Review: Nintendo Wii Part 3 (Madden 07)

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but this is the first game I ran out and buy after getting a Wii. Game critics pointed out that Wii's version is not much different from those on other consoles except that it is taking advantage of Wii's motion sensing controller for passing, tackling and certain running moves. For a football fanatic who has never been good at playing games using traditional controller, i.e. yours truly, the last aspect became the biggest selling point. Football video games have always been complicated because of its nature: there are so many players on the field, so many formation to choose, and then so many different moves you could make. I have played football games from several different eras, from DOS and keyboard based to PlayStation's (not old enough to play character mode on PDP8 though) I felt that game makers put in great effort to make them easier and easier for casual gamers. And Madden 07 on Wii is the most fun so far.

Madden 07 made it easier not only to control the players but also to pick a play to run. Under "Easy Mode", plays are grouped into run, pass and deep pass, with only a few key plays in each group. Intermediate players could choose plays "by type" under normal mode, with more groups (e.g Play Action or Screen) and more plays. Finally, advanced players could choose plays the traditional way, "by formation" (e.g. I-formation, single back, shot gun...)

In addition to playing single "standalone" games, I've also played the "franchise mode" (draft my own franchise and play multiple seasons. My Cowboy team has drafted Vince Young, Cedric Benson and Roy Williams, unintentionally!) and "Hall of fame mode" (created my own player, a QB that has been drafted by the Texans and started in place of David Carr!) Looks like I'll still be playing this game in 08!

Review: Nintendo Wii Part 2 (Wii Play)

Wii Play could be the second most owned game on Wii (I don't have the official stat) since it is bundled with a Wiimote. (The Wii console included 1 Wiimote. Most Wii owner would need at least one more to play with friend.) Wii Play is a collection of minigames, including table tennis, air hockey, pool, fishing and a few more non-sport games. I call them minigames because they are more like demo that showcase the potential of how future games will utilize Wii's unique motion sensing controller. To me these games feel even less complete and more barebone than those in Wii Sport. The replay values are not as high, especially in single player mode. However, it will serve as very decent party game.

[Update: I googled and confirmed Wii Play is indeed the 2nd most popular Wii game behind Wii Sports. And I found a pretty positive review here]

Review: Nintendo Wii Part 1 (Wii Sports)

By now you have probably read a review of this video game console somewhere or even watched one on your local news as it is widely covered by the media (not just the hardcore gaming publications) I'll try to provide a different point of view, as a gamer more experienced than a newbie but far from hardcore. I plan to share some of my thoughts after spending some time playing 3 games on it:

1) Wii Sports
This is the game that puts Wii on the map, so to speak. It includes 5 sport games (baseball, bowling, golf, boxing and tennis) that showcases the strength of Wii: the motion sensing controller. It is so much easier to play video games by waving a "magic wand" then pressing buttons and pushing joystick, which has been the staples in gaming since Day 1. This innovative user interface single handedly turned a lot of non-gamer into Wii players. They would not have play video game if they have to use a joystick! Nintendo was brilliant in making Wii Sports simple yet addictive. Analyzing closely though, the games are not actually that realistic. For example, you can't full swing in the golf game or you will overshoot the ball. Also, motion sensing can only be precise to a certain degree. So you might miss some balls you though you didn't when playing tennis. Same for boxing. Finally, most of the games are rather primitive: No base-stealing in baseball. Only 9 holes in golf. The one that I feel most complete is bowling. And I could understand that Nintendo would want people to buy more sophisticated games, not just playing Wii Sports all the time! Still, Wii Sports will be the most played game in my home in the near future. Wii fitness has become my previously non-existent workout routine. One guy claimed that he lost 9 lbs after playing Wii Sports 30 min per day for 6 weeks!

Another thing unexpected that I got out of this game is more appreciation and understanding of baseball! I've been a big fan for a long long time, but I've never played real baseball. Even though this baseball game is far from realistic, it is still miles ahead of those uses joystick and buttons. With this game I could feel the frustration of a batter being fooled by the pitcher's speed or location, as well as the pressure on a pitcher who is unable to get anybody out no matter what type of ball he throws. A slight difference between swings or speed of pitches turns a strikeout to a homerun. Subtleties like these are what makes baseball the great game it is. Ironically, these are also the Achilles' heel of the sport because appreciation of subtleties has been lost in this generation.

Part 2 of this series will be about Wii Play. Stay tuned.