The majority of us who would consider ourselves "hardcore" gamers, have had an extremely hard time finding games for the Wii that are appealing and will hold our interest for more than ten minutes. Aside from the first party Nintendo hits like Zelda, Mario, etc., it's hard to figure out what's worth buying on the Wii. Cross-platform titles aren't worth buying because of lackluster graphics and lame excuses to integrate waggle-mechanics, and the majority of the quality games are more of a casual experience.
So what makes a great Wii game? Two of my favorite games on the Wii are World of Goo and the Trauma Center Series. It's taken me awhile to piece together what these games have in common that makes them so fun to play. The answer is simple, these games were meant to be played with the Wii controller. They feel right at home with it and remind my of why that crazy looking contraption was such a great idea. It seems that for so many games on the Wii, the control scheme was simply an afterthought, causing me to get way too much of use out of my old gamecube controller.
So even though appealing to hardcore gamers is apparently not on Nintendo's agenda anymore, maybe releasing titles that have great, well developed Wii-mote/nunchuk controls will encourage us to spend more time playing the Wii.
Matt (MWG)
Good article, I've struggled with this issue myself since getting a Wii. I've come to the conclusion that the Wii is as close to PC gaming as you'll get with a console. In regards to mouse based point and click that is. Games like World of Goo work because the WiiMote is essentialy your mouse. I will say that most Wii games try to "force" the unique controllers on their games. Games like Zelda and Metroid felt forced and uncomfortable to me. Resident Evil 4 however just simply "made sense" on the WiiMote.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ryan. Good comparison. I've heard alot lately about how well the Wii mote worked with RE4. I played RE4 on the GC so I didn't get a chance to try the wii controls out, unfortunately. From what I hear though, it sounds like it'd be worth another playthrough on the Wii.
ReplyDeleteMatt (MWG)
Matt and Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with both of you that aside from most first party titles, the major school of thought on Wii games is just to slap on some waggle controls and call it good. Unfortunately this really doesn't do us, the gamers, any good because we tend to get a shafted experience.
What I don't understand is why there aren't more high quality FPS games on the Wii. In the two years I've owned it, by far the best game I've played is Metroid Prime 3. Metroid Prime 1 and 2 were fantastic titles on their own, but Prime 3 was a huge leap forward, and it was *because* of what the Wii controller can do that other systems simply can't: point.
I tend to suck at FPS games like Halo or Goldeneye because I have a hard time aiming with a joystick. Always have. But using the wiimote to aim and turn feels so fluid, so natural, that it takes zero effort on the part of the gamer to figure out how to play the game, and instead they can focus on actually playing it.
If there are more Wii titles out there with the trim and polish of Metroid Prime 3, I'd certainly like to know about them.
Phil Ringsmuth - Inside The Console
Good points, Phil. Your comment about being frustrated with FPS's further reinforces Ryan's comparison of the Wii and PC. I know plenty of PC gamers who get frustrated with console shooters for the same reason, they'd much rather point to exactly where they want to shoot as opposed to dragging a cross-hair across the screen with a joystick. I agree, I think the Wii has the potential for some really great shooters.
ReplyDeleteMatt (MWG)
Mad World looks cool. I guess the Wii needs more adult themed games.
ReplyDeletecouldnt agree more with Hans.
ReplyDeleteUgh, more "hardcore gamer" anti Wii elitism. Maybe if you all stopped patting yourself on the back for being so HARDCORE you'd be able to enjoy a wider variety of games. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I did come across a little snobby, Bad Fish. But, in no way am I "anti-Wii". I simply wish there were more games for it that appealed to me.
ReplyDeleteMatt (MWG)