My wife is not a video game person at all. But for some odd reason she REALLY got into Dead Rising (she watches, I play) and so we have played through DR 1 and 2 over the past year or so, but now that we're done with those, we're sort of looking for the next thing. Here's why I think Dead Rising works for us and what I'm looking for in our next game :

1) Relatively linear storyline - Yes there are different ways that things can end up but the story is largely on rails. We tried playing Saints Row 3 and I think that's a bit too "open" for us. We need a game that will prod us to stay on the story a bit more.

2) relatively simple gameplay - I know Dead Rising is probably not considered the easiest game in the world, but at the end of the day, you run around and press "X" to kill zombies. Straightforward.

3) good walkthroughs / wiki support - She was my wingman during all the Dead Rising time. Every time I got stuck, she would pull out her trusty iPad and pull up the various wiki's to guide me through the tougher parts or help explain outcomes that were not otherwise obvious.

4) a little campy - we enjoyed the dumbness of Dead Rising just enough. We're not looking for over the top stupidity, although we found the first few hours of Saints Row 3 highly entertaining at times - again, just not really keeping us on point with the narrative.

5) cheap and/or free - I love Games with Gold and I have all of them, so if there's a good candidate there I'd prefer that. Let's say $20 or less is a good target. $60 or even $40 games are a no-go.

6) not super gory - I know what you're thinking - really?!? You played Dead Rising and you don't like gore?!? This is the paradox that is my wife, folks. Shooters with a ton of headshots are not going to work with her. She was incredibly disinterested in Halo when I played it.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.

I would definitely suggest the Mass Effect trilogy. There's certainly side content, but the story is the main focus and definitely pulls at you to keep going with it. The action is fairly straightforward and easy to follow, and most importantly the focus is on narrative. Tons of dialogue and characters to get to know, which would be just as compelling for a spectator as it is for the player. Another bonus is that your wife can give input on decisions and be more than just an observer. You can get all 3 games for $30 on Amazon or buy each individually for ~$15 a piece.

http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Trilogy-Xbox-360/dp/B0050SYBL6/ref=pd_ybh_1

How about Binary Domain? It fits almost all of your requirements. The story is VERY linear, but there are some different ways it can end up depending on how you talk to your partners. It's a third person shooter, so the gameplay is relatively simple. However, all you fight are robots, so not much blood. It's a bit campy. Most of it is a pretty straight sci-fi story, but then you have a robot with a French accent. All that and it looks like it runs for $14 on amazon right now, and I'm sure that's not the cheapest place to get it.

Bayonetta. Very linear, the gameplay is fairly involved at first but once you understand the basics it's pretty simple, really campy and dumb, easily gotten for $10 and not that much gore (a significant amount of blood though).

that thing still cracks me up every time I see it.

@jrock3x8

have you tried either of the Dragon Age games? They have relatively linear stories and plenty of great characters with great conversational choice... which kind of works well when you've got a spectator/advisor to help make those choices.

-The Walking Dead

-Fable 2

-Saint's Row 3

I'm gonna agree with @themightyskullboy. Binary Domain hooked me and the girlfriend in the same way that you have with Dead Rising. Though I'd venture to say that it's very campy. What about Vanquish as well?

Vanquish is rad as hell. Might even go so far as saying it is hella rad.

@themightyskullboy: I LIKE that idea as I actually HAVE that game sitting shrink wrapped on my shelf (where it has been for a WHILE)

I neglected to mention we also have a Wii and I have never ever played any of Nintendo's catalog other than Wii Sports. I have a desire to check out Metroid Prime 3 but the last time I tried it (5 years ago), I spent an hour with it and just could not grasp the controls.

Thanks for the Mass Effect recommendation - I have played all three of those games and I'm not sure my wife could get into that. As much of a huge sci fi geek as I am, she really doesn't get into that but I would REALLY like to play those games again.

There isn't much on the Wii that is in the vein you are looking for. The only games I can think of are No More Heroes 1&2 and those have a lot of "boring" time, especially the first one with the jobs being very menial tasks as opposed to the second where they are just NES games.

@jrock3x8: Sweet! The game you already have is the cheapest game of all!

I hope it works out for you. If you have a headset, you can actually say things to the characters, like compliment them or give them commands and stuff, so maybe that's something your wife can do while you handle all the shooting.

I can't believe that nobody has mentioned Deadly Premonition yet. That game hits every bullet point on your list.

