- The Java servlets spec needs to freaking add core support for multipart form encoding and file uploads. Seriously. Like, yesterday.
- I'm impatiently awaiting the new EO expansion - not because I'm starved for new content, but because they're totally revamping the graphics engine and the shots they've released are purrty.
- I'm also impatiently awaiting the release of Battalion Wars II for Wii on the 29th.
- Metroid Prime 3 Corruption is pretty farkin good.... but I still liked Godfather better.
- I hope the EVEMon team release their ship fitter soon. If I knew .NET, I'd help.
- Amazon's new MP3 download service is teh winnar. Music is cheaper by the song and by the album, it's un-DRMed, higher-quality, and downloads faster. The only disadvantage is catalog size, and I doubt if that will be a disadvantage for long, what with Amazon being the masters of the monster catalog.
Showing posts with label wii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wii. Show all posts
2007-10-13
The Haps
Yeah, yeah, no postey lately. I've been viciously addicted to EVE Online (my char is Tremor Loktar, holla). I haven't posted in two months. Two months... lesse:
2007-08-03
The State of the Wii
I picked up Mario Strikers Charged on Wednesday. I haven't had enough time with it to really put in a solid review, but I will say that online multiplayer is really solid, and it's about damn time. More than anything, playing Strikers makes me yearn even more for Battalion Wars II, set to release in the US on October 29th, and it can't come soon enough. BW on the GameCube was a blast, and is a clear target for a dose of Wii controls.
I was beginning to feel a little down about the Wii, as the first half of this year was sparse on new titles, even more so for good ones. Godfather is top-notch, and that was about it. I was beginning to worry about the platform's viability with such a lack of good games coming out, then I saw what the second half of this year looks like, and, well... it looks amazing. See for yourself.
I was beginning to feel a little down about the Wii, as the first half of this year was sparse on new titles, even more so for good ones. Godfather is top-notch, and that was about it. I was beginning to worry about the platform's viability with such a lack of good games coming out, then I saw what the second half of this year looks like, and, well... it looks amazing. See for yourself.
2007-05-08
The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Wii)
I got The Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii for my birthday, and I'm totally hooked - and, after borrowing the game for a day, so is my best friend: he ran out and bought his own copy, after holding mine hostage for a few days. It's all the best qualities of Monopoly and Grand Theft Auto, set in the The Godfather, with the Wii controls allowing you to literally beat the pulp out of business owners with a baseball bat while extorting them for cash, and physically tossing people over balconies for bonus points.
Yes, it's that kind of game. Yes, it's not for kids. Yes, it's on the Wii. And yes, it's damned addictive.
The game smoothly mixes a wide array of sandboxing opportunities, including extorting businesses, setting off mob wars, robbing banks, taking on hit contracts, and so on, with a deep plotline that follows the story of the films. You start as a young gangster on hard times, dealing with a bad crowd. Luca Brasi comes to your aid, and initiates you into the Corleone family with a few tutorial missions. Then, it's up to you to take on any of the many "business opportunities" throughout the city, or continue to advance the main plot. The game lets you delay the main plot as long as you want between missions, letting you set the pace the entire time.
The graphics aren't stunning, but they definitely get the job done. It's enough for suspension of disbelief, particularly for fans of the films. Having not seen them for many many years, playing the game now makes me want to watch the movies again - and then play the game again from the beginning.
All in all, I'd give it a solid 8/10, and a definite recommendation to anyone that enjoys a little digital bloodshed in the morning.
Yes, it's that kind of game. Yes, it's not for kids. Yes, it's on the Wii. And yes, it's damned addictive.
The game smoothly mixes a wide array of sandboxing opportunities, including extorting businesses, setting off mob wars, robbing banks, taking on hit contracts, and so on, with a deep plotline that follows the story of the films. You start as a young gangster on hard times, dealing with a bad crowd. Luca Brasi comes to your aid, and initiates you into the Corleone family with a few tutorial missions. Then, it's up to you to take on any of the many "business opportunities" throughout the city, or continue to advance the main plot. The game lets you delay the main plot as long as you want between missions, letting you set the pace the entire time.
The graphics aren't stunning, but they definitely get the job done. It's enough for suspension of disbelief, particularly for fans of the films. Having not seen them for many many years, playing the game now makes me want to watch the movies again - and then play the game again from the beginning.
All in all, I'd give it a solid 8/10, and a definite recommendation to anyone that enjoys a little digital bloodshed in the morning.
2006-12-05
Wii Sports (Wii)
Well, well, well. Look what we have here. I did Excite Truck, and failed to hit Wii Sports first. Wii Sports, that game which had me up for 6 hours after receiving my midnight Wii.
Wii Sports is a very simplistic party game, in which caricatures you create (Mii's) play, well, sports. You can play Tennis (by swinging the controller like a racket), Baseball (by swinging the controller like a bat), Bowling (by swinging the controller like you're throwing a bowling ball), Golf (by swinging the controller like a golf club), and Boxing (by swinging the controller and nunchuk like, well, fists.) If that sounds like a lot of swinging, well, it is.
