Where's the love for the Wii?!?

The Wii has been out for 2 days now and no one has posted a thread about Wii software. I'll get the ball rolling with a general "Wii games" thread.

Which Wii launch titles did you pick-up and what's been your favorite so far? I bought...

1. Excite Truck
2. The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Red Steel
4. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
5. Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Quite honestly, I'm in love with Wii-make of Trauma Center. The Wii controls really make it seem like a brand-new game. I'm also having a lot of fun with Monkey Ball, though the tilt controls are very frustrating at first.

Zelda is a masterpiece, but fun in a very different sort of way. Excite Truck is good, but kind of shallow. Red Steel - despite the bad reviews, I'm really enjoying it. 5 games and I am very satisfied.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

How do you like using the nunchuck controller? Do the games make use of it in interesting ways? Does it work well?

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Using the nunchuck attachment is a pleasant experience. Most of the time it acts a standard analog stick for moving a game character around it's environment (eg. Link in Zelda). Other games utilize the Nunchuck's accelerometer to sense movement like in Wii Sport Boxing where it acts as the left glove or Red Steel where is it used to parry during a Katana fight.

The Wii controls definitely take a little getting used to. Whether it's mastering the pointing of the Wii-mote for aiming, it's tilt sensing for games like Super Monkey Ball or the Nunchuck for traditional analog movement, it feels different - at first. After a few minutes it feels very natural. Almost, dare I say it, better than a traditional controller.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

I bought Red Steel and Zelda.

I'm still up in the air on Red Steel, but so far Zelda appears to be an amazing game.

Unfortunately, for Red Steel, the aiming is a bit glitchy and there are noticeable cases of pop-in and dumb enemy AI. I'd probably rank the game as passable but not up to my expectations. Parts of the game are extremely fun to play though.

Zelda OTOH is amazing and extremely fun to play. I'm enjoying the slightly darker story and the huge world to roam.

I'll probably be trying to pick up Elebits and Trauma Center in the next few weeks.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

I'll be picking up a Wii next year, so I'll be getting the GCN Zelda when it debuts but I'll probably pick up the Wii Zelda at some point. I'm positively salivating over Super Mario Galaxy and I really hope it doesn't get pushed back from Spring.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Keith, I actually like Red Steel. It's getting ripped apart by critics, but I think the "quirky" controls are forgivable. It's frustrating at times, but not a game breaker. A friend of mine picked-up Call Of Duty 3 and the controls are very similar, but a bit more refined. I was actually surprised with how well COD3 performed on the Wii.

I've only played through the fence jumping in LOZ:TP so that's what the first 30 minutes? I plan to spend a few hours with it today.

Trauma Center is excellent. The Wii-mote functionality actually makes it feel like an entirely different game than the DS original.

I also have to recommend Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, it's addictive. Once you learn how to control it properly (be prepared to spend 30-45 minutes adapting to and refining your tilt control) it's awesome.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

David, I have a feeling that Super Mario Galaxy will be the Wii's big first party Spring 2007 title. Nintendo likes to release high profile games twice per year. One in May (Super Mario Galaxy) and the other in November (Super Smash Bros. Brawl).

Unless of course - Metroid is released in May (I have a feeling it's coming in March), Super Mario gets pushed back to November and we have to wait until Spring 2008 for SSBB.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

So far all I have is Zelda and Wii sports.

I can't say I'm totally sold on the system yet. I'm going to hold back on my full review of the system until I play a few more games and finish Zelda.

Is any one else having problems with boxing? I only seem to get one out of every four punches to register. All the other games seem to be working as they should.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Regarding the release of Mario, Metroid, and Smash Bros., I think they're planning on releasing all 3 of those by the end of the spring. Metroid was originally a launch title and Smash has been mentioned as coming out in March. Nintendo is trying to space out their big titles but also release them when game sales usually die down (January/February and June/July seem to be the slowest months).

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Rayman Ravid Rabbids.
Zelda
The sports that come with it.

