We Love the Wii
November 22, 2006 | 6 Comments
Sunday was launch day for the Nintendo Wii in North America. I have been waiting in anticipation for this since the revolutionary controls were first announced. With all the hype and my own personal excitement leading up to this, I greatly feared that I would be underwhelmed and overall let down. I’m here to say that is not the case.
The Nintendo Wii is everything they promised and more!
If you have seen any of the advertisements one thing that is repeatedly highlighted is the energy in the room while people are playing. Videos show people jumping around, yelling, and generally excited. These are people of all ages. This is exactly the scenario when people are playing Excite Truck, Wii Sports, or Rayman. It is often as fun in a group setting to watch the players as to watch the game itself.
I bought a lot of games at launch, surprisingly omitting Zelda for the time being, yet we all know without a shadow of doubt that that game is and will be phenomenal. Without further ado, here are my games and impressions:
Wii Sports
One word sums up this game: engaging. If you show this game to anyone, you just put the controller in their hands and they can immediately start playing. Sometimes the controls are not 100% responsive and sometimes you want more out of these games. Yet, they are perfect at what they are meant for, the casual or non-gamer. Any two people can pick any of the five of these games and actually compete. May people complained about the quality of the graphics, but I’ll be one of the few to credit them for what they’ve done. The simplified characters make the game less intimidating. Additionally, the ability to use your personally created Mii character definitely help with immersion, even if the graphics are not photorealistic.
Personally I think Tennis is the most fun, especially with four. This is closely followed by Boxing. Again, the controls are not perfect for boxing, but watching two friends get excited to beat each other up and ending out of breath and sweaty is just priceless. Bowling seems to map best to the real world. Some friends who actually bowl, are able to immediately put spin on the ball and do other fancy bowling tricks. (I’m not a bowler, can you tell?) Finally, I would rank Golf lowest. This game is fun, but the most difficult to get the controls. Putting is especially difficult, yet I somehow feel like maybe this is all just true to reality…
It is no surprise that this is the game Nintendo most consistently showed off at press conferences and talk shows. This is a fantastic pack-in and really shows the potential of the controls. If you find yourself wanting more out of the games… hopefully that’s where EA and Sega Sports will step in and make full blown sport simulators to fully satisfy.
Rayman Raving Rabbids
By far my best purchase. The humor and fun this game brings is unmatched. My wife opts to play this over watching TV… I think that really says it all. If you are the type of person who would like to get other people in your household excited to play games with you, this is one that will open the door.
Chock-full of 70 mini games, they are divided into a couple different categories. Three types standout for me. First, the music/dancing levels are great. The remote in one hand, nunchuck in the other, you basically keep beat with the music. This is similar to Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, DDR, or Guitar Hero in many ways. Next are the FPS levels. Taking down the rabbids with you plunger launcher gun is loads of fun, both to watch and play. Finally, the workout-based levels. These are the ones that leave your shoulders and arms aching afterwards. Seriously, the carrot juice level is destined to leave me like Homer in that episode of the Simpsons where he gets one huge bicep from repeatedly lifting one weight…
If you are looking for fun, especially in a group, this game has it in spades.
Excite Truck
Turn your remote sideways and prepare for a whole way to play a racing game! I wondered about the effectiveness of using the controller turned on it’s side and tilting it to steer. It seems kind of cumbersome in theory, but in practice it is comfortable and responsive. In fact, the controls seemed so intuitive to me, that I made my wife take a shot at it. Historically she is not interested and in turn not any good at racing games. Instead of her normal frustration, she quickly adapted to the controls and beat my time on the race… I’ve heard complaints about the depth of this game, but for now I’ve only scratched the surface. It looks pretty, it plays nice, and it has the intensity of the Burnout series. I can’t wait for the next great racer on this system. If this game is any indication, there should be plenty of them!
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz
If any game seemed most applicable to the new controls it’s Monkey Ball. Tilting the controller to tilt the world is far more intuitive than the old analog stick. On concern I have though, is how much my wrist can take. These are a ton of small movements and I get worn out playing this one. It looks prettier than previous offerings in this franchise and they have added the ability to jump your ball. Very nice.
