The Video Game Critic

I have owned the Nintendo Wii for over a month and I figure now would be a good time to give you guys my thoughts and impressions.

 

The console itself is super-small and takes up next to no room.  Getting it set up is a breeze and I have had zero problems with the remotes or the sensor bar.

 

The Wii remote is certainly no slouch in the controller dept.  Its unconventional look and use of motion have been under heavy scrutiny.  My verdict...Yes sir, I like it.  So far the controller hasn't hindered me once in any game I have played.  So far so good in my eyes.

 

Virtual Console - Getting the Wii online took me a few days, because I had some firmware issues with my wireless router.  After that it has been error free.  I have downloaded three games, Super Mario ($5), Bomberman 93 ($6) and Toejam and Earl ($8).  Having spent $19 for all three games is a steal in my opinion...especially since TJ&E can cost anywhere from $25-$50 by itself.

 

The VC games work well with the Wiimote turned sideways, but I also like the Classic Controller.  It is basically a hybrid of the dual shock and the SNES controller.  My one beef with the controller is the cord that come out of the BOTTOM of the controller.  It isn't a huge complaint, but it does piss me off.

 

I will give a brief rundown of my thought of the games I have bought for the system.

 

The Legend of Zelda - Easily my favorite game on the system.  Its not revolutionary, but its pretty and the controls work flawlessly. 

 

Madden 07 - My intial impression were not good.  This is the hardest game to play on the Wii for me.  It took a while to learn the controls, but it was a rewarded experience.  The graphics get the job done, but the gameplay really shines. 

 

Metal Slug Anthology - 7 arcade perfect Metal Slug games for $40!  Its a great value and playing with the Wiimote is oldschool fun.  I have not encounter any problems tossing grenades with the Wiimote. It makes for a great two player game. 

 

Rayman Raving Rabbids - Funniest game to play with a group a friends.  I love this title and I find myself coming back to it time and time again.  The Rabbids were the best characters of 06.  Don't play it without people though...its just not as fun. 

 

Trauma Center - Basically a remake of the DS game, but I found it to be easier to play with Wiimote.  Not a pretty game, but addictive as hell.  I loved the DS game I like this remake even more. 

 

Rampage Total Destruction - I bought this game for $15 bucks and I was glad that I did.  After reading horrible reviews I expected the worst.  Surprisingly its a great little multiplayer game.  Smashing buildings with wiimote is fun and the graphics are the best in the series.  Multiplayer is a must and the more the merrier. 

 

WiiSports - Basically the best tech demo ever made.  Its a great way to introduce yourself to the Wii.  My favorite is Bowling, followed by baseball and tennis.  I even enjoy boxing quite a bit.  I think golf sucks hard though. 

 

Sorry this is so long, but I really did try to keep it short...Bottom line is that the Wii is a great multiplayer system.  I have gotten tons of gaming hours out of it and people are always bugging me to play it.  Zelda has satisfied my thrist for an epic single player game, but more titles like that need to be made. 

 

Intial verdict of the Wii - B+

JLH I think this is a great set of "mini-reviews" but I have a couple of questions...

How the heck did you get Rampage for $15? I thought that was a new game. Did you get it used? I enjoyed Rampage in the arcade (ya know, a million years ago) but I found the gameplay to be boring as hell after a while. Anyway, I was wondering if you found a place online that sells discounted items or something. I am just shocked that you got it so cheap.

 

So if you are a "solo" player for the most part will you not enjoy the Wii? It seems so far that there are a lot of mini-games out there for the system and the other titles (aside from Zelda) are not that compelling. Except for online play I pretty much go it alone so I am curious what you think about this. I tried a few games for the Wii and really liked Madden so I am looking for some other games like that to take it over the top for me.

 

Also, I personally feel the VC prices for most of the games are way out of whack. I mean, I just spent $30 for 28 games on the Genesis collection but that is just me.

 

Thanks.

You should pick up Excite Truck JLH. Most of the negative things said about it are completely untrue. The control is great; once you do a few races it feels completely natural, even moreso than an analog setup would. There are 20 tracks, and 3 difficulty levels to beat them on (Excite, Super Excite, Mirror). The only way to get the next difficulty level is to get all S grades on the current difficulty, and the game is addictive enough that you will. It is incredibly hard to get an S grade on the hard difficulty, but you'll never be frustrated playing a track over and over.

The one bad thing about the game is the music. It is hideous. Fortunately, the game is SD card compatible so you can buy a 2GB SD card ($30 if it's not San Disk or Nintendo brand) and fill it with hundreds of your own songs. It's almost as though Nintendo intentionally used awful music so people would use that feature; the game has the worst music I have ever heard in a video game.

 

Nice Ren and Stimpy reference by the way, I love that horse. Seems like you like the Wii as much as I do. Nintendo should release the ethernet adapter soon, so if all goes well I should be online in just a couple weeks.

