Thursday, May 10, 2007

I love my Wii

I think Nintendo Wiis are awesome.
If you can get one, I give my unqualified recommendation for the Nintendo Wii.
The thing I like about my Wii is the amount of interactivity and activity that is required to play a lot of the games.
The technology is incredible. I think that the direction that Nintendo took with the elegant Wiimotes is a real breakthrough in human/computer interaction. If you haven't heard about these, what they are are candy bar sized controllers that have motion sensors and IR sensors. What that enables players to do is to provide input by moving the Wiimote. You can use it like a pointer or, in the case of a game like Wii Sports, swing it like a baseball bat, tennis racket, or a bowling ball. You can also plug in a Nunchuck controller for two handed control. The Nunchuck also has motion sensors. Wii boxing is a game where you hold the Wiimote in one hand and the Nunchuck in the other. You literally throw punches in real life to punch in the game. It's a lot of fun and it's a good workout.
I haven't played all of the games that I have so far--I broke down and bought the 6 game bundle from Wal Mart. So far we've had a lot of fun with the following games: Wii Sports--included, Wario Smooth Moves, Excite Truck, Cooking Mama, the Rayman Game, Trauma: Second Opinion.
I have been a little disappointed with Call of Duty 3 and Tiger Woods. With both of them I think that the controls are not quite refined enough.
I'm especially disappointed by Tiger Woods. I think there's a huge potential for making a great golf game, but the control issues are a huge negative. I'm not willing to put a whole lot of time trying to adjust to the game's quirks. I think they could have a real winner if they keep the course content and make the controls work perfectly.

No comments: