Wii like it: Nintendo's newest is nice

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 10 October 2006 21:18

Your IT - Entertainment

Attach the 'nun-chuk' module, and use your left thumb to get joystick control. The nun-chuk has it's own internal sensor, so it's the reel you turn when you're playing the fishing game. It also becomes your left hand when playing boxing - with your right hand holding the Wiimote. In addition, 'haptic' technology is also built-in. Basically this is 'force-feedback' technology, so you feel the Wiimote gently vibrating in your hand as you come into contact with something, such as hitting a tennis ball or bumping into something or someone.

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If you're thinking you need to make dramatic moves as you would swinging a real tennis racket - you can. But the games don't require you to wildly swing anything around - smaller, more gentle movements are more than sufficient. And because of the motion sensing technology, you do feel much more connected into the game itself. This means you can get a workout when playing the Wii – or not. It’s up to you. But as you can see from the photos, most of the journalists there really got into the ‘swiing’ of things, as it were.

 

One thing's for sure - the Xbox 360 and the upcoming Playstation 3 have better graphics that the Nintendo Wii. The PS3 is supposed to have even better graphics than the Xbox 360, so the Wii will be 'last' in that particular race. That said, Wii's graphics are definitely better than those of the Nintendo Gamecube, and still look very pretty and capable indeed. Having graphics half an inch away from reality clearly isn't something that guarantees great gameplay. Fantastic gameplay is at the true heart of any successful gaming title, and with Nintendo's legacy of highly playable games we can see nothing changing for the Wii other than the games and the gameplay becoming better than they ever have before.