theCAVman Says So Pt I: Houston, Wii Have A Problem

Opinion from Cav - Thursday, 11 March 2010 @ 5:52pm

I love Kotaku. I sometimes pillage it for news for AG and sometimes Dave pillages back. All’s fair in ‘Love’n’Websites’.... but today I nearly quit them. Not because of the content, but because of the people reading it and their comments. Apparently, according to quite a few them, there is no room for the Wii in the great ‘Console Wars’.

Those guys are flat out wrong.

I would bet my left nut (I have four kids, I don’t need it anymore) that a majority of those making comment against the Wii refuse to buy one due to their Sony/Microsoft Fanboi status.

“The guys at school would kick my arse if they knew I bought a Wii”

You don’t even know what you are missing out on.

I posed the following question to our readers here at AG: Is the Nintendo Wii crap? I put it as a simple Yes or No question and the results were good. In three days I got 38 votes – 23 of them voted No. There were some people who wanted an ‘in between’ type option, but I just needed an overall opinion, so I could assist this article. So am I establishing myself as a Ninty Fanboi? I will be the first to admit that I really enjoy what the Wii has to offer, but that is because I am taking full advantage of what is accessible. To show you where I am coming from, I will breakdown my household situation for you. I own all of the big three and looking at my game collection, I’d say my consoles rank as follows:

Wii

PS3

Xbox360

The PS3 possibly only ranks higher than the 360, as I have quite a few PS2 games that I hung onto ( I have the backwards compatible model). Also, to throw a spanner in those stats: Honestly? Last year I played more COD4 Online Multiplayer on the 360 than I care to mention. It quite often got in the way of me completing reviews.

Now, with those figures it appears you are a little confused.

“Cav, you own a few PS2 and PS3 games, you play a lot of XBL, so why are you such an avid Wii Supporter”

Well, actually, I have over 40 Wii Titles, 2 dozen GameCube games and over 125 Vitual Console and WiiWare games. 98% of these I earned from Nintendo’s Connection Ambassador Promotion. Yes there are some that rarely get any playtime anymore like World Poker Tour, Tony Hawks Downhill Jam and Smackdown vs Raw 2008, but there are others that I like to go back to every now and then. The kids also enjoy Donkey Konga and the older Mario Party games with the mic (which I don’t think works terribly well). Luigi’s Mansion has also undergone a revival... it was a pretty damn good game.

To prove to you that there is actually more to the Wii than just waving a WiiMote around, let me take you on a trip around the Wii and let’s see if there is anything you are missing out on.

Firstly: The Console:

To get the most out of the Wii, you are going to have to spend a few extra dollars, but it will be a worthy investment. In conjunction with the out of the box basics, here’s a list of what I believe you will need:

Wii Component Cable – maybe not so important, but I like it.

Another three WiiMotes and Nunchuks – you never know when friends will drop round, grab the Motion Plus Adapters while you’re at it. You should still be able to pick up packs like WiiPlay with the bonus WiiMote and Tiger Woods 10 and/or Wii Sports Resort with the WiiMotion Plus.

Wireless Nunchuks are a bit ‘Hit and Miss’, just go with the real deal.

Wireless Internet Connection or Wii LAN Adapter

At least 2 Classic Controllers – If buying from eBay be careful. Some of them look the goods but plug directly into the Wii in the CameCube controller ports and not the WiiMote.

Download the Shop Channel and the Nintendo Channel, these will not only give you access to the Virtual Console, so you can go retro, but Wii Ware as well. The Nintendo Channel will also quite often give you an insight on what’s coming up. The Nintendo Channel also allows you to download demos of DS Games to you DS, in a ‘one time’ look. This means once you end the game or turn your DS off, it’s gone. Another element of the Nintendo Channel is that there are also records of how much of each game you have played; I have some scary stats on my console.

4 Wavebird Controllers – these were the best damn purchase I ever made for a console, bar none. Originally bought for the GameCube, I held onto these bad boys and I am glad I did.