Mirror's Edge seems like a good candidate.

For some reason, it's sold out at Amazon but available here: http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-360/games/mirrors-edge/70962

@jrock3x8: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (and, even more, the DLC - Pigsy's Perfect 10).

ooh yah Mirrors Edge is a great idea and I want to play that too.

Plus I think from what I've seen from it, it's just our kind of weird/dumb.

as for Deadly Premonition - we're not horror fans - Dead Rising was more dumb/funny than it was horror :)

Thanks for all the responses/ideas! Much love for you guys!

Portal and Portal 2

Asura's Wrath is pretty cheesy, though it is incredibly over the top, in a way that only an Anime disguised as a video game can be.
South Park was pretty good if you like funny, but you both have to like that kind of funny.
Remember Me was alright, and is similar to some of these games you've mentioned being interested in.
The Darkness, and perhaps it's sequel (haven't actually played it). Though... I can't remember if it errs more towards cheesy or dark now that I mention it.
Bully! Yes, Bully is a great game. It's pretty funny, not too complex, there's tons of guides out there, it's not as open or have as much to do as Saints or GTA. Maybe you could get Bully Scholarship Edition. I think it's even on sale right now on Xbox live for like, 3.75 or something ludicrous like that.

The sequel is a much better game but it loses a lot of the horror aspects and just becomes a stylish shooter with a supernatural theme.

@corruptedevil: I can live with that. In the end, Jenny was all I really cared about in the first game. The couch scene still feels like one of the most realistic "romantic" moments I've ever seen in a game. And I know there's pretty good reasons why I wouldn't see as much of her in the second game.

I would like to also nominate Vanquish. That game is so damn fun, it's ridiculous. The only problem is that it's a bit short. I've actually beaten the game in it's entirety twice in one day before. However, I will still concur that it is quite rad indeed.

It's the same length as most of their games. 8 or so hours first playthrough and can be tightened to about 4 (skipping cutscenes).

@patoday: hm I've played both of those. Really enjoyed but not sure about re-play-ability when the challenge is figuring out the answer the first time.

Thanks though.

Vanquish has gotten weirdly expensive which I'm not sure I understand other than supply and demand.

I think Fable 2 was one of the early games with gold? If so I have it. Or am I thinking of Fable 3 that was bundled with the 360 I bought (which I promptly sold bc the demo didn't strike me at all)

I think Bayonetta is a great recommendation. It's just a really crazy, amusing game.

My wife really dug The Walking Dead S1 and Red Dead Redemption

Don't misunderstand. I wasn't ripping on the game, because it's short. It's one of those games that's short, but I feel it's actually justified. There's no filler at all. It's all just nonstop awesome the whole way.

Wow, I didn't even think to check Vanquish's price. Yeah, that's a little ridiculous. It reminds me of The Darkness. That game is $45 for Xbox 360 and pushing $70 for PS3, whereas The Darkness 2 can be bought for $9.30 for Xbox 360 and $13.48 for PS3. It makes me mad, since I've been thinking about playing The Darkness for a long time.

I would also like to recommend Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. You can play single player, but if it looks like she's interested enough to want to try, she can play too. The only problem is that it's still $35 on Amazon for a new copy. You can get if for cheap if you buy used, but it's still a little pricey for a new copy given how old the game is.

The trick to buying a copy of M:UA is to get one of the double packs they put out. There are a ton of them out there and nobody wants them. I got it and Project Gotham Racing 4 for 10 bucks. They also did a Forza 2 and M:UA pack if you want a game you might play.

Alan Wake - it hits all those checkboxes, plus it has a gripping story.

@tyrrael: we have MUA - played about half of it with my son - the story is a little ehhhh. Great for ten year olds - not so much for 40 year olds.

@jeust: grade the horror element for me on that - scary or campy?

Maybe the Bioshock series? They are pretty cheap and have amazing stories. They are pretty gory though and they don't have an ounce of camp (or levity in general in the first game) so it doesn't fit the parameters that well...

@corruptedevil: thanks for the suggestion - there are 2 universally loved games which I could never get into - Bioshock and Half Life. I played each of them for like an hour each and had to turn them off from a mixture of boredom with the lack of action and a general dislike for the frenetic pace of when the action did kick up. I suppose that makes me a bad person but it just goes to show there's no accounting for taste :)

It isn't scary. It's inspired in Twin Peaks, so I guess campy? :p