as i previously mentioned, i can check out games from work (GameStop) and play them for a brief time. since the only game i have for my Wii is Zelda: TP, alot of my time has went to various other games. this thread is devoted to the Wii games i have played so far. i originally planned this thread when i wondered what certain games would be like with the Wii's unique controller system. since i get to try the games for free, i thought i should use this as an oppurtunity to let other people know what they're getting into

EDIT: a new feature i'm adding. one of my readers (and biggest supporters) has given me the idea to include a list of the games in the thread, their overall score, and which page the review is located. page number isn't much now, but when the thread gets more reviews as games are released, may make navigation for the new members of the growing community quite a bit easier. i've also added tags to the beginning of each review. to find a review, just go to the correct page and use ctrl+f (or your browser's find option) to locate the tag. the 1st number is the page number (based on 50 posts per page)

1.1 Red Steel = B-
1.2 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance = B+
1.3 Call of Duty 3 = A-
1.4 Rayman: Raving Rabbids = A-
1.5 DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 = B
1.6 Spinter Cell: Double Agent = B+
1.7 Kirby: Sqeak Squad (DS) = B
1.8 Super Monkey Ball: BB = C-
1.9 Super Swing Golf = B-
1.10 Trauma Center: SO = B+
1.11 Rampage: Total Destruction = B
1.12 Elebits = B-
2.1 Need for Speed: Carbon (Wii) = B+
2.2 Tony Hawk: Downhill Jam = B
2.3 Metal Slug: Anthology = B

This post was last modified: 03-09-2007 01:53 PM by Nomad.

1.1 Red Steel

basically, what other reviewers have said about the game is true. the aiming can be sensitive if not properly adjusted to your preference. the sword play mechanics are pulled off quite well (when your nunchuk registers motion). the story is pretty outdated (bad guy kidnapped girlfriend. resque girlfriend [or that's all the story i got around to in the 6 hours or so i got to play it]). the environments are quite good looking, and the interactivity with them does add to the experience. overall, the game is not spectacular though. enemy AI is pretty bad at times when scripting takes over (one enemy literally ran in front of me and kept going until i shot him in the back). the reticle sometimes flies off in a random direction even while trying to hold it steady (and this doesn't happen in other games so i'm sure it's Red Steel and not my console). i didn't get a chance to play the multiplayer, so i will of course omit that in this review.

Graphics: B+
Sound: B
Gameplay: B
Story/Originality:C
Overall:B-

This post was last modified: 05-04-2007 09:04 PM by Nomad.

1.2 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

definitely a unique experience. the game follows a large group of (mostly) unique characters teamed together. the characters offer some interesting abilities, and no matter what your style of play there's always a team to use. the abilities aren't as expansive as X-Men: Legends 2, but do still offer the a way to customize your character after the first initial levels are earned and more abilities are unlocked. leveling up gives you points to use on abilities, but abilities, as well as alternate costumes which allow for different attribute upgrades, can also be purchased using the SHIELD credits you find scattered throughout the levels. the equipable items are more sparse than the X-Men: Legends games, but offer a bit more than previous games.

the gameplay is, simply put, new. having to use motions of the wii-mote to perferm different attacks and special moves takes a bit of getting used to, but is ultimately not as hard as i expected. it is also possible to choose from your abilities and set that one to use with simply the B button and pressing A. after a few initial hours of gameplay, things start flowing like you've been playing for days. the graphics have been bumped up from XM:L2 which adds some new life to the cheesey looking prior games. the voicework is as good as before as well.

Graphics: B
Sound: A-
Gameplay: A-
Story/Originality: B
Overall: B+

This post was last modified: 01-16-2007 04:54 PM by Nomad.

1.3 Call of Duty 3

this game was actually hard for me to review due to a personal issue i have with the military. i guess this actually has something to say about the game though.

the game does an amazing job of recreating a war-like atmosphere. the ambient noises, fast paced action and sometimes confusing environments. i know the last doesn't sound like a good thing, but the world isn't mapped out in nice little paths. sometimes you have to make/find your own. gunfire often seems to come from nowhere. your comrades will not give a second thought to leave you behind when a path suddenly opens to escape the fire fights. even your commanding officer adds a realistic tone by admiting that everyone will die and that is simply realistic thinking.

the gameplay is pretty easy to get used to. some of the button layouts are confusing though (after hours of gameplay i still mixed up the smoke and frag grenade buttons). having to press a button to throw a live grenade gets hectic too. luckily there's an option to flick the nunchuk to throw the grenade instead, which actually seems more natural added with other gaming experiences on the Wii. it may play a bit differently, but this really is another WWII game at heart. nothing really new aside from the system it's on. chances are, if you disliked other war games, you won't like this one. the opposite is true as well.

Graphics: A-
Sound: A
Gameplay: A-
Story/Originality: B-
Overall: A-

This post was last modified: 01-16-2007 04:54 PM by Nomad.

