Nintendo Wii
So far, the Nintendo Wii is impressive and highly recommended. Nintendo seems to have turned out a really polished product. For everybody who doesn't read every video game news report that comes down the pipes, here's what's in the box:
Right off the bat, I can tell you that once again, Nintendo has designed a system that is most fun with multiple people in one room. You don't even need everybody playing - it's fun to watch people play. Don't worry - so far you don't look as dumb as you do while playing DDR.
The controllers are all smaller than I expected, but they feel great. The Wiimote has a medium weight and feels solid, like a real piece of technology and not just a toy. (For $40 it should!) The pointer works best between 1.5 and 4 meters from the screen - closer, and you feel a little like you're pointing at the sensor bar instead of the screen, further, and you may lose the signal. The sense of pointing at the bar goes away quickly, even up close, because the relative motion is correct. I don't find myself accidentally hitting buttons or anything. Yes, the remote has a speaker and rumble. The speaker is definitely not high-fidelity, and I'm not sure it contributes to the 'immersion' factor of a game, but as an element of gameplay it's excellent. Having the crack of the bat or the click of the golf ball come through the remote somehow is better feedback in the context of the motion sensor.
The nunchuck is the little bean-shaped thing which plugs into the Wiimote. It has an analog stick, a C button, a Z button and an accelerometer inside (it senses motion too) It's not as responsive as the remote, lacking a pointer, but it works great for what it's for.
Wii Sports is Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing. All of them are entertaining, and appeal to different people: I like tennis and golf, one roommate likes bowling and boxing, another prefers baseball and bowling. It's not designed to be a simulator, but it uses the Wiimote for really responsive arcade-style controls. The games:
I've only played about an hour of Twilight Princess thanks to papers and generally being a very busy person, but from what I've played I can tell you about how it controls. Honestly, it feels just like every other 3D Zelda game... like it was originally made for Gamecube or something *cough*. You swing the remote to swing your sword - this is essentially the exact same thing as pressing the B button in OOT or WW. The biggest benefit of the remote so far is with the slingshot (and, I understand, with the Bow later). To shoot something, it only has to be onscreen and you point at it and fire. This is a great improvement over needing to put whatever you're aiming at in the center of the screen. Of course, you still have Z-targeting, so you may not use this too much. It depends on your play style. Fundamentally, after 15 minutes with the controller it feels just like playing OOT.
This is not a bad thing! The game takes the best elements of many Zeldas, and adds quite a bit. There is an emphasis on story that has never been matched in another Zelda game, but probably falls closest to OOT. You get Epona again - her controls are the same, except much smoother, so it's acutally useful to ride the horse now. Not to mention melee combat on horseback is now an option. The entire game is darker, and seems to take some cues in surrealism from MM. The art style is actually a mix of all three of those games. On the surface it seems to draw heavily on OOT, but the palette is darker and richer, and careful cel-shading is used all over the place to make the game feel like a painting - or who knows what. It's very different, and when you are in Twilight things get even more surreal. Then the designers took all the best elements of Wind Waker, from sound and visual effects to enemy AI and extremely interactive environments, and puzzles that make you think outside the box. At the very start of the game there's a terrific puzzle that isn't too tough, but tempts you to get caught in circular logic.
And it rocks that despite starting with nothing (no-thing, zilch, traditional Zelda style) within your first hour you will have the wooden sword, your horse, a slingshot, a fishing rod, and a bottle.
- The console, stand, power adapter, RCA cables, sensor bar
- One Wiimote, complete with two AA batteries
- One nunchuck attachment (the other half of the controller)
- A copy of Wii Sports
Right off the bat, I can tell you that once again, Nintendo has designed a system that is most fun with multiple people in one room. You don't even need everybody playing - it's fun to watch people play. Don't worry - so far you don't look as dumb as you do while playing DDR.
The controllers are all smaller than I expected, but they feel great. The Wiimote has a medium weight and feels solid, like a real piece of technology and not just a toy. (For $40 it should!) The pointer works best between 1.5 and 4 meters from the screen - closer, and you feel a little like you're pointing at the sensor bar instead of the screen, further, and you may lose the signal. The sense of pointing at the bar goes away quickly, even up close, because the relative motion is correct. I don't find myself accidentally hitting buttons or anything. Yes, the remote has a speaker and rumble. The speaker is definitely not high-fidelity, and I'm not sure it contributes to the 'immersion' factor of a game, but as an element of gameplay it's excellent. Having the crack of the bat or the click of the golf ball come through the remote somehow is better feedback in the context of the motion sensor.
