Console reviews: The Nintendo Wii – Part 7
This definitely won't be an uber-high tech review of the Wii, nor will it be extremely comprehensive...
I have both the Wii and the PS3. Haven't touched the PS3 in 2 weeks or so, however, I can't get enough of the Wii.
I've always been a huge Nintendo fan because the type of games that are released. I feel that the interaction and fun factor of Nintendo has always been a positive point for me which makes their systems stand out from the rest. I don't need the super processing speed or graphics amazement, I need to feel like I can't put the controller down because the games are involving, addicting, and overall fun. With the PS3 (and 360), I end up getting bored too quickly. Most of the 360 games are basically the same concept. Nintendo's creativity supercedes the other gaming systems, IMO.
I was a bit skeptical about the design of the controller. A long cable holding together two different controls wasn't appealing to me, however, I was curious about the motion gaming.
To my surprise, it was much more comfortable to me to use than a regular controller. I can practically lay down on the sofa and have my hands laying to my sides instead of having them in the air trying to hold one controller. I don't know if I can paint of picture of that, but it's extremely comfortable.
The motion gaming seems pretty accurate. I haven't had any issues with response.
Zelda, although a port with added Wii motion, has been entertaining. The storyline is detailed, the graphics are superb (of course, not graphically intricate as the PS3), the motion and gameplay are easy to pick up. I get involved in the fighting by swinging the controller to wield my sword, aiming my slingshot, and a slew of other things. (oooh, I'm looking forward to the new Zelda game for the Wii!)
Wii Sports was a great addition to the Wii system. I was thrilled that it was included in the package. Talk about breaking a sweat! They say gaming causes laziness... not with the Wii, that's for sure! I was never a fan of sports games, but the interaction and competitive fun of these games quickly changed my mind. Something I discovered yesterday was that the Wii Sports has a Fitness Age program built in that you can test yourself each day fitness-wise with the different games in the same concept of Nintendo DS's Brain Age.
Another game that has been nothing but entertaining is Rayman. It has a million mini-games that really get your heart racing as every single mini-game involves motion.
I'm really enjoying my Wii. $250 is small compared to the value of the gaming system and games. It's a major plus that it's backwards compatible with the Gamecube, has wireless built in (however, don't expect much from the wireless yet, it's not full of bells and whistles yet, the channels don't even have anything), it's compact and sleek.
I say wait till there are more games for the PS3 before you dish out the bucks for that. Don't get me wrong, the PS3 has amazing graphics, but there's not enough games.
Wii = 5 out of 5
The Differences In The Xbox 360 Elite
The company founded by Bill Gates, Microsoft, has been a key player in the development of gaming consoles. Many companies over the years have tried to compete against one of the best known in home gaming consoles, the Sony Playstation with some success. The Xbox however, has certainly been one of the only gaming consoles that has truly been able to compete with the Sony Playstation and really amped up the type of games and gaming systems that are on the market.
Microsoft developed the Xbox and began marketing it in the late 1990's. This gaming system was greeted with initial reluctance by the public, as other systems that had competed were good but not quite to the standard of the Playstation. However, word got out that the Xbox was definitely a contender in the video game market and soon became a huge success. Anymore, most homes boast both the Xbox and the Playstation units as each gaming system has their own unique features or games that are made exclusively for that system.
What Is The Xbox 360 Elite?
Every year their improvements made to the gaming systems in hopes of drawing more people into the gaming craze. The Xbox 360 Elite is an upgraded system offered by Microsoft.
The Xbox 360 Elite has several features that gamers may find beneficial tot heir gaming needs. One feature offered by the Xbox 360 Elite is its larger memory storage. The Xbox 360 Elite comes with a 120GB hard drive that can store game advancement as well as movies, game demos, music or other items offered through the Xbox Live system. This hard drive is also detachable so that players can take with them their information to be played on other peoples consoles.
The Xbox 360 Elite has the capability of being connected to Xbox Live giving the player all the advantages of that system as well. Xbox Live enables players to connect to the internet and play games live with other players from everywhere on the globe.
