What's up with the Wii?

I disagree a little Mike, RESIDENT EVIL 4: WII EDITION is better than the other versions. I totally dig the point-and-shoot controls there. Aiming with a thumb reticule sucks.

Buying the same game over and over is obviously something Nintendo wants, but I agree the (sigh) "value add" needs to be more than waggle. I buy the NES and SNES games I had because I don't have my SNES anymore and if I did I wouldn't want to plug it in and actually have to use a wired controller. I buy them AGAIN when I want to carry them around in my pocket (yeah, I had Metroid on the SNES, Metroid: Zero Mission on the GBA, and Metroid again in Wii VC).

That said, if you didn't have the game yet, which version would you get? For RE4, I would get the Wii version.

RE4 for the wii ported a game and improved it vastly but overall you have to be disappointed with how developers have used the wii's unique control system, which other than golf games and shooting games, hasn't really been used at all. I'm hoping motion control makes a more responsive sword fighting game a reality. Twilight princess was cool, but the sword fighting stuff never really felt like you were controlling the character, it was more like you just swung the controller instead of hitting a button.

hancock.tom wrote:

RE4 for the wii ported a game and improved it vastly but overall you have to be disappointed with how developers have used the wii's unique control system, which other than golf games and shooting games, hasn't really been used at all. I'm hoping motion control makes a more responsive sword fighting game a reality. Twilight princess was cool, but the sword fighting stuff never really felt like you were controlling the character, it was more like you just swung the controller instead of hitting a button.

Argh, I have a pet peeve here. Without some sort of haptic feedback, the whole sword thing is going to disappoint. When hitting something with a sword, the sword usually -stops- or -slows down-. NO MORE HEROES has the big light saber, so you can make a case that he's hacking through everything, but how will you do any justice to real sword fighting thing when your arm swings through, but your onscreen sword is parried?

jeb wrote:

hancock.tom wrote:

RE4 for the wii ported a game and improved it vastly but overall you have to be disappointed with how developers have used the wii's unique control system, which other than golf games and shooting games, hasn't really been used at all. I'm hoping motion control makes a more responsive sword fighting game a reality. Twilight princess was cool, but the sword fighting stuff never really felt like you were controlling the character, it was more like you just swung the controller instead of hitting a button.

Argh, I have a pet peeve here. Without some sort of haptic feedback, the whole sword thing is going to disappoint. When hitting something with a sword, the sword usually -stops- or -slows down-. NO MORE HEROES has the big light saber, so you can make a case that he's hacking through everything, but how will you do any justice to real sword fighting thing when your arm swings through, but your onscreen sword is parried?

Lightsabres! Or for swords, use the Wiimote's vibration tech.

Well hey, guess what guys, you are in luck. Nintendo is going to be selling you a new accessory, Wii Motion Plus, to do the things that the Wii has claimed to have been capable of all along! Now you can be forced to buy 4 and put them next to your 4 plastic wheels, fake light guns, balance board, wii motes and nunchuks you already have.

Good business Nintendo.

I know this thread was started because I started ranting about the Wii in the DS thread, but this week I've found some hope for Wii in the summer months and the rest of the year. So here are some of the games that I think hold some promise.

Rune Factory: Frontier (already out): This is a continuation of the Rune Factory DS games, but a new one for Wii, not a port or anything. The Rune Factory games are a spin-off of the Harvest Moon games. You farm, pick a girl to marry, etc., but it's in a fantasy setting and includes dungeons to crawl through. There have not been many reviews, but they have been positive. The DS games have also been received well.

Punch-Out!!! (May 19): A NES classic remade for Wii. Not as much an example of Wiimakes, but of old games turned remade for today's machine's games, like Metroid Prime, Bionic Commando and others. The game play features both waggle boxing and classic controls. So yes, you can play it just like the NES classic. So why bother? Because the cel-shaded graphics look awesome.

Boom Blox Bash Party (May 19): The first Boom Blox is a lot of fun. So I'm looking forward to the new game modes and the online connectivity where you can download other peoples' custom levels.

Phantom Brave: We Meet Again (June 16): This one is a Wiimake. But it's a PS2 port, so nothing is being dumbed down. And it's a Nippon Ichi SRPG, so there shouldn't be any tacked-on motion controls. The Wii is severely lacking in the SRPG and RPG departments so I'm good with this one.

The Conduit (June 23): The next Metroid Prime? Visually The Conduit looks great. The question will be if the game resonates with gamers. Several of us hear have voiced opinions about FPS games, so will The Conduit hook us in?

Little King's Story (June 23): Sort of a fantasy Pickmin game with a great storybook visual style. The game is already out in Europe to rave reviews. This one looks pretty solid.

Overlord: Dark Legend (June 23): The Overlord games come to Wii. Again, another sort of Pickmin/RTS game like Little King's Story, but in this one you get to be the bad guy.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (September): This beautiful looking sidescrolling adventure game comes courtesy of the guys who made the PS2 cult hit Odin Sphere.


