Woop-wii (Nintendo Wii)

Member Name: robvr6

Product:	Nintendo Wii
Date:	18/06/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great for kids, and those who just want to pick up and play something easy and fun

Disadvantages: all the extras will cost you, not as advanced as the ps3 or 360

I bought a Wii for my fiancee for christmas, and even though she is by no means an avid gamer, she does love to play on it every once in a while. Being as it is a lot more active and physically involving than other systems, this can only be a good thing.

When I purchased it, I got a very good deal through game.co.uk, buying the system, with one controller, 3 games and delivered for 189.99, I did have to buy another controller though if we wanted to play anything together and realised that instead of paying 29.99 for one, I could buy Wii play for 24.99 and get a free controller, I would still suggest that to others even if they dont want the game, because not only is it cheaper, but you can stick the game alone on ebay and sell it (lets face it if it sells for a quid youre on a winner).

The games for this system will never have the dizzying graphics of a ps3 or xbox 360 but thats not what nintendo are aiming for, they have gone back to their roots of great playable fun games, and done a good job of it too. Mario kart wii, super smash bros, and the many different sports games are really fun and good to play with friends.
The only down side to all of this group fun is that you wil be buying a constant stream of peripherals (nunchuks, wheels, fishing rods, golf clubs, wii boards...) which can add up to a fair bit.

The introduction of infogames such as wii fit is a great idea too and makes good use of the motion systems and gets kids and adults alike up and about and makes them aware of their health, weight and bmi info in a fun way.

The Wii system itself uses motion sensitive peripherals to track the players, via an infra red bar that inconspicuously sits above or below your tv, and tracks where you are pointing your controller, I can see this might be a problem for those using small tv sets thought as you will not have much range of motion if you are too far away from the screen.
The Wii also uses clever add ons like the Wii balance board whith you stand on and it tracks your movement for games like snowboarding and Wii fit.

The system allows for online play and is very easy to set up (maybe not for young kids though!) so you can play against people from all over the world/europe/uk depending on your choices.

The Wii does allow you to use a web browser if you pay a one off fee to download it, but i wouldnt bother if you already have a pc, as the picture isnt that great and it can be awkward to use (on screen qwerty keyboard is very fiddly).

Downloadable games on the system are fantastic, and you can download games for all manner of older generation systems (ranging from atari's and C64's to sega megadrives and saturns) which is great for retro gamers like myself.

Overall it is a great and fun system but it just doesnt have the graphics and gaming capabilities of the latest generation of ps3's and 360's, however it is entirely suitable for younger kids which is a pleasant surprise from any manufacturer.

Summary: great for kids and adults who like games simple and fun