Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.

Metroid Prime 3 has proven indeed that a Wii Remote and Nunchuk is the next best thing to a keyboard and mouse for first person shooting and action. Although we have few FPS titles being developed and released on the Wii (relative to party games and family-friendly content, or the main attraction of a certain other platform), the genre is among the most popular in the scripting community. This is naturally so with FPS being a favored genre among hardcore PC gamers and hardware enthusiasts.

With the recent release of the demo version of Call of Duty 4 and its imminent final release, I felt it was time to pick up arms and serve you a script for this spectacular shooter.

It seems like all we're doing today is throwing videos at you, but we assure you, fine reader, that this site will not be changing its stripes (nintendowiivideolovingfanboy.com is too long of a url anyway). In the embedded video, available past the jump as usual, we see some young gentleman hook up his Wiimote and nunchuk to his PC for some Call of Duty action. It doesn't look like he's tweaked the controls enough yet, but he accomplishes his task with some surprising results.

When the big man speaks, we listen. And yes, we're referring to the deity that is Reggie Fils-Aime, standing atop his mighty pedestal after supplanting Zeus for the title. He was recently on Spike TV's GameHead, speaking rather generically about the Wii. But, as you may have guessed, there was a diamond in the rough: the news that the first multiplayer online Wii games will be announced in Q1 2007 and start shipping in Q2. Finally!

We're a little disappointed that online didn't come right out of the box; God knows some games really could have benefitted: Madden 07, Call of Duty 3, and Red Steel certainly could have used the boost. Still, at least a smidgeon of online functionality is coming quite soon, with the ability to trade custom levels in Elebits via the magic of the internet intertron. That's its new name. Thus have we spoken, and thus it is so.

[We don't normally steal our sister site Joystiq's pictures, but this one was just too good.]

Loads of people, especially Nintendo haters, have been questioning the quality of the Wii graphics. French site, NGCFrance, has put up 13 sets of images from games featured on the GameCube and Wii one after the other to compare the difference, if any.

We wouldn't completely trust these screens, fellow Wii fanboys/gals. We aren't saying that the site intentionally altered screens to try and make a negative point nor that the pictures are wrong due to our Nintendo fandom, we are just saying to look with an open mind. We especially love the Fire Emblem comparison. Magic blast vs. magic blast. Sweet.

On a lighter note, Google translator is teh awesome. Check out what a Nintendo Fanboy from France had to say in Nintendo's defense:

me yesterday I played there the mgs and DIFFERENCE EAST MUCH CLEARER than that!!!!!!!! because laWii same on a screen of 120cm reacted very well and remains super beautiful!! and sonic be superb!!! not no concern it above Wii will be more beautiful, more powerful and heuresement!! ^^ zelda tp pouwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwa!!! brilliant comamdes!!!

The Call of Duty series has been praised for intense cinematics, great multiplayer modes and more. Call of Duty 3, unlike other installments, allows players to fight for four different sides (America, Britain, Canada and Poland) through the Normandy Breakout. If you slept through history class like we did, educate yourself here.

Call of Duty 3 is promising a lot to players with interviews from actual soldiers to no loading bar when switching sides. Unfortunately there won't be an online mode for Wii players but we don't care do we? While those suckers are using analog sticks to turn, aim and throw grenades, we get to use our arms like big girls and boys.

Check out a few new screens after the break!

According to our patrons at Joystiq, who never let us in on any of their fun, the Wii's Call of Duty 3 may not boast the power of its rivals on the PS3 and 360, but it brings something far more important to the table: fun. Yes, an actual fun video game! Try not to wet yourself with glee. Joystiq's Kevin Kelly got to spend some time with all three, and has written up a great comparison of what each version can offer.

Unlike the last minute twists and turns on the PS3 controller, the "Battle Actions" performed with the Wiimote and nunchuk feel natural, Kelly reports. It pulls you into the game. Does that mean we're all going to look like the guys in the various Red Steel trailers? Probably. Draw the shades and drop the blinds before you pick up the Wiimote.

But while the Wii is kicking eight sorts of ass in the controls department, it's not all sunshine and roses. The Call of Duty franchise really benefits from online multiplayer, which is a feature we will not have. And the graphics are not quite up to the quality of the other consoles, though from the screenshot above, we're not seeing much to complain about.

If the mention of World War II still compels you to go about shooting things (typically Nazis) from a first-person perspective, you'd best check out 1Up's weeklong feature that promises to detail every pixel, polygon and private that constitutes the upcoming Call of Duty 3. Taking over from Infinity Ward, developer Treyarch is keen on capitalizing on next-gen technology and the creative freedoms it provides -- with any luck, that means we'll actually be able to open doors in this one. Oh well, we suppose loads of on-screen enemies and trampled blades of grass are just as useful.

The screenshots and video provided are enough to convince us of the game's technical gravitas, but we're obviously much more interested in the Wii version and how it looks to take advantage of the unique control system. A small blurb in the first part of the preview suggests how, while at the same time suggesting that the other two versions of the game are the main focus here. "The Wii version, in development outside Treyarch, shows some potential to bring the player into the game during the Battle Actions in a way the PS3 and 360 won't be able to. Actually wrestling with a German for his gun or actually disarming that explosive are things only the Wii will let you do this gen."

Battle actions are Call of Duty's answer to Shenmue's Quick Timer Events. At certain points during the game, you're required to press certain buttons in order to escape a cinematic struggle or situation. Failure is likely to result in far more unpleasantness than getting smacked in the head by some Japanese kid's soccerball. These sound particularly intriguing if done correctly for the Wii and should make up for some of its inevitable graphical shortcomings. Even then, we have to wonder how long it'll take before we grow tired of crawling through trenches and taking out tanks. Is World War II the new Hoth?

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]