The iffy ones

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (June 9): This one is not a Wii exclusive. So watch out. Also it has lots of waggle.

Dawn of Discovery (June 16): It's really an Anno game (of which I have played none, but hear good things about) built up for the Wii. This one could be iffy.

Ghost Busters the Video Game (June 16): Another multiplatform game, but the Wii version shuns the hyper realist look for a cartoony approach. A good idea considering the Wiis limitations and audience. Has promise, but could suck.

Wii Sports Resort (July 26): Will Motion Plus be awesome or as Gary Sax mention above be just another peripheral to take space in our game storage areas?

To come ... maybe
These games either haven't been announced to come stateside, have been announced that their coming but without a release date or are so far off in the future that it doesn't matter.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love: This was just announced last week. The Sakura Wars series has never come to the US and it's making its debut on Wii as a remake. Another Nippon Ichi game, this one combines dating sims with SRPGs. Two of my favorite genres!

Red Steel 2: This one was pretty much a flop at launch. The new trailer looks pretty awesome sporting cel-shaded graphics and a weird, futuristic Western setting. It will use Motion Plus.

Arc Rise Fantasia: A JRPG.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers: This game was announced BEFORE Final Fantasy XIII if you can believe it, and looks no closer to completion than FFXIII.

Sin and Punishment 2: Run and gun shooter sequel to the cult N64 game. Sin and Punishment has been released on Virtual Console. Anybody play it?

Monster Hunter 3: The Monster Hunter games are HUGE in Japan, but for some reason haven't taken off here. The preview footage of this game has looked great. Great graphics, and what I liked best about MMOs - playing with friends while taking on boss monsters.

Dragon Quest X: When this finally comes out, it'll be huge. Count on that.

Any others I failed to mention?

Thanks for the heads up, there are a couple of those I didn't know about and am really stoked to see, especially Little King's Story (I loved Pikimin).

ubarose wrote:

Downloading Splatter House got vetoed, on account of the Wii belongs to my mom and she gets it back over the summer for the kids to play with at the lake house.

Tell your mom that you'll delete Splatter House when she takes it back. You can always re-download it to the same Wii for free later on if you like.

-MMM

Sin and Punishment 2: Run and gun shooter sequel to the cult N64 game. Sin and Punishment has been released on Virtual Console. Anybody play it?

AFAIK S&P 2 has been confirmed for the US and Europe already. The N64 game is a must download from the VC, and one of the best (if not the best) looking games on that system. The game plays a bit like an on rails shooter, only it's actually 3rd person view and you have to also worry about moving your character to dodge enemies and other objects (only to the sides and jumping, as forward movement is automatic).

The controls take a while to get used to especially if you're using a classic controller, and the game is not that long, but it's hard (even on the easy level). Anyway, with continues, it's not that hard to finish.

When I played this game for the first time I kept thinking how it'd be amazing with wii controls, so when they announced the sequel (which they did basically because of the success the original game had on the VC outside Japan) it basically jumped to spot 1 in the list of games I'm looking forward to seeing released on the Wii.

ubarose wrote:

Wii may be skewed towards woman and families, but it is hard to find game reviews written for this audience. I have to read Wii game reviews like I read board game reviews written by Eurogamers. If the review says a Wii game is cloying, unchallenging and lacks depth, it means the Spawn will probably like it, and Nana may even be able to play it too.

Man ain't that the truth. Moms go into GameStop completely blind looking at non-returnable items with forty dollar price tags. So Moms talk and depend on their kids' recommendations based upon what the other kids in their kindergarten class have endorsed. Yesterday my three boys were helping a woman in the store -- she was buying a system and three or four games, dropping five bills and looking to my six-year-olds for expert advice.

The Wii has proven very popular in my house and it's not me. My kids have been eating it up, largely based on the Lego titles. These are good games, but they they get bad ratings because there isn't enough "player vs player" action in them and the graphics aren't high definition. Legos in high-def . . . there's a concept for you.

Nintendo tacked -- they decided to go after a different market and they have 50 million units sold in under three years. Not too bad for a company that everyone had written off. If you don't like the games don't buy them, but it's likely not many people reading this thread are in their target market.

Sag.

ubarose wrote:

Abner needs a Gamer Mom column on GameShark, like the Movie Mom site.

I find it hard to believe this doesn't exist already. Not even a small website, somewhere? With a Christian/religious slant, maybe? Seriously, this is the kind of idea someone has that ends up making buckets of money simply because no one has done it before.

Bullwinkle wrote:

ubarose wrote:

Abner needs a Gamer Mom column on GameShark, like the Movie Mom site.

I find it hard to believe this doesn't exist already. Not even a small website, somewhere? With a Christian/religious slant, maybe? Seriously, this is the kind of idea someone has that ends up making buckets of money simply because no one has done it before.

An alternative web site that caters to a specific niche off the mainstream of a fan base is exactly what F:At is. Ubarose doesn't post here more often because all of her time is spent counting the money that's coming in.

Sag.