While it looks nice, the Buckshot is plagued with design flaws. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=19869 Since the Wii's launch, one of the most prominent third-party peripherals has been the gun shell. They range from handgun designs, which can be held with one hand, to huge rifle-like designs that are held with both hands. Like Nintendo's Wii Zapper, most of these shells require a Nunchuk in order to accommodate games that require the extra buttons and/or analog stick. Komodo tries to change this by including the buttons and analog stick on their latest peripheral, which is called the Buckshot.
Size comparison of the Buckshot and the Zapper. | 
Built-in Analog Stick, C, and Z buttons. |
The Buckshot, which is available in black and red, is pleasing to the eye. The gun is held with two arms like a pump-action shotgun. If you try to hold it with one hand, it's uncomfortable due to the majority of the weight of the peripheral being at the end of the gun where the Wii Remote compartment is located.
Inserting the Wii Remote is fairly straightforward. You insert it at an angle and then press down on the body of the Wii Remote so that it snuggly fits. Once the Wii Remote is inserted, you simply close the compartment door and slide a little mechanism that attaches the expansion port connector to the Wii Remote. Unfortunately, there is no space for the Wii Remote wrist strap, so that has to be removed prior to inserting the controller into the peripheral. You won't be able to close the compartment door properly if you leave it on.
Empty Wii Remote compartment and eject ribbon. | 
Notice how the hinge blocks the power button. |
Ejecting the Wii Remote is also fairly simple. First, you have to make sure to retract the expansion port connector, and then you pull a small ribbon until the Wii Remote pops out. Sometimes the ribbon is obscured when you put the Wii Remote. If that happens, then the only way to get the Wii Remote out is to hold the Buckshot upside down and shake it until the Wii Remote comes out.
The gun trigger is a manual lever that hits the B button. It is spring loaded, which makes it generally satisfying to shoot with the peripheral. While shooting with the Buckshot is satisfying, the other aspects of the peripheral are full of design flaws. The A button is activated by pulling the handgrip back, but if you don't pull it back properly, then you won't hit the button, which can be very maddening. Pulling on the handgrip also causes some recoil that makes pointer-based menus extremely frustrating to navigate. It is easier to just open up the Wii Remote compartment and press the A button yourself. The peripheral also has a built-in analog stick, C, and Z buttons that are accessible by your thumb. Unfortunately, it's a poor Nunchuk substitute, as the buttons feel cheap and it is easy to lose your grip on the analog stick as your thumb easily slides off when you try to move the analog stick.
Due to the fact that there are no plus or minus buttons on the body of the peripheral, are forced to open the Wii Remote compartment in order to pause or resume the game. It is also impossible to access the Wii Remote's power button because the compartment hinge partially blocks it, so you are forced to eject the Wii Remote in order to turn off your console with the remote.
While testing the peripheral with various Zapper-compatible games, I found that my performance while playing these games was worse when compared to playing the game with Nintendo's Zapper or with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. It feels satisfying to play light gun games with the peripheral for a short time, but that quickly goes away when you experience all the design flaws of the peripheral. Some Zapper-compatible games also require simultaneous use of the Nunchuk's buttons and the analog stick, which is almost impossible with the Buckshot.
While the Buckshot excels at looking good, it falls short in every other category. The peripheral has too many flaws that detract from the overall experience while playing the games it was meant for. If you are looking for a Zapper alternative, you'd be better off staying away from this peripheral.
Pros:
Looks nice Cons: The built-in analog stick, C, and Z buttons are bad Wii Remote buttons are not easily accessible Terrible A button mechanism Appearance: 8.0 Both the black and red models look aesthetically pleasing and looks like a toy pump-action shotgun without a stock.
Comfort: 6.0 Since most of the weight is at the end of the peripheral, you need to hold it with both hands to hold it comfortably. The peripheral is quite hefty so your arms may become tired during long game sessions.
Quality: 4.0 The Buckshot is poorly designed and has numerous design flaws. For example, the built-in analog stick, C, and Z buttons are horrible.
Value: 3.0 At $34.99, its $15 to $25 more expensive than Nintendo's Zapper and the majority of gun shells current available. It does have a built in analog stick, C and Z buttons but ultimately, it is a terrible Nunchuk substitute.
Construction: 6.0
The body of the peripheral feels solid; however the Wii Remote compartment feels a little flimsy.
Final: 4.0
The Buckshot is ultimately a poor Zapper alternative due to many design flaws.
Topic: REVIEWS: Buckshot (Read 4278 times)