The game also includes a Practice mode that offers 3 training modes for each of the 5 games, for a total of 15 training modes. Power Bowling is particularly entertaining, challenging you to see how many pins you can knock down with a single throw; each of 10 tries, a new row of pins is added, such that for your final toss, you're trying to knock down 91 pins at once. The practice modes have to be unlocked one by one, with only one mode for each sport available to begin with. However, no particular level of success is required to unlock the next mode - you need only play one mode once before going on to the next.
Last but not least, it includes Wii Fitness, which gives you a random sampling of 3 of the practice modes that you have unlocked, and uses your performance to judge your "Wii Fitness Age", on a scale of 20 (best) to 80 (worst). I'm 23. The first time I tried it I was 74 years old, the next time I was 78 years old, then 41 years old, and yesterday, 31 years old. I find it makes a big difference which events it gives you - I do particularly well at the tennis events, so when I get all 3 tennis events for my test, I do very well.
The games are decent single-player, and allow you to increase your score in each game by defeating AI opponents. You start with 0 score, and work your way up to 1000 (Pro) and beyond. The real fun in the title comes from multiplayer; it's a great party game, for players and observers. One of the nice touches is in hotseat games like bowling or golf, the controller chimes when it's your turn - so if you take your controller with you to get a drink, you won't miss anything.
The games themselves are a little hit-or-miss. Personally, I find Tennis and Bowling to be highly addictive, Baseball to be mediocre, and Boxing and Golf to be downright lousy. Boxing has control issues; the motion sensing just never works like you expect it to, giving you little control of your on-screen avatar's actions. Golf, well - I'm not a big golf fan to begin with, but the way they used the motion control just doesn't work well for me. Maybe a "real" golfing title will make better use of the motion detection.
Baseball is fine, but too simplistic; you can bat and you can pitch, and everything else is handled automatically, making it purely a game of motions. It's fine as a motion-challenge game, but it's really not baseball.
Tennis and bowling are both excellent, and they're both games you can really get into with a group of 2 to 4, or even more. A particularly great game for company that's new to the Wii, and you want to introduce them to it with something simple and straightforward, but still fun to play.
Wii Sports is a very simplistic party game, in which caricatures you create (Mii's) play, well, sports. You can play Tennis (by swinging the controller like a racket), Baseball (by swinging the controller like a bat), Bowling (by swinging the controller like you're throwing a bowling ball), Golf (by swinging the controller like a golf club), and Boxing (by swinging the controller and nunchuk like, well, fists.) If that sounds like a lot of swinging, well, it is.
The game also includes a Practice mode that offers 3 training modes for each of the 5 games, for a total of 15 training modes. Power Bowling is particularly entertaining, challenging you to see how many pins you can knock down with a single throw; each of 10 tries, a new row of pins is added, such that for your final toss, you're trying to knock down 91 pins at once. The practice modes have to be unlocked one by one, with only one mode for each sport available to begin with. However, no particular level of success is required to unlock the next mode - you need only play one mode once before going on to the next.
Last but not least, it includes Wii Fitness, which gives you a random sampling of 3 of the practice modes that you have unlocked, and uses your performance to judge your "Wii Fitness Age", on a scale of 20 (best) to 80 (worst). I'm 23. The first time I tried it I was 74 years old, the next time I was 78 years old, then 41 years old, and yesterday, 31 years old. I find it makes a big difference which events it gives you - I do particularly well at the tennis events, so when I get all 3 tennis events for my test, I do very well.
The games are decent single-player, and allow you to increase your score in each game by defeating AI opponents. You start with 0 score, and work your way up to 1000 (Pro) and beyond. The real fun in the title comes from multiplayer; it's a great party game, for players and observers. One of the nice touches is in hotseat games like bowling or golf, the controller chimes when it's your turn - so if you take your controller with you to get a drink, you won't miss anything.
The games themselves are a little hit-or-miss. Personally, I find Tennis and Bowling to be highly addictive, Baseball to be mediocre, and Boxing and Golf to be downright lousy. Boxing has control issues; the motion sensing just never works like you expect it to, giving you little control of your on-screen avatar's actions. Golf, well - I'm not a big golf fan to begin with, but the way they used the motion control just doesn't work well for me. Maybe a "real" golfing title will make better use of the motion detection.
Baseball is fine, but too simplistic; you can bat and you can pitch, and everything else is handled automatically, making it purely a game of motions. It's fine as a motion-challenge game, but it's really not baseball.
Tennis and bowling are both excellent, and they're both games you can really get into with a group of 2 to 4, or even more. A particularly great game for company that's new to the Wii, and you want to introduce them to it with something simple and straightforward, but still fun to play.
2006-11-30
Excite Truck (Wii)
Excite Truck is one of Wii's big launch titles, one of several racers to hit shelves on launch day. The others are GT Pro Series, Need for Speed: Carbon, and Monster 4x4. GT Pro and NfS both strive for realism; Excite Truck and Monster both go for a more cartoony style.
