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May 11, 2006
A Wii taste
Nintendo Wii is kind of tight. Yeah, I said it.
Spent a chunk of the day waiting in line, which looked like it was going to snake around and outside the building (I didn't check to see the end of it). I managed to get my hands on "Super Mario Galaxy," "Madden '07" and "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess."
For me, the learning curve for the remote/nunchuk controller combo depended on the game I played. "Madden '07" was an enriching experience, seeing as how the person who played before and after me admittedly didn't play Madden -- or sports games -- that much, and they had a BLAST. I laid an egg when trying to kick, since I apparently have a natural curve in my upward wrist-flicking motion.
Passing was another story. I really did start feeling like quarterback. You make a throwing motion with the remote after picking a receiver with the D-Pad. It ended up feeling very intuitive near the end of the session.
I also blew through a few minutes of "Mario," which was the most natrual-feeling game as far as the Wii controllers were concerned. Wiggling the remote made Mario spin, and I also held down the right trigger and swept the remote "pointer" on the screen to collect star shards that were littering the landscape. I moved Mario around with the thumbstick on the Nunchuk -- it was also the first time I noticed that both controllers don't favor either right-handed or left-handed players. Inclusion indeed.
Then, after a VERY long wait, came "Zelda." This was a little harder to dive into. The Remote controlled item selection, firing the bow and arrow and swinging the sword, while the Nunchuk handled movement and a spin attack. The camera felt a little nutty at times, and aiming the bow and arrow with the Remote felt too sensitive, even for some of the more trained players.
However, the demo still showed off a nifty wind puzzle (where you have to use the wind boomerang), a giant magnet that carried you when you wore iron boots, and a multifaceted boss battle that asks you to:
1) Shoot the giant creature in the eye.
2) Grab onto a chain that's hanging around his feet.
3) Slapping on the iron boots (which make you heavy), and tripping the giant so it falls face first.
4) Introduce your sword to the giant's head.
Overall, the Wii seemed like a hit. I heard people rave about the golf and tennis games as well, and more people are lining up to play it -- sadly, some of them might not even see it today. I think it's worth the wait.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at May 11, 2006 12:30 PM