Here's my formal Wii review, take it for what it's worth.
Well, honestly it's a bit of a mixed bag. First, I absolutely love the system interface. The pointer menus and the way the remote beats when you cross over a menu item is surreal. It just feels so incredibly right. The Wii Channels are a innovative way of showing off the features of the system, I just hope there ends up being more than a few non-gaming channels, or it will seem kind of unnecessary.
The first thing I did was put together a Mii character, and I think I was able to get a reasonable facsimile of myself. I booted up Wii Sports and played a game of Tennis, and found that it reacted pretty well to my shots. Sometimes it doesn't go the way I intended it to go, and sometimes it serves when I'm not ready, but when it IS reacting how it's supposed to, the experience is unrivaled. Wii Sports is probably the best way to show off the potential of the system - far better than any of the other launch titles. My personal favorite is bowling. I had some issues with letting go of the ball too early, but once I got the hang of it, I couldn't put it down. Boxing was okay, but a bit unresponsive, and I didn't have the patience to finish a game of golf or baseball.
The second game I played was Super Monkey Ball. I had been really looking forward to this, because the motion sensing controller SHOULD work very well with the game concept. But unfortunately, I had a hell of a time trying to learn how to tilt the controller properly. It was very difficult to remember not to move the remote from side to side, only tilting it left and right. I did eventually get the hang of the main game down, but never felt like I had the same amount of control as I did with the analog stick on the Gamecube titles.
The mini games were hit and miss, but sadly more miss than hit. I did have a lot of fun with Monkey Darts - you just jab the controller at the screen and let go of the A button to throw the dart. But most of the games that used the tilt functionality were very difficult to control. Kelly and I sat there for probably 25 minutes trying to learn how to play Monkey Bowling. When we did learn, I was still unable to throw a straight ball, and it just really paled in comparison to Wii Sports Bowling. Monkey Target was completely stripped down, which was sad - that was my favorite mini game from the original Super Monkey Ball.
I'd rather have 6 polished mini games than 50 half-assed ones.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion was up next. I didn't spend much time with this game, because it appeared to be a note-for-note remake of the DS version. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just didn't feel compelled to play through the same game again. Now, I haven't FINISHED the DS version yet, so it's still SOMETHING new. I did really like the interface, using the Nunchuck to select which tool to use, and using both fingers (A + B) to pinch something and pick it up. Very clever. Basically, it's just a pointer game. I almost feel that Trauma Center would work better as a flash game on eBaums World.
And then, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Honestly, I had no intention of picking this game up at launch. I didn't see the point - a game of this stature deserves a certain amount of dedication and free time, and I didn't see that window opening until 2007. But, when I saw it on the table of games, I couldn't resist. I had to have it. It's frickin' Zelda. Come on.
The game has a pretty inconspicuous opening. Just a bit of dialog, a hint of backstory, and you're on your way. A lot of publications have been slighting the game for having "GameCube" graphics, but come on. These graphics are amazing. Maybe I just don't have a good enough TV, but the animation, art direction, and special effects are all top notch. This game REEKS of production value.
The game controls much the same way as any Zelda before it, for the most part. You use the nunchuck attachment to control Link with the analog stick. The A and B button, combined with the C and Z button on the nunchuck are your action buttons. The pointer fairy acts as your on screen interface for swapping weapons, and aiming your range weapons.
I've put the most time into Zelda so far, and I've been pleased with it. It's been challenging, but not too challenging. It hasn't lost my interest yet, and with my short attention span, that's saying something.
All in all, the Wii works best with games that use the pointer rather than the tilt system. Not that the tilt doesn't work, it's just way harder to gauge how much you need to tilt the controller to get the desired effect, and even HARDER to try to get it back to a tilt-free level. That's my biggest beef with the Wii so far. But Wii Sports and Zelda have justified my purchase. I'm looking forward to many more happy hours with my Wii.
Topic: is it all hype? (UK onlooker) (Read 5220 times)