Excite Truck throws realism right out the window, in fact, going for more of a Burnout-style high-flying, big-smashing, star-collecting racer. Like burnout, nearly everything you do earns you from one to five stars - drifts, air, tree runs (almost, but not quite, hitting trees), truck smashes (hitting your competitors), and so on. While you get a bonus for placing well in the race, what actually determines your success in single-player, or the winner in multi-player, is your star count.
The races take place in various fictional locations in various real countries. The single-player game is organized into 4 ranks (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum), each with 4-5 races. Each race, your number of stars grants you a rating of D to S, D being worst, A being second best, and S being best. If you complete all races in a rank with a B or better, you gain access to the next rank. If you complete all races in all ranks with an S rating, you gain access to the "Super Excite" difficulty. At seemingly random intervals you gain new vehicles, and if you get enough wins or enough S ratings with a particular vehicle, you gain a new paint job for that vehicle.
There are 19 tracks and 10 trucks in total, all of them available for single- and multi-player. There is also a tutorial mode which does a good job of walking you through all of the various tricks you can perform in order to get the most stars possible.
The single-player game is fun, but brief. I would have liked to see more tracks, more ranks, and more vehicles. But, all in all, it's definitely a good racer if you liked the Burnout series and are looking for a first racer to try on the Wii platform. The controls are solid, as is the gameplay - the only thing really lacking is in depth and in multiplayer.
Multiplayer is limited to two human players. That's it. No CPU opponents, no 3 or 4 player races. Just you and one opponent, trying to get the most stars. If you win 1st place, you don't get the 50-star bonus you'd get in singleplayer; you get a 15-star bonus, plus one star per second until your opponent crosses the finish line. This can get very frustrating when racing a less-skilled player, because you'll find they win the majority of the time. I'm serious. You'll be racing through the whole level, hitting every jump and every ring, doing air spins like there's no tomorrow, you beat them soundly, there's even a scare at the end that they might be disqualified completely for being 30 seconds behind you. Then they cross the finish with 2 seconds to go, after recovering from the 90th crash into a tree, and - what's this? They've won.
Why? Well, if you examine the scores at the end, a beginning player will tend to get a lot of drifts, because they're overcompensating their steering. This leads into getting a lot of tree runs, because they're often flailing wildly off the track. Then, of course, they hit a tree - and every crash earns you another star. Some balancing of this system is sorely needed.
Multiplayer is still a blast, however, and I've played in groups of half a dozen all waiting patiently to play the winner. It's highly addictive, and it's a lot of fun. I'm not dissappointed at all by the title - I'm just anxiously awaiting an ET2 with more tracks, more trucks, a more balanced point system, and a drastically improved multiplayer - at the very least, 2-4 player multiplayer, with the game filling out the 6-racer lineup with CPU opponents. I don't even need online play, but it would certainly be a nice touch.
The game's soundtrack is a tiring generic rock lineup, reminiscent of the SNES' Rock 'n' Roll Racing (another great game, BTW, and one I hope to see on VC soon). Luckily, if you've got an SD card, you can fill it up with MP3s, pop it in the Wii, and replace the soundtrack with those. I'm really hoping more games add a similar feature, and wishing Nintendo would go ahead and add a Music Channel to the Wii allowing you to play music from an SD card, MP3 CD, or standard audio CD, with visualisations. Doesn't seem like too much to ask.
All in all, Excite Truck is a solid title, particularly for anyone looking for a Burnout-esque racer on Wii.
Excite Truck throws realism right out the window, in fact, going for more of a Burnout-style high-flying, big-smashing, star-collecting racer. Like burnout, nearly everything you do earns you from one to five stars - drifts, air, tree runs (almost, but not quite, hitting trees), truck smashes (hitting your competitors), and so on. While you get a bonus for placing well in the race, what actually determines your success in single-player, or the winner in multi-player, is your star count.
The races take place in various fictional locations in various real countries. The single-player game is organized into 4 ranks (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum), each with 4-5 races. Each race, your number of stars grants you a rating of D to S, D being worst, A being second best, and S being best. If you complete all races in a rank with a B or better, you gain access to the next rank. If you complete all races in all ranks with an S rating, you gain access to the "Super Excite" difficulty. At seemingly random intervals you gain new vehicles, and if you get enough wins or enough S ratings with a particular vehicle, you gain a new paint job for that vehicle.
There are 19 tracks and 10 trucks in total, all of them available for single- and multi-player. There is also a tutorial mode which does a good job of walking you through all of the various tricks you can perform in order to get the most stars possible.
The single-player game is fun, but brief. I would have liked to see more tracks, more ranks, and more vehicles. But, all in all, it's definitely a good racer if you liked the Burnout series and are looking for a first racer to try on the Wii platform. The controls are solid, as is the gameplay - the only thing really lacking is in depth and in multiplayer.
Multiplayer is limited to two human players. That's it. No CPU opponents, no 3 or 4 player races. Just you and one opponent, trying to get the most stars. If you win 1st place, you don't get the 50-star bonus you'd get in singleplayer; you get a 15-star bonus, plus one star per second until your opponent crosses the finish line. This can get very frustrating when racing a less-skilled player, because you'll find they win the majority of the time. I'm serious. You'll be racing through the whole level, hitting every jump and every ring, doing air spins like there's no tomorrow, you beat them soundly, there's even a scare at the end that they might be disqualified completely for being 30 seconds behind you. Then they cross the finish with 2 seconds to go, after recovering from the 90th crash into a tree, and - what's this? They've won.
