Despite lackluster showings in the past two gaming generations, Nintendo seems to be getting their momentum back, as the Nintendo DS dominates the portable community and their newest console, the Wii, is off to a flying start. Slim, slick, innovative and readily fun, is this wee little machine really bringing us the gaming revolution?
~~The Package~~
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The standard Wii Package has a suggested retail price of £179, significantly less than the year-old Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Exact figures vary as both competitors market 2 separate versions of their products, with the price difference ranging from £20 more for the Core 360, to £245 extra for the Premium PS3. It includes:
- Handful of glossy booklets
- Wii Remote and its 2 AA batteries
- Nunchuck controller
- Game, in the form of Wii Sports
- The Wii Console and its power supply, sensor bar and AV Cable
Also thrown in for good measure are, a Euro Connector Plug, 3 adhesion tapes and a couple of stands for the console and sensor bar.***The Console***
In recent years, evolution in video games meant two things: Prettier and Bigger. Better graphics and larger, more interactive, worlds were the focus of most sequels and "clones" of successful titles.
As such, Microsoft and Sony doubled their efforts to cram every last piece of technology available in their consoles. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are true behemoths, assuring with their size that they are capable of tremendous technical feats. "Fight Night: Round 3" looks life-like. We've reached a point where trailers shock us using exclusively in-game footage, so, as far as beautiful expansive worlds go, just take a look at "Mass Effect" and "White Knight Story".
Nintendo has decided to go in a different direction, figuring games have now taken the form they were imagining and it's finally time to revolutionize the way they are played. They came up with a small, stylish, affordable unit to do it: The Wii is slightly bigger than your computer's disc drive and more than 4 times smaller than the 360 and the PS3.
That's not to say processing power was neglected. The Wii is touted as being two and a half times more powerful than the GameCube, which has produced some terrific looking games. "Resident Evil 4" looked fantastic and "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess", principally developed as a GameCube title, is massive and has gorgeous character models.
Inevitably, as the Wii's power is slowly untapped, even more impressive games will surface. They'll never rival the picture-perfect quality the PS3 and the Xbox have the potential of, but Nintendo hopes they won't distract you enough to overlook the undeniable charm Wii controls possess.
The trim, (24cm)x(1cm), sensor bar is to be positioned on top, or in front, of your TV and allows for the controller-magic to happen. Details follow in the next section, but the neatness of the concept starts becoming apparent right from the moment you first power-on your console.
The other advantage of the slim machine is that Nintendo managed to keep the retail price at logical levels.
The Wii is considerably-to-insanely cheaper than the competitive bundles, even with the inclusion of Wii Sports. In addition, unlike the 20 pounds pricier Core Xbox 360, the unit includes a hard-drive, a paramount feature for care-free save-game management and access to internet content. Said hard-drive contains approximately 2.200 "blocks" of memory and with game-data averaging at most 2 blocks, it becomes apparent that the only way to fill it up is to store pictures and videos, and download classic games.
What concerns me the most, a lot more than the graphical disadvantage, is that the Wii lacks movie playback capabilities. The 360 plays DVDs and the PS3 these next-gen Blu-Ray discs and, considering that the Wii is being marketed as the definitive entertainment system, enjoyable for the whole family, it seems odd that it can't cover your movie needs out of the box. Of course, a lot of people, including myself, already own a DVD player of some short, but the "it plays DVDs" argument was always used, when available, as I tried to persuade a non-gamer to buy a console. Wii is, however, backwards compatible, as all GameCube titles can be played without problem.
Also, Wii is the only next-gen console not taking advantage of High-Definition Televisions, on the basis that not nearly enough people own HDTVs yet, as to warrant the higher production values. The included AV Cables don't take full advantage of the machine itself, with the separately sold RGB Cable, for "normal" TVs and Component Video Cables, for HDTVs, offering noticeably better output.
***The Controllers***
Smaller than your average remote and definitely less threatening than the 13-button, dual stick plus d-pad monstrosities gaming controllers have become, the Wii Remote is designed to get you into the game with the less fuss possible.
A glimpse of its abilities is caught as early on as the initial system configuration: The cursor for the system screens is a blue hand that points where you aim the Wiimote. I was caught a little off-guard when I noticed the on-screen hand rotating slightly to reflect my wrist's natural movement. Cute.
The Wiimote has various tricks at his disposal and games like Wii Sports and Wii Play try to showcase the basic principals in which it works. The Wii can track the movement, speed, positioning and tilt of its controllers with impressive accuracy and all this information can be translated in-game to show your character swinging a bat, navigating a cow, or celebrating a knock-out. It's one thing to use the analog stick to aim and press a button to fire a pistol and quite another to aim with the Wiimote and rapidly pull the trigger. Pressing buttons, or weaving a stick might work in some games for throwing a punch, but actually doing the punching motions is on a whole different level.
