The Wii is Here.

[banditcom]

Rayman isn't your typical Rayman. o_O IGN's review of RRR: http://wii.ign.com/articles/746/746378p1.html

1up's review of LoZ: TTP.
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3155329

Also for Chromer from the guy's blog:
"Just be sure to play the Wii version. Seriously, the Wiimote is perfect for Zelda. And widesceen is how Hyrule was meant to be seen. "

Another big reason to get the Wii version is for the widescreen.

[lord_carbo]

Originally Posted by Squeek

Trauma Center just doesn't sound fun to me. Sorry.

Rayman? I can't see that as being fun.

Monkey Ball I already said I wanted.

Metal Slug Anthology... I've never played Metal Slug, so I don't see what the draw is to this game.

Basically, I'll decide when I'm there.

Trauma Center is one of those games you need to give a chance; it's great and the Wii version is seemingly great as well.

Rayman is supposively pretty good, better than Super Monkey Ball which Sega somehow managed to **** up yet again.

Wait, how can you not see the draw to Metal Slug? It's legendary. Unfortunately since most of the series was released on the Neo-Geo, noone got to play it. In fact, MSA and LoZ:TP are the two games that anyone and everyone who's getting a Wii on launch day must get.

Since the reviews for Excite Truck are pretty mixed (some places are giving it a 6, others an 8), it's probably one of those "fun but not that great" games like Afro was saying.

[VX_Dragon]

It's all about that Twilight Princess, can't wait to get mines on 11-19-06 <3

[DANCE REVOLUTION]

Originally Posted by lightdarkness

I think the design is TOO simple. It looks like an external CD burner.

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 :

[ImEric12]

So I got to play it today. And...















OH MY GOD IT'S SO FUN!

We bowled for 3 hours straight. The motion sensing is AMAZING. I'm not let down in the least. I played Wii Bowling (great to play with lots of people), Wii Tennis (also very cool), Wii Golf (not as impressive... but I'm not a golf person), and Excite Truck (AHHH FUNNNNN). I was playing at a GameCrazy that my friend hangs out at a lot. It's good to have a lot of space, but even when there were lots of people standing around watching, it's still pretty easy to play. The Wii is tiny. The remote fits my hand almost perfectly.

Oh man, I don't wanna wait 'til Christmas to get it!

[Squeek]

Ignoring that post from DANCE REVOLUTION...

Carbo, what makes you say Monkey Ball is bad? And what makes you say they screwed up "again"? I own Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2 and I think they are among the top five of my favorite Gamecube games.

Level control is done by tilting the controller. That's awesome. There are 50 mini-games. That's awesome.

Well, if Target doesn't have Red Steel, then I suppose I'll check out Trauma Center.

I drove by today and checked it out. No line so far, and they pulled the games off the shelf that were there on Thursday. The employee I talked to was serious. They don't intend to put out anything until the 19th. Awesome.

Eric, you suck. How did you get to play it already?! NONE of the stores around here have any demo play available.

[ImEric12]

It's all in connections. My friend Nick hangs out at the store a lot (he'd work there, but they don't hire under-18s) and the employees have been playing the Wii ever since it came in. The Nintendo Rep said they were only allowed to play Wii Sports.. but we bent the rules a little.

Trauma Center will be.. interesting. The controller seemed a little shaky at times, but I think that was because the sensor strip wasn't quite set up right. Worked beautifully with the sports games, though. I can't wait to play it again Sunday.

[Squeek]

ohhay check this out.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/17/fo...yment-wiicade/

Some guys are making flash games you can play while on the Wii through the Opera browser.

That's awesome.

[CAFK]

OMG, i so wanna get the wii...but my friend said its just like the Gamecube....I was like...uh, "i'm STILL getting it." Lol...can't wait for twilight princess, tho! omg! TWO DAYS! XDD

[Squeek]

I feel like I need to mention this because it's bothering me.

Why do people insist on saying it's exactly the same as a Gamecube?

1) Nintendo has already put out the fact that it's basically a "souped-up Xbox" in terms of specifications. That, to me, says it's better than a Gamecube. A lot better.