Why? Well, if you examine the scores at the end, a beginning player will tend to get a lot of drifts, because they're overcompensating their steering. This leads into getting a lot of tree runs, because they're often flailing wildly off the track. Then, of course, they hit a tree - and every crash earns you another star. Some balancing of this system is sorely needed.
Multiplayer is still a blast, however, and I've played in groups of half a dozen all waiting patiently to play the winner. It's highly addictive, and it's a lot of fun. I'm not dissappointed at all by the title - I'm just anxiously awaiting an ET2 with more tracks, more trucks, a more balanced point system, and a drastically improved multiplayer - at the very least, 2-4 player multiplayer, with the game filling out the 6-racer lineup with CPU opponents. I don't even need online play, but it would certainly be a nice touch.
The game's soundtrack is a tiring generic rock lineup, reminiscent of the SNES' Rock 'n' Roll Racing (another great game, BTW, and one I hope to see on VC soon). Luckily, if you've got an SD card, you can fill it up with MP3s, pop it in the Wii, and replace the soundtrack with those. I'm really hoping more games add a similar feature, and wishing Nintendo would go ahead and add a Music Channel to the Wii allowing you to play music from an SD card, MP3 CD, or standard audio CD, with visualisations. Doesn't seem like too much to ask.
All in all, Excite Truck is a solid title, particularly for anyone looking for a Burnout-esque racer on Wii.
2006-11-29
Wii, by Nintendo
Nintendo's latest console has finally arrived, and it's a doozy. It's low on horsepower, sparse on features, and desperately lacking in online capability. However, it's full of innovation, and the game lineup is solid.
When you first hook up the Wii, you've got the unit itself, the Sensor Bar, a power cable, and an RCA A/V cable. The sensor bar can be placed at the top or bottom of the screen, but must be level with the floor and centered horizontally to the TV screen. Useless trivia: the Sensor Bar is not a sensor, it is in fact the origin of the IR pulse. The sensor is in the Wii Remote, granting the device various rewards.
Then you've got the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The Wii Remote is a heck of a gadget: motion and tilt sensing, bluetooth wireless, a speaker, an IR sensor, and a rumble pack. You can connect up to four at once for four-player action, and each one has a set of lights indicating which player it is. The nunchuk attaches to the Wii Remote via cable, and has its own motion and tilt sensor, an analog stick, and a couple of buttons (but sadly, no rumble.) Both devices fit comfortably in my (fairly large) hands, and have been just as comfortable to everyone I've handed them to. I'd also like to note that playing without your hands tied together is far more comfortable than any controller I've ever used, and a very welcome change.
The next wireless function is in the internet connection. When you start up the Wii, your settings panel allows you to set up the wireless connection to receive firmware updates, game updates, Mii's (more on them later), and to download content from the Wii Shopping Channel.
The settings also provide for switching between 480i and 480p, 4:3 and 16:9 widescreen, and Mono/Stereo/Surround sound, settings which affect all Wii games used with the unit. You can also set the sensor bar position (above or below the TV), and adjust the "Sensor Bar Sensitivity" - I put this in quotes because you are actually, of course, adjusting the sensitivity of the IR sensor in the Wii Remotes. This isn't like the sensitivity in your mouse settings - it's the raw IR sensitivity of the camera. You can reduce the sensitivity to try to eliminate the effects of high glare, or increase the sensitivity to account for a greater-than-normal playing distance.
The system also includes the Wii Message Board, which is a bit of a mixed bag. I was hoping for something vaguely resembling Xbox Live's Achievements to but fit in there somewhere, but alas. It's basically just a log of how much you play your games (sometimes an unwelcome one), and a way to leave messages for other users of that Wii. You can also send messages to other Wii units via the internet connection, though I have yet to get this to work.
Then there's the Mii channel. Herein you can make a vaguely anime-esque 3D caricature of yourself and others; you can also share these with other Wii users, and use them as avitars when playing Wii Sports and (theoretically) other, future games. While this is a neat feature, I'd like to see it expanded in future updates with more options and a wider range of customizability. You can also copy your Mii to your Wii Remote, take it to another unit, and use your Mii on that unit with that remote. An interesting feature, but only slightly, since only Wii Sports currently makes any use of Mii's.
Weather, News, and Web channels are in the works, but have not been released yet. Current announcements put all 3 being released by the end of January.
Speaking of things that haven't been released yet, let's talk about online for a moment. There isn't any. You can download old games and play them by virtual console, but there's no online multiplayer until next year, there's no games making use of WiiConnect24 (which lets the Wii stay connected to the internet even in standby mode) until Elebits comes out "during the launch window". I'm very disappointed. And it doesn't end there. The unit doesn't support DVD or CD playback either, though a revision has been announced for Japan only for 2007 to add DVD playback.
