Do you remember exactly what you thought about in your head once you saw the Wii'mote for the very first time. No, besides the "AHHHH CRAP. WTF NINTENDO?! W... T... F...!?" Onc eyou got the gist of how the controller would be used, you thought of all the possiblities... yes the infinate possibilities and the grand daddy of them all, First Person Shooters. Some whould say that there is nothing that can be the precision of a mouse and keyboard. Honestly, I hate PC controls! So it wouldnt count towards me. But I can not take away how responisve and fast the controls are, with that being said, PC FPS would have the advantage over console FPS just by a margin.
Novemember 2006, we all got a chance to experience FPS controls on the Wii for the very first time with a few selected titles; Red Steel and Call of Duty 3. Red Steel had to be the most talked about game for the Wii, I mean you're shooting stuff and using your 1337 samurai skills to fight off bad guys. One we bought the game, played the first 15 minutes, the game was trash. FPS controls from then on were considered trash on on the Wii. That was a lost cause, eh? FPS's came, as soon as they got in the store, they were bought and brought right back, "Did I just buy a crappy game? Dude I want my time and my freaking money back! NAO!!!!" [irate customer when I worked at Gamestop]
That was then, this is now. With the sucess of the ultra popular Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, FPS genre can redeem themselves and get back into the spot light. [Thanks Retro!] A few developers learned from Red Steel and Metroid Prime, but this studio, Team Fuzion, wrote their own "How to" on FPS's for the Wii. [link is on the Wii section, too lazy to find that link? OK I'll post it at the bottom.]
If you played FPS's, the chances are very high that 89% of them were WWII inspired, so most likely you've played a Call of Duty or Medal of Honor game in your lifetime. Is this one any different? Not really. You play as a US Allied soldier, sent to get behind the Nazi enemy lines and cause as much havoc and destruction as you possibly can. You can destroy U Boats, Anti Aircraft Guns, and plenty more as you go through 10+ missions spawning across blood soaked Europe. iether then that, its your typical WWII shooter just with Wii contols.
Enemy sighted! CHAAAAAAARGE!
Now for the interesting part... I know you are wondering, "Ok, nothing new. So what makes it so good [or bad?]" The controls my friend. Any game on the Wii gauges it's sucess by the innovative use of the Wii'mote enhanced controls. Does it stack up to the blueprint that Metroid Prime 3 layed down? Yes. In every way and even added more.
Your basic controls. To move you use the analog stick on the nunchuck to move back and forward, and to strafe left to right. The Wii'mote itself is used to see all around you. Now, the best part. In MP3C, there were two modes of sensitivity on the controls. Which was a step forward, a lot fo FPS's didnt even have that. But MoHH2 take's it s step further, just like on your PC you can adjust X- axis and Y- axis sensitivity to match
your needs exactly. At the same time, it doesn't make the game lag or anything at all. Infact it still runs at a steady 50-60 fps.
Cool right?
Now to reload just quickly bob the Wii'mote down and up. To zoom in just press the A face button. For sniper rifles it's very special to zoom in and out. Twist the Wii'mote like you were to unlock a safe, then it adjusts the zoom in or out depending on your precise adjustments. If that is too much you can always take that gimmick off and have it on auto adjust. To lean in or out of cover, just twist the nunchuck left or right, and you'll be able to get the drop on those Nazi's! Throwing grenades take a bit more skill then usual, and it's rather slow if you're not used to the controls yet. Change weapons by pressing left or right on the D Pad. Once you cycle through your two weapons, you will find grenades. To cook the grenade [cooking is setting off the timer ealry to have a quicker explosion. CAUTION: it will explode in your hand if you keep it. Duh.] press A face button and then press B to set a location to throw it. When ready quickly lob the grenade like you would in real life, and which the bodies fly. A lot fo work, but with ppracitce it become standard skill you need to pass missions.
The missions themselves are fairly moderate. As you start a long, they are easy. Wave after wave of Nazi forces will come swarming in on your location and taking out some of your Allies. As you continue a long the game, things get harder. The AI will do some unexpected things like more frequent grenades and pin point headshots. At the same time your Allies become more stupider then they were five minutes ago. Charging into fire. Taking silly cover behind small crates. Even misfiring grenades by throwing them in the wrong fireld of enemies. Pretty much you'll feeel like the lone wolf and handle it all on your own. Who cares, thats how it was going to be like anyways as they bark out inane orders "SAVE SOME FOR US!" Like they really care if Im doing all the work!!!
