Nintendo Wii Review

Here comes the Wii – to the next generation of Nintendo consoles! And you'll find it's an altogether improved package crammed to the hilt with interesting features, and all in a stylish and diminutive case too. What more could you ask for, in actual fact?

Although we must confess that Wii has many things to its advantage we do concede its somewhat ridiculous-sounding name but, as carefully explained by Nintendo, it's pronounced as "we", in denoting a plural, which means that it's suitable for everyone! And there's another important factor too: it is not only universally recognised as such, that means you will probably remember it at the drop of a hat, it also has a distinctive "ii" to indicate the unique controllers which exist for it. And not only that, as we say, and it's worth repeating, however much you may criticise the name, you will certainly always recall it – and if that's what they're after then they've certainly succeeded!

You'll find the Wii is both small and discrete (comparable to the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of each other) which comes ideal for the home rather than the bulky and overwhelming solution offered by the main competitors, the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

There is a downside to the Nintendo Wii, however, and this concerns its maximum resolution of only 480p, that is considerably lower than the high definition resolution of the PS3 (1080p), and, to a lesser extent, the Xbox 360 (1080i), if you wish to make a comparison. At the same time the speed of the CPU is lower than its rivals. Also, if high-detailed graphics becomes a major issue for you in relation to keeping up with nearer to photo-realistic gaming, then maybe this console should be avoided. But this is not Nintendo's philosophy. What appears to be different about the Nintendo Wii is its design and its apparent ability to focus on the provision of the most crucial factor necessary for gaming – and that's fun! Of course, whilst the PS3 and Xbox 360 rally round trying to find best chips and components, the Wii has taken the step to look at their audience, and tried to consider their requirements, namely, a gaming experience which everyone can enjoy.

The Nintendo Wii comes with an unusual Remote, and this alone is a standout feature. It has motion sensors which enable the user to input directly with the wave of the controller (for example, used in tennis, golf or fishing etc.) that are often referred to as the "Wiimote". And as far as force feedback is concerned the Wiimote also plays sound, that allows the user to experience rumbles, mimic feelings experienced during the game, and so forth. Also, if required, the Wiimote can be hooked up to an analog stick, making the "Nunchuck controller".

In July 2008, Nintendo released the MotionPlus attachment that could plug directly into the Wii remote which provided the ability to capture more complex motions, such as rotation, for example. And you'll discover that this gives the user far more of a real experience than you would have had with the original Wii Remote. To give another example: in Tiger Woods with MotionPlus you are actually controlling the entire movements of the club. This means, in fact, that if you were to go without attachment, you would have to pull up to raise the club and then pull down again to start the swing which you must admit is not so appealing.

The Wii provides an online gaming feature over Wi-Fi, yet we have to say that not every game is compatible. There is "virtual console" software on the Wii that comes as an additional feature, of course, and enables the player to utilise a download service to play retro console games, from the likes of NES, SNES, N64, Sega Mega Drive (Genesis), and the NEC TurboGrafx-16. And you'll find these can be stored on flash memory cards (512MB) which is ample for a collection of games (also a hard drive can be plugged in via USB if more storage is necessary). Not only that, but the Wii has backwards compatibility with GameCube games, thus allowing GameCube discs to be placed directly into the console. The console arrives too with a retro-style gamepad, so as to facilitate this said backwards compatibility. As well as all this the Wii comes with ports with which to connect original GameCube controllers (one of the most ergonomic standard controllers around).

In April 2008 we saw the release of Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board which then allowed the user to exercise whilst in the process of carrying out activities described on screen. In fact, the game is entirely reactive to the pressure placed on the Balance Board. The system is able to calculate the user's BMI, plus there are four categories of exercise: yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games.

The official release date of the Wii in the UK was 8th December 2006 (16th November in the US, 2nd December in Japan). In penultimate conclusion the Wii is a different alternative to the PS3 and Xbox 360 with outstanding features and which for many will be their second console.

Its standard price of £179 is also good, which makes it good value for money and providing a definitive worry for its major rivals.

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