Wii

That's right, The Player's Lair has acquired a Nintendo Wii!!!



Now, this review is going to be a lead-in to a mini-series of reviews. What franchise will I be toppling? We'll wait and see...


Before I review this system, let's take a look at it's history:

The Nintendo Gamecube wasn't exactly a commercial success. It was the third to last system in the console race (placing ahead of only the Dreamcast) and was a bit of a dissapointment compared to the N64 era Nintendo fanboys were previously blessed with. So with the next generation of systems, all eyes were on Nintendo and their next offering. For a while, it seemed as though the Nintendo had a plan. The system was named "Revolution" , and seemed to usher in exactly that. Unfortunately, Nintendo changed the name to Wii and completely started to plummet. Sure, it was a commercial success, but a system's quality and popularity is never based on commercial success. (see Dreamcast.) It seemed that the Wii was for casual fans and casual fans alone. However, it seems as though Nintendo is returning to it's roots with a number of awesome retro WiiWare games and other upcoming releases. So, I picked up one of these bad boys when I had the dough.

Stylistic-wise, this system is one of the better looking. It's possibly the best looking out of the current line-up, and is pleasantly soft on the eyes. The soft blue light of the disc tray wonderfully compliments the bright white console. The system stand makes the system look that much more epic. This thing has class.

The system's start-up screen and menu shares the soft personality of the console itself, and is a welcome alternative to the Gamecube's obnoxious start-up. (I'm not saying I didn't like the GCN start-up, but it got tedious at times). The idea of "channels" is pretty cool, and is a nice change of pace to the standard scroller menus.

The controller is my only real gripe with this block of awesome, as it lacks the feel all great systems need. Sure, the Nunchuck and Wiimote combo works perfectly for your standard Wii Sports and what not, but for a game like New Super Mario Bros where grip and precision is key, this controller isn't up to par. However, I will say that the motion control is fantastic. (With MotionPlus, at least.) It's fantastic with games like Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy, but the sacrifice on hardcore games isn't worth the minor upgrade of quality with games like Zelda.


All and all, this is a great system, but certainly not the best. I think we all know what the best is. ...I'm not gonna say it. You first. No you.


As for all you naysayers who say that the Wii is for casual gamers only, let's check back in a year and see if your opinion hasn't changed.