Hey Shmokes - the Wii just took off

[RTSDaddy2]

If y'all ain't played Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - let me just tell you right now, after 30 - 45 minutes of hard core action, the Wii just took off.   THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR....PERIOD.  A 10 out of 10 if I've ever seen one, it even puts Zelda:TP to shame.

[Sir Auros]

It's what hardcore gamers have been waiting for, not what the majority of Wii owners have been waiting for. Non-gamers are happy with their Raving Rabbids and Wii Sports, not good games like Metroid.

[somunny]

Glad to hear it's a winner.  Unfortunately, I'm too busy playing Bioshock to take on another game. 

[AtomSmasher]

Glad to hear it's a winner.  Unfortunately, I'm too busy playing Bioshock to take on another game. 

Heh, so am I.  I'll definately be picking up Metroid as soon I as I finish it though, I'm excited to see how well it controls with the wiimote.

[Sir Auros]

Another Bioshock player here. After I finish playing it for the second time (to get the "bad" ending and achievements), I'll move on to Metroid. I just hope there isn't another lame backtracking quest like MP2.

[Zero_Hour]

I just hope there isn't another lame backtracking quest like MP2.

The reviews I've seen thus far indicate there isn't. Hope that assessment holds true.

[lcddream]

So far is hasn't disappointed. It is a killer game....and if you need any reference, I'm a couple hours into bioshock but I have favored this game the past couple of nights

Both games rock!

[shmokes]

I have no doubt that Metroid kicks ass.  I might even get it (today is my birthday, but we're celebrating it on Saturday cos I'm so busy with homework during the week).  It seems almost like an omen that it would be released on my birthday

Just to be clear, everyone here knows that I sometimes give the Wii a pretty hard time.  But you've gotta understand that while I probably come off sometimes as totally hating the Wii, I don't feel that way at all.  I think that because the criticisms I make are so often met with starry eyed insistence that the system poops gold and couldn't possibly have any problems, I end up really taking a hard line in response.

With that said, I'm sure that Metroid is going to kick ass, and it won't be the first game that has (I'm in love with Trauma Center, and Zelda is obviously great).  But I really doubt that the game is going to lay to rest a single one of my complaints about the system:

a) it's underpowered
b) the accelerometer in the controller is imprecise and unreliable (MP is controlled primarily with the analog stick and the pointer)
c) it lacks discreet 5.1 surround

B is by far the worst offender because the controller is what supposedly excuses A and C. 

BTW, RTSDaddy, do you see what I mean about not trusting your reviews?  You've been giving everything you play on the Wii 10/10, 5-star reviews.  But now Metroid Prime 3 comes out and you obviously recognize that this game is far and away better than those others like Pokemon Battle.  But if you've already given PB basically a perfect score, what's left for MP3?   

Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing it.  I, unfortunately, don't have much time for gaming these days and haven't in quite some time.  I feel like I'm getting pretty close to beating Zelda (I just got the double-hookshot in the sky temple) and I've had that game since December.     This holiday season will be tough cos I'll still have no time, but I'll have to deal with Mario, Trauma Center 2, Guitar Hero (I've never ever played Guitar Hero on any system), Zack & Wiki, and I still haven't had a chance to play Paper Mario.  Obviously I'm not going to have a chance, or the money, to get more than one or two of those, so I've got some serious choices to make.   

[MajorLag]

A 10 out of 10 if I've ever seen one, it even puts Zelda:TP to shame.

Woah, woah, lets not say things we might later regret.

It's what hardcore gamers have been waiting for, not what the majority of Wii owners have been waiting for. Non-gamers are happy with their Raving Rabbids and Wii Sports, not good games like Metroid.

I take offense to being referred to as a non-gamer because I'm apparently not hardcore enough to think that only SuperFPS 5: The Hypemaster is worth playing.

B is by far the worst offender because the controller is what supposedly excuses A and C.

I always thought keeping the price reasonable was the excuse for A and C... and B for that matter.

(I just got the double-hookshot in the sky temple)

Get ready for one of the coolest boss fights ever.

[shardian]

timeout - the Wii really doesn't have dolby 5.1 capabilites? Even the PS2 is 5.1

[MajorLag]

Thats right. And theres two really good reasons for it:
A) Its cheaper without it.
B) Relatively few people have 5.1 setups.

