Wii first impressions (part 1)

Well, as announced in this post's title, I now have a Wii! It's not exactly mine, my Dad payed for it (unlike my 360, which took about a year of saving) but I can still use it. I have had it for a few weeks now, and my impressions are mostly mixed.

The main flaw is the games. Third party's seem to be focused more on spamming the console with games then creating a solid title. I can't blame them though, as the Wii has a very large installed user base. And that use base is rapidly expanding. The nature of developing for the Wii is very different. The controls tend to be on the extremes. So moving might work, but anything else you might end up throwing a controller. And there seems to be a sort of balance in implementing motion controls. Have 3 or 4 that are used fairly regularly, and your game will be plagued by those controls rather then enhanced. Likewise, pure motion control schemes don't fair very well either, unless they are uniquely suited to that particular game. But motion controls can be a powerful tool of creating immersion when used correctly, as evidenced by Red Steel. It's controls take a bit of getting used to, but they do the job and greatly increase immersion. Unfortunately, everything else was either generic or just plain bad.

But motion controls are at their best in Nintendo's games. In Super Mario Galaxy, the Wii-mote is shaken to execute an attack. This is an ideal setup, as they are not used for much else and constantly tie you into the game. On a side note, Super Mario Galaxy rocks, and go get it. A review will be up sometime soon.

And they are also on display at their finest in Zelda. Also used for attacking, they are effective but not as good as in Galaxy, as they carry out different attacks with similar motions.

I'm running out of things to type now, so I'll make this a two part. Or more. Anyway I will try update tomorrow.