Top 15 Wii Games Under $30

Developed in conjunction with Steven Spielberg, Boom Blox: Bash Party is a sequel that improves on the original in every way. The recipe for success is simple: use your Wiimote to throw objects at giant towers made of bricks and bombs, and try to blow them up. For best results, add friends.

There are tons of game modes to keep you busy, including puzzles that require strategically placed throws, castle defense levels, Jenga-like challenges, and a construction mode that lets you design your own levels. All of this is made possible by an impressive physics engine that allows you to plan out chain reactions and watch in satisfaction as the explosive consequences unfold.

The game is fun enough on its own to warrant the price of admission, but add a few friends, and the competitive mayhem is magic.

Excitebots is a spiritual successor to both the Wii launch title Excitetruck and the NES classic Excitebike. The difference lies in Excitebots' outlandish brand of anything-goes racing, where your chances for victory lie less in the time it takes you to cross the finish line as how cool you manage to look while doing it.

You'll pick your Excitebot based on its speed, power, propensity for landing tricks, and of course, which bug or small animal it resembles. No matter which bot you choose, throughout the course of any race you'll find yourself morphing between its driving form, flying form, and standing-up-on-two-legs-and-running form. All the while you'll be presented with a barrage of challenges that seem to come out of nowhere.

Grab this pole and spin! Knock down all these bowling pins! Take this pie and hit a floating clown head in the face!

If it sounds like a Japanese game show to you, then you sort of have the picture here. And that's what makes Excitebots stand out, because it's legitimately different than the mass of Mario Kart clones out there, and totally unafraid to be completely over-the-top. Like most racing games, this one is at its best in multiplayer, and you can choose to play it with a friend in your living room or take it online and challenge players worldwide.

You can purchase Excitebots with or without a pack-in racing wheel. If you have Mario Kart but only one wheel, pick up Excitebots with the packed-in wheel rather than shelling out for a standalone wheel. You'll be glad you did.

OK, this entry is a little bit of an exception in that you are probably not going to find it under $30. But wait! Don't call me a liar yet! Metroid Prime Trilogy actually contains THREE full-length titles so, if you think about, you are really only paying $16.67 per game. Pretty good, right? On top of that, these are three of the best games to ever grace a Nintendo console. So while this is admittedly the most expensive title on the list, it may very well be the biggest bargain of all.

Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes were two of the Gamecube's biggest releases. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption followed on Wii and took the series to a new level by introducing motion control. For the first time, you could aim heroine Samus Aran's arm cannon using your Wiimote. When Nintendo released Metroid Prime Trilogy in 2009, they added these same motion controls to the first two entries in the series. So not only do you get all three games, this is the only way to experience the Gamecube titles with motion controls.

Each of these games is worth full retail price in its own right, making this compilation a must if you have never played a Metroid Prime game before. From world designa full of secrets that are *just* out of your reach until you get your next power-up, to the atmospheric musical score, to the fog and reflections on Samus' visor that makes you feel like you're really in her helmet, these games are among the best Nintendo has ever published.

Cheap? Maybe not. Bargain? Absolutely.

If you like Zelda games, you'll like Okami. The game is built around the same adventure mechanics that have powered Zelda games for years. And for added similarity, you play as a wolf in Okami, just like in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. But even if Okami is clearly inspired by the Zelda franchise, it's a better game than Twilight Princess. And a lot cheaper too.

Okami is better because it's more original. You'll play through an epic storyline in an artistically stylized world full of humorous characters and truly engaging puzzles. At the center of your adventure is something called the Celestial Brush, which is a sort of paint brush controlled by the Wiimote. Use your Wiimote to paint a sun in the sky and the world turns to daytime. Paint a circle around dead trees and they will bloom. The list goes on, and while Okami is technically a port of a Playstation 2 title, the added Wiimote functionality make this the definitive version of a stellar game.

At a time when so many titles feel like been there-done that iterations (I'm looking at you, Twilight Princess), Okami offers a breath of fresh air. The visuals are strikingly beautiful, the soundtrack is soaring, and the gameplay mechanics are well-wrought and rewarding. This adventure can be had on the cheap and will keep you entertained for a long time.

Resident Evil 4 exists in several iterations: you'll find previous versions on the Gamecube and Playstation 2 as well. But the Wii Edition is the definitive RE4 experience, for incorporating all of the content from the earlier releases and adding Wiimote motion controls that effectively deepen the player's immersion.

And being immersed in this game is an experience you won't soon forget. Playing Resident Evil 4 is a tense experience from beginning to end. Whether you're dodging your way through an endless horde of creeping zombified villagers or trying to stay one step ahead of a cinematic button-pressing sequence that separates your character from instant death, this one will keep you on the edge of your seat.

RE4 is rated M for a reason: it's scary and there is a lot of gore. But for the older gamer who's looking for the closest thing to playing his or her way through a Hollywood blockbuster horror movie, Resident Evil: Wii Edition is the perfect choice.

