After reading Joystiq's hands-on write-up of Skate It for the Wii, we were thrown back by one particular comment: "Skate It's control is one of the best gameplay implementations of the Wiimote yet." Wow, what a statement!
We were all excited about Skate It, even more so when we found out it featured Balance Board support, but now we're even more pumped to try it ourselves. But, does it tout one of the best Wiimote control schemes yet? We'll have to wait and see, however, in the meantime, tell us what titles you think best utilize the Wii's wonderfully unique controls? We'll get you started with an easy one: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure.
GamePro had some time to check out the Wii version of upcoming Lucasarts game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. During their time with it, they managed to sink their teeth into the robust PVP aspect (called Duel Mode, it allows for one-on-one combat between 27 different characters from the Star Wars universe) of the game, as well as provide details on how the motion controls will work. They even took time to compare the two versions of the game graphically, showing the difference in character detail and textures between them. But, who cares about graphics? The controls are where it's at, right?
For the chart containing the game's controls on Wii, click here or head past the break.
For those of you looking for a control scheme in Mario Kart Wii that does not involve a wheel or a Wiimote in any way, know that you won't be given the same love you were in, say, Smash Bros. Brawl. Instead, you're ... wait, what's this? Actually, for Mario Kart Wii, the exact same control schemes available in Super Smash Bros. Brawl are open to gamers for use.
Head past the break for the full breakdown on how you'll be busting tricks and trashing the competition in Mario Kart Wii.
While we enjoy the Wii's motion controls most of the time, they can ruin a game if they're not implemented properly. Have you played any games on the Wii that had horrible controls? If so, what were the worst offenders?
I'll just come out and say it: Smash Bros. Brawl is the best game on the Wii right now. It beats Super Mario Galaxy, it is a better game than Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and it .. it's just amazing. Smash Bros. Brawl is a must-own game in the Wii's line-up and a benchmark for everything the system can do, both correctly and incorrectly.
So, you've had more than 24 hours to play Brawl. You've unlocked several characters, took the fight online and probably spent some time gawking at your trophies. But, the real question lurking in the back of many a fanboy's (and fangirl's) mind is: which control scheme is the best to go with?
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded Nintendo, for the second year in a row, an Emmy® Award for excellence in engineering creativity. With a name that long, it has to be big and important, right? As you might imagine, the Wii was noticed for its motion-sensing controls, which have "attracted a broad range of nontraditional gamers and veteran players alike."
Yesterday, the award was presented in Las Vegas, at the annual Technological & Engineering Emmy Awards. The new award, which follows last year's award for Nintendo's invention of the plus-shaped d-pad, brings great joy to the company, as NoA's executive vice president of operations Don James stated "We're grateful for this award and thank the academy for honoring us a second time."
Congratulations, Nintendo! You certainly deserve the recognition.
Why does this news pertain to you, intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous reader? Well, for one we suspect you have a deep and dark hatred for Bill Gates and his company. Also, this rumor states that Microsoft is working with one of Nintendo's partners to establish this motion-sensing controller.
Gyration, a company that Nintendo had worked with in the past to establish what has become the Wiimote, has now begun work with the Redmond-based giant to develop a unique controller for the Xbox 360. And, with the Xbox 360 being the only current-gen console missing motion-based controls, it's likely that Microsoft could be planning to correct this soon.
Today's dojo update isn't a huge megaton or anything, but for those who didn't know about all of the various control options, it's something new. Also, you can transport your control settings to a friend's house by uploading your settings to your Wiimote and hitting the road. Screens of the various set-ups can be found in the gallery below.
Posted Oct 26th 2007 12:00PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
The issue of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams' control scheme is getting more complicated-- and, to us, more awesome.Reports from TGS indicated that the game made no use of motion controls; later, we heard that the motion controls were optional, and disappointing. But it seems that we have yet to hear the whole story about the control options for this game.
Sega's North American NiGHTS website has opened up, and its "features" area lists the supported controllers for the game. According to the website, it is possible to play NiGHTS with the Wiimote, Wiimote and Nunchuk, Classic Controller, or even a GameCube controller. We still have yet to determine the specifics of any of the control schemes, but it at least seems more likely that there will be one for everybody. And, as with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we're excited about replaying the game using different control schemes.
The website also features a brisk history of NiGHTS and a short video of the Saturn game in action. It also features a lovely sparkle effect when you move your mouse.
Now that Zack & Wiki has been released into the wild, IGN's Matt Casamassina needs something new to hype, and we're all sorts of behind this latest choice: Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. In a recent blog entry, he reports that the controls are out of this world. In fact, he says the WWII title "beats the pants offMetroid Prime 3 in the FPS control department. This is the new Wii benchmark, period." That's a bold statement, but it seems to jibe with what we've seen and heard so far about the game ... and hey, we get bonus incredible multiplayer to boot. Put us down in the excited column on this one.
