Well my system of choice would be the Wii.
It’s reliable, cheap, and offers a gaming experiences that can’t be replicated with PC gaming. I’ve had once since launch and currently own 17 games for it, and have rented a dozen others, and I’ve already found a great variety of fun and enticing games. I’m also quite happy with it’s price for new games keeping in the $50 price point standard established last generation.
The Wii Remote has been an extremely versatile piece of hardware. From motion dependent games like Wii Sports, to a 3D mouse such as Scarface, to serving as traditional controls with the nunchuck much like in Zelda, to a miniature steering wheel in Excite Truck, or a normal NES pad for VC games.
And the versatility in controls doesn’t end with just the Remote. It’s Classic Controller and support for Gamecube peripherals allow for further selection in you gaming needs. Most fighting games for the Wii offer support for Motion based combat, as well as normal set-ups in both more established designs in the Gamecube and Classic Controller.
And more ways of playing as well as interesting control combinations on close on the horizon. Konami’s Wii installment of DDR uses a standard dance mat, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck all at once, making for an even more demanding DDR game. Super Mario Galaxy allows a friend to grab a second remote to control a star to help collect things for Mario, who would be controlled by the first player. And with the introduction of Wii Fit comes an entirely new controller that measures your center of balance and the weight of your body as it moves.
As somewhat of a PC gamer myself, I relate to the relative inaccuracy when going from a Keyboard and Mouse set-up to a Dual analog controller. All though the Wii’s current FPS selection is somewhat lacking, I still find even somewhat poorly designed games such as FarCry: Vengeance to have better aiming controls using the Wii Remote cursor when compared to analog stick controllers. With Scarface I felt Sierra had devised an exceptional combination Camera/Aiming system that made the game’s lock on completely useless, and in a recent article from IGN, they claim that Metroid Prime 3 plays better than any other console shooter ever made.
All though primarily a gaming platform, it’s additional functions are quite quaint, and easy to use. The News Channel is updated constantly while the Wii sits in stand-by, and provides and quick and user friendly collection of the latest news articles to view on your TV. The photo channel proved handy for me as a fun way to deliver photos to my family while away from home, and the blue glow of it’s disc slot made for an almost gift like surprise every time I sent them pictures. The web browser is good for when you just want to mess around on YouTube and don’t have your PC hooked up to a TV.
Naturally, games are what you want in a gaming platform, and here is my personal experience with a few of my favorites.
Wii Sports, which comes included with the system, always becomes a game of choice for visitors who are yet to try the Wii. With five different sports, usually everyone who plays it finds a niche, for most people that seems to be bowling, for me it was boxing. Using crazy Midis to play the game is often good for laughs as well, such as my Boxing match between Rosie O’Donnell, and Donald Trump.
Excite Truck is a fast and furious off the wall arcade racer that revolves launching 2-ton SUV’s hundreds of feet across the landscape just to land In a boost that sends them back up into the sky so you can truck spin 1080 degrees before grabbing a POW icon and mow down an entire forest to blaze across the finish line.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a bizarre mash of Anime, Puzzle and Action games, and House. You fight against horrid made-man cancers and tumors that require a steady hand and fast reflexes. Even on easy that game can prove quite challenging, and on its hardest modes nightmarish. The games Rank and Score systems can provide ton of replay value for old school high-scoring gamers.
The Godfather: Blackhand adds a new twist to someone what worn out GTA formulas. Though it’s core gameplay is relatively the same, the games gesture based combat and executions add a truly perverse sense of pleasure to strong arming business for protection money, or snapping a Capo’s neck with garrote wire.
That is just a few of the games I have played, if you want to hear more just ask. Despite all this, I’m still more excited for the future. I’m dying to try Suda 51's “reaction” to Killer 7 in a surreal and stylized world of his creation. I’m intrigued by Endless Ocean and what might be a different approach of enticing casual gamers. I’m curious of Wii Fit, and more importantly it’s balance board. For the first time in my life, I’m actually anticipating the release of a new Madden game. And naturally I’m awaiting Nintendo’s big three, especially Mario Galaxy. With Mario 64 being on of my all time favorite games, and quite possibly my favorite platformer, I’m eagerly awaiting its “worthy successor”.
I’ve found the Wii an enticing and exhilarating system that’s plays everything from traditional and retro gaming experience, to adding new twists to somewhat stale games, to creating entirely new and eccentric ways of playing games. It has been a source of incredible fun for my family, and me, and its stealer sales seem to spark more games new and old on a routine basis.
Anyways, that’s my pitch. Hoped you liked it.
