Nintendo Wii Junior-Reviews
So when I’m not doing homework or watching Heroes, Dexter, Weeds, Stargate Atlantis, or Jericho, I’ve been playing my new Wii. I figured in an effort to get some content on this blog I would write some quick thoughts on what I’ve been playing, since I have been extremely irresponsible and picking up games left and right. Check’em out.
Metroid Prime 3: Without a doubt, this game is totally awesome. When I first read about the Wii’s unique controller, my thoughts immediately jumped to First Person Shooters, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome FPS games would be on the system. Then Red Steel, Call of Duty, and Far Cry came out, and they all pretty much sucked. Metroid Prime 3 was my last hope- if Retro, a developer known for accomplishing the impossible (they turned Metroid into a FPS game; ’nuff said), couldn’t successfully implement FPS controls with the Wiimote, nobody could. I’m happy to say they did it, and did it wonderfully. The controls are still less precise and responsive than a mouse/keyboard setup on PC, but they blow dual-analogs out of the water, and the controls and gesture-based actions immerse you into the world like no other FPS. The graphics are great (for Wii), the design is wonderous, the sound rocks, pretty much everything is perfect. I fucking LOVE this game, and so should you.
Resident Evil 4 - Wii Edition: I was a big fan of this when it came out on Gamecube; using the Wiimote to aim works great, and makes shooting thrown axes out of the air even more fun than it was in previous installments. Everything else is pretty much the same, so unless you’re dying to try the Wii controls in the game, there isn’t a whole lot that someone who has played the crap out of it previous will get out of it. I wasn’t enthralled, but it’s definitely an excellent port and the new additions work very well.
Metal Slug Anthology: Metal Slug is one of my favorite side-scroller action games. Tons of enemies, vehicles, weapons, and tough-as-nails gameplay complemented with great animation. Anthology gives you Metal Slugs 1, 2, X (a remake of 2), 3, 4, 5, and 6. Short but frequent load times break up the action more than I would have liked, and the extras are nothing to write home about, but it’s good for a cheap thrill and a great compilation. If you like Metal Slug, this is definitely a great deal.
Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess: Pretty standard Zelda stuff, with some neato Wii controls to mix it up. Great graphics, great dungeons, overall classy high-quality stuff. One of my favorite Wii titles, and definitely the best 3D Zelda game. New weapons like the ball-and-chain flail are a lot of fun, and being able to switch to wolf form to accomplish tasks and fight is cool, too. The best addition of all, though, is the dual hookshots. I spent the last few Zelda games wondering what could be cooler than the Hookshot. The answer is one in each hand. Suuuuper cool.
The Godfather - Blackhand Edition: One of the few ports that doesn’t feel like they just tacked on some gesture controls and shipped it. Using the Wiimote to disarm or disable gangsters is fun, and the gesture-based extortion methods make strangling and beating on shop-owners a blast. It has dated graphics, but they get the job done. Basically a Grand Theft Auto clone in 1930’s New York. If that sounds like fun to you, you’ll likely enjoy it. I do.
So that’s what I’ve been up to. I also traded in my Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn for a PSP and a couple of games, since I decided I needed something to do on my daily bus rides. I’ve been playing Jeanne D’Arc, Killzone: Liberation, and Riiiiiidge Racer! I’ll probably do a Junior-Reviews bit with them too, once I’ve spent time with it. Actually, I already reviewed Ridge Racer when it first came out as a launch game for the PSP. It’s a fun, arcade-y racing game that’s super-cheap now. It’s nice to have some new entertainment to kick back with in my free time, although my “To Read” pile of books is now starting to grow and get backlogged.
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[...] with it. Gamefly has been kind enough to send me games to play, and play them I have. Much like the post I did with short Wii reviews, I’m going to run through the games I’ve been playing with some thoughts, likely about [...]