Wii Is Full Of Surprises - 14.2.07

After much stalking, checking stores and calling around, my husband finally nabbed a Wii. He brought it home a few weeks ago, along with three add on titles: Billy and Mandy, Red Steel and Zelda.

If the truth be told, I resisted writing a review on the console for the last few weeks to give a fair assessment of it. There are some things that are very disappointing about the Wii. There are also some things, I’ve come to find, that are very surprising about it.

First off, the Wii is wee, very wee. It’s about the teeniest console I’ve ever seen. As an owner of both an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3, the diminutive size is one of the first things that struck me. It’s so tiny, it’s downright cute.

When it first came home, the games we tried playing were the three add ons listed. I have to say, as long-time gamer, the graphics aren’t hot, but Nintendo never promised they would be.

Sadly, we chose our add on titles poorly and that sort of tainted my first impressions. Billy and Mandy is kind of clunky. Red Steel’s characters look like paper cut out dolls. Zelda starts out way too slow for my taste.

I was really disappointed. I have to admit I felt like we’d taken about $500 and lit it on fire. The 7-year-old didn’t even seem to enjoy playing much.

If I’d written a review on that day, it would be very different than what I’m about to say.

The truth is what we should have done was instantly start playing Wii Sports. As soon as we popped in this title, all the beauty of the Wii came to light. The remote really shines with this game and the entire experience is just down right fun. (Note: it is VITAL to move furniture back and use the tether. I can now speak to this personally!)

While it’s true Nintendo put affordability and fun over graphics as its priority, it works well in this title. The visuals on Wii Sports are nothing to write home about, but the playability is.

Here’s what really makes the console special – everyone in the family likes it. This is the first game we’ve come across that the 7-year-old has as much fun playing as we do. She’s even managed to school us in bowling a few times.

Since having the console, we’ve had a few impromptu Wii Sports parties. Everyone has raved about the Wii. A roomful of hardcore Halo gamers had as much fun playing as my mother-in-law did. Go figure!

Wii Sports might just be to the 2000s what the family board game was to past generations.

The Wii might not have the power of the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360, but it has something that’s all it’s own. When a title that was made with all its features in mind is played, the Wii is simply a blast. It’s a social console. There’s no eye candy. There’s no bells and whistles, really. What there is, however, is magic in a box. Three generations coming together to play a video game and actually enjoying it. I’d say that’s pretty magical.

As more Wii-designed titles come online, I’m expecting some pretty big things out of the wee Wii.

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Labels: Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Wii, xbox 360