Nintendo WII

[cav58d]

Anyone purchase this system yet?  If so, how do you like it?  Fun?  Better than you expected, just average, or nothing special???

[Jebus]

My nephews and brother played it for a while.  They say it is different and entertaining but that Graphics are just OK.

[Chairboy]

Some friends of mine at work have them and say it's the most fun they've had with a gaming system in a long time.  I'm intrigued by it, here are some highlights:

*Motion capture controller.  When playing a tennis game, you swing it like a tennis racket.  When bowling, you act like you're bowling.  It's a high resolution motion capture device, so the way you physically do stuff actually controls what the character does.
*Virtual console.  It has a built in emulator that can play games made for other Nintendo systems + NeoGeo.  They're releasing 4 games a week, from Super Mario Brothers to GameCube and Nintento 64 games, etc.  They sell them for a few bucks each.

The system looks like it's more social, ie, everyone is involved.  Sounds like a good match for a family.

Oh, it also has built in 802.11 and bluetooth, so it can use your wireless internet connection without running new wires.

[RAIDER14]

I heard there was a recall on it something about controller cords snapping

[Tarmac]

My buddy owns one.  It's great in a social setting, like playing boxing, tennis, or baseball against your friends.  The controllers do the motion capture thing, so you actually swing it to hit a baseball/tennis ball, and you punch, duck, and dodge when boxing.  

It's great to see a gaming company concentrating on gameplay again instead of just releasing the same basic game with more buttons and better graphics.  If I were to buy a console (I haven't played consoles seriously since SNES, with the exception of Goldeneye on N64), it would be a Wii, no question.  

I can't wait until a Star Wars lightsaber game is released... the Wii just begs for lightsaber combat.

[RAIDER14]

Originally posted by Tarmac
My buddy owns one.  It's great in a social setting, like playing boxing, tennis, or baseball against your friends.  The controllers do the motion capture thing, so you actually swing it to hit a baseball/tennis ball, and you punch, duck, and dodge when boxing.  

It's great to see a gaming company concentrating on gameplay again instead of just releasing the same basic game with more buttons and better graphics.  If I were to buy a console (I haven't played consoles seriously since SNES, with the exception of Goldeneye on N64), it would be a Wii, no question.  

I can't wait until a Star Wars lightsaber game is released... the Wii just begs for lightsaber combat.

how do you play a boxing game with a stick?

[Tarmac]

The controller has a $20 add on called a Nunchuk.  Both have the motion sensing stuff in them.  You hold one in each hand and box.  It detects punches as well as hand position (whether they're in front of your face or down).  If you move both controllers in the same direction to the side, your character leans/steps to that side to dodge.  It's pretty cool.

[lasersailor184]

Just curious, but how accurate is the movement sensing?  Like if I was playing tennis, would I be able to lob a ball?  Or is it just that it swings when I swing, and connects regardless of where the controller is positioned?

[Chairboy]

It's super sensitive, that's what I was saying earlier.  The racket is supposed to do what you do, it uses 3-axis accelerometers.

[Tarmac]

Yes, laser, you can lob a ball.  There may be more advanced tennis ways to do it, but I figured out pretty quickly that if I swung with an upward component the ball would take a similar trajectory in the game.  I never tried angling the controller to achieve a lob, but you can definately do it by adjusting your swing angle.  It will do backhands if you swing on the opposite side of your body.  You can do overhand serves.  Your character will reach more for the ball if you make  a wide swing as opposed to one close to your body.  

It's pretty cool, and will only get cooler as more game developers figure out more creative ways to use it.

ed: in addition to the accelerometers Chairboy mentioned, it also has an IR tracker similar to trackIR to follow controller motion.

[RAIDER14]

Is there a regular controller for the wii other than the stick?

[Tarmac]

it can use gamecube controllers too.  That's how you play downloaded games from older systems.

[Chairboy]

There's a 'classic controller' you can buy for pretty cheap.

[VooWho]

Just think what a WW2 shooter game would be like with that type of system. Clear out your living room, lay down some mates and begain to duck, crawl, kneel, roll, jump, and dive while fighting germans on the Beaches of Normandy. Just think what Splinter Cell would be like. You actually walking very slowly then moving your arms up acting like someone is in front of you and twisting their necks off. This game Wii sounds very fun. This game console could be a great for exercising.

[Meatwad]

Originally posted by VooWho
Just think what a WW2 shooter game would be like with that type of system. Clear out your living room, lay down some mates and begain to duck, crawl, kneel, roll, jump, and dive while fighting germans on the Beaches of Normandy. Just think what Splinter Cell would be like. You actually walking very slowly then moving your arms up acting like someone is in front of you and twisting their necks off. This game Wii sounds very fun. This game console could be a great for exercising.

Now fat kids can get exercise too