gaming with the girlfriend
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Everyone else has suggested games at this point, so there's not too much I could add, but I will ask this: Have you seen the recent Extra Credits, "Sharing our Medium"? It helps with this sort of thing a lot.
Try to get a hold of point n' click adventure games. In my experience, the hardest thing to learn about how to play a game is moving a character/object in a multi-dimensional plane. Point N' Click adventure games rely on skills people already have (moving and clicking a mouse) to move the character. Also, most rely more on problem solving, not skill in manipulating controls, so it will likely be less frustrating. Plus, many of them are just fun to watch. 
Not exactly co-op, I know, but the best genre I have found to introduce people to gaming. Easiest to get into, and easily enjoyed by multiple people at once.
Not exactly co-op, I know, but the best genre I have found to introduce people to gaming. Easiest to get into, and easily enjoyed by multiple people at once.
Why put it on normal though? There's an easy mode...loc978 said:
OT: Bioshock is a good 'un. It's really story and atmosphere based, which helps. Or Fallout 3. Vats is a god send for people that aren't great at games. Just call Vats the panic button.
*blink* *blink*... why? (If I may ask...)Chibz said:
OT: As just mentioned Fallout 3 is a good one as it has zombies (after a fashion) and a panic button that makes the shooty a bit (OK, a lot) easier.
Depending on what kind of shooter she likes, I'd recommend Sniper Elite. It's tense, none of the fighting gets that frenetic and it's got a very good story. For something a bit more gimmicky (albeit a very well executed gimmick) Timeshift, though the controls can get a bit confusing with the three time functions. Enjoy...
Tales of Vesperia and Fable III do co-op in the RPG corner. Dynasty Warriors 7 is an easy... I'll be honest, I have no idea what genre it is, but you run around with basically 4 functions besides "move," and you kill a whole bunch of enemies while trying not to die. Fun times. Halo campaigns might work too, though I'd recommend multiplayer only after she's got the controls down and has some confidence in her skills. Remember, online interactions aren't rated for a reason. (lol)
Honestly the best thing to do might be suggesting the two of you head to your nearest game retailer and pick out something she shows interest in. That, or you can start offering her some of your games and sit back and let her play on her own and watch.
Honestly the best thing to do might be suggesting the two of you head to your nearest game retailer and pick out something she shows interest in. That, or you can start offering her some of your games and sit back and let her play on her own and watch.
If you'd like some simpler zombie action, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles is a nice, easy-enough game to give you both some thrills while not being too overly difficult. I really enjoyed playing it with a variety of friends and even my fiance, who is terrified of certain more realistic zombies and plays almost nothing but RPGs, had fun with it. You get a quicker glimpse at the overall Resident Evil story, while testing your skills in an on-rails shooter just like the arcades. Lots of levels to play, a variety of weapons to pick from, fun destructible objects all over the place, and of course lots of different zombies and monsters and hidden secrets.
As a completionist and hardcore gamer, I like how well-hidden the secrets are and how even after 5 playthroughs of half the levels, I haven't gotten all the stuff in most of them and they're still a blast to play. It's neither too easy nor is it wall-punchingly hard on the harder difficulty setting. If my variety of friends who have played and loved it amount to anything, Umbrella Chronicles (and probably Darkside Chronicles, but I haven't bought that one yet) is a great game to get for co-op play.
I have probably enjoyed it as much as or even more than most of the main RE games.
Boom Blox may not be what you're looking for so much, but it's another great multiplayer Wii game. It's competitive, but the fun kind rather than the wanting to strangle each other kind. And players with less experience don't really need to worry about failing miserably against everyone else. Physics games (mostly in 2D usually) are a bit overdone but this one strikes that perfect chord where strategy is key, luck plays its part, anyone can pick it up and play easily and it's all as satisfying and fun as that one part in every Jenga game where the whole tower comes toppling over. I would recommend 4 players or at least 3 if you can get them, but a game of Boom Blox really tends to draw a crowd. It's one of those good party games where you start playing and even the people watching are having fun.. and often wanting to join in.
I'd say Sin and Punishment Star Successor, since player 2 just has shooting to worry about and doesn't have to dodge and do melee attacks and such, but you would be dying a lot (everyone does. The game is brutal!) and it might turn her off from the game.
New Super Mario Bros Wii is one of those "duh" ones. Single-player, it's a challenge. Multiplayer, well, you don't exactly magically get good at Mario by having someone else with you but the game is light enough on multiple players that it never feels too punishing, yet not too easy either. You can mess up a lot in multiplayer and probably end up using lots of continues, but it's never like you fall off the cliff once and that's it for the rest of the level. As long as you have an extra life or the remaining player(s) collect 100 coins, you come back within 5-10 seconds.
That and Mario Kart Wii. Simplistic controls are key to introducing anyone to games, and turning the remote to steer couldn't be more simple to understand. Everyone I know plays it that way, too, simply because Mario Kart is just one of those fun games where luck is involved enough that the precision you might lose from the control scheme isn't bad enough to ruin the experience of moving around like you're actually steering. Maybe it looks silly and takes more effort, but it's not about winning, really.
In general, I'd just steer clear of games with overly complex controls. Anything requiring two analog sticks to be used at once is a no-no, unless it's along the lines of I MAED A GAEM WITH ZOMBI3S IN IT!!1 or Galaxy Wars. My fiance isn't the only girl gamer who can't aim and run at the same time in a Halo match. Resident Evil 5 would be way overboard, as I'd imagine, since you're not only aiming and running at once, but doing so in 3D, with lots of fast zombies kicking your ass and lots of other buttons to worry about pressing. It's second nature to you and me but to a newcomer, the two sticks alone can be a daunting prospect. It always surprises me how some people just don't realize that at all. Controllers are SCARY to new players.
Most of my suggestions are Wii games, but it makes sense. The Wii is an extremely friendly controller. One big button that does main-button stuff. Trigger on the bottom. 4-way pad. One analog stick. Trigger on the other hand. Able to point at the screen, intuitively. Shake gestures. You give your girlfriend a remote and nunchuk and say point and shoot. Shake to reload. The other hand is your knife. To a gamer that might seem silly and unnecessary but you'd be surprised how much easier an intuitive control scheme like that can be to a newcomer.
As a completionist and hardcore gamer, I like how well-hidden the secrets are and how even after 5 playthroughs of half the levels, I haven't gotten all the stuff in most of them and they're still a blast to play. It's neither too easy nor is it wall-punchingly hard on the harder difficulty setting. If my variety of friends who have played and loved it amount to anything, Umbrella Chronicles (and probably Darkside Chronicles, but I haven't bought that one yet) is a great game to get for co-op play.
I have probably enjoyed it as much as or even more than most of the main RE games.
Boom Blox may not be what you're looking for so much, but it's another great multiplayer Wii game. It's competitive, but the fun kind rather than the wanting to strangle each other kind. And players with less experience don't really need to worry about failing miserably against everyone else. Physics games (mostly in 2D usually) are a bit overdone but this one strikes that perfect chord where strategy is key, luck plays its part, anyone can pick it up and play easily and it's all as satisfying and fun as that one part in every Jenga game where the whole tower comes toppling over. I would recommend 4 players or at least 3 if you can get them, but a game of Boom Blox really tends to draw a crowd. It's one of those good party games where you start playing and even the people watching are having fun.. and often wanting to join in.
I'd say Sin and Punishment Star Successor, since player 2 just has shooting to worry about and doesn't have to dodge and do melee attacks and such, but you would be dying a lot (everyone does. The game is brutal!) and it might turn her off from the game.
New Super Mario Bros Wii is one of those "duh" ones. Single-player, it's a challenge. Multiplayer, well, you don't exactly magically get good at Mario by having someone else with you but the game is light enough on multiple players that it never feels too punishing, yet not too easy either. You can mess up a lot in multiplayer and probably end up using lots of continues, but it's never like you fall off the cliff once and that's it for the rest of the level. As long as you have an extra life or the remaining player(s) collect 100 coins, you come back within 5-10 seconds.
That and Mario Kart Wii. Simplistic controls are key to introducing anyone to games, and turning the remote to steer couldn't be more simple to understand. Everyone I know plays it that way, too, simply because Mario Kart is just one of those fun games where luck is involved enough that the precision you might lose from the control scheme isn't bad enough to ruin the experience of moving around like you're actually steering. Maybe it looks silly and takes more effort, but it's not about winning, really.