[QUOTE=Shawn]

How the heck did you get Rampage for $15? I thought that was a new game. Did you get it used? I enjoyed Rampage in the arcade (ya know, a million years ago) but I found the gameplay to be boring as hell after a while. Anyway, I was wondering if you found a place online that sells discounted items or something. I am just shocked that you got it so cheap.

 

So if you are a "solo" player for the most part will you not enjoy the Wii? It seems so far that there are a lot of mini-games out there for the system and the other titles (aside from Zelda) are not that compelling. Except for online play I pretty much go it alone so I am curious what you think about this. I tried a few games for the Wii and really liked Madden so I am looking for some other games like that to take it over the top for me.

 

Also, I personally feel the VC prices for most of the games are way out of whack. I mean, I just spent $30 for 28 games on the Genesis collection but that is just me.

 

Thanks.

[/QUOTE]

Rampage was a $30 game and I had used a $15 dollar giftcard...Although I was watching the game on ebay like a hawk and if you get lucky you can grab the game new for $15 + S&H.  I found Rampage to be an enjoyable romp.  The game is best played in short burst.  I like trying to unlock more monsters and competing against a friend in King of the City is fun too.  Plus the game features the orginal game, plus the N64/PS1 versions.  I found it to be a terrific value.  Many reviews deemed the game unplayable because of the psuedo 3D elements...I never found it to be a problem.

 

The games that I play solo on the Wii are The Legend of Zelda, Madden and Trauma Center.  I find that all three offer compelling single player experiences and they have kept me entertained.  Sadly I don't see much on the horizon though.  If I were you Shawn I would wait on the Wii.  I have gotten a ton of use out of it, but you might be disapointed with it.  As a party system it delievers the goods, but for the solo gamer it might be a bit of a letdown.

 

I think the VC games are priced decently enough.  They are no more out of whack than the Live arcade titles IMHO.  You can't really compare the value you get in a Compilation disc to indiviual downloads.  If they sold the Genesis collection for $50 nobody would buy it.  Plus the classic controller and Wiimote are ideal for playing these old games.

 

Hope this was helpful to you.

 

 

 

 

 

[QUOTE=a]

You should pick up Excite Truck JLH. Most of the negative things said about it are completely untrue. The control is great; once you do a few races it feels completely natural, even moreso than an analog setup would. There are 20 tracks, and 3 difficulty levels to beat them on (Excite, Super Excite, Mirror). The only way to get the next difficulty level is to get all S grades on the current difficulty, and the game is addictive enough that you will. It is incredibly hard to get an S grade on the hard difficulty, but you'll never be frustrated playing a track over and over.

The one bad thing about the game is the music. It is hideous. Fortunately, the game is SD card compatible so you can buy a 2GB SD card ($30 if it's not San Disk or Nintendo brand) and fill it with hundreds of your own songs. It's almost as though Nintendo intentionally used awful music so people would use that feature; the game has the worst music I have ever heard in a video game.

 

Nice Ren and Stimpy reference by the way, I love that horse. Seems like you like the Wii as much as I do. Nintendo should release the ethernet adapter soon, so if all goes well I should be online in just a couple weeks.

[/QUOTE]

 

I was on the fence about Excite Truck, but you have convinced me to give it a go.  I might wait for a slight price cut or I might use another giftcard towards it.  Either way I am going to get it.  I don't have a SD card yet...any tips on where I could get a nice cheap one?

 

Also thanks for noticing the Ren and Stimpy reference.  Its easily one of my favorite shows and I didn't know if anybody would catch the reference.  Man I wish that show would come back after getting cancelled...twice! haha.

[QUOTE=JustLikeHeaven][QUOTE=Shawn]

How the heck did you get Rampage for $15? I thought that was a new game. Did you get it used? I enjoyed Rampage in the arcade (ya know, a million years ago) but I found the gameplay to be boring as hell after a while. Anyway, I was wondering if you found a place online that sells discounted items or something. I am just shocked that you got it so cheap.

 

So if you are a "solo" player for the most part will you not enjoy the Wii? It seems so far that there are a lot of mini-games out there for the system and the other titles (aside from Zelda) are not that compelling. Except for online play I pretty much go it alone so I am curious what you think about this. I tried a few games for the Wii and really liked Madden so I am looking for some other games like that to take it over the top for me.

 

Also, I personally feel the VC prices for most of the games are way out of whack. I mean, I just spent $30 for 28 games on the Genesis collection but that is just me.

 

Thanks.

[/QUOTE]

Rampage was a $30 game and I had used a $15 dollar giftcard...Although I was watching the game on ebay like a hawk and if you get lucky you can grab the game new for $15 + S&H.  I found Rampage to be an enjoyable romp.  The game is best played in short burst.  I like trying to unlock more monsters and competing against a friend in King of the City is fun too.  Plus the game features the orginal game, plus the N64/PS1 versions.  I found it to be a terrific value.  Many reviews deemed the game unplayable because of the psuedo 3D elements...I never found it to be a problem.

