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Ladies and gentlemen, Wii have a winner!
Publisher: Nintendo Australia
Sun, 11 February 2007
by: Special K
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Having passed through the pain that was staring at my Christmas stocking knowing full well there was a Wii in there, the 25th of December rolled around and the Wii was unleashed. In hindsight I did the right thing in buying the console and second controller including the Wii Play game. Now in late January 2007, there are virtually no consoles left and even fewer accessories! To make matters worse, the consensus is that we will not have a new shipment of Wii accessories until mid February! In spite of the bad news, I'm really happy to see Nintendo have an immensely successful launch
with the Wii and proving themselves to be a big player in the Next-Gen console wars.
 | | Honey I shrunk the console! |
My first impressions of the console were "Shit that's small". To give you an idea, my old Sony DRX-710UL external DVD burner was bigger than the Wii Console. Considering the fact that both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles are larger than the Xbox and PlayStation 2 respectively, credit goes to Nintendo for jamming so many features into such a small box.
Being the geek that I am, I thought I would go through the configuration settings on the console and get the Internet connection working. I am fortunate enough to have a wireless router configured in my house so connecting to the internet was a sinch.
As I said I already have a Wireless Router so all I needed to do was configure the network settings. As a recommendation, it would be best to have security enabled - because you don't want your neighbours stealing your internet bandwidth! Anyway as far as security goes it's best to enable WPA encryption as it is more secure than WEP encryption. If possible, you should also consider MAC address filtering. I know I'm taking all the fun out of the console already but these should be some of the considerations made when configuring a wireless network in your home.
That said there is a very helpful step by step guide that comes with the console which goes through configuring the network settings. There are a couple of choices you have for connecting your console. These two options are if your console is close enough to your broadband connection, use an Ethernet cable. If you don't know what an Ethernet cable is, it is generally blue in colour with two rectangular connectors on each end. My first gripe with the system was that it doesn't have an Ethernet port built-in. You need to buy a USB to Ethernet adaptor and plug it into one of the two USB ports on the back of the console. This would probably provide you with the most reliable internet connection, but it will obviously cost you more money. Judging from the details in the manual, the USB to Ethernet connector is not readily available and it asks you to contact Nintendo to order one. This is similar to the Component connector cable for running High-Definition (well 480P anyway) from your Wii - the boxes are in the stores but they are not yet available. After saying all this there may be a better option available. A small USB accessory called the "Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector allows you to plug it into your Windows XP based computer and make wireless connections to your Wii console and/or your Nintendo DS or DS Lite. I have recently bought a DS Lite and have tried online gaming with Metroid Prime Hunters and found it to work quite well. The only catch is that because the DS does not support WPA encryption you will need to use WEP. This is a lower security option but is still better than nothing. Either way you will need to buy the appropriate adaptor from Nintendo which should only set you back around $30.
OK once you have followed the appropriate instructions to get your internet connection going, it's time to set a few things up.
As with all electronic equipment released in the last few years, it is necessary to update the system from time to time. To enable some of the features on the console it is necessary to perform a system upgrade. In doing this it took quite some time to download the system update. (Bearing in mind that this was done at around 10:00am on Christmas morning!) So I let it go and about half an hour later it had updated and restarted the system.
 | | If you are in the market for an additional Wii Remote get the WiiPlay bundle! |
When you first turn on your Wii you will see six channels. The Disc Channel shows you the game that is in the drive. Before I started the games, the first thing I did was go to the Mii channel and create your Mii character. This is a feature unique to the Wii in that you create your own character as well as your name. Since playing Wii Sports (which comes free with the console) and Wii Play (which is bundled together with a Wii Remote controller) I insist that all new players create their own Mii and use it with these games. As you register more Mii characters, they actually become involved with the games and appear as background characters or part of the games themselves. Once again it's the online aspect of the Mii characters which adds a whole new aspect to the console. ßorgieman was the first Wii owner who was online so we swapped our Wii numbers. A Wii number is a unique number assigned to each console. It can be found through the address book in the Wii message board (More about that later!) Once you have registered each other as Wii friends, you can exchange email, photos and Mii's! You can also send email to your friends from your Wii console. As long as the recipient of your Wii-mail replys to your address you are free to exchange messages. So once I had sent a couple of email messages, I tried sending Mii's. One of the cutest aspects of the Mii's is the ability to drag and drop a Mii. Moving the cursor over a Mii and clicking both the A and B buttons on the controller, you can pick the Mii up by the head and drag them to the icon of your choice. The funniest thing is when you receive a Mii from another console. A message appears telling you where the Mii is from and then it is dropped onto your screen. I now know of two other friends with consoles online and I've been exchanging Mii's with each of them. It must also keep track of which console Mii's were created on. Sam's Mii when copied from his Wii-Mote to my console, could not be modified. In summary, I'm just scratching the surface of the Mii possibilities and I really can't wait for some more games that make use of the characters.