In general, I'd just steer clear of games with overly complex controls. Anything requiring two analog sticks to be used at once is a no-no, unless it's along the lines of I MAED A GAEM WITH ZOMBI3S IN IT!!1 or Galaxy Wars. My fiance isn't the only girl gamer who can't aim and run at the same time in a Halo match. Resident Evil 5 would be way overboard, as I'd imagine, since you're not only aiming and running at once, but doing so in 3D, with lots of fast zombies kicking your ass and lots of other buttons to worry about pressing. It's second nature to you and me but to a newcomer, the two sticks alone can be a daunting prospect. It always surprises me how some people just don't realize that at all. Controllers are SCARY to new players.
Most of my suggestions are Wii games, but it makes sense. The Wii is an extremely friendly controller. One big button that does main-button stuff. Trigger on the bottom. 4-way pad. One analog stick. Trigger on the other hand. Able to point at the screen, intuitively. Shake gestures. You give your girlfriend a remote and nunchuk and say point and shoot. Shake to reload. The other hand is your knife. To a gamer that might seem silly and unnecessary but you'd be surprised how much easier an intuitive control scheme like that can be to a newcomer.
First off, a comon mistake we gamers make with out grilfriends/those who arent good at game is that we automatically assume they will ifgure the controls out without any instructions as we did. I have done this and believe me we can't really blame are noob asking 'how do I use my knife' or 'how I aim' if they have never done it before. And we especially cant treatthem like they are stupid when they ask games we ourselves do not know the answer to such as in RE5 'why are we killing black people?'
Me and my girlfriend (she's a gamer too so I don't usually have much of a problem with genre or game type) tend to play games like Tekken if we feel like gaming together. We're also both looking forward to the Uncharted 3 co-op so I guess any story with a co-op mode could go down well. =)
For the 360 Castle Crashers would be a really good place to start, My girl ain't too good at game but she is having a blast playing Castle Crashers with me. She pretty much wants to play every time she comes round. I found Alice to be a good game for her too it's got a really interesting atmosphere and the some what repetitive game play is actually a bonus for novice players as it makes it easier for them to remember just what the hell they is supposed to be doing. Also I find casual players and especially my Female friends love platform gaming, Kameo elements of power is a firm favourite.
I tried gaming with the boyfreind once.....
it was a FPS on a console
he laughed at how I "sucked"..I reminded him that I was used to a mouse and keyboard..he kept making fun of me
we are no longer together...and I stole his PS2
*grumble*FPS with a gamepad is stupid anyway...*grumble*
it was a FPS on a console
he laughed at how I "sucked"..I reminded him that I was used to a mouse and keyboard..he kept making fun of me
we are no longer together...and I stole his PS2
*grumble*FPS with a gamepad is stupid anyway...*grumble*
Thanks again everyone. Many of the hints I had considered myself such as the complex controls. We do forget just how much time we have put into these things to get so good at them. The solo ideas are also a great point. I reckon I might get her to try a few different ones that I might not like now but provide experiences that I had with older titles. With time hopefully we will find what works for us, if not then we will stick to movies.
I dunno too much going on. Something like Saints row 2 maybe? It's pretty crazy and just dumb fun that is pretty forgivingWaReloaded said:
I actually did this with my girlfriend. I told her it was a game that she should at least try (she likes games alright, but she's not a "gamer"). She got on the classic version and (after some help with controls and what the blocks are) she loved it. We found a decent server the next day and then we could build together. Very much fun, and she's even brought up plans for our building in person.Kahunaburger said:
Random thought here, but a simple adventure game like Machinarium might be good. Some of the newer adventure games take some steps to avoid letting people get stuck:
-Most inventory items that become useless are automatically thrown away.
-Hint system ingame
-Lots of visual cues, rather than paying attention to dialogue.
You might also try Braid. It's not a simplistic game, but it does very well at slowly easing you into its new mechanics.
I actually have wondered about making an FPS in Unity that's specifically catered towards people who have never played an FPS.
-Most inventory items that become useless are automatically thrown away.
-Hint system ingame
-Lots of visual cues, rather than paying attention to dialogue.
You might also try Braid. It's not a simplistic game, but it does very well at slowly easing you into its new mechanics.
I actually have wondered about making an FPS in Unity that's specifically catered towards people who have never played an FPS.