Wii's graphics have been an ever present talking point since the consoles release back in November. It's been more than evident that Nintendo have decided to let graphics take the back seat on this occasion. We never stop hearing how the Wii is double the power of the Gamecube" yet all we are seeing are games that are looking consistently worse than their formers.
Of course, on WiiLoaded.com, we constantly hear "Goombas" and "Piranha Plants" saying things like...
"I don't think Wii's graphics matter, it's all about the gameplay. Hey does anyone want to play me in Wii tennis online later?"
See, the way I look at it, is that graphics do matter, and that Nintendo may have shot themselves in the foot for the future. Since the whole family has gotten used to these happy, cartoony visuals and unrealistic "Mii"s, is this hear to stay?
Wii was hardly a great improvement graphically over its predecessor, while look at Playstation 3 compared to Playstation 2 and you will be blown away. Have the majority of Gamecube owning Wii adopters been blown away visually?
No
The new messiah it seems, is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and that this will showcase Wii's hidden "haha we were just kidding, Wii is more powerful than PS3" graphics.
Is that screenshot near or on-par with Xbox 360's expected graphics? No.
Could these textures have been pulled off on Gamecube? Yes.
What many people fail to understand, is that the word "graphics" should not just be thrown around like a baseball. Graphics is not just how photo realistic something looks, or how real Tracy McGrady looks in NBA 08 compared to the real guy; this is only a small part.
"Graphics" has a lot of sub-headings, some of which are:
- Frame Rate
- Textures
- Sharpness
- Resolution
- Output mode (Interlaced or Progressive)
- Visual Clarity
- Lighting Effects
- Motion Effects
and a few more.
And now let's talk about the cover-ups. Many games developed for Wii are using their own unique styles. This isn't particularly a bad thing, but definitely shows some form of hardened acceptance for third party developers. EA are the company most guilty of this. While they are undoubtedly Wii's strongest third party partner, they seem to be taking the "cuteness" factor much too literal. Games like MySims, Boogie, and Playground show this. While in other games like FIFA 08, it still represents a big factor.
It seems like developers aren't taking Wii seriously. The only part they find serious at all, is the money making opportunity that Wii represents.
Don't get me wrong. I love my Wii, but I'm sick of the fact that enjoyable games like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid Prime, Red Steel and Medal of Honor will always be the type of games that will be "point-and-laugh" affairs for 360 and PS3 owners alike.
Wii did not do enough graphically this time around, without a doubt. Let's say that on a scale of 1 - 10 that 1 represents Gamecube and 10 represents Xbox 360. Currently Wii rests at about 2, maybe 3 if the games can prove it to me in future. My gut feeling is that Wii should anchor itself in at about 5 or 6, which would not have cost much more in development, and would provide Xbox and Playstation third parties to successfully translate their games across all formats equally and comfortably, without Wii representing a bump in the road, which it is.
In this article, I may have seemed very critical of Wii, but I am not. I believe what Wii is doing is marvelous and should continue this way.
But what it all boils down to is this:
Wouldn't you have liked to see a 1080p Hyrule Kingdom, or look at the amazing reflection effects of Lake Hylia's surface? Yes you would, it's unquestionable.
Original Twilight Princess Models posed, upscaled, and relit in Counter Strike Source.
Opinions as always, and thank you very much for taking the time to read this article.
CZMQFRG
But i completed it quite easily so i hope this one challenges me 