The graphics are... so-so. I've seen the 360 in hi-def, and while it's impressive, I'm not one to see games as being all about the visuals. I got the Wii for the controller, and I'm happy with the tradeoff. But be prepared, because the games aren't exactly gorgeous. Most fit their theme well, and games like Zelda: Twilight Princess are graphically impressive, just not on the scale of the 360 or PS3. So, if you're looking for grandiose graphics, move on; if you're looking for something new, I highly recommend the Nintendo Wii, for any one, any age, girls and boys alike. It's a great system for solo and even better for multiplayer (as long as you're all in the same room together.)
All in all, I'm very happy with mine.
When you first hook up the Wii, you've got the unit itself, the Sensor Bar, a power cable, and an RCA A/V cable. The sensor bar can be placed at the top or bottom of the screen, but must be level with the floor and centered horizontally to the TV screen. Useless trivia: the Sensor Bar is not a sensor, it is in fact the origin of the IR pulse. The sensor is in the Wii Remote, granting the device various rewards.
Then you've got the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The Wii Remote is a heck of a gadget: motion and tilt sensing, bluetooth wireless, a speaker, an IR sensor, and a rumble pack. You can connect up to four at once for four-player action, and each one has a set of lights indicating which player it is. The nunchuk attaches to the Wii Remote via cable, and has its own motion and tilt sensor, an analog stick, and a couple of buttons (but sadly, no rumble.) Both devices fit comfortably in my (fairly large) hands, and have been just as comfortable to everyone I've handed them to. I'd also like to note that playing without your hands tied together is far more comfortable than any controller I've ever used, and a very welcome change.
The next wireless function is in the internet connection. When you start up the Wii, your settings panel allows you to set up the wireless connection to receive firmware updates, game updates, Mii's (more on them later), and to download content from the Wii Shopping Channel.
The settings also provide for switching between 480i and 480p, 4:3 and 16:9 widescreen, and Mono/Stereo/Surround sound, settings which affect all Wii games used with the unit. You can also set the sensor bar position (above or below the TV), and adjust the "Sensor Bar Sensitivity" - I put this in quotes because you are actually, of course, adjusting the sensitivity of the IR sensor in the Wii Remotes. This isn't like the sensitivity in your mouse settings - it's the raw IR sensitivity of the camera. You can reduce the sensitivity to try to eliminate the effects of high glare, or increase the sensitivity to account for a greater-than-normal playing distance.
The system also includes the Wii Message Board, which is a bit of a mixed bag. I was hoping for something vaguely resembling Xbox Live's Achievements to but fit in there somewhere, but alas. It's basically just a log of how much you play your games (sometimes an unwelcome one), and a way to leave messages for other users of that Wii. You can also send messages to other Wii units via the internet connection, though I have yet to get this to work.
Then there's the Mii channel. Herein you can make a vaguely anime-esque 3D caricature of yourself and others; you can also share these with other Wii users, and use them as avitars when playing Wii Sports and (theoretically) other, future games. While this is a neat feature, I'd like to see it expanded in future updates with more options and a wider range of customizability. You can also copy your Mii to your Wii Remote, take it to another unit, and use your Mii on that unit with that remote. An interesting feature, but only slightly, since only Wii Sports currently makes any use of Mii's.
Weather, News, and Web channels are in the works, but have not been released yet. Current announcements put all 3 being released by the end of January.
Speaking of things that haven't been released yet, let's talk about online for a moment. There isn't any. You can download old games and play them by virtual console, but there's no online multiplayer until next year, there's no games making use of WiiConnect24 (which lets the Wii stay connected to the internet even in standby mode) until Elebits comes out "during the launch window". I'm very disappointed. And it doesn't end there. The unit doesn't support DVD or CD playback either, though a revision has been announced for Japan only for 2007 to add DVD playback.
The graphics are... so-so. I've seen the 360 in hi-def, and while it's impressive, I'm not one to see games as being all about the visuals. I got the Wii for the controller, and I'm happy with the tradeoff. But be prepared, because the games aren't exactly gorgeous. Most fit their theme well, and games like Zelda: Twilight Princess are graphically impressive, just not on the scale of the 360 or PS3. So, if you're looking for grandiose graphics, move on; if you're looking for something new, I highly recommend the Nintendo Wii, for any one, any age, girls and boys alike. It's a great system for solo and even better for multiplayer (as long as you're all in the same room together.)
All in all, I'm very happy with mine.
My Wii Launch Experience
Let me start this flashback with a note on what happens after this tale: it was all completely worth it.
Friday, November 17th: myself, CJ and Amy all went to Wal-mart to see if they'd be offering a midnight launch. A notice posted in the electronics section confirmed a Wii launch at 12:01am on Sunday the 19th. They hadn't gotten many inquiries about it, and most of the employees didn't even know what Wii is. Good sign. We decide to start calling them on Saturday around 6pm, and actually go down there at 10pm to wait in line, just to be sure that everybody got one.
