Theres Wii on My Telly

It's an absolute joy to handle

Feature by Chris Pickering | 11 Jan 2007
A new console launch typically initially brings about a huge chunk of excitement as the release days draws near. Secondly, devilishly high stress levels as pre-orders go unfulfilled, and morning rushes to any store that happens to sell electrical goods are made by thousands. And last of all, disappointment as launch titles are found to be at best nothing particularly exciting, and at worst tedious and derivative.

But the Wii, well, it's not just the name that Nintendo finally decided on that differs from the norm.

Even opening up the box gives that unnerving feeling of finally laying your grubby mitts on something truly special. Its iPod-esque layout contains each of the hefty number of in-box items sat in its own little spot, all snugly tucked away nice and safe.

The unit itself is a thing of beauty. No matter how often we've been made well aware of its dinky size, it's not until you sit it down next to that great hulking monstrosity that is Microsoft's Xbox 360 that you finally realise just how tiny it is. Seriously, it's the size of three DVD cases, and that's that.

Setting things up couldn't be much easier either. The included sensor bar – roughly ten inches long, an inch thick, and a mere centimetre in depth – fits snugly into its included holder, and is affixed securely by some included sticky pads, either on top of your TV, or just below. Neither has any particular advantage or disadvantage since in the initial set up of your machine you calibrate your control options in relation to the postion you have chosen.

Other than that, it's only a case of plugging in your AV connection, and then the plug, and with a quick blue flash of the disc drive, you're away.

Once you're on the starting menu – after a very brief set-up sequence as mentioned above – first thing you'll do is set up your 'Mii'. Containing a wicked amount of depth, creating a cartoony version of yourself is an absolute breeze. But you're not restricted to just this Mii. Fancy creating each member of Radiohead? Then go for it. You can even create a scarily uncanny 'Wacko Jacko' complete with freakish nose. Even fellow Wii owning pals you're hooked up with might find their Wii's populating your console.

You'll be controlling all this via your Wii remote. Feeling not only lighter than expected, but also much smaller, it's an absolute joy to handle. Any misgivings you might have had can be tossed firmly out of the window, with the remote fitting snugly in the palm of your hand, and extended use in no way initiating any kind of cramp.

As for the nunchuk – not required on the initial menu screens, nor on the Wii Shopping channel – this little fella definately feels much lighter than expected. There was a small part of me that expected both to continuously rattle as the bearings inside measuring movement flew about the place. Well, yet again I've been proven absolutely wrong as it's as silent as you could hope for. Well, apart from when the Wii remote's speaker starts emitting a few choice sounds during gaming action.

Want to get online and sample the retro delights of the Shopping channel, where you can purchase NES, SNES, Mega Drive, and even Turbografx titles? If you've got yourself a wireless network than connection is an absolute breeze. No wireless network? Then simply purchase the official Nintendo wifi stick, stick that in your broadband enabled PC's USB socket, and connect away! With new titles on offer every single week, you'll be splashing out tonnes of retro goodies throughout the entire lifespan of the Wii. There's even Toejam and Earl!

So, is the Wii a success? You're damn right it is! It's deceptively easy to use, and the included Wii Sports title is encouraging millions of non-gamers to wield Wii remotes and nunchuks, meaning that Nintendo is onto a real winner. Whether or not any future games are going to continue to make sublime use of this innovative control method are yet to be seen, but if they continue in the same vein as we've witnessed with the Wii's launch titles, there's little doubt that Nintendo could be right back in the driving seat in terms of gaming hardware. Wii on!
Nintendo Wii is Out now. £179.99 with Wii Sports http://www.wii.com