2) Nintendo said it has similar hardware, but a new chipset, a new graphics card, a new processor... hey, this is starting to sound different.

3) Nintendo said while it is very similar to its predecessor, they have managed to use similar parts in exchange for the lack of electrical consumption and heat generated from the parts. The system runs cold and requires very little power.

4) Last I checked, Gamecube wasn't able to detect motions and relate them to movement in games. Accurately. With four people at once per console. With multiple consoles in the same room.

5) Gamecube's third-party support wasn't terrific. Wii's is so far, and more will sign on.

[lord_carbo]

Originally Posted by Squeek

Carbo, what makes you say Monkey Ball is bad? And what makes you say they screwed up "again"? I own Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2 and I think they are among the top five of my favorite Gamecube games.
I love Super Monkey Ball 2, in fact it's currently in my Gamecube (and I just AAAA'd flat maze a few days ago by bouncing off one of the really thin ledges into the goal instantly for about a 6-7 second clear lmao owned), but Sega has been on a, well, a bad streak.

Originally Posted by Squeek

Level control is done by tilting the controller. That's awesome. There are 50 mini-games. That's awesome.

I based what I said off the plentiful amount of reviews I've heard on the game. I probably won't get to experience it firsthand; my friend probably won't be getting Super Monkey Ball.

[Squeek]

If I can figure out how to manipulate any video-capturing device I have available to me, I will post a video review when I get Monkey Ball this Sunday.

[Grandiagod]

Man, I was so getting a Wii until I read some of the launch reviews. I'm waiting for some better games to come out. Twilight Princess is apparently difficult to control. Monkey ball didn't get good marks. Red Steel is supposed to have improved, but still isn't as fun as a traditional FPS.

Nintendo needs to start making some more of it's signature fun games.

[SethSquall]

Well, I think gamers are taking a risk to some degree with the new way of playing. Every professional that I've read or watched doing a review have agreed that the new control system did seem gimmicky at first, but have taken back there previous statement and said it works really well and is really fun. I trust Nintendo, I've seen many videos of people playing these game and it did look like they struggled to grasp it well. If you go on Wii.com there are loads of videos long enough to show the average Joe struggling with the controls at first then getting the hang of it at the end. When they got the motions down everything works amazingly. I admit I am a little worried about the controls but im sure Nintendo wouldn't release the console if the controls were really bad, as they know this new way of playing is quite essential to the consoles success.

Originally Posted by Grandiagod

Man, I was so getting a Wii until I read some of the launch reviews. I'm waiting for some better games to come out. Twilight Princess is apparently difficult to control. Monkey ball didn't get good marks. Red Steel is supposed to have improved, but still isn't as fun as a traditional FPS.

Nintendo needs to start making some more of it's signature fun games.

I think Nintendo are launching games that will show what the Wii's new innovative controls can do first, to get people into groove of the new experience. Games like Mario Galaxy, SSBB and Sonic will be released next year, hopefully by the time people are used to the Wii and how it works. I think they've left a little gap open for people to fall in love with the console first, then give them a reason to stick with it, by releasing these Nintendo signature games.

[banditcom]

Uhh last I checked, most games are getting decent to extremely solid reviews.

TTP, from all the reliable sources (i.e., not Gamespot), is receiving praise and especially for the controls.

Also keep in mind these are first generation, so it's hard for any game to receive amazing reviews. At most you can get solid reviews like 8s on the IGN scale. Which is what many games are getting. Which is very good.

[banditcom]

Double post because.......

10 more hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pyroshock]

I've decided to buy Red Steel and Trauma Center.

Then for a third game I'm either going for Call of Duty 3 or Metal Slug Anthology. Can't decide.

[TS_SonicMaster]

Aren't the Wii games still going to be $50?
Because then i would need $250 to get Monkey Ball, Zelda, Excite Truck, Red Steel, and Call of Duty 3.
I should go force my cousins and family to give me the money since i haven't recieved a single present for my birthday that was about 2 weeks ago >.<

[nforcer06164]

Well, my local Westfield Chicago Ridge was one of the lucky 25 malls in the country to get a Wii setup. Let me just say that I am amazed, and that any fears I may have previously had about the controller is gone.