Even though it was originally designed to work with a GameCube controller, "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" wasted no time in brilliantly using one of the Wiimote's clever features: the built-in speaker.
Hearing the clang of a swordfight right in your hand is simply awesome and puts you that much more inside the game.
An included accessory and essential in certain games is the Nunchuck Attachment. The nunchuck is typically used for moving your avatar around, but is, of course, open to more imaginative uses, such as the reeling of fish, or your boxer's left hand.
Wii games rely mostly in the motion-sensing and rarely require more than 2 buttons to be used. This makes it extremely easy for an agnostic to pick up and play, which is, after all, the basis of the Wii's appeal. The movements you are required to do feel very natural and a "steadyshot", akin to the one used in video-cameras, appears to be in place to keep the aiming fluent. This impressed me especially, as I found aiming much easier than I had initially expected, even if a few of my less hand-eye-coordinated friends couldn't hit the far side of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was nothing a little practice wouldn't fix and PC users should be naturals from the get-go.
In all, an actual test-session can do a much better job than a few paragraphs in convincing you of the one sure thing: the controls are a blast. And, as a person who has spent a fair deal of time explaining controls in various games over the ages, I couldn't be happier with their simplicity.
As a side-note, the "Wii Shoulder" seems to be emerging as term to reflect the soreness felt after long Wii sessions. As my Zelda time-logs can show, rest assured that games that aren't supposed to be tiring, aren't. Titles like Wii Sports, however, that simulate sports or other rigorous actions, such as tossing cattle, affect you according to your fitness levels. As a rule, 3 days of relative rest allows for any sore to subside. Also, remember to always fasten the Wiimote's wrist-strap when playing, to avoid any real damage should you lose your grip.
A Classic Controller Attachment is also available, to be used with Virtual Console and GameCube games. Thankfully, original GameCube controllers can be jacked-in for the same purpose, so there is no need to spend the extra £15, if you have one of those relics lying around.
For that matter, Wii Remotes cost £30 and Nunchucks £15. Multiplayer is a big part of the Wii so an extra Wiimote is only good sense. You might want to check out "Wii Play", hardly a 7 of a game, but a solid 9 of a deal, as it includes a free Wii Remote.
The 2 included AA batteries last approximately 30 hours of play. Switching to rechargeables is strongly recommended. The same stands true for the 360 wireless controller, while Sony has the common courtesy to use a rechargeable battery for the PS3's SixAxis.
***The Internet***
The Wii features free Internet connectivity, provided you have broadband internet and the necessary equipment, with the most common solution being a wireless router. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is utilized, have been used successfully with the DS for more than a year.
Online, you have access to the Wii's self-explanatory News and Weather channels, as well as the Wii Shop.
Using Wii Points, with the approximate conversion rate being 1000 Wii Points = 7 British Pounds, you are able to download the Opera Browser, game demos and, most importantly, Virtual Console games.
Wii's Virtual Console allows you to download retro games for your enjoyment. NES games cost 500 Points, SNES's cost 800, N64's top the list at 1,000. Games from former rival consoles are also included, with Sega Mega Drive games costing 800 Points and TurboGrafx-16's 600, with more consoles rumored to be joining the line-up soon.
3.5 to 7.5 quid seems a fair price for some of the legendary classics, but a little caution should be exercised as not all games are top quality. As a lucky second generation gamer, I don't see an intriguing game I can't quickly fire up in its original system, but it's a nifty feature for those that missed out on them.
Online Multiplayer is also a big part of Nintendo Wi-Fi. Players are able to compete against and cooperate with users from all around the world, with "Super Smash Bros. Brawl!" posing as the title most eagerly expected to unleash the multiplayer mayhem.Last, but not least, the online package also features Friends Lists, Messaging and Patching. Interestingly, WiiConnect24 has the machine remaining perpetually online, even when it's powered off, which allows for the various updates to download while you are not busy playing.
The Xbox 360 has the praised Xbox Live service for its online needs, which, however, requires an annual fee of about £35. PS3's online service is free of charge, but it appears a lot of developers may individually charge fees for a lot of game content and features.
It might be worth noting that the Wii can also connect wirelessly with the Nintendo DS, with certain titles like the "Pokemon" line offering exclusive cross-platform features.
***The Home Menu***
The Wii's Home Screen is actually a grouping of Channels, which give you a sneak- peak into the feature they are leading to when selected.
The News, Weather and Wii Shop online channels were mentioned just previously. Each downloaded Virtual Console game also gets a channel of its own. Inserted Wii or GameCube discs appear in the first channel, aptly named the Disc Channel.