1.4 Rayman: Raving Rabbids

to simply sum this game up, it is an improved, more adult Mario Party

the single player mode really works more as practice for the multiplayer. there's no real story (Rayman is captured by raging rabbits which force him to compete in games until he finds a way to escape [and no i didn't ruin the story. this happens in about the first 30 minutes of gameplay along with figuring out how to escape]). the originality of the minigames is pretty impressive given how many minigames have been incorporated in other games. a large part of this is due to the Wii's control mechanics

as with Red Steel, i didn't get to play the multiplayer, so my review is based soley on the single player game. the games are pretty easy to get used to for the most part (though i still don't really understand how to throw the stupid cow). some games do require quite a bit more skill than others. some i could easily pass on the first attempt while others took up to 15 or so. the graphics may not be the best, and the sound isn't spectacular but does hold it's own (especially in the music minigames), but the star of this game is the gameplay. many, many hours will easily be lost playing the games, especially with a group of other players.

Graphics: B
Sound: B+
Gameplay: A+
Story/Originality: A
Overall: A-

This post was last modified: 01-16-2007 04:54 PM by Nomad.

question on ultimate alliance....I haven't used my component cable yet, but with the standard cables, the wording on screen is blurred and then becomes crisp. did you notice this on your tv?

i didn't really have an issue with reading fonts on any of the games using my old composite cable connection. if you could handle X-Men Legends, you won't have any issue with Ultimate Alliance

1.5 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

this was honestly one of the games i had the highest expectation for. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 was an amazing fighter and arguably the best DBZ game to date. after seeing trailers of the newest iteration's use of the Wii's controller, i was hoping the game would be as involving as it could be.

the story is what you'd pretty much expect. the game takes you through the multipler sagas (and movies) of the DBZ universe as well as Dragon Ball: GT. instead of playing through everything with one of multiple characters, the game simply makes you reinact the most famous battles.

the basic gameplay is controlled by the A, B and Z buttons to perform regular attacks and building energy. blocking, dashing and special moves are performed by either shaking the nunchuk or moving the cursor off the screen in a certain direction. the famous Kamehamehah (sp?) as well as other moves are even performed by moving the wii-mote back the forward in the same motion the characters use to perform the attacks in the series. a very intriguing concept (and one which should be incorporated in most simpler games on the Wii or ports from other systems) is the option of using the Wii Classic Controller or a GameCube controller to play the game. you can even mix and match wii-motes and controllers for two player mode.

the item system, named Evolution Z, is really more confusing than helpful. the items apparently earn experience from your won battles, but i honestly saw no reason to earn experience on older items instead of trading up for newer items with higher stat boosts and no experience on them. there's also the option of combining items to create newer, more powerful items (even though i couldn't get any better stat boosting items). items must be combined to unlock many of the unlockable characters as well. as with many of the Wii's games, the gameplay really adds the most to this game.

Graphics: B
Sound: B
Gameplay: A-
Story/Originality: C+
Overall: B

This post was last modified: 01-16-2007 04:55 PM by Nomad.

1.6 Splinter Cell: Double Agent

honestly, this is gonna be a crappy review of mine for two reasons. i only got about 4 hours of gameplay on this one, and i'm really not a fan of stealth games.

the graphics seem to be bellow what i expected. i know the Wii isn't the most graphical system out there, but the lighting isn't completely interactive as it was on other systems (IE a light shown through a fence will cast one shadow over the entire character instead of lines of shadows). the cinematics are good looking though. the sound is done fairly well though.
the gameplay is actually pretty well done as well. the motion of the nunchuk and aiming with the wii-mote are as conventional as other games on the Wii. otherwise, things like opening doors and such are done the same as every other game in the series. hold the A button, select the option you want to do.
the story seems to be pretty unique with it's multiple choices where you must choose your allegiance between two conflicting factions. going too far on either side results in a special quest to prove your loyalty. there's nothing really unique about this game from its predecesors though as far as gameplay. just another in a long line of Splinter Cell games

Graphics: B
Sound: B+
Gameplay: A-
Story/Originality: (from the small bit i played, B+, but not factored into Overall grade)
Overall: B+

This post was last modified: 01-16-2007 04:55 PM by Nomad.

that's the last of my Wii reviews. if there's another game someone wants me to check out i'll try to find time to get in some play time and give a decent first impression if nothing else. hope this bit is helpful to someone out there. i'll keep this up until i leave for college in Jan

Making it one post would be easy on the eyes.

hmm i have X-men legends and X-men legends 2, and I just thought the whole font thing was a little odd. size wan't an issue, but it would blur and then come into focus

I'd like to read a quick review of Need for Speed: Carbon.

Making it one post would be easy on the eyes.

making it one post would also make it harder to see when one review ended and one began

Nah... you have a good grading system and that could easily distinguish the difference between the reviews. Also the underlined name thing could also serve as a divider.

regardless, the posts are made. now if you'll excuse me i have another game i'm working on

i'll try to get around to Need for Speed: Carbon for you penguin, but it's gonna be kinda hard since i have to work 8 hours a day for the next 6 days. maybe i'll get lucky and get to keep it for more than a day. otherwise i'll just cheat and check it out a couple times to get a decent review for ya

i hate to do this to you due to your last post's sentiments but...

could you check out Elebits and Super Swing Golf? no rush, though since I'm pretty strapped for cash after my initial Wii-Spree

well, Elebits isn't even out yet, so no, i can't do that. atleast not yet. it is on my list anyway so i'll get to it when it's out. i don't think Super Swing Golf is out either. if it is i'll honestly do that instead of NfS:C. i'm not a big racing gamer but did enjoy playing some golf games in the past including golf on Wii Sports

*looks at the review section*