Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Review of My Wii

Let me get the jokes out of the way first:

- My Wii is small, hard and white.
- Many people can play with my Wii at one time.
- Stuff comes out of my Wii when you touch it in the right place.
- Etc. L0Lx0Rz.

Now, by popular request, here is what I think of the Nintendo Wii.

From the moment it's turned on for the first time, I was struck by how smooth and white everything is. It's very pretty to look at. The control in the Wii's built-in software is also surprisingly slick. It's pretty much like controlling a cursor with a laser pointer; just point where you want it to go. However, whenever you move over a menu item, the controller vibrates slightly, giving it a tactile element. It feels nice.

The Wii's interface consists of several "channels" that you can browse through. One channel is the currently inserted game, but it also comes with a few built in channels. The one we played first was the "Mii channel", where you can create little polygonal characters that can be used in certain games. Of course, the first thing we did was create everyone in the room, and then all of our close friends. Here is me as a Mii: (photos courtesy of Nick. Thanks Nick.)

The Mii thing alone is highly addictive, and shows off the kind of thing the Wii is meant for: simple but fun little games that everyone can pick up and play. Even V liked it, but she probably won't admit it.

The Wii comes with a full game, Wii Sports. This, too, is a fun but shallow little game, with bowling, boxing, tennis, golf, and baseball. It shows off the other thing the Wii controller can do (in addition to acting as a pointer): motion sensing. You play most of the games as if you are holding the sport's tools (instruments? what the hell do you call things you do sports with?). That is, you swing it like a bat in baseball, whack with it like a racket it tennis, etc. It's very fun, and you immediately know how to play without any instructions. However, as I said, Wii Sports is quite shallow. You can play each sport over and over, and it tracks your progress and gets harder so you're constantly challenged, but that's pretty much it. I can see it getting old pretty quick. Still, for a "free" game, it's pretty good.

Here are some action shots of me and Nick playing sports:

The only other game I've played is Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. I can see how some people would be into this game, but personally, I hate it. It's weird, because it's rare that I outright hate a game. It's just really frustrating though, because all you do is try to get through the level with your little monkey in a ball, trying not to fall over the edge and die, instantly, over and over. Bleh. Not for me.

The last thing I've tried so far is the Virtual Console. This lets you download games from old systems, like the NES, Super NES, Genesis, even Turbografx 16. Nice. So far I've gotten Bonk's Adventure and Golden Axe. They look even crappier than I remember, which is awesome in a retro sort of way. I'm looking forward to when they get some better games on there though, like the old Super Mario 1, 2 and 3, Zelda for SNES, etc. Right now the selection is limited.

So overall, I like the Wii. The built-in stuff is all awesome, the controller gives a whole new feel to playing video games, and the games (except Super Monkey Ball...more like STUPID Monkey Ball) are fun. It's mostly potential at this point though; the games I've played, both regular and Virtual Console, are fun for a while but not deep enough to play for more than a few minutes at a time. Zelda: Twilight Princess should be arriving as soon as Best Buy gets it in stock, and then I'm sure I'll be even happier with the thing.

I recommend that everyone gets a Wii. Even you non-gamer people will have fun with it. Oh, and it counts as exercise, too. You want to be healthy, don't you?

Here is one last picture, with no connection to the rest of the post other than it was taken on the same day I got the Wii.

It's the dog, Willow. Cuuuuuute.


madamerouge said...

Is Willow your dog? Is she named after the lesbian witch on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (a.k.a. one of my favourite shows)?

Timmy said...

I would rather have the doggie.

Adorable Girlfriend said...

That doggie is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!!!

Willow needs to be the RoD mascot.

R2K said...


your judgemental aunt said...

It’s sad to see a struggling student with a fancy new Atari and a LCD TV. So when do you start paying back that student loan? ;)

Phronk said...

Rouge: Yep she's my dog. She is indeed named after Buffy's Willow, but I prefer to tell people she's named after the titular midget from the movie Willow.

AG: Yeah she's pretty much the cutest dog on Earth. She'd love to be a mascot...I think one of her life goals is to become famous.

YJA: Paying back loans and credit cards can wait until I'm old and unhappy. I figure I might as well enjoy this stuff while I'm young, and pay for it later.

Atari... :P

Dani said...

LOL - You are such a big geek.

Thanks for stopping by again and for your kind words.

I think that dude "Reconciled" does need a big HUG!

Have a nice weekend!

Anonymous said...

Well, at least you didn't accidentally fling it at the TV.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Butchieboy said...

It's like some kinda pong thing, right?

Jason said...

I forgot all about Golden Axe. I loved that game.

Harry J. Sachz said...

from one geek to another, keep an eye out for wiili when it's released:

teh l4m3 said...

"Willow... Change me baaaaaack..."

Hee hee.