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| Monday, November 27, 2006 10:03 PM |
| More on Wii |
 by Fëanor |
Now that I've played all my games for a bit, I thought I'd give some impressions.
First of all, I really love the remote and nunchuck controls of the Wii. They allow for really cool game mechanics and wonderful, intuitive play.
Playing with the Mii channel is also addictive and fun. I've made Miis of myself, Poppy, my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece. Then I went ahead and made random Miis that aren't based on any real people. It's pretty amusing to start up a game and be able to play as a little creature who looks remarkably like you.
I continue in my feeling that Bowling and Boxing are the two funnest mini-games in Wii Sports, but they're all amusing in their own way, and the game as a whole is a pretty good demo of the Wii functionality. And this game really comes alive when you play it with multiple people. My parents - my Dad in particular - were really curious to see the Wii, so I had them over and we played together for a while. It was great to see them having so much fun with it, and it's a ton of fun to actually bowl with your friends and relatives in your own living room. Plus, I think they really got a kick out of their Miis.
Red Steel is another game that makes interesting use of the Wii's control scheme. In fact, the control scheme is really the heart and soul of the game. Otherwise it's little more than your average first person shooter. But with the remote acting as your gun, and at other times as your sword, the game becomes quite fascinating and fun. I particular enjoy that after locking onto an enemy, you can zoom in on him by moving the remote closer to the screen. It's intuitive and ingenious. Swinging the controller around like a sword isn't as cool as I thought it would be, but it's still neat. The problem is that you actually can't swing it around like a sword and expect the game to interpret your movements correctly. I discovered that the most effective way to slash is to simply flick the remote back and forth or up and down by swiveling the wrist. Another problem I had with the controls in Red Steel was with using the remote to look around. I found that if I got close to the edge of the screen or went off it, my view jumped around in odd ways. Probably more my fault than the game's, but still disconcerting.
And then of course there's Zelda. This is a great game. All the classic elements we've come to expect from Zelda games, in terms of characters, story, items, etc., but now in a huge 3D world and with the exciting Wii control scheme. There's something really comfortable and intuitive (there's that word again) about moving the character around with the nunchuck joystick in your left hand and aiming with the remote in your right. Oddly counter-intuitive for me is swinging the sword with the remote; I keep wanting to use a button to activate the sword, but that's not how it works - you just have to start swinging!
Some people have worried or complained that they won't be able to play the Wii for long hours because of the physical exertion necessary, and that the console will really only be taken out at parties and won't be any good for single person gaming. But I don't think either of these things are real issues. I did actually find myself getting tired and sore after my early Wii sessions, but I think that had a lot to do with me being out of shape, and with me over-exerting myself unnecessarily. You don't really have to swing with all your might when throwing a fastball in Baseball, or when thwacking a tennis ball in Tennis. Relatively small and relatively gentle motions are all that's really necessary. I played Zelda for hours and wasn't much the worse for wear. Besides, if it gives me a little workout, I certainly wouldn't mind; I could use one, and it's as pleasant a way to go about it as I've ever discovered.
Zelda proves you can have a strong single player game on the console, and that the controls are not a crazy fad. The innovative controls are the heart of the system, and I think will be the heart of any good game that is designed with the Wii in mind. Using the remote and nunchuck feels comfortable and right, and is ridiculously fun.
So all in all, I'm enjoying the system very much. I think I only just made it through the opening, tutorial sections of Red Steel and Zelda, so I'm looking forward to picking them up again and getting into the real meat of those games. I also want to get my Wii Fitness score on Wii Sports down a bit lower than 51 (!!). And I'm determined to get poppy to bowl with me at some point.
Other things I still want to try are getting the Wii online and checking out the virtual console games. And I might want to try transferring my Mii to my remote and taking it with me to Peccable's or something. Speaking of which, a Wii party may be in order one of these days... |
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