Alright guys, some first impressions.
SYSTEM
The system itself is very well-designed. It is slim and lightweight, and should fit conveniently in any household.
The setup takes no time at all. I just had to hook the system up as I would any other, place the little "sensor" bar below my TV (can go above or below), place batteries in my Wii Remote, and I was ready to rumble!
The Wii Remote is smaller than I expected, but fits great in my hand and is one of the best gaming controllers I've personally used. I love the way it rumbles and I love how precisely it is read on the TV. I played it on my big-screen television and had no problems what-so-ever, so it can be played on any size of television with no worries.
The Nunchuck is very lightweight and feels a bit cheap in terms of just feeling like a plastic shell surrounding a joystick, but I can't complain because it gets the job done!
I love the way the discs are actually taken in by the system instead of pressing a button and having a disc tray come out. This is going to prevent alot of frustration because it eliminates:
- the possiblity of breaking a disc tray
- the possiblity of closing the disc tray before the game disc is fully seated in it
The interface of the Wii is very user-friendly with buttons that are of good size so that they can be easily read and so that they are appealing. The many channels are also fairly neat, though some such as the News and Forecast channel don't appear to be up and running. As of now there are mainly the "Wii" channel (for the games inside the console), the "Mii" channel (for customizing a little 'avatar'/person that belongs to you), the "Photo" channel (for uploading photos/videos via SD card and editing them), and the "Wii Shop" channel, which allows for the purchase and play of virtual console games, etc., but which I haven't gotten to use yet since I currently don't have wireless internet (though I will be able to test this out later tonight or tomorrow.)
I already uploaded a few photos to the Photo Channel just to test it out, and it works great. When editing photos, you can apply a 'mood' (filter) to them, doodle on them a la Paint/Photoshop, and even turn a picture into a puzzle with a set amount of pieces (6, 12, and even up to 48!).
I thought the doodle mode for the pictures was really cool because with the sensor bar on your television, the Wii Remote can actually determine the size of the tool you are using (for example, how large the paint brush will be) by moving it closer or further away from the bar. (Moving the remote CLOSER to the bar makes the paint brush larger, and vice versa.)
The puzzle mode was also a neat addition and should appeal to the older members of the family who like working puzzles. It is really cool that they included this because of the fact that you can use the remote to aim at the pieces and arrange them, similar to doing so by hand. It is especially cool because when you successfully complete the puzzle, it shows how much time it took for you to do so. I smell family competition!
GAMES
Wii Sports
This was the first game I tried simply because it came with the system and I knew it'd be a great indicator of what the Wii was all about.
Boxing -- In Boxing, the controls were what really made this game differ from the dozens upon dozens of other boxing games in the past. This reminded me of Punchout, only with your real movements mimicked by the game. Since you are holding both the remote and nunchuck in each hand, if you lean your body in any direction (left, right, forwards, or backwards), the character actually performs the motion and can do so to evade punches. Of course, both the remote and nunchuck act as each hand, so you can actually act as if you're throwing punches to take down your opponent. The remote works well with this little game, and it is a blast to play and even gives a great amount of exercise due to the amount of punching and bobbing and weaving you'll be doing.
Baseball -- Baseball was probably one of the more boring titles I played. Though it was cool being able to actually both hit and pitch, the hitting aspect lacks much depth and the pitching aspect grows old pretty fast. It's not a bad game, it just didn't hold my attention for long.
Tennis -- Tennis was pretty enjoyable, and was pretty much what I'd come to expect. To serve the ball, you actually swing the controller upwards then back down to act as if you're really serving. To hit the ball, you just swing the remote when the ball gets to your little guy. Pretty simply stuff -- but fun nevertheless.
Golf -- Golf was one of the better titles in my opinion simply because of the amount of depth that it seemed to offer. It was a more soothing, relaxed title with less physical activity required than the others, but the ability to change the type of club and the fact that how quickly you swing the remote determines how far the ball will go made this a fun game that would be a great time waster.
Bowling -- Bowling was somewhat lacking in terms of fun factor and depth. Basically, you swing the the remote down, then back upwards to act as if you're really bowling, and the power of the swing determines how quickly the ball will roll. It was frustrating at times because the ball tended to spin over to the left just about every time, much like what the guys at Gamespot experienced when they were demonstrating Wii Sports live during an event several days ago. And again, this is not a bad title, it's just somewhat frustrating and lacks any real depth or satisfaction.
Also included are a "training" and "fitness test" mode, neither of which I've tried, but both of which seem to be for helping get more exercise (if you wish), which is a big plus for those stuck inside during the cold, windy holidays.
OVERALL: Wii Sports was extremely cool for a free product and when combined with the many channels and features included with the Wii, this system, it's just an experience that could be good even without any extra games. My favorite was definitely boxing because it was the more unique title, but golf was also a great one to play.
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
I've not gotten too far into this game yet, but from what I've played, it's done a great job of showing what the Wii is capable of achieving in terms of gaming controls.
It's NOT the typical platformer you would expect.
It is almost like a wacky version of WarioWare, because you play a huge variety of mini games (70 I believe) that are crazy but fun. I've been through, for example, a mini game in which you are strolling through a "Wild West" town and shooting plungers at bunnies (by aiming with the remote), a mini game in which you swing a cow on a chain by swinging the remote in circles above your head, and even a mini game in which you must shake both the remote and nunchuck up and down quickly in order to make Rayman sprint to the end of a course in order to deliver a present before it explodes!
Since I've just begun playing this one, I can't comment too much on it, but I will say that it is a very fun title that should provide plenty of replay value since each mini game can be played again and because multiplayer allows for up to 3 others to compete in the mini games.
OVERALL
Overall, I'm very satisfied with the Nintendo Wii.
It was relatively cheap, the console is well-designed and quiet, the controllers are designed extremely well, the games are fun, the interface is great, and though the graphics aren't "next gen," they are easily up to par with GC/PS2/XBOX and provide enough visual pleasure so that they aren't "sickening" to the eye.
Every time I look down at the system, I see no wires for the controllers; then I look up and see this sleek, thin sensor bar on my television; then I look down and see what Wii Remote and nunchuck in my hand, both which feel more natural than any controller; then I can't help but think, "I totally see where Nintendo is going with this!"
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