Introduction
The
next generation of gaming came into full force this
month seeing the releases of both Sony’s PlayStation
3 and the Nintendo Wii. The PS3 and Xbox 360 have
a bitter rivalry because they are both regarded as
technical powerhouses, and because of its less powerful
components the Wii is often called “a GameCube
on steroids”. While it certainly won’t
outperform the other two in benchmark tests, what
the Wii lacks in power it more than makes up for innovation.
After trying out the Wii, we found it to be so much
more than a creative system with a ridiculous name.
Technical
Aspects
For all of
the tech guys out there, we've compiled a list of
the Wii's most important aspects as follows:
- PowerPC based
Broadway processor clocked at 729 MHz
- ATI "Hollywood" GPU clocked at 243MHz
- 88 MB main memory (24 MB internal and 64MB external)
- 3 MB GPU texture memory
- 512 MB built-in flash memory
- Mitsumi DMW-W004 WiFi 802.11b/g wireless module
Without going
too deep, it's clear that the Wii can't compete to
the PS3 or Xbox 360 if you look strictly at numbers.
Its IBM PowerPC is nowhere near as powerful as the
3.2 GHz Cell processor found in PS3s, and the ATI
Hollywood card can't even compare to the 360's fill
rate of over 500 million triangles per second. However
if you rule out the Wii solely based on this data,
then you're sadly making a huge mistake.
For starters,
the Wii comes standard with WiFi capabilities, which
is something most 360 owners are missing out on unless
they’re willing to fork over almost $100 USD
for a USB plug in capable receiver. Furthermore, the
Wii is entirely backwards compatible with the GameCube;
the controllers can even be used too! DS owners will
be able to wirelessly connect their device in order
to download demos and even play use it as a controller,
so we’ll just have to wait and see to find out
what Nintendo has in store. Although it’s hard
to match the extensive multimedia features of the
other two, the Wii does have an SD card that can store
photos, games downloaded from the Virtual Console,
and game save information.
It’s
never a good thing to judge a book by its cover, but
the Wii certainly does have something going for it
in the looks department. This sleek, white system
is roughly the size of three stacked DVD cases, which
is incredibly small when compared to the 360 and PS3.
The Xbox’s power brick is always open for ridicule,
so it’s comforting to see that the Wii’s
external power supply is small, lightweight, and simply
not a hassle like the 360. It comes with a stand that
lets you setup the console vertically without blocking
the air vents, and it also functions flawlessly if
you lay it horizontally. Overall, the Wii can be accommodated
to even the tightest gaming spaces.
The
Controller Revolution
Above
everything else, when people hear the name Wii the
first thing that should come to mind is the Wii Remote,
known by some as the Wiimote. At first it might look
like a typical television remote, but it’s hard
to believe this after discovering what it’s
truly capable of …
Before
you get started, you must first place the sensor bar
either above or below your television set. If your
television has a flat top that is easily accessible,
then your best bet is to apply the included adhesive
backed foam tape and plop it on dead center. However,
you can also choose to mount the sensor in front of
your set using the sensor bar stand (which is very
effective for televisions that are placed on a floor).
After
this, all you need to do is put in the two provided
AA batteries and your Wiimote will be ready to go.
The controller that comes with the console is automatically
synced to your Wii, and you can add more controllers
by the press of a button. If you ever want to bring
your Wiimote to a friend’s house but don’t
want to mess up your remote configurations, there
is a separate option that will perform a one-time
sync to avoid complications.
The
sensors in the Wiimote are capable of picking up a
variety of different motions. For starters, you can
put the remote at the screen to navigate through menus,
and this is very much like using a computer mouse
except on a larger scale. Holding down a button allows
you to grab and drag objects, which is necessary to
navigate through menus in games like Red Steel. Other
motions include waving the remote from side to side,
pushing or pulling by moving it forward or backward,
and twists can be performed by rotating your arm.
By itself, the Wiimote is designed to operate in both
vertical and horizontal positions, and you will come
across different applications depending on the title
at hand. Interestingly enough, the Wiimote also has
a built in speaker that does add to the gameplay.
Whether you’re reloading a gun or landing a
mean right hook, little touches like the controller
speaker show how creative Nintendo can be.
The Nunchuk
attached to a slot on the bottom of the remote and
also possesses the same sensor technology. This “add-on”
piece has a control stick often used for navigation
and two trigger buttons in the back. Strangely enough,
the Wiimote and Nunchuk are sold separately ($40 USD
and $20 USD, respectively), but there are a handful
of titles that don’t even utilize the Nunchuk
so this isn’t a major loss. One problem we experienced
with the Nunchuk was that the wire got in the way.
