Wii Is Not Perfect

I just unpacked my Wii "Most Wanted" pack from Gamestop.com. Aside from buying all of that extra crap, the service from Gamestop.com was excellent. I'm not sure why people record videos of themselves taking their new systems out of the boxes when a simple pack-in list will do. I won't be doing that.

I have only played on a composite cables because I have old TVs. Those uber-large LCDs are so OVERPRICED it is ridiculous. They're just now dipping below $1000. I'll probably get one in '07. Mostly, the composite causes moire patterns on the screen similar to watching HD on a letter-boxed standard screen. Zelda really shows off this "feature."

Overall, my Wii experience has been great. None of the following criticisms make it bad. However, when the Wii-mote is used like a mouse, I don't call that innovative at all. A mouse does a better job than a jumpy pointer. I am very impressed by the Wii-motes situational awareness, like holding the bat in Wii Sports. The nunchuck is really just a Cube controller broken in half.

The game controller was more natural to break into than I thought it would be. Those damned wrist straps have the opposite effect when you're not playing. While you're playing, you don't really notice it's there. Try and take a drink, answer the phone, get up for the bathroom, or other mundane thing, and that safety strap makes it much more likely that you'll have some sort of mishap. I also think that wearing the strap gives you a false sense of security and you should consider learning how to hold on to your controller.

And as a 2Old2Player, I'm surprised at the lack of a puzzle game. Wario's Woods, Trauma Center, and Monkey Ball are the closest things. If Nintendo ever does a DS/Puzzle crossover, my vote is on Clubhouse Games.

Finally, Nintendo's initial ad campaign for the Wii was just awful. No kid over the age of 5 (including adults) is going to believe that any game will be able to tell if you roll on the floor with the Wii mote or if you dive behind the couch. The later ads with more realistic motions should have been their initial campaign.

That wraps it up for my first entry. I'll snazz this blog up a little when I'm home.

EDIT (5 pm EST):   I totally forgot about Solomon's Key.  I've loved the game for NES (the one at the Wii Market) and the Gameboy version was very close.  It's my pick for best puzzle.