Saturday, November 18th: It's around 5pm, I'm walking my laundry down to my apartment complex' laundry room, and CJ passes by in his car. He's on his way to Wal-mart to check out the situation, because they aren't picking up the phone. At 5:30pm, I get a call saying there's already a line over a dozen people long, camped out in Wal-mart in folding chairs. Me and Amy pack up and leave, picking up Tim on our way in. We arrive at Wal-mart 15th, 16th and 17th in line for "about 20 units".
The line continues to grow, with at least half a dozen people coming every hour. There are laptops, portable DVD players, iPods, and DS's everywhere. We can't get an employee to give an official unit count. We passed the time chatting, playing cards, and roaming the store. Luckily they had a McD's in the store or we might've starved to death.
At 10:00pm, they finally gave us an official unit count: 21 units. Some of the nearly 30 people in line were very disappointed. By 11:00pm everybody had an official ticket marking their place in line, and were free to roam as long as everybody was back by midnight. At 12:01, the sales started; the only people that didn't buy Zelda with their unit were buying it as a gift or eBay fodder. Wii's are shipped in boxes of 3, games appear to be shipped in cases of 20 or 24. I was number 16 in line, and they were already out of controllers by the time I got up there; I still got my hands on a Wii, Zelda, Red Steel, and Excite Truck. The 21st person in line was told that there were only actually 20 units - odd, since a hard count showed 21 units, and they come in boxes of 3... I'm guessing one was a display unit, and they failed to deduct that unit during the hard count. Anyway, one customer was HIGHLY disappointed, and I can't blame them.
So, myself, Amy, CJ and Tim all left with Wii in hand. We returned to CJ's apartment (biggest TV), hooked it up, popped in Wii sports, and proceeded to play Wii Sports and Excite Truck for the next six hours. No kidding, I woke up the next morning with tennis elbow.
The next day I finally hooked up my own unit, updated it (a nearly 30 minute process, with as overloaded as the servers were on launch day), configured it, made a few Miis, and then picked up CJ to head to Best Buy. Before we get to that, I'd like to point out that the Wii interface is fantstic, really intuitive, and overall I was very impressed with the unit, before ever inserting a game disc. There are some disappointing qualities, and so far, almost all surround online functionalities. I'll get into more detail in a later posting - back to the tale.
At BB, I picked up a Wavebird, and several GCN games (they're all new to me, since I never had a GCN): Super Mario Strikers, Mario Kart Double Dash, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Pikmin 2 and Animal Crossing for Amy. No spare controllers at BB either.
Went home, packed up, and made my way to Asheville for my own personal Wii Tour. In Asheville my mom got her hands on it for a few hours, and loved it - so far so good for the "all audiences" idea, although my mom is something of a gamer (her current addiction is Burnout Revenge, one of my old faves.) From Asheville we went on to Roanoke, VA to spend some time with Amy's family. Once again, the Wii was hooked up and passed around, with Amy's entire family getting in on the action. Everybody got hooked on Excite Truck up there, while my mom had preferred Wii Sports. We also found one store with Wiimotes in stock, so I picked up 3, plus a second Wavebird, a GCN memory card, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. Me and Amy's brother rocked out on Tony Hawk, and Amy made her way through Animal Crossing and Pikmin whenever she could get the Wii to herself for a few minutes.
On the way back we stopped again in Asheville for some more Wii party action, before finally returning home Monday afternoon. We picked up our insane kittens (who haven't stopped crying and purring and snuggling since we got home), and hooked the Wii back up.
I purchased my Wii, with Zelda, around 12:30am on Sunday, 11/19. At 5:30pm on Monday, 11/27, I finally started Zelda. Sad, isn't it? I had only had a chance to play multiplayer games the entire week, and if I could play single player, I didn't have a long enough block of time to really sit down and dig into Zelda; and I knew I wouldn't be happy with starting it and having to stop before I had at least finished tutorial town. So, I finally get tLoZ:TP booted up, Link and Epona get suited up, and I commenced the jigglin.
If all the hours of play over the past week hadn't made the 7 hours in the middle of a Wal-mart while my laundry mildewed worthwhile, Zelda would have. It's beautiful, the controls are fantastic, and the story is as epic as ever. I'm only in the 2nd of 10 dungeons, but I can already say, this is a truly fantastic game. While I was gone, CJ got himself nearly to the end after over 40 hours of play, and is thoroughly impressed. I haven't even finished it yet, but I still can't wait for the next Wii RPG to come out - I think the platform poses HUGE potential for RPG fans in general, and JRPG fans (of which I am one) in particular. But, I guess only time will tell.
I now nearly have Excite Truck beat, and I'm halfway through Tony Hawk. Stay tuned for end-game reviews of all these titles and more.
Friday, November 17th: myself, CJ and Amy all went to Wal-mart to see if they'd be offering a midnight launch. A notice posted in the electronics section confirmed a Wii launch at 12:01am on Sunday the 19th. They hadn't gotten many inquiries about it, and most of the employees didn't even know what Wii is. Good sign. We decide to start calling them on Saturday around 6pm, and actually go down there at 10pm to wait in line, just to be sure that everybody got one.