Shogun + Nazi = PWNAGEZ
Visually the game looks good. Not on MPS3 futuristic view but just good enough to tolerate. The level themselves are pretty detailed, but you get the feeling that it is just you and the enemie in these walls or barrier. What is out there? Is anybody else fighting? You really couldn't tell if its some paintball arena or battlefied once you look around. But still the levels themselves are pretty detailed. Just the atmospere isn't. Player and enemy models have their ups and downs. Fluid animations? No. Half the time, once you kill a enemy they just disappear. Or quickly fall to the ground. You would think it was all some trippy dream. Reason for this: faster gameplay, less frame drops. There is a lot going on around you in this war. With so much bullets whizzing by and waves of Nazi grunts coming at you, the frame rate would drop consideribly* if the didn't do a few cut backs. So kudos for Team Fuzion for thinking of us! =]
Ah, Easy play.
Not every mission is passable. Sometimes you need some easy way to beat the level. What really frustrated me the most was the lack of checkpoints in important pars of the levels. Get swarmed by Nazi's in the middle of the next checkpoit? Ah oh well n00b, back to the last checkpoint 30 minutes ago! that was a big drawback, a lot the time when I played, i stopped once I died. I didn't want to replay the last 45 minutes of my life just to die again.
Thank God for Arcade mode. If a level is too much for you to handle on your own, Arcade mode can help. Also it's a means for Casual gamers to get into the game without having to go through all that extensive learning curve of ducking, dodging, grenades and switching weapons. You have infinate bullets. But, you do have to reload. Like Time Crisis you can duck, but that really doesn't help at all. Some how, those Nazi's can shoot though rocks. This is also the best time to use the Wii Zapper!
DONT USE IT.
There. *woot*
CTF?! I can't hear you!
Multiplayer
The Wii's online system is.. less to be desired. It's practically useless with so much to offer. You have WiiConnect24, and yeah. Look how that went. [*loooks at MP3C*] So if you're thirsty for some online frag fest, MoHH2 can provide just enough to want more. 32 players? YES. For the most part it's lag less. Fully costumizable games ranging from a all out Deathmatch to Team CTF. They are fun and annoying at the same time. Like a wierd looking fruit, with a great taste. Multiplayer adds the sprint button! Yes, like in CoD4 you can sprint in multiplayer [yet not in single player where you could use it just as well?]. Unlike CoD4, if you sprint, you can still shoot, reload, and melee. Speaking of melee, there is a melee button instead of a gesture!
In multiplayer it lacks a lot of cool stuff that would make it the best experience on the Wii.
1. Voice chat? No way. CTF and other Team based matches get too quiet and isolated, you are on a team but it doesn't feel like team match.
2. Hit detection, is extremely off. I think I emptied a whole clip in someone's general direction, and I mean at his torso, and the player didn't die. WTF?! HAX?!
3. Weapon Balance. A lot the weapon you just feel is weaker then should be and some are stronger then what they reall are. A MP14* [sub machince gun] and a Shotgun battle. Close range: Shotgun wins. Mid Range: Mp14 wins. Ok. In the game, Close Range: MP14 wins. Mid range: MP14 wins. Long Ranger [sniper distance]: MP14 wins. NOW WTF?! HAX?!
The overall expereince of multiplayer can get down right boring, but a lot of the times, if played with a decent group and great level you can get a greatmatches that can last for a good 2 hour session.
Pros
+ Controls are just excellent. On point in every way. You can even customize them to fit your needs.
+ Level detail is very good, better then CoD3 and MoHV
+ 32 player, freaking muliplayer!
+ Arcade mode to pass some Campaign Mode Levels FTW
Cons
- Stupid AI
- Up ands Downs of Mulitplayer
- Where the heck are my checkpoints?!
- Wii Zapper is Crap.
? Team Fuzion for another shot at FPS greatness?
Overall: MoHH2 is a great game when it comes down to gameplay. This is the blueprint of all FPS's to come and added on to what MP3C did as will. The game itself is general. We've played WWII based games, and its time for us to move on. Team Fuzion's first console ame is a sucess in controls and presentation and even making up for Nintendo lack of Wii Wi Fi Multiplayer experience. Speaking of which, multiplayer could still be a bit more polished. I think Team Fuzion could be the Wii's Rare in the golden N64 era. I give this game a 8.0 out of 10. [very low 8]
Nice shot. Try it again. =]
JuniorMints