Rayman is an absolute riot. One of the most entertaining games I've played in a while. Zelda is also a winner

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Red Steel (I think)
Madden NFL 07
Happy Feet
Call of Duty 3
Trauma Center Second Opinion
Something else?
Then added Raymond Raving Rabbids

Iwata has hit a home run with the wiimote, Sony & MS will be playing catch-up. The motion “interactive” participation of this controller (I predict) will be the next requested capability for all platforms.


no problem here, and although (so far) Wii appears to have had fewer bugs than PS3 or X-box360,
there are a few things that could be interfering with your controller.

Fireplace burning near the game area.
Loads of sunshine coming in.
Highly reflective surfaces between controller and sensor bar.
Sensor bar placement.

A very few users have had one Wiimote start loosing synch with station, and have had to resynch the unit repeatedly. This will most likely require a replacement mote shipped from Nintendo.

The above might cause someone considering a Wii purchase to wonder if this is a nebulously implemented new concept (the gyroscopic motion of the Wiimotes) plagued with typical early adopter glitch filled crabby performance by the software/hardware.

It's not, Nintendo has finally done what some early add-on peripherals to earlier platforms attempted with stutter steps.

Ours has worked flawlessly straight out of box (have not connected to net) and a couple of other families with Wii, to date, report no issues.

This is not a flash in the pan, novelty like a add-on I remember buying for one of the early platforms long ago - an ungainly glove with sensor’s wired all over it (never worked right.)
The difference in gaming with the Wii remote is not as simple as an add-on steering wheel / wand for your platform, it's a new animal.

Wii is next generation involvement, and the lack of sophisticated graphics is no problem for games like bowling/tennis or chasing rabbids, in fact the Anime look to many of the games is kind of fun.
The graphics in Call of Duty etc, will be more familiar to the uber hard core gamers, who prefer a more fauxed feature-film look.
I hope more programmers jump on Wii, they would have fun leveraging the the unique performance possibilities of it's interactive [full body - take an asprin ] motion inclusion.

Edit: I've bowled a few times over the years at childrens birthday parties etc. I was sold on the Wii when I figured out I could scoot my little player far right lane, and with the same wrist motion I use in real life, spin that ball from right alley over to a centered strike. We were laughing because while playing with four players we were all sitting down and getting up moving to center screen (the alley) for 'our turn' to bowl with all the timing and feel of the real thing (without the stinky shoes).

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

The more time I spend with my Wii the more I love the system.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

(in no particular order)

Wii Sports (of course)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Madden NFL 07
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Red Steel
Excite Truck
Rayman Raving Rabbids

The first 7 came with my "forced" EB bundle and I must say I'm surprisingly satisfied with all of them. Red Steel is probably the weakest of the group but it's a FPS and holds some entertainment value because of the new controls.

The last two titles I actually purchased after getting the bundle (they arrive on Wednesday along with enough extra remotes and nunchucks to give me four full sets) so the fact that I'm adding some more titles and equipment to the mix so quickly says something about the Wii's appeal (or, perhaps, says something about my state of mind).



I haven't added any virtual games yet because there are only 24 hours in the day and I still have Gears of War and the new Oblivion extra content (The Knights of the Nine) on my Xbox360 to deal with. Needless to say, I'm not upset about having to wait a bit for the frenzy to die down with the PS3 before adding this to my systems. Like my PSP/DS experience (where the DS gets 95% of my handheld gaming attention), I can already see myself making the Wii the pick of the litter even though it may not be the prettiest puppy.





Mary M S has said it all and I agree with her assessment. The Wii, in my estimation, is revolutionary, not just evolutionary. I can understand why the original name for this device was the "Revolution." Makes sense to me. Once you use some games you are familiar with on other platforms with the Wii you'll see what I mean. Take Madden 07 for example. With all other systems your fingers get a work out. With Madden 07 on the Wii, your arms and legs get a workout - just like in real football! It is totally different and totally immersive. Couch potatoes beware. Your cardio workouts are but a Wii away!