While boxing in Wii Sports and sword fighting in Red
Steel, there were several instances in which the wire
got tangled around our wrists. By holding the two
farther apart this occurred less frequently, but hopefully
we’ll see some wireless Nunchuks in the near
future.
To
make the Wii’s Virtual Console feature more
authentic, Nintendo also released a Classic Controller.
This device closely remembers the old SNES controllers
except it has dual analog sticks, similar to the PS2
controller, which will make N64 games easier to use.
While these have a suggested retail price of $20 USD,
a shortage at the time of writing has caused the eBay
value of these to go up to around $50 USD (similar
to the Xbox 360 Hard Drive fiasco). Still though,
the Classic Controller is a must have if you plan
on doing a lot of retro gaming.
Getting
Started
Setting
up a console for the first time can be an intimidating
process for some, but luckily getting your Wii up
and running doesn’t require too much reading
of the instructions. The only difference between the
Wii and other systems is the sensor bar, and all you
have to do is find a good resting place and then you’re
good to go. There’s no need to plug in the wireless
Wiimote, so once you turn on the console you’ll
be presented basic questions, such as the date, language,
etc., and shortly after you’ll be brought to
the main menu.
Even
if a game disc is inserted, starting up always takes
you to the Wii Channels. This interface was designed
around the idea of television channels, which is very
fitting if you take a look at the Wiimote. The channels
are setup in four by four grids over three pages for
a total of 48 slots.
New
channels will always be coming out, so the possibilities
are endless. The News Channel, which becomes available
on January 27, 2007, will display headlines using
content provided from the Associated Press. Similarly,
the Forecast Channel, available on December 20, will
use the WiiConnect24 service to display weather information
for any area on the Earth. The most anticipated channel
is the Internet Channel. Soon to be released, the
Opera web browser will be free until June 2007 once
released and will even have support for JavaScript
and Flash.
The Wii Shop
Channel, which is essentially the Wii's answer to
the Xbox Live Marketplace, allows gamers to redeem
Wii Points in order to obtain new channels and video
games for the Virtual Console. There isn't a whole
lot to shop for yet, but you can rest assured knowing
that Nintendo will be pumping out content soon. One
major problem, however, is that the internet connections
are downright horrible. After several failed attempts,
we were finally able to update our system just so
it could access the internet, and then this process
took about half an hour. At time of writing, it took
almost ten minutes just to connect to the Wii Shop,
and navigating through the games after this was also
a lengthy process. Hopefully this happened just because
Nintendo were overloaded from the launch rush because
people will get fed up quickly if it's always like
this.
The most community-oriented
channel is the Mii Channel. These customizable 3D
avatars can interact with other Miis all over the
world. In specific games, such as the included Wii
Sports, your created Mii can be the main character.
Furthermore, other Miis you encounter in Mii Parades
can also make cameos as spectators and opponents from
time to time. Up to ten Miis can be stored on a controller,
so you'll be able to bring your characters to a friend's
house without needing any sort of memory card.
The
Channel interface is intuitive and shows how even
the most basic tasks can be revitalized thanks to
the Wiimote. Although sometimes it would be nice to
see some words in addition to some of the icon-driven
menus, Nintendo clearly put in a lot of thought to
stick out here.
Launch
Titles
A
system is only as good as the games that come out
for it, and with a revolutionary style of gameplay
at hand it’s likely that titles will either
hit big or flop horribly. The included game Wii Sports
is a rather addictive tech demo that provides for
tons of single and multiplayer fun. Tennis, golf,
and baseball work just like one would expect, and
when you plug in the Nunchuk the boxing minigame can
really help you work up a sweat. In addition, the
critically acclaimed Legend of Zelda series is back
with the release of Twilight Princess, and this alone
should be enough to warrant a purchase of the Wii
for longtime fans. Rayman Raving Rabbids is a top
tier collection of party minigames, and shooters like
Red Steel and Call of Duty 3 immerse you into the
experience due to the new control system. If this
isn't enough, in a few months games like Super Mario
Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl are almost guaranteed
to be smash hits. Although this is only a taste of
what's to come, there are plenty of launch titles
to keep you busy.
Conclusion
The
Xbox 360 did get a head start on the next generation
consoles, but now that the playing field is being
leveled we can expect the war to be much more heated.
As we said, the Wii is by no means trying to win gamers
over by having top of the line graphics or wide-ranging
media features, but it instead offers a pure and simple
gaming experience that could very well revolutionize
the industry. Although it’s still very early
on and the developers are only beginning to test the
Wii’s capabilities, without a doubt this system
has the potential to reach gamers of all age groups.
Keep your eyes posted on Gaming Heaven shortly for
reviews of Wii games.
