The Wii is in
We just got the Nintendo Wii this morning, and so far it's pretty darn cool. After the standard unpacking, photographing (check out our slide show) and note taking, I managed to get some quality sit-down time with the Nintendo Wii.
Setup was surprisingly easy. Stick the Wii on a table, plug in the power, TV, and sensor-bar cords, and stick the sensor bar under (or on top of) your TV. Syncing the Wiimote controller was just a matter of pressing the Sync button on the device and watching the blue LED light up. The setup screen came on, and I used the Wiimote to set the time, the device's nickname, and the network connection. Wi-Fi is built into the Wii; Ethernet connectivity will be available via a USB adapter, sold separately.
I haven't played Twilight Princess or Excite Truck yet (aside from their demos at press events), but I had some fun with friends playing Wii Sports. The games are supersimple, but they're incredibly addictive. I can definitely see Wii Sports being the new Duck Hunt: a fun, mindless game you can play with your friends without much time commitment. I fully plan to eventually create a legion of Big Lebowski-themed Miis (the customizable onscreen avatars) for the sole purpose of playing Wii Sports Bowling.
Unfortunately, we couldn't check out any of the Internet features. Actually setting up the network connection was simple, and I easily connected to the office router. However, Nintendo hasn't gone live with its Wii channels server, so I couldn't actually check out the Virtual Console, news, or weather. Expect an update on those features as soon as Nintendo opens up its servers.
So far, the Wii is really fun. The pointer seems a bit finicky, but that might be an issue of sensor-bar placement. Otherwise, controls are intuitive, games are enjoyable, and the graphics actually look pretty good. They don't look PS3 good, but no one was really expecting that.
Expect our full review of the Nintendo Wii just as soon as we can draw our solid conclusions about the console; in the meantime, check out our preview, which includes a hands-on video demo.
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