Saturday, November 18th: It's around 5pm, I'm walking my laundry down to my apartment complex' laundry room, and CJ passes by in his car. He's on his way to Wal-mart to check out the situation, because they aren't picking up the phone. At 5:30pm, I get a call saying there's already a line over a dozen people long, camped out in Wal-mart in folding chairs. Me and Amy pack up and leave, picking up Tim on our way in. We arrive at Wal-mart 15th, 16th and 17th in line for "about 20 units".
The line continues to grow, with at least half a dozen people coming every hour. There are laptops, portable DVD players, iPods, and DS's everywhere. We can't get an employee to give an official unit count. We passed the time chatting, playing cards, and roaming the store. Luckily they had a McD's in the store or we might've starved to death.
At 10:00pm, they finally gave us an official unit count: 21 units. Some of the nearly 30 people in line were very disappointed. By 11:00pm everybody had an official ticket marking their place in line, and were free to roam as long as everybody was back by midnight. At 12:01, the sales started; the only people that didn't buy Zelda with their unit were buying it as a gift or eBay fodder. Wii's are shipped in boxes of 3, games appear to be shipped in cases of 20 or 24. I was number 16 in line, and they were already out of controllers by the time I got up there; I still got my hands on a Wii, Zelda, Red Steel, and Excite Truck. The 21st person in line was told that there were only actually 20 units - odd, since a hard count showed 21 units, and they come in boxes of 3... I'm guessing one was a display unit, and they failed to deduct that unit during the hard count. Anyway, one customer was HIGHLY disappointed, and I can't blame them.
So, myself, Amy, CJ and Tim all left with Wii in hand. We returned to CJ's apartment (biggest TV), hooked it up, popped in Wii sports, and proceeded to play Wii Sports and Excite Truck for the next six hours. No kidding, I woke up the next morning with tennis elbow.
The next day I finally hooked up my own unit, updated it (a nearly 30 minute process, with as overloaded as the servers were on launch day), configured it, made a few Miis, and then picked up CJ to head to Best Buy. Before we get to that, I'd like to point out that the Wii interface is fantstic, really intuitive, and overall I was very impressed with the unit, before ever inserting a game disc. There are some disappointing qualities, and so far, almost all surround online functionalities. I'll get into more detail in a later posting - back to the tale.
At BB, I picked up a Wavebird, and several GCN games (they're all new to me, since I never had a GCN): Super Mario Strikers, Mario Kart Double Dash, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Pikmin 2 and Animal Crossing for Amy. No spare controllers at BB either.
Went home, packed up, and made my way to Asheville for my own personal Wii Tour. In Asheville my mom got her hands on it for a few hours, and loved it - so far so good for the "all audiences" idea, although my mom is something of a gamer (her current addiction is Burnout Revenge, one of my old faves.) From Asheville we went on to Roanoke, VA to spend some time with Amy's family. Once again, the Wii was hooked up and passed around, with Amy's entire family getting in on the action. Everybody got hooked on Excite Truck up there, while my mom had preferred Wii Sports. We also found one store with Wiimotes in stock, so I picked up 3, plus a second Wavebird, a GCN memory card, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. Me and Amy's brother rocked out on Tony Hawk, and Amy made her way through Animal Crossing and Pikmin whenever she could get the Wii to herself for a few minutes.
On the way back we stopped again in Asheville for some more Wii party action, before finally returning home Monday afternoon. We picked up our insane kittens (who haven't stopped crying and purring and snuggling since we got home), and hooked the Wii back up.
I purchased my Wii, with Zelda, around 12:30am on Sunday, 11/19. At 5:30pm on Monday, 11/27, I finally started Zelda. Sad, isn't it? I had only had a chance to play multiplayer games the entire week, and if I could play single player, I didn't have a long enough block of time to really sit down and dig into Zelda; and I knew I wouldn't be happy with starting it and having to stop before I had at least finished tutorial town. So, I finally get tLoZ:TP booted up, Link and Epona get suited up, and I commenced the jigglin.
If all the hours of play over the past week hadn't made the 7 hours in the middle of a Wal-mart while my laundry mildewed worthwhile, Zelda would have. It's beautiful, the controls are fantastic, and the story is as epic as ever. I'm only in the 2nd of 10 dungeons, but I can already say, this is a truly fantastic game. While I was gone, CJ got himself nearly to the end after over 40 hours of play, and is thoroughly impressed. I haven't even finished it yet, but I still can't wait for the next Wii RPG to come out - I think the platform poses HUGE potential for RPG fans in general, and JRPG fans (of which I am one) in particular. But, I guess only time will tell.
I now nearly have Excite Truck beat, and I'm halfway through Tony Hawk. Stay tuned for end-game reviews of all these titles and more.
2006-11-28
So much to tell...
Wow. I've been out of town for a week, and there is much to tell. Saturday I arrived at my local 24-hour walmart at 6pm to wait in line for my Wii; the last people to recieve units arrived at 6:30pm. By 1:30am I was at home and playing Wii sports frantically with friends until past 6am. I also picked up Zelda TP, Red Steel, Excite Truck and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, as well as a handful of GameCube games (hey, I never had a GCN, so they're all new to me!)
