PC Gaming Suggestions for Console-like Fun?

jayminer writes "We are a relatively newly married young couple who enjoy spending our spare time at home. We don't own a console but have a gaming laptop with DVI output to play games on our TV. My wife is also a CS major so she's computer literate enough. She does not like strategy games, MMORG or any other role-playing game. Apart from "Find the Sausage" jokes, we need quality gaming advice, preferably games which we can play with a single laptop connected to a single large screen, with two gamepads, a console-like experience. What are your suggestions?"

Comments

Obvious answer...

[richy freeway]

Just buy a console.

Re:Obvious answer...

[Aranykai]

Simple and sweet. Its really the truth though.

Ive sat here and tossed around all the game I can remember playing over the years, and the ones worth the time all equate one pc with one player.

Consoles are the king of multi user gaming hands down. Like suggested above, nab an old console. PS 1 or Nintendo 64 or such should be had for under 75 USD with several games.

Re:Obvious answer...

[trdrstv]

Its much cheaper to buy a game or two (maybe 30) than it is to buy a console and then buy games for it...

Only if you're talking "Current gen". A Used Gamecube is $30 at Gamestop, and a Used X-box is $60. There are a Ton of good Co-op games for cheap (NHL HITZ is an all time favorite). Hell instead of buying the extra controller, buy 2 Gamecubes and an extra memory card in case you both want to game solo at some point.

Emulators

[Oxy the moron]

Get some old-school console emulators and play some of the great classics.

I'm sure that what constitutes a "classic" will vary here on /., but I prefer some of the older Super NES games... Tetris Attack is awesome.

You didn't hear that from me, though...

Re:Emulators

[xtracto]

I have to second this idea.

Just get SNES9X and download some games. I used to play that with my GF:
- Mario Kart (SNES version is one of the best ones)
- Lemmings (2 player snes version quite good)
- TMNT (2 player cooperative)
- Top Gear (one of the few two player coop. racing games where even if one is good enough, both of you will be able to go through the game [and you can cooperate by trying to block the first place cars to make one of you win :P])
- Super Contra (a bit more "man" oriented, but fun coop too).
- Rock and Roll racing (another nice racing game).
- Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (two player kind of coop... a bit difficult [but quite fun if you enable infinite lives cheat])
- Bomberman (My girlfriend loves these ones. It is OK multiplayer)
- Joe and Mac (really funny caveman characters, multiplayer coop)
- Super Mario All Stars (I can never be left out! including Super Mario Bros 3, i have played it with my girlfriend from the beginning to the end)

- Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (not really multiplayer, maybe not really very good, but it is my favourite game of all time [Ninja Gaiden II for the NES] so I had to include it here =oP)

Those are all I can think of now. The reason I choose SNES is because such games are not as complex as todays' games; therefore you can just sit start it and begin playing without two hours of tutorial (I am looking at you Wii Zelda ).

Also, I think the SNES had the best kind of cooperative multiplayer games... these days it is very difficult to find such games in any console. The only cooperative games are FPS like "halo" but they are a turn off for most girls or other "casual" players.

And, the reason I don't choose Wii (even though I have one, which is in its box since I moved home 2 months ago) is because I hate mini-games, and all the multiplayer games from Nintendo are mini games (wiiware, mario party, rayman raymin rabbits, monkeyball banana... etc).

Oh! and the last one I would suggest is Worms. That is a really good game in which I have spent hours with my girlfriend and other friends (even a friend who never had used a computer had no problem playing the N64 emulated game =oO)

Speaking as a married husband with a kid...

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't mean to be presumptuous, but I would recommend you spend your spare time outside of your house exploring the world. You will have plenty of time to stay in the house if/when you decide to have children.

Re:Speaking as a married husband with a kid...

[Oxy the moron]

Speaking as a geek married with four kids, I say any time spent enjoying each other's company is good. You also make the assumption that they have the desire and means to get out and explore the world... I know we didn't early in our marriage.

Not saying that exploring the world is bad, but I think if they really enjoy gaming together, it's better than a lot of other alternatives. :)

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Re:Buy a console

[Hoplite3]

Or even cheaper, buy a console from the last generation: xbox, ps2, gamecube. You can get them used for peanuts or new for a bit more. Best of all, there are GOOD lists of what games for the console are actually fun.

Reviews of modern games are often clouded by hype and irrelevant trends. Many nerds will retrospectively look at their video game library and wax poetic about the ones that are still fun (and they'll do it on their blog thanks to ego^w web 2.0). You can get these games used for $3-$10. A seven-year-old game can still be fun.

And if you haven't played it, it's new to you.