In the Photo Channel, you may upload pictures from a SD Card for your viewing pleasure. Some editing tools are available, which allow you to toy with a picture's colours, framing, captioning and the like. A cute "game" also exists, which shatters a picture of your choice into puzzle-like pieces and you are then required to piece them back together. It seems like a good distraction for kids.
Quite more interesting, is the Mii Channel. Mii's are little caricatures of people that can serve as your avatars in certain games. You are encouraged to create a bunch of them in the image of yourself, friends, family and even of celebrities. There is a healthy variety of customization options and, considering they are comic recreations, they come up pretty well. You can view Miis other users have created in the Mii Parade and you can likewise allow some of your own Miis to travel to other systems when they aren't otherwise engaged.
While not a graphical marvel for sure, the Miis are a great concept. It allows for simple games like Wii Sports and Wii Play that would have been disasters if they used random such graphics in this day and age, to work pretty well, as you are seeing endearing figures stepping up the plate and taking a beating. Rather ingenious.
System memory and settings can also be accessed from the Home Menu. Most options are configured the first time you start-up your new Wii, but remember to set-up the Internet settings or change the TV aspect ratios and outputs as needed.
***The Disc: Wii Sports***
Initially thought to be a technical demo, Nintendo surprised quite a few people by announcing that "Wii Sports" is an actual, marketed, game. Even more surprisingly, it is actually pretty good, tons of fun and an integral part of the recent Wii craze.
While showcasing the Wii Remote's creative uses, Wii Sports manages to create 5 interesting interpretations of popular sports:
--Wii Tennis-- [1-4 Players]
A great ice-breaker, Wii Tennis is one of the best ways to introduce someone to Wii controls. Your Mii moves automatically and all you are required to do is perform the appropriate tennis moves. Forehand when the ball is coming to your left, backhand to your right, smash when it's on top! Even spin can be added and although sometimes the timing counts more than your form, it is impressively accurate considering it is the first game for the Wii.It only features "doubles" matches and its only fault is that two players can't co-operate against the computer. Controlling two Miis at once isn't terribly confusing, but it's certainly much better to control a single one. 4-player matches are hysterical, even in the limited space of my room.
--Wii Baseball-- [1-2 Players]
A pretty simple game, you either pitch or bat, with recoveries and runs covered automatically. Pitching has a few technical options and batting really demonstrates the Wiimote's sensitivity, but Wii Baseball relies solely on the novelty of their controls and virtually nothing else, so it can get old pretty fast.
--Wii Bowling-- [1-4 Players]
An excellent bowling simulation, I incredibly average my real-life scores for the most part. You act much like you would in reality, with the twisting of your wrist adding appropriate curvature. The only part that can be confusing to non gamers is that your grip on the ball is simulated by the holding of the trigger, but it's easily sorted-out after a while and it's all pretty fantastic. Provided you like bowling, of course.
--Wii Golf-- [1-4 Players]
A simple, fun approach to golf, the game is limited to 9 holes and 4 clubs. The controls are typically easy to understand and carry out, but surprisingly hard to master, which is a welcome difference from the other games.
--Wii Boxing-- [1-2 Players]
The only Wii Sports game to use the Nunchuck, Wii Boxing has the potential to be an awesome game and is definitely hilarious. Landing those exaggerated impact punches is awesome, especially when a familiar face is the hapless recipient.
You clutch the controllers in your fists and, once again, act naturally.
Jabbing, bobbing and weaving work like a charm, but hooks and uppercuts are rather flawed; trying to pull them off can be frustrating. If you stick to the basics, however, Wii Boxing is very fun.
--Extras--
Wii Sports also offers 3 training mini-games per sport, all of which are pretty good. The baseball mini-games in particular are far more enjoyable than the actual game and the "dodging" boxing training is my personal favourite.
Wii Sports also uses a random combination of 3 mini-games to test and calculate your Fitness Age. Your performances are charted in Balance, Stamina and Speed and the results range from as young as 20 to as wise as 80 years old. It's a smart feature, that taps on the popularity of Brain Age/Big Brain Academy and can certainly intrigue anyone's vanity.
Wii Fitness can entice even the most technology-oblivious people into sacrificing a few minutes of their day to check their fitness age and it's a great way to get a non-gamer involved in the fun.
Overall, Wii Sports is a great demonstration of the Wii's potential and I'd probably pay the full price of £35 for it. If anything, it got me anxious to see full-fledged games surface on the basis of these wee versions.
~~The Games~~
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As important as a console's features, semantics and looks might be, they all take second place to the Game Library. The quality and quantity of titles offered is what separates success from failure and, interestingly, they aren't always related to the console's technical strengths and specifications.