As yet I have not used the Photo Channel but I'm sure it will come in handy somewhere down the track.
Next I wanted to see what the internet browsing capabilities were like. I was a little scared that they chose Opera as their preferred browser as I have found its default settings a little unusual on the PC version. To get this, you need to visit the Wii Shop Channel. Fortunately they do not charge you to download the browser as it is listed as a Beta version. On starting to download the Opera browser, I was presented with a screen detailing the particular download with three square blocks with brick patterns on them. Next a SNES version of Mario appeared and he began running across the bottom of the screen picking up gold coins that would randomly appear. This confused the hell out of me at the start but I soon found out that this was actually the progress bar for my download. I can assume that each time Mario collected a coin, this represented one percent of my download, he also got progressively bigger too. Anyway this was taking quite a long time too. As the download progressed, Mario jumped up and hit the blocks, changing them from brick to a smooth surface. Suddenly the console went nuts as Mario reached the last of the three blocks on the screen and was continually jumping up and down on the spot. Shortly after the download finished and I had the Internet Channel added to my console. Still not too sure about their choice of progress bar, but it worked so I can't complain too much. After another console re-boot, I fired up the internet browser. Once I got used to the Wii Remote, I found web browsing really easy. Having tried internet browsing with the PSP and trying to type in URL's with the directional keypad is just a pain in the arse! This leads to one of the limitations of the Wii Remote. Along with the motion sensors in Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment, there is also an infra-red source in the Wii Remote which is used to track it when you are pointing it at the screen. Nintendo recommend that you stand between 1 metre and 3 metres away. I found that if I went past 1.7 meters away, the console could not track the infra-red sensor. This is a minor inconvenience but probably indicates that I'm a lazy gamer who wants to sit back on the couch and casually wave the controller around. One more thing, I have gone through both sets of original AA batteries that came with my Wii Remotes. I have since bought Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries for use with the Wii. The may cost more initially, but charge them around 500+ times and the cheap AA batteries won't come close. The trick is to buy the rechargeables with the highest milliamp hours (maH) rating. Energiser's are rated at 2500 maH while the Duracells are at 2650 maH. Basically, the higher the number the longer they will last.
I felt that I needed to try out the Virtual Console on the Wii so let's go shopping! As I'm sure this is just a web page and the fact that the console is secured using RSA, I'm pretty sure it's secure. Opened the Shopping Channel, clicked Add Wii Points, then selected the Buy Wii Points with a credit card option. You can buy Wii Points Card and I have only seen them available at Electronics Boutique (EB Games) but buying them online is much faster and easier so the Visa or MasterCard was the better option.
It only gives you the option of buying:
1000 Points = $15.00 AUD
3000 Points = $45.00 AUD
5000 Points = $75.00 AUD
You get a receipt and all for your games you purchase and your account history is recorded too. All up using the Wii Shop is dead easy! I started out with the idea that I would download a couple of the SNES titles. Unfortunately you need to have the Classic Controller or a GameCube controller for the SNES and N64 titles. The NES and MegaDrive games can be played using the Wii remote horizontally. There are also extensive instructions going through the objectives of the game and how the controller buttons map to the Wii Remote. My only complaint is this:
NES games 500 points ($7.50 AUD)
SNES and MegaDrive 800 points ($12.00 AUD)
N64 games 1000 points ($15.00 AUD)
Why couldn't they have made the SNES/MegaDrive titles 750 points? As a result, you would have to buy 5 SNES/Megadrive titles to divide evenly into 4000 Wii Points. I guess it's like tolls on CityLink in Melbourne, at the end of the day Nintendo just want your money, they don't care if you don't use it all up.
This is quite reasonable considering how easy they are to play once downloaded onto the system. My only question now would be if we will see the Dreamcast as a Virtual Console, that would be the ultimate! At the same time, I'm sure that some people are saying, why would I pay for console games when I can download an emulator on my PC and play the games there? Simple. It's a lot easier to use them on the Wii with the wireless Wii remotes. And I can guarantee that the Wii boots quicker than any PC I have ever seen! That said, I can't see myself buying too many Nintendo 64 games on the virtual console as I have an Nintendo 64 and 19 games. All up, thumbs up for the virtual console which I think is Nintendo playing to their strength - a high-quality back catalogue of games sure to quench the thirst of retro gamers everywhere.
 | | The Wii morphs into a GameCube complete with Wavebird receiver |
In trying to experience the full gamut of options available on the Wii, I had to experience the Gamecube software on the new console. Strolling though my local Toys R Us store I found the The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker. Cool! I could finally experience the Gamecube! I hurried home, inserted the disk, and it asked me for a memory card! That and the fact that the Wii Remote doesn't work with the Gamecube games at all I was still quite a way away from Gamecube gaming. I needed to get hold of a Gamecube controller and a few games to try. I went online to our good friends at Realgamer. They offered a variety of controllers and memory cards but it was the Wavebird wireless controller and a 64 MB memory card for the Gamecube with a USB adapter to save to your PC that caught my attention. I placed my order and within a week or so, I had my Gamecube gear…now let's try it out! Please Note: I have had a response back from Realgamer regarding the availability of the Wavebird controller and it isn't good! Their stock has sold out and their supplier is currently out of stock too! One minor thing - once you plug the memory card and controller into the top of the Wii gone is its clean white lines as the white panels covering the Gamecube memory and controller ports are sticking up out of the console. A small price to pay to enable you to play the Gamecube software on the Wii.
