I find it hard to believe that the Nintendo Wii has been unleashed to the European market for well over a year now, and I was one of the lucky few to hold the console on day one. I remember a slightly younger version of myself excited as though it was christmas day, although it was a few weeks previous. One of the first things I wanted to do was tell the internet all about it, and some may remember my original Wii remote review. Now, with 14 months experience under my belt (not exact playing time), I feel I can offer you the most informed Wii remote review to date. Dubbed the Wii-mote.

Above is the URL address of one of the many first impressions given when Nintendo did release that tentative first design of their Wiimote. Back then the console was still dubbed the 'Revolution', and whilst the cheesy console name did not stick, the waves that the console has created are the signs of an evolution in the gaming community. Partner this with the Nintendo DS handheld console success, enticing new gamers with the idea of brain training activities to name just one, and you can see the business plan to no longer associate gaming with one teenage boy sitting in his darkened bedroom playing Halo. The build-up to the Wii release was perhaps the first time a console had been shown without an accompanying controller, which showed how serious Nintendo were about protecting the ideas they had created, and in fact the original prototype we saw was not even the same as the finish product in a couple of minor and one major way. Still, this brainwave of motion sensitivity was something that Sony were quick to grab on to, slightly incorporating it into their PS3 controller - a console released so long after Microsoft's 360 they had plenty of time to perfect things. Not to try and sound too much like a 'fanboy' here, but the fact that Sony's boomerang controller had to be fact whilst an evolution in controlling by Nintendo catches on shows where the real brains in the gaming market lie, and it doesn't just come down to CD's or cartridges.

The Wiimote is smaller than you might expect, but fits wonderfully in your grasp. Also, at a very light weight no one should have any worries picking it up. The circular button in the top left hand corner is marked power with a very familiar red logo that will remind you of the button you push to turn off your television, so don't go stupid and think that this button is to turn off the Wiimote but this is actually a button so you don't have to get up and turn the Wii off. You can do it from the comfort of where you are sitting/standing, but if you are attracted by the Wii for its fitness aspects you might want to turn it off manually anyway. A familiar d-pad button that has been with gaming controller since day one features, as well as a big 'a' button that differs from all the other buttons on the remote and is the most easy to access.

On the back of the controller you get your trigger 'B' button, similar to that of the 'Z' button on the N64 controller, this button is a joy to press and I remember pressing it for fun. You then have your battery pak location, that is simple to remove, meaning no screwdrivers. Due to the fact that the console comes with a sensor bar that you place either above or below your television screen, the console will ask you where you put it, this means the Wii doesn't really need all that many buttons. At first I thought it was ridiculously difficult aiming at the screen with the Wiimote, but you do quite quickly get used to the sensitivity of the whole thing and writing your name using the on-screen keyboard is more of a joy than a hassle. The pointer is visible on the screen, but you do have to be within a certain distance of the screen, meaning that even in the most hardcore of video games you do have to be sitting up rather than slouching, and further getting across Nintendo's healthy message. Almost every swing is picked up on, although there has been a few occassions during tennis that I believe I have done a small swing that was obviously not physical enough for the remote to pick up on. Also, I remember experiences in 'Zelda: Twilight Princess' where it could be incredibly annoying trying to point at the screen to use weapons such as the slingshot. More recently I have experienced my first shooting game on the Wii, 'Red Steel', and shooting people by pointing a remote at the screen has never been more fun. But perhaps further encouragement for people who want such games banned, using the Wiimote as a gun.