My wii should be arriving from the pokerstars fpp store today. It will be my first new console since like Y2K when I got my PS2 (right when they *first* came out... got lucky when Amazon was randomly offering them for like 5 minutes at a time).

I've only played wii sports and guitar hero on a friend's system.

What are the must-have games and accessories that I should immediately buy?

For reference, here are some of my favorite games across all consoles:

RBI Baseball
Grand Theft Auto
NBA Jam
Madden
Tecmo Bowl
Street Fighter II
Mario Kart
Gran Turismo
Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Thanks!

Mario Kat Wii
Guitar Hero World Tour (comes out in two weeks)
Super Smash Brothers

Agree with NeedsMoreNuts. IMO, other must haves:

Super Mario Galaxy
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Resident Evil 4

Also consider:

- Super Paper Mario (RPG-platform hybrid with a Mario theme, pretty good)
- LEGO Star Wars (fun for co-op if you have actual friends to play with). Essentially a collect-a-thon platformer; a good bet for casual gamers imo
- The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (think GTA-lite with Godfather branding)
- Okami (Zelda-ish kind of adventure game; a great game that might not be a casual gamers cup of tea though; can get it on PS2 if you still have that)
- Zach & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros Treasure (pretty good puzzle/adventure game, again, probably a taste thing)

Might want to check out the EA lineup (Madden, NCAA Football, FIFA, Tiger Woods) if you're into sports games. All on the Wii, some are pretty good. With the exception of Tiger Woods, I'd rather play all of these on PS2 though. The graphics are pretty much identical; in fact PS2's might be superior. MLB Power Pros is pretty fun if you like baseball, kind of reminiscent of old school baseball games.

should come with the only must haves...wii sports, that's all you need, that's all it has to offer =D

Zelda is the must havest.

Metroid Prime 3 is a must have. Best single player experience next to Galaxy I've experienced on the system.

Both Trauma Center games are pretty good. I'd start with Second Opinion (which is the first game), it's more raw fun. New Blood has higher production values, and more variety in the operations.
And yes, if you enjoyed GTA the Wii Godfather is awesome - choke with your hands! It made me feel so guilty how much fun that was. It's pretty short, but should be cheap too.

i recommend...

Mario Galaxy
Resident Evil 4
Metroid Prime 3
Zack & Wiki

MarioKart is kinda weak, SSB is boring after an hour.

Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime 3, Smash Bros Brawl.

Pretty much uncontested as the best 4 games on the Wii imo

wtf

I picked up Boom Blox the other day. Its a pretty fun puzzle game, but not very challenging. Might be worth a look if youre into that kinda thing.

mario kart wii is terrible

The majority of consumer reviews I've read disagree. I own Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, Zelda, SSB, and RE4, but I play mario cart the most by far.

+1..... MLB Power Pros is pretty much exactly what I imagined a future version of RBI Baseball to look like.

If you like old-school shooters, Geometry Wars Galaxies is awesome (you'll want the Classic Controller for that).

I've played the hell out of Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection.

Ghost Squad is IMO an under-rated co-op rail FPS (don't bother if you're not going to play 2 player though there are better one player FPS). Resident Evil is better though so if it's one or the other go with RE... If you're going to do FPS, Link's Crossbow Training is worth getting. It's cheap and while the "gun" looks kinda ******ed it works well and the pack in game is pretty good.

My wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed Rayman's Raving Rabbits. Though only if you enjoy mini-game/party game type stuff.

Metacritic is a pretty good guide: http://www.metacritic.com/games/wii/scores/

There isn't really a standout racing game except Mario Kart. All the usual suspects are there for EA Sports games. Not really any stand-out fighters either.

The majority of consumer reviews are wrong. This game is unplayably bad. The cheating AI, intense randomness, and the fact that at the highest difficulty level it is only beatable by luck make it a poor experience for anyone interested in Mario Kart skills. They might as well have called it Mario Partykart.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but if the majority of consumer reviews liked the game, that is more informative than one person. Yes there is a lot of luck in Mario Kart. It's not always fair when the people in the back get Bullet Bill, while the leader gets a banana peel. But you know what? That's Mario Kart, and it's the way it's always been. Mario Kart, like many Wii games, isn't marketed to the leet gamers, it's marketed to families and casual gamers. And for fulfilling the desires of its intended audience, it does a great job.

It's definitely not the case that winning at the highest level is entirely luck. I'd rather have the system it has to keep things intense and interesting than get to the point that I do in every other game where I'm wiping the floor with the AI to the point where it's no longer fun.

SC, you should sell this **** and buy a 360 or PS3.

I would say that the only must have Wii game no matter who you are is Super Mario Galaxy. Everything else depends on taste.

You seem to like old school games so I suggest hitting up the virtual console (they've got plenty of good vc games now)

oh, i'll be getting one of those too.... need to wait until I get a job, though.

The Wii is definitely worth keeping just because there are several really high quality titles. I have a Wii and a 360 and frequently play both.

ok, on the list so far:

mario galaxy
smash bros
tiger woods
trauma center (for the wife)
assorted virtual console games (once i get the internet figured out)

I'm not really a Zelda guy (obv played the first two for the NES) so anything Zelda related is out.

Follow-up question:

Someone told me that Madden for the wii isn't any good. Confirm/deny?

Thanks for all the recs so far.

Oh, and I'm going to borrow Metroid so there's no need to buy that one.

Google around and check out the Twilight Hack and the Homebrew channel. With the Homebrew channel you can run a bunch of great community created apps from your SD card. It gives so much more functionality your Wii and it's must have on kind of a bland console.