The Xbox 360 Elite is made with an all black finish. This has a sleek and modern look that many find preferable to other systems. Black controllers are also available to match the stylish exterior of the Xbox 360 Elite.
The Xbox gaming system itself is a console that continues to evolve and improve. The Xbox 360 Elite is just the latest in this evolution, and offers players a usable system that is also attractive.
Nintendo’s Wii – From Purchase To Playing
If you haven’t seen the commercials for this new console from Nintendo or heard any of the hype, I would suggest taking a good look around to try and find one of these amazing, innovative gaming systems. I picked up my Wii on Black Friday and consider myself very lucky. The store I waited in front of, from 11pm until they opened at 7am only had 5 Wii units available and since I was 5th in line, I was a lot more fortunate then the 15 people behind me. After my long night I promptly went home and caught some Z’s only to be awoken by my eager kids and even more eager wife a few hours later.
We all gathered around for the opening of the box and we all got our first true look at the console. My first impressions were obviously based around the color and design of the hardware and the uniqueness of the controller (wii-remote). The unit was very small compared to that of Sony’s Playstation 3 and Mircosoft’s Xbox 360 and is about the size of 3 dvd cases stacked on top of one another. The unit can function both horizontally and vertically and fits above my TV with all my other gadgets perfectly, yeah score 1 for Nintendo. The hook up of the Wii went flawlessly, it has 3 cables, one for the power to the unit, one for the analog hook up for your television (HD cables hopefully will come soon) and one for the sensor bar which can either sit on top of your TV or below, depending on your individual needs. The sensor bar detects your movements from the Wii-remote, which is part of the reason this machine is totally different from its competitors. After the hook up of the system it was time to power it on and run through the set up program. You start by giving your Wii a name, ours is called Wee Wii. I know, I know, not the most pleasant name, but you can always change your Wii’s name at a later time. After that stage, if you have a Wi-Fi internet connection the Wii will access it and it will remain connected to the internet even while the power to the Wii is off. Having an internet connection will let the Nintendo update and send downloads to your console. Internet browsing capabilities should be available for the Wii in the 1st quarter 2007. Now your Wii is set up and its time to create your character(s) also known as Mii’s.
The Mii creator is a very fun aspect of the system and it allows you to customize the look of your characters. You can change your height, weight, hair style, hair color, eyebrows, facial structure, facial hair and many other aspects to create your unique Mii. Although the Mii’s are kind of cartoony looking, in the end you will be able to represent yourself pretty accurately. Eventually your Mii characters will wander around and be downloaded to other owner’s consoles across the world, chat features are soon to come as well. Enough about Mii creation lets move on to the fun stuff.
The Nintendo Wii was launched with Wii sports a collection of five sporting games. Boxing, bowling, tennis, golf and baseball are included and those five games should be enough to keep you busy until you have the opportunity to collect other games. At a first glance of the games, where you use your designed Mii characters to play, the graphics are nice, but still cartoony. The graphics are not intended to be the highlight of this system, but rather the use of the wii-remote is where this console excels over all others. Holding the controller in hand (be sure to use your wrist strap at all times) you can really get a feel for being in the game rather than just play a game. If you are playing tennis you would hold the wii-remote as if you holding a tennis racket and overhand swing or backhand swing your way to glory. Boxing is by far the most intense game released with the sports package. You have to use the wii-remote in your primary hand and connect the secondary remote (nunchuck) and use it in your other hand. You can jab by extending your arm(s) straight forward and right or left cross either to the head or body by swing your arms like a real boxer would. You can also hold your hands up in front of your face or body to block incoming punches as well as sway side to side to dodge punches. The innovativeness, interactivity and absolute exercise while having a total blast is what will take Nintendo to the top of the gaming food chain. This system will please all parents across the globe.
In my humble opinion, the Nintendo Wii will take kids (and parents) off of the couch and into the game. With a moderate price tag of $249.99, the Wii is cheaper than most exercise equipment and will produce the same calorie burning results, for you and your family. I know my kids would never spend any amount of time performing exercises, but what they don’t know will not hurt them. The Wii is very cleaver and disguises exercise with playing your favorite games. “Nintendo Wii, turning couch potatoes into controller wielding athletes”.