I'm not sure, if I had to choose only one title, which one it would be at this point (although Zelda is the earliest contender at this point - even without component cable availability). A lot of this depends on your personal preferences and biases. But one thing for sure - To me the most exciting day in recent gaming history circa 2006 was November 19th, not November 17th.

'Nuff said.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

argggh!

I want a Wii!!!!

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

For those unaware, Excite Truck is the first Wii title to support a custom soundtrack. If you have an SD card to use with your Wii, you can load it up with MP3s and race to your favorite songs. Best Buy had 2GB SandDisk SD cards on sale this past weekend for $29.99 each so I was sure to pick one up along with a reader/writer (2GB is the max SD card size the Wii can read). Anyways, even though you can't create a playlist it is nice to see Nintendo support this option.

A tip for those who want to try this in Excite Truck - set it "Random" otherwise the song you select will repeat, once it ends.

Also - even though it's fluff, the Photo Channel is a nice touch. You can view photos saved on your SD card and also play a "slideshow" of all of the photos set to either a generic song built-in to the Wii or an MP3.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Is there a list online of all the downloadable games online?

Thanks,
Doug

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

There are two ways to get this.

1. If you own a Wii and it is connected to the Internet you simply go to the Wii Shop Channel where the current games available are listed (most if not all are in the $5-$10 range)

2. If you are just curious about what's out there and want to find a place on the Internet where all the Virtual Console titles are listed (without actually owning a Wii at present) here's a place where all the available and soon to be available games are listed. A more extensive listing with more information about all Wii games (not just Virtual Console games) can be seen here.

Hope this is what you were looking for.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Thanks, Robert. Just what I was looking for. I wanted to get an idea of what older games were available to bring over before I buy a Wii. I'm looking for fun stuff my wife will like, and that my daughter will enjoy down the road (she's 2).

Doug

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

You're welcome, Doug. Glad to be of service.

Incidently, the more I delve into my various Wii titles (time is an issue even though I'm retired!) the more I am finding hidden "gems" in the mix. I was totally enthralled by the very quirky Rayman Raving Rabbids. Not only is it one of the most inventive titles in a very long time, but it is a perfect game (in addition to Wii Sports which comes in the box) to showcase the interesting ways in which the Wiimote and nunchuck become an essential part of the game. It's like one of those movies (like Cars) that has immense appeal to children and adults alike.

Highly recommended - and it's "E" rated as well. After all, wasting raving rabbits with plungers is a lot more PC than shooting them with guns!

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Yes, but those cows knee's shake just before you pick up the chain in the cow toss. Every time I see that, - I go "ohw". (and disconcertingly...they don't move for the split second you see them after your throw)

it just rips my heart out, every time i toss them.

Happy Feet from the parts I've seen, would also be a choice for family players.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

My Son wants one for Christmas, but all the big stores are out. Anyone know when the next batch will be on sale?

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Th latest rumors suggest that more Wiis will be available this Sunday (December 3rd) at Circuit City & Target stores. Next Thursday (December 6th) for Wal-Mart. It looks like Best Buy and the GameStop/EB Games stores receive new Wii stock on Fridays.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Let me see if I understand this correctly:
The Wii will play the Gamecube discs, but the older games will be downloaded from their web site. They charge for these games. Are the other features from their site free, or is there a monthly charge?

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Anyone have troubles like this? http://videogames.yahoo.com/ongoingf...=494785&page=0

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Interesting. I've heard "stories" of people supposedly smashing their expensive plasma screens but in those reports the users admitted that they either weren't using the strap or that they had it affixed "loosely" to their wrist. I wound think that the weakest link might be the thin part of the strap that attaches to the WiiMote but this is the first I heard of fraying.

Since I now have four of these WiiMotes I'll monitor them for excessive wear and tear. Of course the true test comes when the grandkids come over and get going.