In the same post, he drops possible hints of an Elebits sequel. Exciting!
At this point, we can only assume that the earliest shots of Sega's NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams were maybe a little too early. The game looked rough and flat, but these days? NiGHTS is looking better than ever. But that wasn't the only issue with the revival of the classic; after recent reports from TGS, reviewers complained of slow framerate and a lack of motion controls. Well, folks, we've got what may be good news: it looks like there's a chance for everything to go our way with this latest NiGHTS.
Retailers stealthily changed the date on the title, and it looks to have been pushed back to just before Christmas. We can only hope that will give Sega a chance to work on the framerate issue. As for the motion controls, Graham at Sega Nerds demanded the right to test the motion controls at TGS and reported that they really weren't anything special. In fact, he says the other mode -- which more closely resembles the original Saturn controls -- was better. So maybe those will be fixed as well ... and if not, well, that's okay. We can do our androgynous fly-bys retro-style.
We've updated the gallery below with some of the new screens, and we'll tell you that they are definitely worth a peek. If this is how much NiGHTS has improved recently, we can't wait to see it at release!
We don't often try to fan the flames of rampant fanboyism around here, despite the name. Oh, sure, we may sometimes poke a little fun at other epic titles, but for the most part, we're all about letting everyone do their own thing, and we're even behind owning multiple systems! Loyalty is great and all, but so are options, amirite?
But sometimes, we get a little tired of the remarks about the Wii's graphics, games, and output. We complain sometimes, but honestly, we've got it pretty good. Our system doesn't break once a month, and ourflagshipgames are looking pretty sweet, unlike certain other super-hyped titles that failed to deliver (in all fairness, we're mostly dealing with long-running franchises, but still). We don't usually end up with a game that doesn't live up to certain promises, either. On top of that, our console is pretty affordable, and you can usually get just about anyone to play with you! All in all, we'd say Nintendo fans actually have it pretty good right now. How about you guys? Do you feel pretty good to be Wii owners?
Earlier this week, we spent a little time talking about some of the best motion-sensing control schemes offered by Wii games so far -- so it's only fair that we dedicate a little time to the worst that you've experienced since launch. We've managed to avoid some of the games that are supposed to be really awful, but can definitely say that about half of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz definitely left something to be desired (and yet, part of the game was fine). We've heard horror stories however, that many games are far worse. How about you? What's the worst you've tried to suffer through on the Wii? Feel free to get into the gory details.
For such a popular console that tries to offer something for everyone, the Wii also manages to be somewhat controversial -- and we're not just talking about Manhunt 2 here. The motion-sensing controls have been a bone of contention when it comes to nearly every game, even those people seem to enjoy. Some gamers find them awesome, and others ... not so much. We've selected six games which cover a range of game types (and aren't all first-party, either) as a measuring stick of what you think is best when it comes to Wii controls. We encourage you to vote early (and often!), but feel free to talk about other choices in the comments, as well as the reasons behind your picks.
You might have noticed that Wii Sports isn't on this list (and neither are several other well-received games!). We considered including it, because not everyone agrees that it works quite well as a showcase of the Wii control capabilities, but decided at the last minutes to include only non-bundled games. Feel free to voice your support for Wii Sports in the comments, however!
While we enjoy the Wii's motion controls most of the time, they can ruin a game if they're not implemented properly. Have you played any games on the Wii that had horrible controls? If so, what were the worst offenders?
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded Nintendo, for the second year in a row, an Emmy® Award for excellence in engineering creativity. With a name that long, it has to be big and important, right? As you might imagine, the Wii was noticed for its motion-sensing controls, which have "attracted a broad range of nontraditional gamers and veteran players alike."
Why does this news pertain to you, intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous reader? Well, for one we suspect you have a deep and dark hatred for Bill Gates and his company. Also, this rumor states that Microsoft is working with one of Nintendo's partners to establish this motion-sensing controller.
We don't often try to fan the flames of rampant fanboyism around here, despite the name. Oh, sure, we may sometimes poke a little fun at other epic titles, but for the most part, we're all about letting everyone do their own thing, and we're even behind owning multiple systems! Loyalty is great and all, but so are options, amirite?
Earlier this week, we spent a little time talking about some of the best motion-sensing control schemes offered by Wii games so far -- so it's only fair that we dedicate a little time to the worst that you've experienced since launch. We've managed to avoid some of the games that are supposed to be really awful, but can definitely say that about half of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz definitely left something to be desired (and yet, part of the game was fine). We've heard horror stories however, that many games are far worse. How about you? What's the worst you've tried to suffer through on the Wii? Feel free to get into the gory details.
