Parm’s Place

A Wii Review

Here is the story of my experience with Nintendo’s new console, Wii. I purchased the system just before Christmas and after spending some time with it, I’ve got some early impressions to share with you all.

Ever since Nintendo mesmerised me with their press conference at E3 last May, I’ve been itching to get my hands on one of these new consoles. With the Wii selling like hot cakes, I didn’t fancy my chances of getting hold of one before the New Year but fortunately for me, Amazon saved the day.

Firstly, my setup. My Wii was connected to a Pioneer PDP505XDE Plasma Screen and was outputting sound via the screen’s speakers. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect the Wii to my Amplifier due to its lack of connection options, I really had hoped it would have shipped with the component cables as standard but that wasn’t the case. A few more pictures of my Wii setup can be viewed by clicking here.

The initial setup on the Wii was very straight forward; I soon had it up and running and connected to the web with no problem at all. I ran the available system updates and configured the system to my liking. My only complaint here was that during the setup screens there weren’t many tool tips or any extra information to explain certain features. Whilst the navigation buttons were large and easy to select using the Wii Remote, it didn’t seem to leave much room for additional information.

During my first few sessions with the Wii, I quickly became accustomed to the controls via the Wii Remote and found it very enjoyable to use. The unique control aspect was intriguing and even the simplest of menu navigation tasks were often fun to carry out using the Wii Remote. Once familiar with the interface, I began to explore the Wii’s features.

Wii Channels
The Wii Channels are an area where expansion could be endless. Though the channels currently available are limited, we can expect to see a whole lot more in the future. Here are the channels currently available and a quick breakdown of what I made of them.

• Disc Channel
  The simplest of features, but a welcome one. Rather than having a disc launch automatically when you turn the Wii on, the console will always boot to the dashboard and you can then opt to launch the disc in the tray.
• Mii Channel
  Despite being fun at first, the Mii Channel lost its appeal rather quickly. After creating Miis for myself and the whole family I found there wasn’t much more to it. With the awkward nature of Wii Connect 24, interacting with other Miis online wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. More on that later in my review of the online features.
• Photo Channel
  Another nice but limited channel. Although fun to edit photos, they weren’t easily obtained unless stored on an SD memory card. The inability to fetch images from a PC was the key in making this feature redundant for me.
• Wii Shop Channel
  As with all of the new consoles, an online marketplace is available where classic games amongst other items are available to purchase for a fee. The novelty of classic games was appealing at one point but that appeal has more than faded for me and classic titles on both the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii Virtual Console are no longer of interest. Whilst memories of games of old are treasured, they can often be ruined when you play the same game today. More often than not, it can leave you thinking “this used to be fun?!”
• Forecast Channel
  Yet another channel which despite functioning well, I couldn’t quite see the purpose of. I do check the weather forecast from time to time, but my console would be the last place I’d think of going to check.
• News Channel
  This channel will not be operational in the UK until January 27th 2007 and I was therefore unable to test it. However, I would assume that as with the Forecast Channel, my console would be the last place I’d think of going to get the latest news.
• Internet Channel
  Wii’s internet browser, powered by Opera and free until June 2007 (then available for 500 Wii Points via the Shop Channel) is an adequate browser. I found it fairly useful and easy to use but on the majority of websites I found the text difficult to read without zooming in. Perhaps the lack of included component cables was showing on the big screen?
• Message Board
  The Message Board allows users to leave messages for other family members on a calendar-based message board, a feature I just couldn’t understand. Other family members would have to turn the console on and navigate to the message board just to read a message, surely a simple post-it note on the refrigerator door would be more user friendly? That feature aside, the Message Board is useful for announcements of software updates and video game news posted by Nintendo. It will also show your play data on recent games which is a nice addition.

Wii Sports
Wii Sports is the free title shipped with the Wii console. It features five sports mini games which demonstrate the ease of use and flexibility of the Wii Remote, here is my take on them all.