The nunchuck is the little bean-shaped thing which plugs into the Wiimote. It has an analog stick, a C button, a Z button and an accelerometer inside (it senses motion too) It's not as responsive as the remote, lacking a pointer, but it works great for what it's for.
Wii Sports is Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing. All of them are entertaining, and appeal to different people: I like tennis and golf, one roommate likes bowling and boxing, another prefers baseball and bowling. It's not designed to be a simulator, but it uses the Wiimote for really responsive arcade-style controls. The games:
- Tennis - You don't control your character's positioning, only their racket. Ball control is great - direction is mostly dependent on timing, but you can topspin, backspin and lob pretty naturally.
- Baseball - Batting is hard. Really hard. I strike out a lot (mostly because of loads of foul balls) but it's really fun when you actually hit something. Pitching, on the other hand, is easy (which may be why batting is hard). It takes very little effort to whip a 94mph curveball just past the outside of the plate. You only get three innings.
- Bowling - The most responsive game. My real-life hook carries over. It's a pain, but it's also awesome. Not to mention, it's a bit more forgiving than real bowling, which means I can regularly bowl between 100 and 150 - more satisfying than the real thing which would cost $10 per game anyway. Bowl a full ten frames (sorry, not bumpers). And 4-player with one Wiimote. One of the few games which almost cannot be played sitting down.
- Golf - Definitely not a simulator. Only nine holes and four clubs (driver, iron, wedge and putter). If you've played Mario Golf, this is familiar. The only difference is that instead of a standard power meter, your power is determined by your stroke. It's a combination of the length of your backswing, your velocity, and the length of your follow-through. Consequently, even though you can just swing at the ball one-handed, the best way to get a consistient stroke is to use a real golf stroke. The analog takes enough practice that you feel like you're golfing, but you're being successful at it. You also need to stand up here. Also supports 4-player with 1 Wiimote.
- Boxing - Also very responsive. Requires Wiimote with attached nunchuck. You hold one in each hand, and then you punch and block pretty naturally. At first the controls feel unresponsive because there is an arbitrary limit on the speed at which you can punch, but of course you are learning the controls of a video game, not just boxing. Once you learn the rhythm, things flow well. The training minigame where you have to punch the trainer's mitts also reveals how precise you can be in aiming your punches, which you might not realize while beating away at the hapless playmobil people in the ring. You have a lot of control here.
I've only played about an hour of Twilight Princess thanks to papers and generally being a very busy person, but from what I've played I can tell you about how it controls. Honestly, it feels just like every other 3D Zelda game... like it was originally made for Gamecube or something *cough*. You swing the remote to swing your sword - this is essentially the exact same thing as pressing the B button in OOT or WW. The biggest benefit of the remote so far is with the slingshot (and, I understand, with the Bow later). To shoot something, it only has to be onscreen and you point at it and fire. This is a great improvement over needing to put whatever you're aiming at in the center of the screen. Of course, you still have Z-targeting, so you may not use this too much. It depends on your play style. Fundamentally, after 15 minutes with the controller it feels just like playing OOT.
This is not a bad thing! The game takes the best elements of many Zeldas, and adds quite a bit. There is an emphasis on story that has never been matched in another Zelda game, but probably falls closest to OOT. You get Epona again - her controls are the same, except much smoother, so it's acutally useful to ride the horse now. Not to mention melee combat on horseback is now an option. The entire game is darker, and seems to take some cues in surrealism from MM. The art style is actually a mix of all three of those games. On the surface it seems to draw heavily on OOT, but the palette is darker and richer, and careful cel-shading is used all over the place to make the game feel like a painting - or who knows what. It's very different, and when you are in Twilight things get even more surreal. Then the designers took all the best elements of Wind Waker, from sound and visual effects to enemy AI and extremely interactive environments, and puzzles that make you think outside the box. At the very start of the game there's a terrific puzzle that isn't too tough, but tempts you to get caught in circular logic.
And it rocks that despite starting with nothing (no-thing, zilch, traditional Zelda style) within your first hour you will have the wooden sword, your horse, a slingshot, a fishing rod, and a bottle.