire card games, puzzle games like the familliar “Tetris” to jigsaw puzzles, and many other categories. There are the old-time “run-and-jump” types, too, and … well, any type you can think of! And remember: once you’ve modded your Wii — it’s all FREE!
And truly, it is just so easy to do. Once your Wii is modded, it’s just “download and go.”
Does having a soft-modded Wii sound fun to you? Then you’ve got to check out my blog at http://UnlockYourWiiConsole.blogspot.com
for free tips, reviews, and more information. And for that free list of homebrew games I mentioned before, Click here!
(Miles Briggs is a family-renowned cheapskate and compulsive gadget tinkerer. If there is a way to get a piece of electronics to do something cool, he’ll find out how to do it… and tell you how to do it, too.)