• Tennis
  Tennis is a wonderful demonstration of what the Wii Remote is capable of. Although the tennis itself is very simplified, it’s the motion sensing aspects which the game focuses on entirely. Unlike the more conventional tennis titles, you don’t need to move towards the ball as the character movement is completely automatic. All you need to do is focus on the ball and swing your racket (Wii Remote) at the correct time. Supporting up to 4 players, tennis is immediately appealing to all. Whilst a variety of swings are recognised by the game offering a bit of depth to the more familiar gamer, the simple nature to the game means it is playable by everyone. My entire family, including my Dad who had never played a video game prior to this was able to pick it up in no time and even managed to beat me in 5 sets! Oh the shame!
• Boxing
  Boxing is by far the most demanding of Wii Sports’ mini games and so it should be, since when was boxing easy? After a few rounds with an opponent you soon begin to feel the strain on your arms. This is the only Wii Sports title to utilize the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk attachment. Holding the Wii Remote in one hand and the Nunchuk in the other, you’re able to control both hands freely and jab away to your heart’s content. Whilst I found the gameplay to be entertaining it did have some drawbacks. Firstly, I wasn’t able to play this game in multiplayer as to do so would require an extra Wii Remote and an extra Nunchuk. Secondly, although the movements felt natural and fun to use, you’ll find you need to slow down your pace a little for the Wii to keep up with you. I often found that I’d throw a barrage of punches and hooks only to see just two of them actually register. Last but not least, with the Nunchuck wired to the Wii Remote, I found the cable between the two to be a little obstructive to my free flowing uppercuts.



• Baseball
  Although probably the simplest concept of all the Wii Sports mini games, I found baseball to be one of the most challenging! Striking the ball with the correct power and accuracy isn’t as easy as you’d think and timing is key. Again, the Wii Remote feels completely natural and very responsive.
• Bowling
  I thoroughly enjoy bowling in real life and wondered how they would replicate the feel on the Wii. Well, surprisingly well. Although impossible to recreate the real life bowling experience, the Wii version is a lot of fun. The bowling motion, although takes getting used to, is very realistic and good exercise for your bowling arm! I found this title to be particularly handy as up to 4 players can play with only the one Wii Remote, taking it in turns to throw.



• Golf
  As with all the sports mini games, golf is a natural choice as its movement in swing is ideal for the Wii Remote. I found golf to be both challenging and a lot of fun, even when playing alone. Whilst I found the previous mini games to be best played as multiplayer, golf could be thoroughly enjoyed on your own. If I did have one complaint, it would be that I found the very short putts to be extremely difficult. When swinging the Wii Remote slightly, it didn’t seem to recognise the movement. Swinging any harder to get noticed and I’d miss the putt.

Overall, Wii Sports is an exemplary introduction to the Wii, its motion sensing abilities and its approach to fun and interactive gaming make it stand out. Although I personally would like to see more complex sports titles with a much larger variety of movements, Wii Sports is indeed the perfect launch title for the console as it clearly illustrates its appeal to a vastly wide audience.

Wii Play
Wii Play is another title from the Wii series and available bundled with a Wii Remote. I purchased the title mainly for the second remote but thought the game itself was an added bonus. I thought wrong however, the game is in my estimation very poor and as a result I only played it the once. Not much more to say on the matter.

Graphics and Sound
In the era of High Definition, a lot of talk from many in the gaming industry revolves around graphics and sound. Except Nintendo, they have made it clear from the start that the Wii isn’t about pixels and watts, it’s about fun and games. Whilst I applaud their strategy, I must make it clear that the pixels and watts do have their place and can add an extra element to a game. Running on a 50″ HD Plasma Screen with a 5.1 DTS surround system, I thoroughly enjoy the breathtaking visuals and sounds created by games on the Xbox 360. Although the games on the Wii were indeed a lot of fun to play, I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed by both the image and the sound.

