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Well I'm tired
The Console
So very small and sexy, it can be run in either horizontal or vertical profile. The tray-less drive was responsive and easy to throw in the 12 cm Wii optical disc. There was a blue glow, so that must be good.
Lots of little flaps open to reveal additional ports for cables and cards.
The overall look of the console is quite nice, not great. I thought it fell I little short of the mark in terms of what I guess was the desired goal - an Apple'esk type design.
The Controllers
Well if you aren't yet aware of the controller system the Wii implements, you are a real looser, go sit in the corner until you can be good.
The "Wiimote" as it's called, uses a combination of accelerometers, infrared and buttons to control in-game actions.
That ruffly translates to you (the gamer), looking like an absolute goose.
But that aside I have to say I'm impressed. While certain movements in the two games I have seemed a little "first generation", the possibilities were immediately obvious.
I wasn't a fan of the button layout though. No Sir! It felt like the layout of the buttons came purely from an aesthetic sense - rather than a functional requirement. Not a problem, I'm sure there will be a flood of alternative controllers hitting the market fairly soon.
Another thing I noticed was the woeful speaker in the Wiimote which seems to bawk at everything but the twang of a slingshot.
Zelda: The Twilight Princess
I've only been a moderate owner of previous Zelda titles, but as soon as I started playing The Twilight Princess, I was blown away at how the old Zelda look and feel had been adapted to this console.
Great graphics, wonderful ability to explore and an excellent usage of Wiimotes control capabilities.
I like it!
Call of Duty 3
Fun game, drawing heavily on the Wiimote, it manages fairly realistic feel of movement and weapons usage.
So the breakdown for this games is as follows:
Very similar to previous Call of Duty titles
Button layout is a real issue when trying to do things like throw grenades
Graphics is great, but left me wondering what it would be like on something like the Xbox360
Sound seems a little odd, i.e. throw a grenade into the next room and you can hardly hear it
Using the Wiimote to look around corners and shoot is cool
I like the immersive feel in the battle sequences. With Wiimote, the experience is much more complete.
Wrap-up
Well overall I'm definitely a big fan of the system even though there are certain aspects which feel a little green.
I really can't wait to see were this device will be heading in the next few years.
On another point, I'm keen to see what impact the Wii will have on the console gaming market. Whether or not it turns out to be a big money spinner or not for Nintendo (I suspect it will), I'm certain it will have an interesting impact on the direction Sony and Microsoft take on their future systems.
Nintendo have kept up their "we'll do it our way" attitude and I think the Wii will be seen in retrospect as a great console.
Side note: To my father who threw out my mint condition, boxed NES with boxed games thinking it was just old junk... I'm still not ready to talk to you.
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