We decided to wait a bit for the Holiday Wii mania to die down a bit before writing our review on the new Nintendo gaming machine. So far, the Nintendo Wii has performed above expectations thanks to to its unique playability and attraction to the casual gamer. Let’s discuss this system’s highs and lows.
Highs:
-Cheaper than either the XBOX 360 or the PS3.(Roughly 250$)
-Device is slim and can be stacked horizontally or vertically.
-Can Play Gamecube games.
-Wireless controllers work well from a distance of up to 30 feet.
-runs quietly.
-Controller slots and media player slots are well hidden and protected
-Nintendo first party titles on launch
Lows:
-Not impressive graphically.
-Ipod style color easily scratches making it dirty.
-component cable sold separately.
-Wii-Mote and classic controllers a bit costly separately.
-Wii motion sensor not flawless.
-Too many party games and not enough 3rd party support just yet.
Alright, let’s get right down to it. Based on what we’ve seen so far, the Wii is a great system for playing games. Nintendo have done a good job of positioning themselves in a way that focuses the attention on the games and their unique playing functions for both adults and kids rather than simply focusing on high-end technology and graphics. Diehard gamers may be turned off by the machine at first but once some more first person shooters and mature games come out and take advantage of the motion sensing capabilities; we think they’ll be pleasantly surprised by what they see.
If you plan on buying a nice expensive plasma or LCD television to show off how great the graphics on it look then don’t buy a Wii and pick up a PS3 or XBOX 360 instead. The Wii’s main advantage over its competitors is its motion sensing Wii-mote. This unique controller works sort of like a remote controller for a television and will capture the movement of gamers inside a video game. The controller works well but we noticed a few times where the controller didn’t register our movements at all. Also the system can play old video games through Nintendo’s Virtual Console system which acts sort of like an I Tunes for old Nintendo video games from the NES era all the way up to the N64 era. Games can cost from 4$ for old NES games all the way up to 8$ for certain N64 games. We would have liked to see the price much lower for certain games especially since they’re older and some of them are frankly not that good. The classic controller meant to play these older games works well and the controls are big enough for older gamers to use the controller and not have it feel small in their hands.
The early launch line up for the system is strong with a new Legend of Zelda game out on opening day and Wii Sports being a big hit with gamers and entire families playing the game together. The system will also have a new Super Mario and Metroid game out within the end of the year. If you’re a big fan of party games then you will love the wii but unfortunately the system has a few too many party games and not enough diverse content that suits different gamers needs. We’d also like to see a few good games out soon that aren’t directly related to Nintendo in any way or by based on a Nintendo first party character like Mario. All in all, The system works well, isn’t expensive to buy and has some strong titles out already to help keep gamers playing it for a bit until more games arrive in the holiday season. We see no reason why people shouldn’t go to the store and buy the system right now.
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