Wii hands-on

koneko

Toys 4 Big Boys starts tonight (VIP/pass only though I think), and is on tomorrow, saturday and sunday aswell, so I expect more people from Boards.ie will pop in to try the Wii out So I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread for that.

I gots me some free tickets so I'll be there tonight, I'll stick up a post later tonight hopefully! Headed there now.

Rhyme

Lucky.

Im boycotting the event because i can't spare the time/money

Pics plz.

Smellyirishman

Was set to go tomorrow morning but things came up :mad:.

kjt

I was going to head to it but I think €16 is a bit of a rip.
The only thing I'd really want to see is the Wii anyways.
If I saw it though I'd probably get really impatient and the
wait till Dec 8th would be far longer

Enjoy the show

evad_lhorg

ooooh didnt know it was on tomorrow as well

koneko

Goddamnit. The Wii stand wasn't set up. Well, the stand was, but no Nintendo people were there, and there were no Wiis. I guess they'll have them from tomorrow on.



Nothing else worth seeing tbh. Gears Of War (360) but that's out next week anyway.

Jim

koneko wrote:

Goddamnit. The Wii stand wasn't set up. Well, the stand was, but no Nintendo people were there, and there were no Wiis. I guess they'll have them from tomorrow on.



Nothing else worth seeing tbh. Gears Of War (360) but that's out next week anyway.

The place has to have been open for at least 30 minutes now. I demand an update!

iregk

The Wii is apparently being displayed at 2pm this afternoon.

koneko

I'll see if I get the chance to pop in this weekend, too busy today though

Pablo-El-Vagabu

My Bro was going to go tomorrow @10. Anyone know if it will be demoed at that time?

He was hoping for a shot...

Pab

rainbow kirby

I wanted to go, but I'm working.

*cries*

Crash

I've got a free ticket for tonight so fingers crossed I can report back this evening

evad_lhorg

do you need tickets or can you just go?

Smellyirishman

Ticket @ €16. Dunno if you can buy direct from the box-office but you have the option of picking up your ticket there if you buy from the 'net so perhaps.

monkey tennis

Hmm, I had a free ticket for yesterday, but didn't bother going. Though if I had thought I could have had a Wii at it, I would have gone! Any reports from today's show?

evad_lhorg

it doesnt end until 10 so probably wont see many until tomorrow.

I may try go on sunday

I was at it today and had a chance to play Zelda no less! The remote and nunchuck have a very "natural" feel to them. It took about 30 seconds to get used to. You only need to make small gestures in order to use your sword as its quite responsive. The bow and arrow was probably the most difficult thing to use. I found that the remote was a bit on the sensitive side initially, but I got used to that pretty much straight away.
I played through one of the dungeons and from start to finish it was a blast. For those who have played earlier versions of Zelda, I got to use the hookshot, iron boots and boomerang.

I had my doubts about getting one, but after playing it for about 15 minutes Im sold. Cant wait to get my bloody hands on one and I was very close to snathing it and pulling a legger.

honru

I'm leaving now for it. Got to return home after to sweat off this flu so I'll give 'yis a lowdown soon.

Leprachaun

last year i got VIP ticket from a mate so i dunno if you can buy them at the door?could anyone verify if you can or not?cheers

CiDeRmAn

Was there today, didn't play Zelda but got to play Wii Tennis which is fantastic and more importantly got to play Wii Play, the bonus title that comes with an extra controller.
The thing was most people were only getting to play the Duckhunt remix but asked the Demo guy to try something else, so we had a 2 player game of pool/billiards, it was amazing, then tried the bull racing game, at least I think it was a bull, charging along, knocking down scarecrows whilst jumping over fences, hold the controller like bike handlebars, tilt it forward to go faster, back to slow down, left and right do what it says on the tin and a quick jerk up makes the bovine jump, very nice.
But the pool type game really seemed polished, nice graphics, type of pre/post pub game anyone can play, just hold the controller like a remote, aim at the required ball with the D pad, then pick the spot on the cue ball you want to hit, then hold down the B button and push the wiimote forward with the required power, nice.
Now the demo guys don't really know a lot, and when i asked about DVD playback he started rabbiting on about the PS3 being so expensive cos of Bluray and so nintendo saved us money by not including dvd playback, not really comparing like with like but this kid looked too young to have played a Snes 1st time around so I didn't make too much of an issue of it.
Anyway a fine console, and can't wait to get one, visuals looked very crisp on what I can only assume is a HD display showing 480p using a component cable, so no worries there either, looks slightly larger than the media up to now would have you believe but they were tucked away behind a perspex demo pod so close examination was impossible, blue glow around the drive mouth looked kinda nice though!
Roll on the 8th of Dec!