I’ve yet to play this multiplayer or get very deep into the mini games. If you are familiar with Monkey Ball, this game is everything you expect, with 50 mini games this time!
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
This is not a title for everyone. If you look around this site, you’ll quickly realize that I spend a lot of time with my head in the Marvel Universe. With that in mind, this was must have for me. This game is similar in many ways to the X-Men Legends games. If you liked those, you’ll like this. They are very similar.
I will say that the graphics in this game lack in clarity. There is a lot going on, sometimes it becomes hard to distinguish characters and enemies. I’m hoping component cables will improve this a bit…
The controls initially felt clunky. I then spent 5 minutes reading the manual and suddenly it all became clear. All the gestures are chosen appropriately and end up working quite well. The biggest surprise to me was how much more comfortable I feel being able to separate my right and left hands while playing. Not having your hands forced together is quite liberating. I’m now looking forward to other adventure or RPG games that employ similar controls. This really is going to work out!
If you are a Marvel fan boy like me, this game is rewarding. You get bonuses for fighting with groups that are actually teams in the comics. All the heros have spells and abilities that match closely with the books. You can get alternate costumes that bring along different sets of appropriate upgradeable stats, making these more than just visual for once. There are a good number of playable heroes straight away. The cinematics and voice work is good. For a Marvel fan, this is a solid title.
Tony Hawk: Downhill Jam
This is the game I’ve played the least (20 minutes or so). I think it has potential, but is not as engrossing as the other games I have in my library. The graphics are weak, and the levels seem to be a bit short. I think the controls will work out OK, but at the moment I’d recommend most people give this game a pass. I’d hoped for SSX meets Tony Hawk, but it doesn’t really live up to those lofty ideals…
Tags: excite truck, games, marvel, marvel ultimate alliance, monkey ball, monkey ball banana blitz, Nintendo, nintendo wii, rayman, rayman raving rabbids, reviews, ssx, tony hawk, tony hawk downhill jam, video games, wii, zelda
Greatest Zelda Twilight Princess Trailer
November 3, 2006 | 4 Comments
I have been watching the few videos of the Nintendo Wii launch game Zelda: Twilight Princess as they have come out. At this point it seems likely to me that I am the only one who will not be purchasing this game at launch. Don’t get me wrong, it looks awesome and I love the Zelda series. However, with other great titles like Rayman, Super Monkey Ball, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk, Excite Truck, etc., I just couldn’t place it in my launch day list.
However, the video above confuses my position. This is by far the best video that I’ve seen so far on this game. November 19th can not come soon enough… Watch it and enjoy. Especially since IGN is likely to get it pulled from YouTube before too long.
Tags: excite truck, launch games, Nintendo, nintendo wii, rayman, super monkey ball, tony hawk, wii, zelda, zelda twilight princess
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
May 11, 2006 | 1,616 Comments
Getting the bad news out of the way, the next generation Smash Brothers game will not be available until 2007. (On a lighter note related to this, both Zelda and Metroid are intended to be launch games)
Moving on, it will be called Super Smash Brothers Brawl and it looks phenomenal. A few new characters are being added including Pit from Kid Icarus, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Wario, and some others.
As expected, it will be fully online playable, with many robust multiplayer options. Other than wanting the new Nintendo Wii based upon the excitement of new control opportunities, this is the first game that has me fully transfixed. I will own a Wii if for nothing else, the existence of this game.
OK, so Zelda, Wii Sports, Metroid 3, Sonic Wild Fire, Madden 07, Excite Truck, Super Mario Galaxy, Red Steel, Tony Hawk, and others have certainly got me pretty much transfixed…
Go watch the trailer, but look at screenshots while you wait.
Tags: control, excite truck, games, kid icarus, mario, metroid, Nintendo, nintendo wii, red steel, smash brothers, sonic, sonic wild fire, super mario galaxy, super smash bros, super smash brothers, super smash brothers brawl, tony hawk, video game, video games, wario, wii, wii sports, zelda