It’s obvious that most game reviewers are veteran gamers who prefer their traditional hand controller and basically dislike motion controls. That’s fine …for them. Sometimes motion controls aren’t as precise as an analog stick and that frustrates them. That’s fine … for them. Given a choice in a game they will almost always revert to the classic controller. Again that’s fine … for them.They however do not represent fairly a majority of Wii gamers who are too new, too fed up, too old or too casual to want to have anything to do with button mashing combinations and analog sticks.
Myself and, I read on this and other forums, many others are actually on the Wii to get away from the more and more complicated controls on a “traditional” controller. It got to be like trying to play a clarinet and pay attention to rapid game play. I used to play the clarinet but I didn’t have to race Mario on a narrow cliff side trail while doing it. If the traditional controller was still the only option I would now be an ex-gamer having play continually since Pong but as I got older (read slower reflexes) and the controls got more complicated, I had neither the time or inclination to even try to master them, if I indeed could.
Screw precise hand controllers, I like the Wii because of the more intuitive motion controls and the greater immersion I get by getting off the f***king couch and moving more than my thumbs. I think the majority of Wii users feel somewhat the same way because the motion controls are the single most compelling reason to play on the Wii.
If reviews are meant to benefit the prospective consumer by informing him on the likelihood they will enjoy the game, then the reviewers should fairly represent those consumers. Having people who dislike motion control review Wii games is like asking me to review GTA IV. I would refuse because I know I dislike the gratuitous violence, the sophomoric “humor” and what seems to me to be a pointless game that’s just an excuse for adolescent males to get their vicarious violent yah yahs. I don’t think I would be a fair reviewers and more importantly I would not be a useful reviewer because I don’t share the sensibilities of the people who would want to buy the game. The problem is that these Wii negative reviewers don’t excuse themselves but instead use virtually every game review to snipe at motion controls.
Take a sample from this month’s Game Informer:
Mario Karts Wii 8.5 (a great score)
“PLAYABILITY: Traditional control works great, but don’t bother with the stupid wheel.”
I’m sorry, the stupid wheel is what made this for me the most fun I’ve had from any Mario Karts. I actually steer better with it and I just think holding it and using it especially when you’re competing with friends is a hoot.
Wii Ski 6.25 (Way too low in my opinion)
“Not that the game’s hard, there’s just such a variety to the button combinations and motion controls that you’ll have to run the bunny hill several times before you get comfortable moving down the slopes.”
I beg your pardon, what button combinations. I skied down the bunny hill first time without trouble and never pushed a single button. Sorry about him.
Okami 9.25 (great score but)
“I must say that the Wii is not my preferred console on which to play this game. While the motion controls seemed like a perfect fit, in practice it’s much more imprecise than the PS2’s analog stick, making many moves more difficult to perform accurately (this is especially frustrating during the scripted Susano events). I did manage to get used to it, and – in the end – it’s a small blemish on what is otherwise a full-on masterpiece.”
We get it you don’t like motion controls.
Worms: A Space Oddity 6.75
“Beware, waggle controls go from amusing (hammering with the dropship) to pesky (the shoulder-dislocating astro punch). Plus, it felt like I was tweaking the screen almost every turn just to see enemies”.
OK like "waggle" isn't a judgemental word
Battle of the Bands 6.75
“You’re stuck with flailing the Wii remote, an imprecise and gimmicky gameplay mechanic that I never really connected with.”
I’m sure you didn’t connect with it and I doubt you ever will.
Sega Superstars Tennis 7.5 Xbox 360 7.25 (Wow, the Wii version actually outscored the Xbox and PS3 by a fraction of a point, throwing us a bone?)
“While the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions include online play and improved graphics, I surprisingly had a lot more fun on the Wii. The Wii Sports-style tennis controls feel great, especially when you add in a nunchuk to control character movement (players can also hold a remote sideways if they just want to press buttons). Each option works well, but it’s easy to accidentally press the camera change button during motion-controlled swings. It felt like there were a lot more randomly missed shots on PS3/360, and lobs and drop shots are much more of a pain to pull off.”
Wow! That’s rare and refreshing. But then playing tennis in the post Wi Sports world on a traditional controller is so obviously inferior to using natural tennis movements that they probably had no choice. Bet it hurt a little though.
I think it any of these sites have a desire to review Wii games in a way that is fair and relevant to the actual users, they should recruit some reviewers that haven’t played a gazillion games using a hand controller to the point that the Wiimote will always feel gimmicky and in some way inferior. Since most of us prefer using the motion controls, the reviews such reflect that rather than constantly harping on why THEY don’t like it. But then I doubt that any of them really want to be fair to the machine that “threatens their very way of life.”