Placebo

some reviews say the controller is gimmicky as its not as precise as they make it out to be, they could be uber nerds, how did people feel using the controller?

GrumPy

Man, I'd love that job, working for nintendo, getting flown around europe setting up wii demo pods.

Crucifix

Gamespot are messing with one live right now. They're currently on Wii sports bowling which isn't all that exciting.

monument

Pics etc...

http://www.gamestoaster.com/games_toaster/2006/11/rds_360s_gears_.html

#Elites wrote:

Where can one get tickets?

At the door.

iFight

#Elites wrote:

Im going to go on sunday...you think ill get tickets just at the door? ill be there for 10am

Probably will, loads were getting them at the door today anyway. Watched people playing it for a while, Zelda and some tennis game, looked really good, couldn't get a go

iFight

Massive queue, suppose i could have, but it would take ages. So i gave the Xbox360 thing a go instead.

Passport

he didn't want to wait in line.

Kurtosis

Was there myself today, had a great time. The whole expo was really a bit crap apart from the Wii, but maybe that's my inner fanboy talking.

First had a go at the Shooting game from Wii Play, found the controller very responsive and I beat the attendant at it, which pleased me greatly. A great throwback to Duck Hunt on the NES.

Next was on to Wario Ware Smooth Moves. Even just standing waiting for this one was great fun, everyone looks hilarious while playing! I was picking a nose, balancing a broom, skipping with a rope, and couldn't help but smile as I went though it.

After this I got a few goes at Wii Tennis. Again, controls were sharp, ball went where you hit it, and it was great trying out lobs, forehands and backhands. Though a friend of mine was a bit dissapointed you couldn't actually control the movement.

Finally I got a turn at Zelda. Ended up waiting for ages to try and play, but it was well worth it. Only thing that was a tad annoying was when you swing the remote, but your sword is sheathed, Link doesn't swing it, he just unsheathes it, so you have to swing again to actually start dealing damage. not a big issue, but one of the only niggles I could find.

Oh and just to let people know, the people who are in charge of the systems there aren't actually employed by Nintendo, I assume they're just to do with the expo and got kitted out in Wii gear and got a crash course in it.

If anyone wants to know anything else specific, feel free to ask.

honru

Had a go of Wii Sports (tennis mode) and Twilight Princess.

First impressions... wow, this thing is small! Tiny little machine, as is the remote. Had to tighten the wristband so it wouldn't slip out of my hand.

Didn't think Zelda was as convincing as it should have been. The demo there was pretty boring to watch; on play was the tutorial level shown at E3 and a fishing sub-game. The game plays well I must say, though I need to get used to the control system as well as the aiming portions of the game.

Overall, there was nothing really here that you haven't seen in other Zelda games, but at least the Wiimote and nunchuk does the job. I'm sure it will be fantastic once you get into the meat of the game.

Besides seeing Duck Hunt from Wii Play (which I thought was just Wii Sports, for some reason), the other game was on show was Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, and it looks like fantastic fun. So unfortunate that it's not a launch title on these parts, I'll definetly be getting it when it comes out.

In the end, I'm wholly convinced. The games look like hella fun and play great. And felt so much more alluring than the Xbox 360 games on show.

There's talk that they might have a demo up of Red Steel for tomorrow and Sunday, so watch out for it.

