What would you want in a Wii “Elite” model?

Posted by AndyG as Wii Articles at 4:51 PM EDT

Seeing that Microsoft has launched their 360 “Elite” system, it got me wondering what folks would want from a Nintendo Wii “Elite” system. I would assume most folks would want better graphics, more storage, and better high definition support, but what else can you guys come up with? Here’s a few features I came up with off the top of my head just for fun, feel free to comment and add you own:

* Support for playing Nintendo DS games - Ok this one is a long shot as it would have a few technical limitations in place as far how the dual screens and touch screen action would be handled. There is also no Mic on the Wii (yet!) so this one would take a bit of work.
* Ports or an official converter allowing for NES, SNES, N64, and other official VC system controllers - This one could be handled by simple converters, some of which are already being made by 3rd party companies. How cool would it be being able to play the Virtual Console games with the original controllers legitimately supported by Nintendo?
* Wireless Nunchuk and Classic Controller - I’m not sure if this would require a whole console conversion hardware wise or if a software update could allow the Wireless Nunchuks to talk to the system, but it would be great to not have to deal with the cable between the Wii Remote and the ‘Chuk. While they are at it, make the Classic Controller wireless as well.
* Wireless Sensor Bar - This is another option that is available through third parties, but could possibly be improved up if designed by Nintendo themselves. Improvements could include a way to recharge the bar using the next item on the list.
* Recharge Station - A recharge station could be used to recharge your Wii Remotes, Nunchuks, Classic Controllers, and the Sensor bar. How it would all fit together and work properly, I would leave up to the guys in the lab, I’m just the idea guy! It would be great to have it built into the base of the system somehow and not have to bother with recharging batteries.
* More Internal Storage - Downloading those N64 games can really suck the current storage dry and having more could never hurt. By way of an internal hard drive would be optimal, but I wouldn’t want to see the price of the system sky rocket nor would it be a good thing to split the user base by having games come out that then depend on it. I am sure it could be worked out in some fashion and one day we may see a USB capable hard drive peripheral so let’s just make it internal for this “Elite” system.
* More High Definition Options - HDMI support, 1080i support, the whole rigmarole. For the sake of argument, we could say that there’s not enough people to warrant the “Base” model having these add ons, but it would be a nice addition for the “Elite” model.
* DVD Support - This is actually something that has been talked about coming to the Japanese markets and while most folks probably already own another DVD player of some sort, it would be nice to have the player thrown in.
* Include that Kickass Lightgun Accessory.. Maybe Even a Robot - Much like the original NES packages back in the day, bring back that idea offering the “Base” Wii system that is currently in production, but also this version which would include the Wii, a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, toss in a Classic Controller, the Lightgun accessory as seen at E3, and heck, why not a R.O.B. II.

Alright, that’s all I got. I have no idea how much this would cost but if I had to guess, I’d say around $500-$600. Would it appeal to many folks, I’m not even sure. The point of this is to just brainstorm what Nintendo could do with an “Elite” model of their system and what it would bring to the current model. Some of this stuff some folks would use more than others and some of the ideas perhaps only I would use. What do you think would be a good addition to the current model Wii?

Mario Strikers Charged Football

Written by Greg Lyle

For me, Mario Smash Football on the Gamecube was always very hit and miss. It had some aspects of fun, but there was a real lack of depth and challenge compared to the more realistic soccer games like FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. When I first saw the screens for Mario Strikers Charged Football on Wii, I can hardly say I was impressed. It looked very similar, if not exactly the same as its predecessor and I immediately shrugged it off as a lacklustre attempt of milking that unused cash-cow, the gamecube. However what Nintendo has delivered is not a shoddy port of the gamecube game or even a sloppy expansion of it, but instead one of the most fun and engrossing titles currently available for the Wii.
Mario

Like previous exciting Wii games, Warioware and Wii Sports most of Mario Smash's fun comes from its simplicity but please dont let that fool you. Mario Strikers is most definitely not as shallow as those two.

The game is based as a sort of Mushroom Kingdom world cup with all of the main characters of the Mario world playing soccer matches against one another with assorted b-characters making up the rest of the squad. The player is free to choose what Mario star they want as captain from Donkey Kong to Daisy and Mario to Bowser they are all here and all have distinct strengths and weaknesses. You then get to chose the rest of your team picking a mixture of characters including Boos, Hammer Bros. and even Dry Bones.

With Smash Football, Nintendo seem to have found the perfect design for a really fun soccer game and with Wii they have found the perfect platform. The use of the Wii remote and Nunchuk is brilliant, with the Nunchuks analogue stick controlling player movement and the remotes b-trigger controlling shots. The A button passes and a tackle is a simple waggle of the remote. Although the 'waggle' feature has been overused by some developers its use in Strikers seems valid and doesnt seem tacked on. The controls are simple but there are many unique features to set the gameplay apart. The Smash shots require you to hold the b-trigger until your lead character gains an indicator above their head which you then control via quick taps of the b-trigger, this chooses how many shots you have and how accurate they are. With this attack you can score upto 6 goals in one attempt! However its not as easy as it sounds because as soon as you shoot control turns to the opposition who, if its a player-controller team will have a chance of saving these shots by pointing at the sensor bar and pressing a everytime a ball appears. These seemingly match changing moments can dissapear in an instant and play resumes straight away.
Mario Strikers

There are also various items and power-ups that players can grab and use to their advantage such as mushrooms, shells, hammers and all other Mario related objects. Its not just the opposition players who are against you many of the stadiums have enviromental factors that can electrocute you, crush you or simply blow your character right out of the park.

The game features a training mode, an exhibition match option, 20+ challenge matches (where you are faced with a deficit and have to battle your way through it), 4 different trophies to obtain by playing through leagues and an online multiplayer mode. This is one of the features that really sets Mario Strikers Charged Football, as it is the first Nintendo Wi-Fi connection game to be released in Europe. And there is simply only one way of describing the online matches; fun. But really, really fun. Like so fun its better than being in Disneyland. On your birthday.
Wario

4 people can compete in online 2 vs. 2 matches that are short, sharp and very entertaining. Although the friend code situation is very annoying if you are used to the faster than light, X-Box Live service. The randomly generated matches are a great way of having online fun with anyone. One of the major downfalls of the online service however is that the games are completely region locked meaning if you live in europe you can only play with people in europe and if you live in Japan then only Japan etc.

Another unfortunate downside is the very rapid change is difficulty. Although the game starts relatively easy, with scores rising into double figures very often, the game suddenly shoots off into an almost impossible direction and you will be pulling out your hair trying to complete the latter challenges.

Overall Mario Strikers Charged Football has been a great success. Firstly showing that Nintendo can provide quality online gaming and secondly showing that, if developers are to take notice, Wii controls can be implemented to many genres with just a bit of thought and care. Anyway im getting back online to find Ian Wright...

Gameplay; Simply Superb, a great showcase for Wii's ability to be fun as well as lengthy. It really does play well. 90

Graphics; Crisp in all the right places with the perfect amount of Mario style but the stadiums and crowds can seem a little bit jaggy. 74

Innovation; Absolutely brilliant, another genre the Wii has drastically changed with its innovative control scheme. The game itself shows a lot of innovation too, in being a soccer game that can have all the inspiration and fun of a platform game. 87

Sound; Perfectly added crowd chants mixed with comedy item sound effects. The only annoying thing is the Smash Shot theme tune, that gets very repetitive. 88

Wario Ware Smooth Moves Review

Written by Gods_Vessel

Wario Ware is a series well known for its insane mini games that are thrown at the player quickly one after the other. This doesn’t differ in the Wii iteration of the game and is if anything exemplified by the use of the Wii control. Much like the Gamecube version of Wario Ware, Smooth Moves puts the focus on multiplayer, which is perfect for a system like the Wii.

When you first start the game you’ll see that there’s a multiplayer and single player option. However, the multiplayer is locked until someone clears the single player mode. It’s not necessarily a bad thing though as the single player is a bit like an extended tutorial that you’ll finish up pretty quickly. Going through the one player mode is hardly a chore though, and it’ll have you smiling all the way to the end.

What you first notice about Smooth Moves is the first-rate presentation. Each level preludes and ends with a small movie revolving around whatever character’s level it is. These movies are great, colourful and sharp, very much like a Saturday cartoon. The stories are extremely well executed with great animation and humour. Keeping to the humour of the game, each time a new way to use the Wii remote pops up, it is introduced by a rather depressed sounding man talking a load of nonsense. It’s incredibly simple yet genuinely funny at the same time. They do slow the pace of the game down a bit, but it’ll only happen the first time you come across a new form (a way to hold the Wii remote). You’ll even unlock a movie theatre to watch most of these movies in. I say most because unfortunately for some reason you can only watch introductions to characters and the resolution of each story. The sound is also up to par with a good quality sound track and satisfying uses of the Wii remote’s speaker.

The levels themselves consist of micro games that last about 5 seconds each. Each game has a great art style, ranging from hand drawn stuff to real life pictures. The eclectic mix of different art directions really helps the game not to get boring and grab the player’s attention. These games get the player to hold the Wii remote a variety of different ways, or forms as the game calls them. Each game is unique and entertaining, not only for you but also for those watching you. With over 200 micro games, you’ll be doing everything from jumping over a skipping rope to pulling out the master sword. You also wont see every game on your first time through, so if you want to get the most out of the game, you’ll go back to see everything. They’re all fun to do and some will even make you laugh out loud from the zaniness. The boss battles are also pretty well thought-out, superb sequences. You’ll be driving cars, having sword fights and even dancing, just to name a few. You’ll want to replay some
of these - because they’re just that good.

There are a few problems with some of the micro games though. At some point you’ll encounter at least two were you won’t know what you’re supposed to do, no matter how hard you try. To help solve this there’s a ‘dojo’ where you can practice all the games you’ve encountered and eventually work them out. A small number of games don’t seem as responsive as well, but this isn’t really a problem for the most part, and they still work to some degree anyway. It can be a bit frustrating though, when you only have one life left and you just happen to get that micro game you can’t get to work quick enough. Overall though the games are solid and fun, with only probably 5% not being the best they could be.

As you go through the story mode, which will take around 2 hours, you’ll unlock some mini games similar to what you do in the main game. One game Tower Tennis sees you bouncing a tennis ball up a tower, breaking through blocks and avoiding obstacles on the way. None of these games are particularly good though and you’ll want to just play the normal game instead.

When you do finish the story mode, the multiplayer is unlocked. Multiplayer is where this game shines. It’ a laugh making your mates look like idiots trying desperately to pass their micro game. Like the story mode, there’s more than just the standard game to play. You won’t play all of them that much, but they are nice additions to the game. There are three modes that are unique from each other in the game. These are Darts, Star Nose and Bungee Buddies. Darts is simply a game of darts. You use the remote to throw the darts, like in real life. It works well and is pretty fun. Star Nose is a game that requires the nunchuck to be attached. One player holds the nunchuck and the other, the Wii remote. The game pits players against each other in a race to eat fruit… in… noses. You’ll have to avoid crashing as well otherwise you lose. It’s pretty simple and entertaining for the first couple of times you do it, but ends up a bit boring. Bungee Buddies also sees two players sharing the nunchuck and the Wii remote. On screen you’re represented together as two small people tethered together by the Wii remote. You’ll have to jump over holes and see how far you can get together. This game is fun and actually a bit challenging.

The other three multiplayer modes are all different takes on the main game. All of them use Mii functionality well. Survival is where everyone takes turns to do a micro-game and if you fail, you’re out. This is a great pick for parties as it supports up to 12 players. Lifeline has players taking turns to again, but this time there’s a set number of levels and you accumulate points till the levels are over. When it does finish depending on how well you’ve done, you’ll have a number of ropes holding you up above water. Each player takes turns to cut a rope, however nobody knows what rope leads to what person. Bomb, again has the players taking turns. Like in Survival mode if you mess up your turn, it’s game over. However players get to choose what from their opponent has to do and once a form’s already been chosen, it gets increasingly difficult. This adds strategy to the game, but you have to choose quickly otherwise the bomb will go and you’ll lose. These three modes are pretty much the same thing but with different variables to suite every player’s needs. For example, if you have a lot of friends over, you’ll want to choose Survival. Whereas if you have fewer friends round you might want to choose Bomb instead. All these modes are seriously fun to play with your mates and make the game shine.

Wario Ware is a great game that reminds you why you bought the Wii, which is pretty important during the slow winter of gaming. It uses the Wii remote in a terrific number of excellent ways, offering a glimpse of what’s to come in the future of Wii gaming. Not only that, but it’s incredibly fun to play, especially with friends. However, if you’re looking for a game that’ll last you a while, your mileage may vary. For a lot of people if you don’t have a lot of friends, you’ll finish this game and probably not pick it up again for a long time. That being said beating high scores and unlocking aver last micro game will lengthen the longevity of the game quite a bit. If you do think this game will bore you after a while, it’s at least worth a rental, just to experience what the Wii is about – new ways to have fun.

Gameplay: 9 – Great use of the Wii remote, couple with fun and engaging games

Graphics: 8 – This game isn’t trying to push polys but it defiantly looks great in a number of ways

Sound: 8 – Great sound throughout with an exceptional soundtrack to boot

Content: 7 – The game attempts to lengthen itself quite a bit and succeeds for the most part

Replay Value: 6 – A ton of multiplayer fun to be had, but if you’re by yourself there’s not a great reason to come back to it

Final Score: 8