This are similar reasons for pretty much any feature missing from the Wii. I guess that Nintendo figured that if 5.1 sound, HD resolutions, and super horsepower were that big a deal to you then you'd just buy the other consoles anyway.

[shmokes]

To be fair, many people are mislead by PS2's 5.1 capabilities.  PS2 can only discreet 5.1 during DVD playback and FMV, but in-game it only does Dolby Pro-Logic II, just like the Gamecube and the Wii.  Xbox was the only system in the last gen that was fully 5.1.  Of course, this is five years later.  Not having 5.1 in the Wii now is ---smurfing--- ridiculous.  How much is it really keeping the costs down?  $39 Apex DVD players support discreet 5.1 surround.  I think the whole world pretty much would have been happy to pay $255 instead of $250 for that capability, even if it was just for insurance, in case they upgrade to surround sound sometime in the Wii's lifecycle.

[RTSDaddy2]

Shmokes, in all fairness regarding my reviews, I DO see your point.  Early on I was pretty quick to climb on the Wii bandwagon too quick.  It's also fair, however, to say those reviews are just opinions of someone who is NOT a hardcore gamer (though I do intend to investigate / purchase Bioshock).  Likewise I will retract my statement about it putting Zelda to shame before that burns me - both are excellent in their own right.

That's why I've TRIED to lay off (as per Mario Party and view each a little more realistically (although I did give PBR too much credit). And no, I doubt MP3 will defer all your doutbs - a lot of which are probably well grounded - about the Wii.

Now DON'T take this the wrong way, because I really wasn't insulted by your comment, it was EXCELLENT constructive criticism - but in all seriousness I should probably just keep my mouth shut and leave the gaming reviews to the pros on here.  I will try to keep it to more opinions than reviews, if possible, as I think that's more what I'm trying to do / what this board is partly / about for anyway.

Finally, I was just tryin' to give you a hard time in regard to your post about "when is the Wii going to take off..."

[stephenp1983]

shmokes I'm right behind you on Zelda.  I got it back during release on the cube, and just picked it back up.  I just finished the temple of time, and am going after all of the sky temple artifacts now lol.  I just bought metroid today as well, so it looks like it will be put on hold again , not to mention I have bioshock as well.

[Sir Auros]

shmokes, I totally disagree with your thoughts on Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD (I think both formats will fail), but you're not the only one here who doesn't hold the Wii on a pedestal.

[ChadTower]

I'm sick of 12 hour workdays.  I'm stopping in at Target on the way home and if they have a Wii it's coming with me.

 

[tommy]

I'm sick of 12 hour workdays.  I'm stopping in at Target on the way home and if they have a Wii it's coming with me.

 

Good luck, i always ask for the hell of it at stores and they always say they still can't keep them in stock.

[patrickl]

I had to wait 4 months before I got my Wii. I thought about freezing myself ...

[ahofle]

Walmart usually has them on Wednesdays around here (I guess they get them in on Tuesday night?).  You can just call them and they'll tell you if they have any.

[hulkster]

weird....shmokes my birthday is tomorrow, but i got metroid yesterday as an early birthday present from my wife.  i played golf yesterday and didnt have time to play metroid last night, but rest assured tonight will be different!

i bought zelda and red steel at launch.  zelda was awesome.  red steel sucked donkey balls...i wanted to like it....i tried really hard too.  i sold it back though.  anyway, since i beat zelda, ive had nothing but wii sports and VC games to keep my busy (which lasted about 3 months) and ive been playing my 360 until it red ringed a few weeks ago.  now im waiting for it to get back so i can go buy bioshock, but until then i have metroid to play tonight!  whoo!

[shmokes]

Actually my Birthday was yesterday, on the 28th.  I think when I posted that it was my birthday it was actually past midnight so it technically was no longer my birthday.  Or something.  You should send me your copy of Metroid for my birthday. 

[hulkster]

Actually my Birthday was yesterday, on the 28th.  I think when I posted that it was my birthday it was actually past midnight so it technically was no longer my birthday.  Or something.  You should send me your copy of Metroid for my birthday. 

its in the mail.  i sent it to Shmokes....im assuming thats your real name.  if not, i guess ill just get it returned. 

[ChadTower]

They had a bunch of them.  I had one in my hand until I saw that the controllers are $40 each.  I was like WTF I'm not paying an extra $120 for the controllers.

[patrickl]

You need 4 controllers?