On one hand, I tend to think that some of these early reports are generally there to garner headlines. But on the other hand, if the symptoms persist then it's probably wise to be at least aware of any potential problem. It would be interesting if there was an inherent design flaw in the WiiMote strap (I'm not saying that there is, just thinking out loud) - I wonder how liable Nintendo would be for replacing displays if the strap broke in normal use.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Let me take a stab at some of this. Yes, you can use Gamecube discs but only with the original Gamecube remotes and memory (there are slots for all these including four Gamecube remotes on the Wii console.) And yes, you can download older games from "legacy" systems - generally in the $5-$10 range. To me most of this would be for their nostalgia value rather than their play value since more modern games are far more developed. Nintendo does state that, unlike the XBox Live versions of classics which have in many cases been updated, the Wii "legacy" games are identical to the originals. Also, once you purchase the game you are entitled to download it again at any time to the Wii that you have it registered on. This takes care of the fact that the Wii doesn't have a hard drive (yet). Call it "old games on demand" if you like.



As far as I can tell the other features on online Wii access (other than the shopping mall purchases) are free. There was some talk of charging for internet surfing but I've heard that Nintendo may keep it free - or at least not charge people who purchase Wii units in the first six months or so. They would be grandfathered, so the rumor goes. Maybe someone else knows more about this.

A good source of information can be found in the Wii Tips and Tricks posting - a copy of which appears as a sticky at the top of the Video Hardware pages here. I assume that this information will be updated and/or corrected on a regular basis as soon as more is known.

A sidenote: As of yesterday, Wii Weather and Wii News had not yet gone "live" so I can't give you too much information about them. All and all, an extremely flexible system with a lot of potential - some realized and some waiting in the wings.

As they say, "Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii !"

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

They were talking about having to buy the Opera software required to openly surf the internet (vs. Wii Shop, Weather, etc) after the 6 month period where Nintendo will pay for it to be included in the box gratis. After that, so the talk goes, you will have purchase the browser. At least, that is what I read.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

As to those breaking their TVs I wonder what the heck they are doing. A few years back, someone through a beer can at my 56" Sony HDTV (projection) and, while half full, it simply bounced off. The screen shook for a while, but it didn't crack wide open. I'm wondering how the heck hard these people are throwing their wiimote. The thing is not that heavy, so you'd have to have a really good amount of force behind it.

I'm wondering if some people didn't do it "semi" on purpose to get some net fame and to play to the crowds.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Reggie Fils-Aime was interviewed by MTV News this last week about release plans for 2007. As I suspected Super Mario Galaxy has been pushed back. Fils-Aime says that it could hit anywhere between the end of March and the end of 2007, which the game sites are taking as code for Holiday 2007. Metroid Prime: Corruption was mentioned as coming sometime after the first quarter.

Link to MTV News.

Re: Where's the love for the Wii?!?

Regarding the Wii-mote straps:

I saw it happen at a Festivus (that's right) party this weekend where there was a lot of Wii action I was proud to take part of. (And then I scored my own Wii the next morning by standing in the cold on no sleep--'nother story). Awesome system.

Ironically, I had just tightened the strap on the girl's wrist because I was afraid she'd drop it. BTW, remotes were dropped many times, on a thinly carpeted surface with no ill effects. She was playing Wii tennis and lost her grip. The Wii-mote flew across the room, striking the wall with great force. Good thing it wasn't a person. I can see fractured skulls on the horizon.

Granted, this was a party and the girl was maybe a little tipsy, and I think I was the only one taking care that my hands were clean and not greasy from chips. Though in tennis training and boxing last night at home my palms were getting a little sweaty, so they can get a bit slippery if you don't take breaks.

The strap ripped out of the bottom of the remote just like in the pictures on that story, so it will probably be a common occurrence. I think a better design, basically just a stronger cable inside, is in order. That will likely occur in future production runs. Perhaps if suits pop up, there will be some kind of recall for consumers even. This is going to be a party console and these things are going to happen. It was played for close to 12 hours nonstop I bet. It really shouldn't happen, but I can see it happening accidentally even for those who are careful and not buzzed. And, naturally, for kids.

That said, the remote survived hitting the wall just fine. Built like a tank.