DrunkLeprachaun

I also fortuitously scored me a free ticket today, and I'm really glad I was bothered to go out there(despite getting pissed on en route). The first game I went to was, obviously, zelda. Unfortunately, I had to stand through two other people playing the whole thing before I had my chance, so I kind of knew how to do everything. I did manage to find a hookshot-using short cut the others didn't, but their way looked kind of cooler(involving a moving upside-down magnet, and Link's iron boots). The demo ended with a suitably cool/large boss with the usual zelda-type find weakness, attack weakness, attack face when he falls down affair. Not to say it didn't have any challenge, but I don't want to spoil that for anyone.
The controls are just great. Swinging the wiimote to attack feels really nice, despite not being remotely 1:1. The bow/hookshot/boomerang controls were also pretty sharp, unsuprisingly most likely the greatest improvement over the previous iterations' setups. Also, shooting from the hip works just fine, so you won't even have to strain your arm holding it up for extended periods. As for penguin's niggle about having to draw the sword first, it's not a problem. A simple flick of the wrist when you know enemies are nearby is all it takes, and will become habit. I actually thought it was pretty cool. All in all, anyone on the fence about wii vs. GC controls, I favour wii.

The second game I tried was wii sports. First I had a go at tennis, 4 player. It was fun. A lot of fun. No moving about of your weird little mii avatar, that happens automatically. All you need to do basically is swing at the ring time. Easier said than done, of course, and how you swing obviously affects where exactly the ball goes. I unfortunately lacked the time to learn any finesse(filthy child-vermin took my wiimote), but plenty of time for that after december 8th.
The second wii sports game I played was bowling. Basic rundown; move your mii left and right with the d-pad, hold down B(trigger) to begin your swing, then just bring your hand back then forward, releasing B when you want to release the ball. Simple and intuitive. You could also put spin on the ball by throwing in different ways. This was really easy to pick up, I managed a strike on my second round, but I imagine a perfect game would be a bit of a challenge still.
My final forray into wii sports was boxing, and it was just ****ing ****hot cool & awesome. Movement is pretty much 1:1, and even landing any blows at all(to a blocking opponent) took a bit of getting used to. It was a pretty good work out too. After 3 rounds(the match turned out to be a total slugfest, not even a single knock down) I was pretty tired. But happy. 'Cause I kicked ass.
I did watch some scummy kindlings play baseball too, but I never got a go of it because the little ****s kept skipping ahead of me. It looked pretty hard though, in about 3-4 games, only about 3-4 runs were actually scored. I think the irish are born without the baseball gene.
From what I played of wii sports, it was just good plain fun. That said, I imagine it wouldn't quite hold the same long term appeal in strictly single player mode. While undoubtably good in short bursts, without that trashtalking competativeness you can only get from playing against noobish peons, it just wouldn't be the same.

Next I moved on to the hajime no wii play booth. The first game I had a go of was wii shoot, or whatever the **** generic name they gave to it. Duck hunt essentially. Use the wiimote pointer to shoot various targets with a cursor(with ocassional ducks flying past for bonus points). I have to admit, I was a little disapointed by this. The wiimote isn't a lightgun. Seeing as it transmits to/reads from a sensor bar below the screen, it can't tell what exactly on the screen you're pointing at, only a relative position. I knew this beforehand. The game was still plenty fun. I just really, really liked duck hunt...
Later on, I had a game of billiards, also part of the play package(which comes bundled with wiimotes, for those not in the know). It played like pretty much any other pool simulator, pick your shot, line it up, cue it. The main difference here was when you were taking your shot, you hold down B, pull the wiimote back and push it forward at your desired pace. This really adds a lot to the game, and it makes a good pool sim pretty ****ing excellent.
I didn't play/see played any others from this compilation, but much like sports(although probably slightly less so), highly multiplayer oriented.

The final game they had on display was the new warioware(smooth moves or something). If you've played a warioware, you know what to expect. A huge heap of rapid fire random minigames, all using the wiimote(not the nunchuck) in various ways. Each game started with a diagram of how you should hold it, which included stuff like the waiter(holding it on your palm), the artist(like a pen) or the chauffer(like a steering wheel). It was all enjoyably varied & random, and if it can maintain that level of... whatever the hell it was for sustained periods, it'll definitely be worth considering for a purchase.