[shmokes]

The funny thing is that it's actually more like $140 cos you really need two nunchucks.  You should have just picked up the system and one extra controller, though.  Then, down the road a couple months when you forget how much that stung, you can pick up a third, and then months later, eventually a fourth.  But I think you really do need four controllers eventually.  Doubles in Wii Sports Tennis is lots of fun.  You don't need four nunchucks for anything that's out right now, as far as I know.  But you're right.  When you factor in the cost of the extra controllers, a Wii with four controllers is probably as much or more expensive than an Xbox 360 with four controllers.  That's not to say it isn't worth it, but it does kind of go against prevailing attitudes toward the system.

[ChadTower]

Not need but that is the setup I was going for... we were going to focus mostly on Wii Sports for a while, me and my kids.  But not at that price.  My family is just getting to a point where four player gaming is useful.

[tommy]

You could always pickup the Wii-play game and that comes with a controller, it may sting abit less that way.

[ChadTower]

I did see that in the case and considered it.  Couldn't see enough of what the game is about to justify buying it, though. 

[tommy]

It's probably similar to the sports games with not as much depth, if you can even say Wii sports has depth.

[ChadTower]

I wasn't really looking for depth... just decent four player gaming and a new online experience.

[Zero_Hour]

Wii Play isn't going to give you any 4 player games. It struck me as more of a "Learn all the Wii Controls" exercise. I hadn't touched it since I bought it until last week, when my nieces were visiting ( 8 & 10 years old). They thought it was a blast.

[ChadTower]

In that case, Wii Play isn't worth the extra $10.

[Sir Auros]

It's acceptable because it's basically a $10 game when you factor in the controller, but it's by no means a good game.

"New online experience?" I guess mutually entering long codes to add people to a friends list is kind of new.

[shmokes]

Wii Sports is highly playable with only two controllers and two nunchucks (the Wii comes with one of each, so you're looking at an extra $60 for another set).  The ONLY thing you can't do is doubles tennis, but you can play four-player golf and four-player bowling, with two people assigned to each controller and you just hand it back and forth.  The only thing the nunchuck actually gets you is the ability to play two-player boxing, so it's debatable whether that justifies the $20 price tag, considering that boxing is by far the weakest aspect of Wii Sports.  So, really, a Wii plus one controller will give you 90% of what Wii Sports has to offer with the only really worthwhile thing you're missing out on being doubles tennis.

And don't let the low price of Wii Play fool you.  Just because $10 isn't a lot of money to flush down the toilet compared with say, $50, you still wouldn't just flush $10 down the toilet, which is what Wii Play amounts to.  It is ---smurfing--- retarded and if you really want it you can have mine.  You will play it for one or two hours on a single evening, and enjoy a small amount of . . . I hesitate to say fun . . . . . . . diversion.  Then it will just sit there indefinitely.  Just get the controller and save the $10. 

[tommy]

You won't even need another nunchuk, the only game that uses it is boxing and it's not worth playing IMO.

[ClubNinja]

... and a new online experience.

In this case, new != good.  I think a Wii would work out very well for you guys and, as mentioned above, you'll really only need one extra controller - particularly with Wii Sports, where the nunchuck is only useful for the lame boxing game and the turn-based games allow controller passing.

But don't buy into it expecting anything worthwhile online.

[shmokes]

I think Super Mario Strikers online component is supposed to be quite good.  And there's more to come.  It will never approach what MS, and even Sony have done with the online space, but it'll be far from useless, I think.

By the way, that's another reason you'll probably want at least one more nunchuck.  You're a sports fan.  I'm sure that multiplayer in Super Mario Strikers and Madden, etc., require multiple nunchucks.  And, at least with Strikers, I'm guessing it supports 4 players, so there might actually be reason to have not only 4 regular controllers, but 4 nunchucks as well.  That puts a Wii plus a full set of controllers at $430.  Ouch!

[patrickl]

Is playing with 4 players actually doable? I think split screen gaming with 2 players is hugely annoying already. I can't imagine enjoying a 4 player split screen game.

[shmokes]

With soccer and American football games it isn't split screen.  The camera follows the ball and all players watch the action on the same screen.

[ChadTower]

I am a sports fan but I don't play many sports games.  If I want to play football I pick up a real one and go outside.  I don't play Madden.  I think the most recent version of Madden I own is on the Saturn (before it was Madden).  Same with soccer, baseball, etc.  I have sons to play with and don't want to be doing it on a game console.