The Video Game Critic

I have had a Wii since launch and recently I have noticed a trend.  It is really hard to get an accurate review of Wii games.  The reviews are all over the place.  Some reviews say Metal Slug is an unplayable pile of crap...I own it and think its fantastic.  How could they say the controls don't work...I have played it and they obviously work fine to me...

 

Alot of complaints come right directly from the Wii controls.  I have read in numerous reviews of times where actions don't register and simply don't work.  In every game that I have played, this never happens.  I am beginning to think that some of these people are too uncoordinated to play the Wii.  If you are a clusmy dope, you are going to struggle with motion controls...

 

The latest offender seems to be SSX Blur.  Every time I read a bad review they cite that the Ubertrick controls don't work properly.  Then in good reviews I read that the game is simply hard and the tricks work, but are hard to pull off...which is it?  See I tend to fault the player and not the game and if that's the case SSX goes from being average to outstanding. 

 

Regardless, this makes buying games for the Wii sort of a hard process.  Its almost better to ask people on a message board than listen to some of these reviews.  Do you think you have to be more coordinated to enjoy the Wii?  Has anyone played SSX Blur to add any comments? 

 

Why do you guys think the Wii reviews are all over the place?

I think this is a good post. I also think one of the biggest things is your tolerance to learn the new control schemes. Personally, I would never spend 2 to 3 hours leveling up on a game just to get the controls to workable state (Sonic Secret Rings) but some people don't mind. As soon as I read that I was like "ok, that is one Wii game I won't buy". Of course, some people love the new control scheme and dive right into it whether or not there is pain involved.

 

As far as Metal Slug goes, I have played it and I would rather play the game with an analog stick. Turning the Wiimote sideways doesn't work for me. Of course, that is just me. Some people love using the control like that.

 

 

Or maybe rather than being "clumsy" those people are actually quite dexterous and are annoyed that their small, precise movements are not picked up by the game.  Just a thought there.  Regardless there are plenty of games on the system that control like rubbish anyway.

     I hear ya. I suppose there are a lot of reasons, and it is a game by game thing. I think part of the problem in general is the reviewers have preconcieved notions of how the controls "should" work, and if things aren't rosy from the get go, they just think it is broken. 

     Plus, it IS an adjustment for a game like Excite Truck, in that the Wimote does not return to zero like an analog stick would, and that takes time to get used to.

     Finally, I think there is a lot of "group think" in the videogame "journalist"community,so if they can find something negative with a system or a game, they really hammer it, in an effort to look unbiased. Many games are knocked down for small things that really have liitle to do with what the game is trying to accomplish, just for the sake of it.

[QUOTE=bluemonkey]Or maybe rather than being "clumsy" those people are actually quite dexterous and are annoyed that their small, precise movements are not picked up by the game.  Just a thought there.  Regardless there are plenty of games on the system that control like rubbish anyway.
[/QUOTE]

 

Perhaps clumsy isn't the correct word there...I know what you are saying bluemonkey and I agree with you to an extent.  What really gets me is when you read a review of a game and one person says the controls are broken, while another reviewer states them as immersive and perfect.  It really sends me for a loop when I want to buy the game they are talking about.

 

I think a person can be very accurate/dexterous with a regular controller and still have problems with motion controls.  Its a hard thing to adjust to after playing games with controllers for many years.

 

 

[QUOTE=Shawn]

I think this is a good post. I also think one of the biggest things is your tolerance to learn the new control schemes. Personally, I would never spend 2 to 3 hours leveling up on a game just to get the controls to workable state (Sonic Secret Rings) but some people don't mind.

 

[/QUOTE]

Sonic and the Secret Rings had a very poorly designed beginning (poorly designed is something I expect from Sonic Team at this point), but it is the exception to the rule, not the rule. Good Wii games can be picked up very quickly.

you can play metal slug with an analog stick, just use a gamecube controller.

what bugged me is that you must use the analog stick, you cannot use the gamecube d-pad. i was looking forward to playing the game with my hori controller

I ran into this issue when I was looking into Red Steel, when someone on this board mentioned that it got much better reviews in the UK than in the US.  I looked it up, and sure enough, the UK seemed to be a little more on the tolerant side, mentioning that while it was far from perfect, they couldn't help but feel excited for what the game means for FPS in the future.  I ended up renting it, and although I found some fun in it, I was glad I didn't buy it. 

Actually, that is another interesting thought... what do you think owning a game does to your perception of it?  Professional critics might don't have to live with their purchases like the rest of us, so I wonder if we tend to be a little more forgiving of games that we own because we know that we spent 50 bones on it, so we'd BETTER extract some fun out of it.

[QUOTE=bluemonkey]Or maybe rather than being "clumsy" those people are actually quite dexterous and are annoyed that their small, precise movements are not picked up by the game.  Just a thought there.  Regardless there are plenty of games on the system that control like rubbish anyway.
[/QUOTE]

I've found the opposite to be true. Most folks that I've seen struggle with the games is because they wildly flail around. Every Wii game I've played yet seems to reward controlled movements.

 

But yeah, great thread. I think one has to give an edge to the reviewers who seem to have patience with the controls that, to be honest, *aren't that hard to learn.* If you've bought the Wii, I'm willing to guess that you are going to take the time to learn the scheme.

 

We forget that this same discussion occured back when the analog sticks were introduced. Now, it is considered a standard way to control games.

 

-Rob

No, I hate games far more when I've wasted $50 on a bad one. That's why I read countless reviews and generally only buy games at full price when it is either getting nearly perfect reviews (Resident Evil 4, God of War), or from a franchise I really trust (mainly just Mario and Zelda).

 

When I get steered the wrong way by reviews I'm always annoyed with my purchases. A good example would be the first Ratchet and Clank. It got B and A reviews across the board, but it was a sub-par platformer and I didn't get all of the hype. When the 3rd one got a 10 in Game Informer I still waited until it went down in price before I got it simply because I didn't trust their opinion on the franchise. Fortunately, the 3rd Ratchet and Clank truly was perfect score material, but if it hadn't been I guarantee I would have rented RE4 and God of War (also 10s in Game Informer) rather than buying them immediately.