I must point out that I did only use the standard cables provided with the console. Had I purchased the component cables available separately, I may have noticed a better all round picture. I still wish the component cables were included in the pack.

The sound on the Wii may be poor on the whole, but it does offer one extra feature in this area which does help. The inclusion of a speaker on the Wii Remotes adds an extra element to the sound which does help alleviate the otherwise lacking audio experience. Even though Nintendo have insisted that graphics and sound aren’t the be all end all of games, and I agree, they certainly do help and for £180 I’d really liked to have seen just a little more bang for my buck.

Online Features
This regrettably is where I found the Wii to be severely lacking. At launch, its online features were near to none existent. There are currently no Wii games which support online play but that is a feature which we are being promised for the future. What the Wii does offer is an over complicated and poorly thought out friends management system. In order to add me to your Wii Friends List, you would need to enter my 16 digit Wii Code onto your console. But, that wouldn’t be enough. I would then need to enter your 16 digit Wii Code onto my console. For some unknown reason, when one person adds another, it doesn’t notify the other person. Perhaps I’m just too accustomed to the ease of use available on Xbox Live but I found the Wii to be nearly crippled in the online area. I’m hopeful that with a few firmware upgrades Nintendo will be able to turn this around but they have a long way to go if they want the service to be user friendly.

The Social Aspect
This is where the Wii stands in a league of its own. If you have a large family or a household where you often have friends around and there’s never a shortage of people, then the Wii will be a sure hit. I found both my sister and brother in law thoroughly enjoyed playing on the Wii and it was always fun when people were around. The downside for me is that there aren’t always many people around.

The Price
The key to most purchases is, is the price justifiable? The Wii in my opinion is not, not yet at least. The Wii is currently available for £179.99 in the UK and ships with one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk and Wii Sports. Although a nice package I personally felt it didn’t offer enough, even more so when taking into account that the Xbox 360 Core System is available for £199.99.

I would like to hope that by Christmas of 2007, the Nintendo Wii will be available as a bundle including the Wii Console, two Wii Remotes, two Nunchuk, Wii Sports and the component cables for £149.99, which for me would be a justifiable purchase. I found local multiplayer to be the key to this console and two Wii Remotes are truly essential.

Conclusion
I was excited to get my hands on the Nintendo Wii and having done so, I found it enjoyable. It’s a fun concept and achieves just about all that it set out to do. It is incredibly easy to use, it does appeal to just about everyone and just in case I forgot to mention, it’s a lot of fun.

With that said, there aren’t many games available for the Wii just yet that made me want to go out and get them. It was clear to me that if I was to purchase any games in the near future, they’d be Xbox 360 titles as there are more than a handful of titles that I’d like to get for that system. As a result, I became aware that my Wii would only get limited use. I personally wouldn’t use it often on my own as the single player wasn’t half as fun as the multiplayer and the lack of online options made it a lonely experience. With the Wii only being used on the occasion when people were visiting, I made the decision to sell the console earlier this month.

Yep, it’s gone, my Wii is no more. I must make it clear however that I do in fact like the Wii console, it has a lot going for it and it certainly has a bright future ahead of it. Unfortunately, right now I didn’t have the need for one and being able to sell it for the same amount I paid for it, it made sense to let it go. Being a huge fan of Mario and an even bigger fan of Mario Kart, I’m pretty certain I will re-think the Nintendo Wii and perhaps purchase one again later in the year. Who knows, perhaps by then it’ll have a host of games that I want, it’ll have a much clearer and more usable online service and last but not last, the price will be justifiable.

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who are contemplating getting a new console but are unsure of which to get, for those people, this is my humble opinion. If like me, you’re a conventional gamer who likes to play a variety of games and loves to play online with people from around the world, the Xbox 360 would be my recommendation (even more so if you have a HD screen). If on the other hand you have a large family and want a games console which both yourself and your children can enjoy together then the Wii would be a great purchase.

Thanks for reading!