SD Card – I have an 8gb HCDC Card and I am NEVER going to run out of room – I have over 125 VC and WiiWare games and still have 50,000 blocks left

Nintendo Wii Points - don’t be a tight arse, do yourself a favour and grab a couple of thousand points.
Okay, now this will give you a solid ground to work on, giving you access to a big selection of Virtual Console and WiiWare games, as well as you regular store bought kind, both Wii and GameCube.

Now that we have your console sorted out, the following, I believe, are a few of the must have games for the Wii:

Disaster: Day of Crisis – I really liked this game. A Nintendo title, this slipped by, mostly unnoticed. I was always wanting to buy it and found it for $40 some 2 years ago while on holiday. I’m guessing it was incorrectly priced so I pounced on that like a Hyena on an injured Gazelle. Kinda reminds me of the way Resi 4 plays – this one is certainly worth a go.

House of the Dead: Overkill: the AG team is a big fan of this one. An Arcade Classic brought back to life with a massive injection of humour. This is a must have title in your Wii Collection. Oh yeah, if you can track it down, get the Bang Bang box edition with the two ‘hand cannon’ peripherals. They are SOOOO much better that the Nintendo release WiiZapper. Check out the Australian Gamer review here. As the boys spoke about in Podcast 190, you can now pic up the Sega Welcome to Violence pack, which includes The Conduit, Madworld and HotD: Overkill. Don’t be afraid to pick up House of the Dead 2 & 3 as well, a great nostalgic trip without the dollar coins and black curtains.

Super Mario Galaxy – the flagship has never looked like this before. It was a great comeback for the red capped plumber after what I thought was a rather average effort in Mario Sunshine. With the sequel not too far away, if you haven’t played this, grab it now. Check out the Australian Gamer review here.

Resident Evil 4 – If you played this on the PS2, try an erase it from your mind and start afresh with the Wii version. This is another must have for your collection, although it still seems rather pricey for a title as old as it is. Some stores must be exploiting the fact that it is still so awesome.

Tiger Woods 10 – Okay, if Tiger ends up getting divorced, he’s going to want you to purchase a few of his games. This one uses the WiiMotion Plus adapter for your WiiMote and let me tell you now: If you play shit golf in real life, it will remind you with every swing. As AJ said in his review, this IS the best Golf title on the Wii.

The amount of WiiWare out at the moment is pretty impressive, although not all of it is worth wasting you WiiPoints on. The following are a few of my favourites:

Swords and Soldiers: I was kinda sceptical when I was asked to review Swords & Soldiers as I have never been an RTS fan, but this one was a riot. It was flat out and had a very funny script to boot... and who can resist Ninja Monkeys? Don’t hesitate – Get it.

World of Goo – Okay, I know that this is available on PC, but my armchair is much more comfortable than my desk chair and my TV is 23 inches bigger than my monitor. You do the math.

Pokemon Rumble – Well probably not my favourite, but since I downloaded it my kids have played the hell out of it. It’s not turn based like your regular Pokemon games, but a flat out adventure which takes you to a final ‘in-ring’ battle with other Pokemon.

The Virtual Console is a Retro-Lovers gift from the Gods and here are a couple of my favourites:

Breath of Fire II (SNES): When I was younger, had less kids, more hair and a part time job, I loved a good RPG session and this ranks as one of my all time favourite games.

Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES): Two player fun that has aged really well, this is the one reason you need two Classic Controllers.

Super Mario Kart 64 (N64): No real explanation needed here

Zelda: Majoras Mask & Ocarina of Time (N64): I bought the Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition on GameCube, just so I could have these games without having to crack out the N64. I now have these saved to my SD card and they are ready anytime I want them. This is a good thing.

Look, I know it’s going to be hard to convert some of you, as the Wii isn’t powerful enough for you, doesn’t pump out the graphics the others can....... but just take in what I have written and have a think about it. So what if the Friend Code system is ever so slightly overflowing with fail? I really don’t know what else to say, but I think if John Lennon was still around I’m sure he would say “All I am saying, is give Wiis a chance”