NINTENDO'S MOTION SLICKNESS

Do you have a heap of game controllers piling up around your television? Because Nintendo wants to sell you yet another one. If you’ve got a Nintendo Wii, you’ll have the wand-like controller and its plug-in “nunchuck”, used for some games. In fact, you’ll probably have two controllers, or possibly four, as the best Wii games are for more than one player. You may also have the “balance board” that comes with Wii Fit, which resembles giant bathroom scales and can be used for skiing and other balance games. Leaning up against that may be a plastic guitar-shaped controller for “Guitar Hero”. And perhaps the Wii Zapper, for shooting games. It looks like a gun, but Nintendo insists it’s a crossbow. Yeah, sure—a crossbow that can magically fire 6,000 rounds a minute.

This all adds up to quite a pile of white plastic. And now there’s more: the Wii MotionPlus, a small box that snaps on to the standard controller and dramatically improves its motion-sensing accuracy. This makes new things possible, such as sword-fighting games in which the on-screen action directly mimics the motion of the controller. (Many people, not all of them “Star Wars” fans, complained when the original controller couldn’t do this.) There’s a new set of games, “Wii Sports Resort”, to show what the Wii MotionPlus can do.

Is it worth forking out for? Yes, because the “Resort” games are a worthy follow-up to “Wii Sports”. Once you’ve parachuted onto the tropical island of Wuhu, the new games on offer include swordplay, archery and canoeing, plus updated and improved versions of golf, bowling and table tennis. You can shoot hoops, or throw frisbees for a cute dog. The swordplay and archery, especially, make full use of the new precision of the controller. And even clicking menus and buttons feels much easier and firmer.

It’s all great fun, and indispensable for Wii-loving families. But I did get the feeling that the Wii might be running out of road. The original Wii was a breakthrough, bringing gaming to people who were baffled by joysticks and buttons but happy to swing a virtual tennis racket. Wii Fit expanded the audience further by providing games where you have only to stand up and shift your weight around. The MotionPlus merely refines what has come before. While it will appeal to existing fans, it is not a big step forward. It shows the Wii’s power, but also hints at its limits. 

Wii Sports Resort, with MotionPlus accessory, is out now in Europe (£49.99). The Wii MotionPlus costs £24.99.

~ TOM STANDAGE

 

Illustration: Max Ellis

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December 1, 2009 - 07:06 — Visitor (not verified)

I don't know about the quality or abilities of the Wii because I don't own one so I cannot comment on that.
However I find that the consoles Nintendo create seem to be money spinners first then consoles second. A friend of mine has had the various consoles, from the one with cartridges (I don't remember the name) and then the Game Cube. The games from the cartridge console were obviously not backwards compatible and he had to buy rumble packs (PS2 controllers did that automatically) and a memory card for it. Its controllers were almost impossible to use and because it used small discs it couldn't play DVD discs. I think the pile of plastic described at the outset of the article well illustrates Nintendo's insatiable appetite for our money when it comes to the Wii. Along with that list there is also various covers for the board and the controllers. From a financial aspect well done from a consumer standpoint parents will go broke!