 

The games that I play solo on the Wii are The Legend of Zelda, Madden and Trauma Center.  I find that all three offer compelling single player experiences and they have kept me entertained.  Sadly I don't see much on the horizon though.  If I were you Shawn I would wait on the Wii.  I have gotten a ton of use out of it, but you might be disapointed with it.  As a party system it delievers the goods, but for the solo gamer it might be a bit of a letdown.

 

I think the VC games are priced decently enough.  They are no more out of whack than the Live arcade titles IMHO.  You can't really compare the value you get in a Compilation disc to indiviual downloads.  If they sold the Genesis collection for $50 nobody would buy it.  Plus the classic controller and Wiimote are ideal for playing these old games.

 

Hope this was helpful to you.

 

 

 

 

 

[/QUOTE]

 

I appreciate you taking the time to respond and I am going to wait. I guess you are right on the VC prices, they are just about the same as live and I have bought a few of those. I also checked out Trauma Center when I had my DS and I really enjoyed that game but to be honest, I didn't get very far. I sucked!

 

Anyway, thanks again and I will keep an eye out. I think there are a couple of games that interest me that are due out in 2007. Namely, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3. We'll see and even though I have been labeled as a Nintendo basher (mostly rightly so) I am glad you are enjoying your purchase.

 

One other thing, personally, I would rent Excite Truck before you buy it. I played it a ton at a buds house and even though it is fun at first, I thought it was shallow as hell. Not sure if it is worth the $50. Just my two cents.  

[QUOTE=Shawn] 

 I also checked out Trauma Center when I had my DS and I really enjoyed that game but to be honest, I didn't get very far. I sucked!

 

One other thing, personally, I would rent Excite Truck before you buy it. I played it a ton at a buds house and even though it is fun at first, I thought it was shallow as hell. Not sure if it is worth the $50. Just my two cents.  

[/QUOTE]

 

I am right there with you on Trauma Center for the DS.  While I enjoyed the game I certainly did suck at it.  I have found the Wii version to be much easier to play, thus making it a much more enjoyable title to me.

 

I really want to play excite truck.  It seems like a nice arcade racer and I don't mind if its too shallow...I will just wait for the price cut, which probably won't be too long.  Maybe I will rent it in the meantime.

 

 

 

[/QUOTE]

 

I was on the fence about Excite Truck, but you have convinced me to give it a go.  I might wait for a slight price cut or I might use another giftcard towards it.  Either way I am going to get it.  I don't have a SD card yet...any tips on where I could get a nice cheap one?

 

Also thanks for noticing the Ren and Stimpy reference.  Its easily one of my favorite shows and I didn't know if anybody would catch the reference.  Man I wish that show would come back after getting cancelled...twice! haha.

[/QUOTE]

For an SD card most places such as Best Buy sell 1gb SD cards for $20-$25 and 2gb SD cards for $30. Whatever you do, don't buy the Nintendo licensed ones. These are actually made by SanDisk and the only diiference between the "Wii" one and the regular one they sell is a different color and it says "for Wii". You will pay $60 for a 1gb and $100 for a 2gb licensed card by them and it's the same as their regular ones for more than half the price. Practically all SD cards work on the Wii and I would recommend getting a PNY or (non-licensed) SanDisk card. Many places even sell 3 paks of SanDisk 1gb cards for $50.

[QUOTE=Shawn]

JLH I think this is a great set of "mini-reviews" but I have a couple of questions...

How the heck did you get Rampage for $15? I thought that was a new game. Did you get it used? I enjoyed Rampage in the arcade (ya know, a million years ago) but I found the gameplay to be boring as hell after a while. Anyway, I was wondering if you found a place online that sells discounted items or something. I am just shocked that you got it so cheap.

 

So if you are a "solo" player for the most part will you not enjoy the Wii? It seems so far that there are a lot of mini-games out there for the system and the other titles (aside from Zelda) are not that compelling. Except for online play I pretty much go it alone so I am curious what you think about this. I tried a few games for the Wii and really liked Madden so I am looking for some other games like that to take it over the top for me.

 

Also, I personally feel the VC prices for most of the games are way out of whack. I mean, I just spent $30 for 28 games on the Genesis collection but that is just me.

 

Thanks.

[/QUOTE]

I've always been the same way about Rampage, even when it first was in the arcades.  I thought it was cool for about 10 minutes before the bored truck hit me.  I doubt I'll ever buy that one.

I havn't played it yet, but from what I've read, Elebits sounds like an interesting little single or multi player game.  For some reason I thought it was gonna be sort of a clone of Pikmin, which I liked but burned out on REALLY quickly.  It looks like a cool one and I might pick it up next.

Shawn I have 5 games for my Wii, and I have yet to find another controller. I'm having plenty of fun playing on my own. Even Rayman is fun to just play in the same room as another person, and Excite Truck has plenty of replay value as a 1 player game.

 

As for SD cards, Best Buy is a good place to look. Mine was a 2GB for $30, but if you check the Sunday flyers sometimes you can find them for cheaper than that. Heck, the day after Thanksgiving 2GB SD cards (San Disk brand) were $2.00 with a rebate at Circuit City. You won't find a price that good until next November, but you could probably find one for $20.00 or so if you look around.