Waking Dead

I got my Wii on launch last Friday, the 8th of December. With it, I got Wii Sports, Wii Play and Zelda, plus an extra Nunchuck and Wiimote. I was as excited for this launch as I was with the 360 last year, and I prayed I wouldn’t be disappointed. I held some reservations regarding the new controller, but as the DS has proven, Nintendo are still capable of innovative game design.

If only it was shown with the titles I received. Now, I’m not saying I’m disappointed with the Wii per se, but I have a slight feeling of underwhelment (new word?). I know things will get better, as they did with the DS – which, lets not forget, had a pretty appalling first 6 months – but I was just expecting a little more from Nintendo.

Anyway, I’ll share my thoughts on each game, as well as the system, and try and explain why its all left me feeling a bit “meh”.

The Hardware

OK, its gorgeous. Its cute, stylish, desireable – the white plastic coating the same as the DS Lite, and oh-so iPod in its looks. Its also teeny-tiny, which is a plus after the size of the 360 (not to mention the shelf-worrying load of the PS3).

The controllers are comfortable – perhaps the Wiimote is a little small? – and the wireless connectivity is welcome after getting so used to this feature on the 360. My only problem at this stage is the cable that hooks up the Nunchuk or Classic controllers to the Wiimote; sitting down to play, cross-legged as I am want to do, leaves me nowhere to put this cable. Its just a bit awkward really.

Other than that, its a fine piece of design, and is implemented (almost) flawlessly.

Wii Sports

Some parts excellent, others average, but mostly its good fun. Yes, its just EyeToy with a different interface, but its still good fun with a few people. I can see this getting a lot of action at Christmas, and is a good indication of Nintendo’s “get everyone playing our games” approach.

Wii Play

More of the same, really. It isn’t quite as well-rounded as Wii Sports, but Billiards is excellent. And it only costs a fiver if you take away the cost of the bundled Wiimote, so you can’t really complain too much. Oh, and the cow racing game had me and the missus in fits… nice package overall.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Ah, now here’s the real test. First of all, I love the Zelda games. Even Wind Waker, with its fanbase-splitting ways, still did enough to keep me occupied for 20-odd hours. I’ve finished every one barring Majora’s Mask (must come back to that sometime) and was eagre to try out the latest installment.

Meh.

Well, not initially. Initially I was just happy to be in Link’s world again, merrily doing errands for the NPCs and looking at the lovely scenery. The Wiimote seemed to work a treat, with pointing and aiming feeling very natural.

[One small note: why can I use the Wiimote to scroll left and right, but not up and down? I have to use the stick for that? Very odd.]

Then I got hold of the sword, and started off on my first dungeon. This is where my real issue with the new controller comes to bear; basically, waving my hand about to chop stuff up isn’t much fun. Its also not very accurate, especially as I have to “chop” first of all to draw my sword.

Its also not very quick, and the actual approximation of the on-screen movements is very flaky. I have died more times through innaccurate attacking than anything approaching human error. When you get to become a wolf things get even worse – sword swipes do not follow the same physical movements of a snapping jaw.

Nintendo claims that the new controller draws people into the game more, but if anything – with Zelda at least – its the opposite. I found that making physical movements in the real world did more to push me away from the game experience than simply pressing a button. I might get the GameCube version, truth be told…

Conclusion

Now, I realise its early days and I’m prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt, but on first evidence they need to do a bit more to convince me that this is not just a case of Emperor’s New Console. I’ll see what Mario Galaxy does before being overly-critical, but at the moment I can see myself spending more time with my beloved 360 than the Wii.