Some comments on games for the Wii.
So far, I've played quite a few games on the Nintendo Wii. They vary widely in quality and fun.
Wii Sports, while coming bundled with the Wii, is actually quite fun (although, for some reason, it appears very easy to develop systematic "curl" to left or right with the Bowling). Usefully, it adapts its difficulty to your measured skill, which means that it is never actively frustrating to play the computer opponents (as they are, after the first couple of games to get your skill measured correctly, usually not excessively better or worse than you are).
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, on the other hand, seems to be frustratingly hard. Of the subset of challenges I've played on it, the fencing is... odd (it seems that feinting does very little, tactically, and I've only succeeded by ignoring parries and just charging in, thrusting, and backing off again), table tennis is... frustrating (the timing of returns and even initial volleys is needlessly difficult, especially compared to Wii Sports' Tennis game which is much more natural), skeet shooting is... like peering for very small objects that move too quickly for you to hit them (although this may be an issue with us not having a giant TV), and the 100m dash is... waving the controllers around madly in a generally skillless way. In general, it's fairly unfun to play, even in two player mode.
Super Mario Galaxy, I have come to an accommodation with. It's actually much more fun than it has any right to be; most of the difficulty I've experienced has been due to my making things hard for myself, rather than the game doing anything overly unpleasant. And the design is lovely.
Super Paper Mario seems okay, although it is overly full of conversations.
Mercury Madness Revolution is... Marble-Madness with mercury balls. I think it's pitched at about the right rate of difficulty increase, although I have some issues with the camera functions.
Red Steel, finally, is something I suspect would be a lot more playable for me with a mouse and keyboard. (It suffers from the same issue of trained response to usability that Goldeneye on the N64 had - I know the controls are perfectly designed for the controllers, but, dammit, my brain expects FPSs to use a mouse and a keyboard!)
Wii Sports, while coming bundled with the Wii, is actually quite fun (although, for some reason, it appears very easy to develop systematic "curl" to left or right with the Bowling). Usefully, it adapts its difficulty to your measured skill, which means that it is never actively frustrating to play the computer opponents (as they are, after the first couple of games to get your skill measured correctly, usually not excessively better or worse than you are).
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, on the other hand, seems to be frustratingly hard. Of the subset of challenges I've played on it, the fencing is... odd (it seems that feinting does very little, tactically, and I've only succeeded by ignoring parries and just charging in, thrusting, and backing off again), table tennis is... frustrating (the timing of returns and even initial volleys is needlessly difficult, especially compared to Wii Sports' Tennis game which is much more natural), skeet shooting is... like peering for very small objects that move too quickly for you to hit them (although this may be an issue with us not having a giant TV), and the 100m dash is... waving the controllers around madly in a generally skillless way. In general, it's fairly unfun to play, even in two player mode.
Super Mario Galaxy, I have come to an accommodation with. It's actually much more fun than it has any right to be; most of the difficulty I've experienced has been due to my making things hard for myself, rather than the game doing anything overly unpleasant. And the design is lovely.
Super Paper Mario seems okay, although it is overly full of conversations.
Mercury Madness Revolution is... Marble-Madness with mercury balls. I think it's pitched at about the right rate of difficulty increase, although I have some issues with the camera functions.
Red Steel, finally, is something I suspect would be a lot more playable for me with a mouse and keyboard. (It suffers from the same issue of trained response to usability that Goldeneye on the N64 had - I know the controls are perfectly designed for the controllers, but, dammit, my brain expects FPSs to use a mouse and a keyboard!)