If you have ever lost yourself in the world of a '90s-era point and click PC adventure title, you'll be right at home here. Capcom's Zack and Wiki is a modern rarity in that it hearkens back to the glory days of PC game developers Lucasarts (The Secret of Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, Grim Fandango) and Sierra On-Line (King's Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory).

This niche market all but dried up by the beginning of the 21st century, which may be why Zack & Wiki was such a flop in terms of sales. The reason is surely not its quality, as the game remains one of the Wii's most original, compelling efforts. It also features some of the best uses of the Wii's motion controls, from turning your Wiimote as a key in a lock to holding it vertically and pressing a button to pop open your umbrella.

Anyone who loves a good brain challenge will get a kick out of Zack & Wiki's creative and rewarding puzzle-based adventure.

World of Goo opened many peoples' eyes to the potential of indie game development. In stark contrast to the several-hundred-strong development teams put to work on most major titles, World of Goo was put together by two college graduates, working on their laptops in public coffee shops. The result was a game that beat out the likes of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Guitar Hero World Tour to receive IGN.com's 2008 Wii Game of the Year award.

The beauty of the game is in its simplicity: Help goo balls get to the pipe in each stage by using their sticky bodies to construct ramps, bridges, and buildings that can get them there. The brain-teasing stages get progressively more challenging, but never so brutal that you will think them utterly impossible. A Tim Burton type of style permeates the game, from its twisted cartoon art to its self-aware brand of humor to its epic music that will stick in your head to the point that you will find yourself searching for it on iTunes (and yes, it's available).

You don't even have to leave the house for this one. If you have Wi-Fi and 1500 Nintendo Points ($15.00), then you should have World of Goo.

LostWinds and its sequel, Winter of the Melodias, are two examples of everything that is right about WiiWare. Freed from the restraints and expectations of most full-blown retail releases, the developer was able to create an entirely new world built around a simple play mechanic: controlling the wind. Thanks to levels of polish that exceed what we see in most Wii retail releases, the games shine.

Controlling the wind in both games is intuitively handled via the Wiimote. As you use the wind to help the hero, Toku, reach his goals, you will consistently enjoy being able to accomplish just what you want with a motion that feels exactly right. Most Wii developers have been unable to replicate this sort of control success, and here it lends a satisfaction to the puzzle solving that can't be overstated. The graphics also exceed what you'll find in most Wii games, and they combine with the musical score to create a world you'll love spending time in.

The notable downside of the games is that they only last a few hours each, but at 1000 points ($10.00) per game, you're getting a major bargain for this polished level of gameplay and presentation.

If you've ever played a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game before, you know that they are all about harvesting resources, researching technological advancements for your army, and deploying troops to crush your enemy. You'll also know that, historically, these types of games have only found real success on the PC. This is due mostly to their traditional complexity, which necessitates an overhead view of the battlefield and mouse control for all of the necessary micromanagement.

Swords & Soldiers tosses all that out the window. Here is a RTS that sees you manage your army with the Wiimote from a 2D side-scrolling perspective. The game makes it possible by stripping the genre down to its bones, eliminating complexity in exchange for tighter control and heightened levels of action.

You'll also get a healthy dose of humor as you play through campaigns controlling the Aztecs, the Vikings, and the Imperial Chinese. Each army manages to fill 10 missions with tightly balanced warfare, beautiful cartoon graphics, and funny voice-overs that match the style of the game perfectly.

The game has several single-player modes as well as allowing 2-player local competitive matches. There is no online play, but for 1000 Wii points ($10.00), Swords & Soldiers is a great reason for any bargain hunter to take advantage of WiiWare today.

Remember, bargain hunter: your Wii is backward-compatible with the Nintendo Gamecube, meaning you have an generation of gaming to draw upon in your quest for budget entertainment. More good news for you: the Gamecube had some of the best games of all time and many of them can now be had for a song.

Nintendo's unveiling of The Wind Waker will long be remembered as one of gaming's most shocking moments. Eagerly expecting the darkest entry in the series to date, Zelda fans were instead greeted by a child-like depiction of series hero Link, brought to life through colorful cel-shaded animation. Loyalists groaned about the game's surprising art direction and preemptively wrote the game off as a disaster. But they were proven very wrong.

The Wind Waker is one of the best entries in one of the best series of all time. Built around a sense of exploration and discovery, the game sees Link in control of a small ship and faced with an island-pocked ocean full of surprises to explore. Colorful characters abound, combat feels better than ever, and the once-questioned art direction brings to life what many consider to be the best looking Gamecube game. Despite predating the Wii's Twilight Princess by three years, Wind Waker remains the superior Zelda experience.

For dozens of hours of AAA level entertainment, skip the pricey new adventure titles and set sail with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem was in development forever. Most games miss their release dates, but this game missed its release platform. Originally designing the game for a Nintendo 64 release, developer Silicon Knights ended up releasing it on the Gamecube years after its initial announcement. It was worth the wait.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem breathed new life into horror games by defining an entirely new genre, deemed Psychological Horror. Most notably, the game introduced the concept of a character's sanity. Throughout the course of the game, you will take control of a wide range of characters, whose stories span across millenia. A colonial American doctor, a Roman centurion, a Dark Ages Franciscan monk, and a 1990s Gulf War firefighter are just a few of the many characters whose fates are in your hands. The one constant is your duty to keep their sanity stable.