***The Nintendo Power***
Even if Nintendo's plethora of systems haven't always been top-sellers or universally respected, there isn't any arguing that they all delivered a handful of unbelievably exceptional games. According to www.GameRankings.com, 5 out of the 10 Best Games of All Time have been developed by Nintendo. That is pretty amazing, even without considering the fact that of the remaining 5 games, only one of them was exclusively available to one platform.
This means that when you buy a Nintendo console, you can be absolutely sure that they are personally going to give you at least one true gaming masterpiece you won't find anywhere else. Wii already has "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and the likes of "Super Mario Galaxy", "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl!" appear as very capable contenders.
And let's not forget that the Wii's Virtual Console allows you to download most of Nintendo's staples for a reasonable price, as well as big hits from other systems of old.
As enormous as it is, however, the "Big N" remains only one company. As such, there are large waiting periods between each gem and even longer if we are talking about specific genres. Nintendo does its best to cover everything, from platformers, to shooters, to racers and RPGs, but people that are most interested in a particular type of game are often asked to be patient for more than 2 years until the next such installment.
This is where Third-Party support comes in, as a solid line of separate developers is paramount to filling those gaps and keeping buyers satiated with a healthy influx of games. Unfortunately, Nintendo hasn't been too careful in this area and the past two generations may very well be headlined as...
***The Third-Party Demolition***
Sony battled Nintendo's "Greatest Games of all Time" with a simply staggering amount of titles for its PlayStations. Even if most of them aren't top class, their sheer number guarantees that some will be perfect for your personal taste.
Of course, the quality brands like "Square-Enix" and "Konami" bring into the fray shouldn't be overlooked; any unique title from these behemoths is money in the bank for Sony.
Microsoft has picked up on that fact and has tried to cut as many third-party PlayStation exclusives as possible. Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid and Pro Evolution all eventually found their way to the X-Box, while GameCube owners watched on with their grim faces.
In contrast, the only excellent third-party game, except maybe Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, touted as solely available for the GameCube was Capcom's Resident Evil 4. Its exclusivity was short-lived, however, as it was ported to the PlayStation 2 before you could cry "zombie".
Lastly, as far as games appearing in all 3 consoles go, the general consensus is they were inferior on the GameCube. Weaker graphics, clumsier controls and lack of online hampered GC's version of virtually all multiplatform releases.
In short, Third-Party Demolition.
Things aren't expected to be much different in this generation, but the Wii's phenomenal appeal to non-gamers changes things up a little, as a lot of developers are enticed to capitalize on the newly formed demographic. Most of the games aimed at that market, however, will be casual and similarly themed.
***The Future***
History tends to repeat itself and with all three systems now out, an educated guess is possible when discussing what games to expect:
- Nintendo will deliver a couple of masterpieces and a handful of great, universally-enjoyable, titles only for the Wii. There is going to be substantial time between each one, but it's going to be patched somewhat by the simpler, unassuming, family games like Wii Sports.
- A lot of games available for both the 360 and the PS3 won't ever come to the Wii, including fan-favourites like Grand Theft Auto 4 and plenty run-of the mill games.
- The Wii version of games appearing in all three platforms will almost certainly be the weakest; the Wii's power lies in the controls and only specifically developed games can make full use of them. Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Marvel Ultimate Alliance are a couple of prime examples. Shooters might have a nicer transition to the Wii thanks to the Wii Remote, but Call of Duty 3 proves controls are not enough and it would be a crime to even compare Red Steel to Gears of War and Resistance: Fall of Man.
- It's a whole other story, however, when it comes to party games, like Rayman Raving Rabbids.
Wii's "fun for the whole family" theme, with low pricing and pick-up-and-play games, is rapidly gaining in popularity and a lot of developers will jump in the bandwagon and create fun, simple games for the emerging demographic.
So, excluding price differences and movie playback capabilities, examining only the gaming aspect, it all comes down to this: If you have the patience to wait and/or are perfectly happy with the casual, silly, games, the Wii has you covered. If not, both PlayStation 3's and X-Box 360's game libraries are going to be more appealing. Keep in mind, however, that most members of your household will enjoy the Wii more than all the other consoles ever manufactured.
~~OVERALL~~
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More than an alternative gaming solution, the Wii is an ambitious leap towards an exciting new direction. Nintendo is a proven leader and, despite past mistakes, the chances taken this time are already reaping the rewards, as more and more people are drawn into video-games thanks to this generation's surprise package. Yet, the focus on innovation and affordability is not without its sacrifices, with the Wii not supporting movie-playback and coming up short in graphical prowess and game library thickness. These shortcomings should be swiftly overlooked, however, as the Wii is the most universally appealing entertainment system since the Pac-Man arcade and, as such, strongly recommended.
Nintendo for the Wiin? 
Great review - lots of useful detail & opinion, and really well written. I agree, Nintendo Wii does seem to be a marker of technological change, & a fun one at that! :)