The wii itself seemed pretty minute. The comparisons to a stack of 3 DVD boxes seemed pretty accurate. More importantly, the wiimote itself, along with the nunchuck, was really tiny(presumably for minute & nimble asian fingers). They sit really comfortably in the hand and are both almost unnoticeably light. It was a pleasant suprise.
The kiosks at the show were nice too. Rather than the intimidating stark whiteness that a lot of wii shows seem to be struck with, it went for living room/bed room emulation, with comfy couches and whatnot for non-players and attendants to rest on. The attendants themselves were also friendly and relatively helpful(I'm pretty sure I know more about the wii than any of them simply from obsessively reading every minute detail about it on the net), and the atmosphere was good. There were even a few fogeys/parents trying them out, for which warioware seemed a bizzarely popular choice.

After I was wiied out, I headed over to the microsoft exhibit and tried my hand at a bit of gears of war, co-op flavour. It was definately very pretty, very cinematic(the way the camera moves down and shakes when you start to run is awesome), and the constant cover diving gameplay was really great. I enjoyed it a lot.
But... It really brought home how little graphics mean to me, personally. I would much rather be gyrating frantically towards some fisher price lookalike than shooting another alien, but in sooopar high res. Not to speak ill of gears though, I thought it was great. It's just that playing with the wii is so much more involved. But both of gears and the wii bode well for this "next gen" malarkey. And if all the best aspects of the major contenders are merged, the one after this will ****ing own.

...Hot piss I wrote a lot...

CiDeRmAn

Know what you mean, just kinda floated through the 360 stand, having a launch game, PGR3, as a demo in late 06 seems a bit lame, Gears of War looked nice alright but that was the only thing, Sonys games division were conspicuous in their absence, given that the thing is about to launch in the NTSC territories one might have expected to see it at least in video form to tempt the easily led away from a Wii or 360 purchase this Christmas.
The one thing I really found interesting was the Nintendo minions insistence that the Wii would cost €249, given that everyone is selling it for €269, at least the shops in the street are.
Glad I went in the afternoon yesterday, not too many crowds, reckon yesterday evening and this weekend will be bedlam.

B00MSTICK

DrunkLeprachaun wrote:

A somewhat more detailed hands on...

nice post, good info.

Star Lord

CiDeRmAn wrote:

The one thing I really found interesting was the Nintendo minions insistence that the Wii would cost €249, given that everyone is selling it for €269, at least the shops in the street are.
Glad I went in the afternoon yesterday, not too many crowds, reckon yesterday evening and this weekend will be bedlam.

I was in Virgin on Friday, and there are ads for it being €249, and there was somewhere else too (cant remember where tho :rolleyes:)

rip2roar

I went yesterday and had a somewhat different experience to everyone else who has posted. There was no Wii Play or Wario Ware.....

The four booths were ExciteTruck,Zelda,Wii Sports and Rayman.

First I had a go of ExciteTruck, the line was short and I was playing it in no time. To keep it short and sweet, I loved it and its a shame that it isnt a launch title. The controler was sensitive to steering but it was so much fun leaping off cliffs and high hills trying to land your truck perfectly. Acceleration is done by holding the number "2" button and the steering obviously is done by moving the controler sideways. Its fast, challenging and alot of fun. My favourite game out of all that I played.

Secondly I play Wii Sports: Tennis. It was good, actually really good. Unfortunately I was playing with three kids and they didnt have a clue as to what to do and when to make the gesture to hit the ball. I was smiling but really in my head I was screaming " HIT IT WHEN IT COMES TO YOU!". Later on I played the bowling game. What a laugh. I loved it to bits.You hold the B button to begin your run up and then you make a normal bowling movement like you would when you are set to release the ball. I loved it.

Next I played Zelda, there was a big line but it was worth it. Starts outside and you make you way up to the top of a scaffolding like structure. Then you make your way into a cave where you have to defeat a massive chained monster. Alot of fun. The sword movements were great but it took a few minutes to get used to the bow and arrow. All in all its Zelda back to its best.