Monday we left for Asheville, Tuesday we left Asheville for Roanoke for Thanksgiving, Saturday we returned to Asheville, and yesterday we finally arrived back home, safe and sound, Wii in tow. The holiday was dreadful, but the Wii is, in a word, awesome. I've said several times it's the coolest invention ever in video games, and I stand by that.
Stay tuned for my take on the Wii, Wii Sports, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Red Steel, Excite Truck, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam!
Monday we left for Asheville, Tuesday we left Asheville for Roanoke for Thanksgiving, Saturday we returned to Asheville, and yesterday we finally arrived back home, safe and sound, Wii in tow. The holiday was dreadful, but the Wii is, in a word, awesome. I've said several times it's the coolest invention ever in video games, and I stand by that.
Stay tuned for my take on the Wii, Wii Sports, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Red Steel, Excite Truck, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam!
2006-11-16
Amazon: Wii demand far outnumbers supply
I just received a letter from Amazon.com:
So, I guess with over a million units in the US at launch, that's still not nearly enough... I'm starting to wonder if I'll really be able to get my hands on one on Sunday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
The Nintendo Wii will be available for purchase on Amazon.com on 11/19, Sunday morning (PST). We will be limiting purchases to one per household and we anticipate that we will sell through our inventory very quickly as we've received 100 times more Wii email sign-ups than consoles we'll have available for sale (i.e., for every Nintendo Wii we'll have for sale, over 100 people have signed up to be notified).
We expect to receive periodic shipments of the Wii from Nintendo throughout the holidays and we will post availability updates on the product detail page as well as in the customer discussions on the Nintendo Wii product page:
http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0009VXBAQ
So, I guess with over a million units in the US at launch, that's still not nearly enough... I'm starting to wonder if I'll really be able to get my hands on one on Sunday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
2006-11-09
Wii Spotting
Just got Best Buy's holiday mailer, and I was pleased to find Wii prominently placed within. More than prominently. Across two pages, you find the PS3, PSP, Wii, and DS Lite, all equally displayed. However, the previous two pages show a detail pic of Wii on one side, and a family playing Wii Sports on the other. Above the action shot, there's the text "We pledge to help you find the right games and system for any age." That's Wii alright!
2006-10-21
Wiiiiiiiiiiii!
That's right boys and girls, it's time to talk about Wii. I'll start by saying this: I want one. I'll be standing in line somewhere on launch day to buy one. I think the controller is brilliant, the virtual console is awesome, and they've got a lot of really interesting and innovative titles coming out for the system. Plus, the system and games are cheap, and the online service is free.
My only real gripe is with the online service, which won't be featuring online multiplayer until next year, and games released between now and then won't gain the feature after online muliplayer launches. I'm really dissappointed about this, and was hoping for more out of Nintendo this time around.
Launch day I'm looking at Excite Truck, Zelda (of course), and Red Steel. I'm really excited to see what an FPS feels like with the Wiimote. I've always loved FPS games on the PC and hated them on consoles, because of the unintuitiveness of dual analog sticks. I think this will be a breath of fresh air.
As for Zelda, well, I haven't really gotten into a Zelda game since Link to the Past on SNES, but with all the hype being poured onto this title, I've got to see what's what. I'll give Link another chance. Besides, this is the first time a system has launched with a Zelda title - they're putting a lot of stock in the game as a showcase for the system, which means they've done their very best with it.
Excite Truck, well... I'm a Burnout Revenge addict (PS2 & 360), and Excite Truck looks like it bears enough similarity to be worth buying on that merit alone. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing how the controls feel for a racing game on Wii.
I'm also looking at Elebits and/or Trauma Center for my girlfriend, and we're both desperately hoping they come out with a Katamari sequel for Wii.
In the meantime, I'm waiting for NWN2 to finally be released so I can occupy myself with that until I've got my hands on Nintendo's lovely new little white box.
My only real gripe is with the online service, which won't be featuring online multiplayer until next year, and games released between now and then won't gain the feature after online muliplayer launches. I'm really dissappointed about this, and was hoping for more out of Nintendo this time around.
Launch day I'm looking at Excite Truck, Zelda (of course), and Red Steel. I'm really excited to see what an FPS feels like with the Wiimote. I've always loved FPS games on the PC and hated them on consoles, because of the unintuitiveness of dual analog sticks. I think this will be a breath of fresh air.
As for Zelda, well, I haven't really gotten into a Zelda game since Link to the Past on SNES, but with all the hype being poured onto this title, I've got to see what's what. I'll give Link another chance. Besides, this is the first time a system has launched with a Zelda title - they're putting a lot of stock in the game as a showcase for the system, which means they've done their very best with it.
Excite Truck, well... I'm a Burnout Revenge addict (PS2 & 360), and Excite Truck looks like it bears enough similarity to be worth buying on that merit alone. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing how the controls feel for a racing game on Wii.
I'm also looking at Elebits and/or Trauma Center for my girlfriend, and we're both desperately hoping they come out with a Katamari sequel for Wii.
In the meantime, I'm waiting for NWN2 to finally be released so I can occupy myself with that until I've got my hands on Nintendo's lovely new little white box.
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