Which video game system should you buy? – Part 2
Wow! Never have there been so many different options to choose from in the history of the video game console war. In this, now, seventh generation of gaming systems, the industries have almost shot off into their own tangents. And when deciding on which one to buy, you better know what each one is capable of.
Nintendo Wii
Internet Capability Yes
Hard Drive No
Backwards Compatible Yes
Price - $249
With the Wii being the fifth console built by Nintendo, it's extremely impressive and the first of its kind. The "remotes" are acceleration sensitive and can detect 3-D movement. Most of the games are family friendly and get you up off the couch. The Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance (and e-Reader), and GameCube are all compatible with the Wii with the exception of online and LAN capabilities with the GameCube games. You can also purchase older Nintendo games online using the Wii ranging from $5 to $15.
Nintendo introduced another new concept called WiiConnect24. This is an online feature that allows your Mii (character created in your image by you) to mingle with other people's Mii's in a virtual world. It also allows you to leave messages on message boards for your friends on their Wii. The connection is a "always on" feature as long as the Wii is plugged in and has internet connection.
The downsides are: Lack of DVD player. Low storage capacity.
The Wii is meant for all ages and targeted towards families. With its low dollar price tag and unique graphics and game play style, its no wonder more people own a Wii than the other two.
X-Box 360 -
Internet Capability Yes
Hard Drive Yes/No
Backwards Compatible Yes/No
Price - $279 to $449
Even though it's only Microsoft's second attempt at a video game system, don't let that fool you. This machine is the all around high-definition's answer to graphics. With an optional HD-DVD player (sold separately as a PnP device) and three flavors to choose from, the X-Box 360 has something to offer for all levels of gamers.
Arcade $279 This is the light package for the occasional gamer. Includes: Wireless controller, 256 MB on-board memory, composite AV cable, HDMI 1.2 output, and an Arcade game disk that includes 5 titles (Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship Edition, and Uno).
Premium $349 Perfect for the well-rounded gamer. Includes: Wireless controller, 20 GB detachable HD, Falcon Motherboard, hybrid composite and component cables, HDMI
Which video game console is better: PlayStation 3 or Wii? – Part 16
Last winter video gamers around the world anticipated the release of two new video gaming systems. The hype that led up to the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii was incredible. Yet, it was not until the release of these two platforms that the competition had actually begun. There were many hard core gamers who claimed supremacy for the PlayStation 3; but, if majority rule has any say the Wii was, and is, the clear winner.
The first obvious thing of course is the price tag. Nintendo's Wii costs less than half of what you would spend on a new PS3. The PS3, I would say, is out of the price range for the very young gamers and even for a lot of older gamers. Granted, Sony had to spend a lot of money on developing this machine and the hardware itself is akin to some of the best gaming computers on the market; but, in comparison to the Wii, with Nintendo you get more for your money. Why is this?
Yes, the PlayStation 3 has insane graphics capabilities. Yet the audience that can take advantage of these capabilities is fairly limited. To take full advantage of the graphics capabilities you need to have a top-of-the-line HDTV in your home. I know that there are quite a few consumers today that do not have an HDTV in their home. I'm sure the hard core gamer is going to have the best equipment available for their gaming experience. What about the casual gamer, such as myself? If I were to purchase a PS3 I wouldn't be able to use it on my ancient television set. This is a clear draw back of the system itself. Sony tried so hard to create the ultimate gaming experience; they forgot that many of the consumers of their product wouldn't be able to use it. The Wii, while less sophisticated in terms of graphics capabilities, is able to connect to less technologically advanced televisions. This creates for Nintendo a much larger audience to sell their product to. Now grandma and grandpa and little Billy can play games without having to fork out thousands of dollars for a new TV set.