Then I played Rayman which was a little uninspired. All I had to do was guide him down to the ground through rings in a skydiving level. All I basicaly was doing was moving the controler up,down and left + right. It was really...really...boring


Roll on Dec8, I have had it booked for months now but all the doubts I had about whether I really wanted it have gone.

1huge1

DamoElDiablo wrote:

I was in Virgin on Friday, and there are ads for it being €249, and there was somewhere else too (cant remember where tho :rolleyes:)

yes i was under the opinion that only smiths were €269 is that right?
how much is GAME because i pre-ordered it with them

Thorbar

I made it in there yesterday and got a chance to play zelda. Pretty much similar impressions to everyone else here, really enjoyed it and can't wait for the thing to arrive. I was also very impressed with the 360 and gears of war so I could be selling a kidney to cover this Christmas expenditures.

One thing I did notice was that when playing zelda towards the end of the demo dungeon, you have to fight several trolls(?) at the same time. Whenever you hit more than 3 at the same time the display lagged completely. I don't know if this will be an issue in the final release of zelda but I must say it was fairly annoying.

Star Lord

1huge1 wrote:

yes i was under the opinion that only smiths were €269 is that right?
how much is GAME because i pre-ordered it with them

Well HMV still have the €269 posters up too.
Dunno what price it is in GAME, but if I go in to collect my pre-order, and they try to charge more than €249 I'll ask why they are charging that price when i can go over to Virgin and get it for €249, and make sure everyone else in the shop knows it too They are meant to have a price guarantee aren't they?

Mitch Connor

I went and had a go on Saturday, and decided not to buy the Wii as a result. I had great fun playing the tennis game, and i loved it - but the room i have my computers in is quite small and there certainly wouldn't be room for 4 people to swing the wii-motes in, so there is little point in me getting the console. Oh well.

Another plus point, the wii booth babes were gorgeous - spent as much time looking at them as i did the Wii! lol.

sprinkles

great hands on reviews guys..... now to wait out the final weeks

DrunkLeprachaun

Thorbar wrote:

One thing I did notice was that when playing zelda towards the end of the demo dungeon, you have to fight several trolls(?) at the same time. Whenever you hit more than 3 at the same time the display lagged completely. I don't know if this will be an issue in the final release of zelda but I must say it was fairly annoying.

That wasn't a glitch, time just stops for a second when you kill an enemy. If you don't remember it being in the last 3 zeldas, I don't imagine it'll turn out to be much of an annoyance here.

Tauren wrote:

I went and had a go on Saturday, and decided not to buy the Wii as a result. I had great fun playing the tennis game, and i loved it - but the room i have my computers in is quite small and there certainly wouldn't be room for 4 people to swing the wii-motes in, so there is little point in me getting the console. Oh well.

I can think of a pretty ****ing good point: Zelda. Could ye not also just move the wii elsewhere when you want to multiplay? Hardly the most monumental of endevours.

Just a footnote for those playing wii sports, and I guess those reading the impressions, the version at the RDS wasn't the final release build. In yon gamestop "we just got a wii" marathon(I just.. couldn't stop watching....), the version of wii boxing they played had little circle pie-chart thingies for health, rather than bars at the bottom of the screen. Also, the demo version lacked the "training" and "fitness" buttons on the main screen. I doubt there'll be much majorly different in the release, but what we played was not the definitive version.

Mitch Connor

DrunkLeprachaun wrote:

That wasn't a glitch, time just stops for a second when you kill an enemy. If you don't remember it being in the last 3 zeldas, I don't imagine it'll turn out to be much of an annoyance here.


I can think of a pretty ****ing good point: Zelda. Could ye not also just move the wii elsewhere when you want to multiplay? Hardly the most monumental of endevours.

Just a footnote for those playing wii sports, and I guess those reading the impressions, the version at the RDS wasn't the final release build. In yon gamestop "we just got a wii" marathon(I just.. couldn't stop watching....), the version of wii boxing they played had little circle pie-chart thingies for health, rather than bars at the bottom of the screen. Also, the demo version lacked the "training" and "fitness" buttons on the main screen. I doubt there'll be much majorly different in the release, but what we played was not the definitive version.

i could always get Zelda for the GC instead. As for moving the Wii to another room - the only other room would be the sitting room, but as i don't live on my own and my parents are generally in there, i would get little use out of the sitting room. My mate will be getting a wii anyway, so i can go round to my mates house to play it if i want.

