Nintendo Wii First Impressions

Feature from Oracle - Monday, 08 January 2007 @ 12:00am

That night I picked up the Nintendo Wii with Zelda and Wiimote + Wii Play. I was a bit disappointed about Nintendo unsuccessfully getting the component cables ready for launch day but what can you do eh?

I carefully open the box and unwrap the Wii from the plastic protector. Thar she glows, what a beauty. One of the first things you’ll notice about the Wii is its size and weight. The console is no bigger than 3 DVD cases bundled together and slightly heavier than it too. I have to make a quick decision if I want my Wii to stand up and lay down. I must say that the Wii looks very strange laying down, I’m not sure why I think so but I believe it could be because I’ve never seen a Wii horizontally. It looks awkward, kinda like a DVD Rom you have for your PC just laying there by itself.

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After plugging it all in and doing a few sound tests I hold the Wiimote in my hands for the second time. The Wiimote and nunchuk are very ergonomic; they fit comfortably in your hands and it just feels great to hold. As I powered on the Wii for the first time it took me some practice getting used to pointing the Wiimote at the TV, it reminded me of using a mouse on the Computer for the first time a while back when I was a kid. But within no time you start handling it like a pro, the tricky part is yet to come.. playing the games.

As you’re clicking away you’ll notice sound being produced from the Wiimote. Yes, you may have noticed the Wiimote does have an inbuilt speaker, but is it good? It’s definitely a great idea for games such as Wii Sports where it creates a ‘swoosh’ noise when you swing your golf club or a ‘schwing’ noise when Link swings his sword in Legend of Zelda. But there are times where you’ll notice the lack of quality of the speaker in some games. In Wii Sports, the speaker is very clear and enjoyable to hear, in Zelda Twilight Princess you’ll notice the cheap sounds it will produce with later items in the game.

I’ve heard complaints about noises being delayed or muffled during gameplay and after playing the Wii for a month straight I have yet experience this.

The rumble in the Wiimote is not as strong as the PS2’s or the Xbox 360’s rumble because of its single small motor much like the Gamecube’s controller rumble. The rumble inside the Wiimote is very suitable and helps holding the Wiimote even more comfortable for your hands.

As your Wii on for the first time it will ask you for current time, location, your name and the consoles name. It then quickly performs a wireless connectivity test to the Internet and then it will automatically update your console. The first update takes a while so grab a beer and kick back. After completing the update the Wii will then boot up into the Home Screen.

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