Please excuse the blurry pictures... I was caught unprepared with only a cell phone camera.









First thing I want to mention is the controller. I have a medium-sized hand, and it fits perfectly in my hand. The nunchuk is also very comfortable. If you thought it'd be hard to use a control stick while holding the nunchuk in one hand, well... you're wrong. It's incredibly easy to use both, and the controls become natural in mere seconds, typical of a Nintendo controller.

The sensitivity on the controller... that took some getting used to. It was just an unusual thing to do, but after some time, it also became very easy. After five minutes the sensitivity was not a problem. The sensitivity, however, seemed to vary from game to game... I'll explain that as I break down what I played.

The graphics on all of the games, I'm sorry to say, look a lot like the GameCube, and not any better. They were set up on HDTVs, too. I may be off because of all the PS3 footage I've been seeing on TV lately, maybe these were early builds... I don't know. But I didn't really notice the graphics right away until I actually thought about it.

The first thing I picked up (as the only kiosk available at the time) was Wii Play, where I took on the personification of the Mii Jesus, who I'm sure somebody had set up before. Wii Play was full of shooting and aiming types of games, utilizing the Wiimote. This is where the sensitivity first became frustrating. I don't have a steady hand to begin with, and I didn't have anywhere to rest my hand to make precision movements, a must for the nature of the game. I tried resetting the system and going back to the Wii Settings to adjust the sensitivity... it didn't seem to have much effect. I did get a little better after a bit of practice, and I have to admit that it might be attributed to being the first thing I tried.

The next game I tried was what appeared to be a full version of Wii Sports. Now, this game is NOT a gimmick. It's a whole lot of fun for several people, and the controller is VERY sophisticated at picking up every little thing you do. This is most notable in Bowling. My brother tried playing it, and being the stupendous bowler that he is, tried to put hook on the ball as he threw it. The ball went down the virtual lane almost EXACTLY as it does when he throws at a real alley. The physics are very accurate, too. Simply amazing. I tried Golf and Tennis, too, and they both picked up swing types, slight movements forward and backward, and mimmicked accordingly. There's no lag, either... the sync is spot-on. Tremendous fun.

A demo of Twilight Princess was available. I first chose to play the fishing demo, which was actually a lot of fun; it was just like real fishing. Casting out, hooking, reeling in... all very natural. The action was, and I know this is going to sound weird... INTENSE. It was so much fun to keep trying to lure and catch fish for some reason, and I broke a sweat doing it. You had to hook and reel FAST to catch these suckers.

I also played about five minutes of the dungeon before the demo timed out on me. Sword slashes are all with the controller, and the spinning move is done with a juke of the nunchuk. It's very odd to be moving Link with the control stick while slashing enemies, though. I found myself hacking my sword all over the place and hitting only air with my back turned to the enemy. All easier in time, I guess, but it was frustrating at first. I also used the bow and arrow, and if you find the right spot to hide from your bow and arrow enemies, you can easily take your time lining up your Wiimote, pulling the arrow back, and letting your shot fly. But, when I hit my first target, Link disappeared. I moved on.

The last game I tried was Excite Truck. Full version or not, I cannot say. But, it was fun to take for a spin. The control is held horizontally and turned, as expected. The control was reasonably responsive to twists turns, and tilts. It's also the first game that I've seen reward someone for a "nice crash". Oh, and the classic OVERHEAT is also in the game when the boost is used for too long. It was a lot of fun to hit the floating "!" points and watch the environments change before your eyes, mostly to prepare you for pulling off a sick jump of some sorts. Easy pick-up-and-play, plenty of locales and tracks.

The overall experience was quite fun. I might visit later today and take some better pictures if I get the chance (and that chance is slipping ever lower and lower as the day wears on, as situations keep changing). Overall, though, this makes me want to get a Wii more than ever. Good news is, the GameStop and EB Games in the mall are getting more Wiis for purchase (no preorder!) than any other stores in America, simply because of the Wii promotion in the mall. Good luck to the rest of you in getting a Wii on Wii-Day!

[banditcom]

*gleeeeee*