As the characters are forced into fighting demons and monsters with everything from historically accurate weapons to a wide assortment of magical spells, their sanity begins to drop. Let it drop too far, and you will start to become affected by their hallucinations. I won't discuss these in detail to avoid ruining the experience for you, but be prepared to find yourself continually asking what is truly real.

The storyline is massive and twisting, the graphics have hardly been topped (even on the Wii), and the innovative gameplay stands the test of time. Given how few games have been able to live up to the standard set by Eternal Darkness, it's hard to believe that it was released back in 2002. Many gamers missed out on this one just because they didn't have a Gamecube. Don't make the same mistake: Easily found under 20 bucks, this M-rated classic is a no-brainer for any Wii owner over 17.

Like Eternal Darkness, Beyond Good & Evil was under-appreciated in its own time. An adventure game similar in style to Zelda, and developed by Rayman creator Michael Ancel, its lack of commercial success is confusing. However, in the years since its release, the game has begun to get the recognition it deserves, and with good reason.

You play as heroine Jane, a photographer whose home is attacked by aliens. As you set out on a quest to battle aliens with your martial arts moves, you'll find that your camera plays a central role. The storyline sees Jade uncover a governmental conspiracy, and it's up to your photographic skills to gather crucial evidence necessary to alerting the populace to the truth.

The characters are colorful and well-developed, and you'll have just as much fun exploring town locations and talking with NPCs as you will judo-kicking alien butt. This isn't a particularly long adventure (you'll probably finish in fewer than 15 hours) but Beyond Good & Evil is all about quality over quantity. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining 15 hours of gameplay on Wii or any other console.

I'm going to get slammed for this, but I don't personally consider Ocarina of Time to be the best game ever made. In fact, it's not even my favorite Zelda game (I'm partial to The Wind Waker). That said, you should note two facts:

1. I am in a small minority here.

2. There is absolutely no debate about the importance of this game. If Mario 64 showed us that 3D gaming was feasible and fun, Ocarina of Time opened our eyes to the vast potential of the medium.

The Nintendo 64's chunky graphics haven't stood the test of time too well, and Ocarina's once-massive world has been dwarfed by the size of many modern games, but this is a bona fide piece of gaming history. Plus, it's still really fun. If you like Zelda games at all, you'll love this one. And if you've never played one before, this is a perfect place to start.

The game that started it all for Nintendo's hoover-happy puffball. Kirby's Adventure appeared toward the end of the NES lifespan and the difference in production quality between this and an early title like Super Mario Bros. is stark. By the end of the system's life cycle, developers had clearly learned to push the console to the maximum of its potential. All NES owners benefited from their progress when Kirby's Adventure was released in 1993.

You play as Kirby, a pink marshmallow defined by his ability to suck in almost anything. Suck in air and Kirby can float for a while. Suck in a block and Kirby can spit it back out at enemies. Better yet, suck in the enemies themselves and Kirby can replicate their powers. Swallow a hammer-wielding enemy and Kirby gets a mallet of his own. Swallow a porcupine and Kirby gets defensive needles. Swallow a UFO and Kirby...becomes a UFO? The wackiest transformations are some of the best.

You'll have to use all of the the transformations to not only finish each level, but also find all of the many secrets that lay within. This platformer is just as much fun as it was the day it was released, and you can download it to your Wii today for only 5 bucks! Why wait?

Talk about a cult classic. River City Ransom has achieved almost mythical status among old-school gamers for its genre-melding gameplay that almost seems too good to have been released on the NES.

The premise is simple: A bully is holding your girlfriend hostage in River City High School and you'll need to battle through his loyal gangs of thugs in order to reach him. Several factors work together to elevate this game beyond the sum of its parts:

1.Co-operative play: Grab a friend and battle your way through River City together. You can even pick your buddy up and toss him at enemies. Just don't accidentally hit him with that baseball bat... (unless you're meaning to, of course).

2. Genre Mixing: River City Ransom is where classic beat-em-up meets RPG. As you acquire money from the pockets of your fallen foes, you can purchase food, power-ups, and even skill books at the local malls. Read a skill book called "Stone Hands" and you'll gain the power of rapid-fire punching. My favorite book is "Acro Circus," which turns you into a whirling dervish of pain.

3.Ridiculous enemies: The commentary from thugs that appears at the bottom of the screen is the icing on this cake. You could find yourself beating up a generic thug in any game. But if you find yourself beating up a thug named Ivan who screams, "BARF!" as he goes down, then you could only be in River City.

River City Ransom is a great find for any bargain hunter at only 5 bucks (500 Wii Points), but if you have a friend to enjoy this one with, the game is an absolute must-buy.