Now we get into the obvious advantage that the Wii presents- the revolutionary motion sensor controllers. This is what makes the Wii so fun to play. Mom and dad will be less likely to be upset that little Billy wants to play Nintendo for 2 hours because while he's playing he's getting a workout. I played Wii boxing for an hour one day and had sore arms for the next two. If you put on some wrist weights for an extra challenge you computer geeks won't get
Console wars: Comparing the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii
Since the realease of Xbox 360 in early December 2005 the 'war' to be the best
next generation console has been raging. The Xbox 360 offered a new experience
of wireless controllers, big storage and advanced graphics, compared to anything
else out at the time. The most appealing part of the Xbox 360 was it's online
play. The 360's older brother blew Playstation 2 net play out of the water with
it's Xbox Live. The 360 aimed to carry on their dominance over the online gaming
world. The Xbox 360 launched with titles like Call of Duty 2 and Perfect Dark
Zero which both targeted single player and online play. I believe that this
combination is what makes the Xbox 360 the console of choice.
One year later the Nintendo Wii blasted into stores and bought a new revolution
to gaming. The new motion gameplay appealed to many people, even non-gamers.
Resulted in it selling more gaming systems than Xbox 360. Although the Wii gave
us new, redesigned gameplay it lacked the titles that Xbox 360 had. The Wii
launched with Legend of Zelda and Redsteel. These games may have been successful
but the Wii failed to release enough titles that continue with these successes.
Instead Nintendo rely on pre-established titles, like Mario and Zelda. Nintendo need to come up with more innovative and new titles to release onto their consoles. Microsoft launched the incredibly successful Halo series and Playstation have their new title Resistance: Fall of Man. Bringing out new games will aid the Wii in keeping up with the other giants in the fight to become top gaming console.
The newly released Playstation 3 is perhaps the top contender to challenge the Xbox 360 for top spot. Although it is the most expensive console out of the three at 425. But looking at it's components we can see why. The Playstation 3 offers us extreme High Definition gaming with it's Blu-ray drive, a new way to view High Definition pictures and video. Also the Playstation 3 has a 60 gigabyte hard drive, three times more than the Xbox 360. It is also unleashing many new titles to help it move above the 360. Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm were amongst the first games to be released for Playstation 3. As well as this the PS3 also came with a light controller that contained a motion censor, just like the Wii. It is easy to see that Playstation is trying to knock out all competition.
After playing on all three consoles I have come to some conclusions about each. First the Nintendo Wii. I
Nikki Davila asked:
Video games go way back and are still one of the sought-after modes of entertainment for both kids and adults alike. You will realize that just about everyone loves to play some kind of video game. Gaming has turned into a technological wildfire these days, and the Xbox 360 game system is arguably one of the best systems available.
Video games started out humbly with enormous arcade pinball machines, then to joystick-based systems. Today, these games still in fact exist everywhere, just that they are now seen as nothing out of the ordinary. Other gaming systems have taken over and added more practicality and sophistication to the gaming experience.
You probably hear about the Xbox 360 all the time, so is it time to get one? The Xbox 360 is known to be one of the leading gaming systems available today. Video games created for the Xbox 360 are extremely interactive, with gamers treading on a fine line between reality and the digital world. These games allow gamers to feel as though they really are inside the game. Created by Microsoft, the Xbox 360 was first launched in the US in the year 2005. Since that time, it has always been the leading system in the market mainly because of its best-quality added features and parts that aid in the enhancement of overall entertainment for the gamer.
The Xbox 360 stays on top of the competition by providing gamers with the Xbox Live component, which enables players to buy a monthly subscription to the Xbox 360 Internet experience. Players from Europe and Asia can compete against each other in a virtual world for heightened, interactive entertainment. Players can also chat with each other from across the globe through the chat capability. Xbox Live provides players with the option to obtain and store data in their Xbox 360s as well and, if you have a subscription, you can obtain things like free game trials, movies, TV shows and music.
The Xbox 360 can be purchased in 3 varying sizes, which are the arcade console, the premium console and the Elite console. Each of those has a varied quantity of memory and added features that come with the system. If you are not as picky when it comes to playing graphic-filled games or obtaining files from the Internet, then the arcade may be your best bet. If you want to benefit from interactive functions to the max, get the Elite console. The Xbox 360 also provides several add-on features made to boost gaming experience. Imagine this: wireless controllers and webcams!
Now, if you really want to indulge yourself with playing video games, the Xbox 360 game system will be your best choice. Once you get to it, you will never feel like quitting the game!
Nintendo Wii Systems For Sale