CiDeRmAn

My better half is making noises that she doesn't want the Wii on the big telly, a point which may lead to divorce, so if there are any women out there who don't mind a 34 year old game nut with 30 machine games room and an aversion to direct sunlight, preorder me now!
Anyway she maintains that the presence of the 360 by the TV should be enough and doesn't want the living room cluttered with even more consoles.
Its like everytime I promise no more machines for a while, out comes another machine from the woodwork to make a liar of me, can't bring myself to mention the PS3 next year, well probably Christmas at the earliest, another marriage crisis in the offing!

Jim

CiDeRmAn wrote:

My better half is making noises that she doesn't want the Wii on the big telly, a point which may lead to divorce, so if there are any women out there who don't mind a 34 year old game nut with 30 machine games room and an aversion to direct sunlight, preorder me now!
Anyway she maintains that the presence of the 360 by the TV should be enough and doesn't want the living room cluttered with even more consoles.
Its like everytime I promise no more machines for a while, out comes another machine from the woodwork to make a liar of me, can't bring myself to mention the PS3 next year, well probably Christmas at the earliest, another marriage crisis in the offing!

Just have an affair, the console thing wont seem like such a big issue then.

Rhyme

CiDeRmAn wrote:

My better half is making noises that...

Sorry, just had a bout of irrational laughter there imaging what noises your better half was making. I blame sugar.

sprinkles

Jimeatsmenu wrote:

Just have an affair, the console thing wont seem like such a big issue then.

Great idea. You could have 2 affairs, keep a wii with one gf and the ps3 with the other. Marraige crisis at an end!

Retr0gamer

Tell her it's small and therefore, in the sick minds of all females, cute. There are girls in the lab I work in that think the micro synthesis glassware is 'cute'.

However if you just dump her you will have the games room all to yourself and enough free time to have some decent zelda sessions. You will also win our respect as both the most hardcore gamer ever and the person so sad he dumped his girlfriend for a console.

sprinkles

Retr0gamer wrote:

Tell her it's small.....

Does that ever work!?:D

DrunkLeprachaun

She'll change her tune when she plays wii sports. Non-gamers seem to love the **** out of that game.

Retr0gamer

sprinkles wrote:

Does that ever work!?:D

Thank you Sprinkles. And there was me wondering what I was doing wrong for all those years.

Stalfos

lol, it's not the size that matters but what.... :rolleyes:

Anyway i went to the RDS show on sunday and while it's the was the worst most boring thing i've every been too in ages, i still managed to get a go of Zelda.
And i'm going to get a wii now no matter what. I was against using the wii remote before hand for Zelda as i didn't think it would work at all but now i'm a changed man. Granted the aiming with the bow/hookshot was a bit over sensitive but i got used to it but i'm hoping their might be a sensitivity setting on the wii like with a mouse to help for games like Metroid/Red Steel etc. Otherwise though, the sword was easy to use and you dont really look like a goof unless you did it like the guy infront of me . The romote felt comfortable in my hand as well. My friend who looks at most games by the graphical power said it was also like looking at a xbox360 game without HD as well (only Zelda though). Well i can't wait for Dec 8th now that i bagged my first Zelda Boss (had to brag about that seeing as no one before me got that far) which was an amazing looking boss too (pryus was his name i think) and all i can say to ppl who have doubts and haven't played the wii before is to give it and try because you'll probably go away very happy having done so.

evad_lhorg

Retr0gamer wrote:

Tell her it's small and therefore, in the sick minds of all females, cute. There are girls in the lab I work in that think the micro synthesis glassware is 'cute'.

However if you just dump her you will have the games room all to yourself and enough free time to have some decent zelda sessions. You will also win our respect as both the most hardcore gamer ever and the person so sad he dumped his girlfriend for a console.

sure just tell her there is a wii-mote rampant rabbit attachment and she'll love it!