 | | Yes the Wavebird controller works faultlessly with your Wii |
Firstly I powered up the console into the Wii Menu. Then I inserted the Gamecube disk. The disk channel popped up with the Gamecube logo. Click on the channel and away you go! The first game I tried was Star Wars Rebel Strike Rogue Squadron III. I plugged in the Wavebird - Which operates flawlessly - and the memory card. While the game was showing its age, I was happy that I was able to get the Gamecube up and running. It operates like both consoles are in the same box. Once you have a Gamecube game in the Wii, and you shut off the power, the next time you turn the console on, you boot straight into the Gamecube. Once the Gamecube is running, the Wii Remotes do not respond. To get back to the Wii menu, you need to turn the power off and eject the disk. This is a minor inconvenience and makes me wonder whether the Gamecube is completely separate from the Wii. In addition to playing the Gamecube games I logged onto the shopping channel and bought Donkey Kong Country on the SNES. A warning was displayed telling me I would need to use the new Classic controller to play the game but fortunately the Wavebird worked flawlessly and I was back into the SNES.
Websites are already displaying images of both the disassembled console and Wii-Remote. Funny how they go on and on about the spring-loaded battery clips for the AA batteries like it's a major breakthrough in design while Nintendo have made them like that since the days of the GameBoy Advance!
Wii Sports
 | | Every Wii comes with Wii Sports! |
Here's an unusual addition, the console comes with a free game. Sure other consoles have bundled games with consoles but from memory, none were available from the day of release. It's obvious that Wii Sports was developed to show off what you can do with the controllers. Wii sports makes use of your Mii. You can specify which hand you would normally use when playing each of the sports. There are five different sports to choose from and all are quite different. I'll rank the games in order of preference:
1. Bowling (1 to 4 players)
Bowling has proven to be a crowd favourite with everyone who has had a go with the Wii. You hold the Wii Remote upwards, just like when you are bowling for real, then swing the remote, releasing the trigger on the Wii Remote when you want to let go of the ball. You can vary the speed, direction and spin on the ball depending on how you swing the Wii Remote. It is obviously easy to pick up as a first time gamer, beat us on her first game! The training modes for bowling are quite cool in their own right. The best one is when the number of pins increases with each bowl you take.
2. Tennis (1 to 4 players)
This tennis game only allows you to play doubles. One of the unusual aspects of the game is that when you play 1 on 1 with the Wii, you are in control of both players down your end of the court. It's surprisingly tiring and without doubt it was definitely the game that made my arm ache! It takes quite a while to get the hang of the game and it responds to both forehand and backhand shots. The computer opponents get progressively harder and it's probably better to play against someone else. The two-player mode is well done with the screen being split in half vertically to allow each player to have the same perspective on the game. I haven't had enough controllers in the one place to try out the four player mode, but I imagine my room may not be big enough to play the game.
3. Boxing
The boxing game highlighted another feature that I wasn't aware of. This is one of the games that requires the Nunchuk controller. Essentially you hold both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in either hand and punch with both the controllers. Sometimes it seems a little slow to respond but generally the experience is really good.
4. Golf
I haven't really played golf that much and but like all the other games, the Wii Remote works exceptionally well. Like some of the more complex golf games, the clubs you have access to are a driver, iron, wedge and putter. You can hook and slice fairly easily with the Wii Remote - just like real golf! I have not tried any skill level other than the most basic one and this has proved to be hard enough!
5. Baseball
When I think of baseball, I think of Homer Simpson. Sitting sober at the game thinking to himself - "I never realised just how boring this game was". Yes I'm not a baseball fan and my hand-eye coordination means that I get frustrated very easily while playing baseball. With baseball, you don't do any fielding. You pitch and you bat and that's it. Fielding is automatic and so is running the bases. But as with all the other Wii Sports games, you hold the remote just like you would a baseball bat and swing it like a baseball bat and this is what makes it a totally new gaming experience.
Well there you have it - My impression of the Wii. My biggest complaint so far is that I don't have enough time to play the console! Hats off to Nintendo for introducing yet another innovative product in the console gaming market. There have been a lot of criticisms of the Wii and I feel most of them are unfounded. People who would traditionally run and hide when you mention the word computer game are drawn to the Wii through the ingenious controller. In short, buy a Wii. You won't be disappointed.
by: Special K
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More articles by Special K
I don't want to give a full score because I want Nintendo to pull out all stops on this one! | |
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