Hi all, i'm reviewing the next gen consoles currently and the Wii has a special place in my heart and i don't want to get all preachy, and i don't want to come across as bias at all with any of my console reviews but i feel i should just make this statement first, get it off my chest as it where.

Nintendo has one of the most famous track records for gaming in history, from the original Nintendo Entertainment system to the N64 and now the Wii, it seems the mighty have not fallen, but somewhat slipped up a bit, i just feel that the Wii doesn't live up to expectations, it's not the most powerful next gen console, not that that matters a lot, but they haven't made up for it by releasing some hard hitting Nintendo classics or coming up with some new innovative titles for use with it's motion sensor control, it's filled it's own market with exercise games and fun colorful titles for the casual gamer, what a huge company like Nintendo hasn't got to grips with with this console, is that it has a huge fan base of hardcore gamers and regular gamers alike, and that the casual gamer market is very fickle, now that casual videogaming isn't the biggest thing since Starbucks Nintendo records a slump in sales and has vowed to "Move back into the gamer market" what where they trying to say? That they've actively chosen to exclude their long time fans in favor of a glorified bathroom scale (the Wii fit), irrelevant of that let's take a look at the Nintendo Wii, it's a good console, it's just a little misguided.
First of all lets get it out of the box, shes a good looking girl, streamlined, mine was white (it just shows the dirt) and comes with a nice glossy finish, i think the black model looks a lot better, but I bought the Wii on release and they only came in white. I had a teency problem with the wiring, the power pack is HUGE and required a little shifting of wires at the back of the telly (and a forklift... you really need to see this thing), and also the sensor bar, it has a great long thin wire stretching into infinity, it seems very delicate, but sits nicely on the top of the T.V, it comes with a little sticky pad rest which iv'e long since lost and now only sits on my T.V stuck with blu tac but she still works! And of course the Wii has the Scart component cable, so no HD with this one boys and girls. Switching on sends it whirring, albeit quietly, it's not the quietest next gen but it's not the loudest, the processing power of the Wii isn't it's strong point so you wont hear the fan working overtime too much, but in a very weird way the humming of the console seems quite charming, whenever i turn it on and hear that distinctive Wii whirring i seem to remember the days sitting at home playing Super Mario Brothers and even the occasional tear comes to my eye thinking about about how far the games market has come (the tear thing wasn't true i was just being dramatic but i do sometimes think how far we've come).

It has a slot for an SD memory card if you fancy some more memory and four controller slots for classic controllers (N64 Gamecube and such) so you can plug in and play some classic titles and this is where the Wii really stands out from the crowd. It has an incredibly user friendly shop, it really can't be simpler and it has the virtual console, the VC is rammed, chock full, stuffed with classic games from the NES the SNES the Megadrive and the Neo Geo and more, when i first clapped my eyes on this my credit card jumped out of it's wallet and danced a merry jig before suffering a fatal heart attack and dying (R.I.P).
The Wii's virtual console is unbeatable it really does have every game from the 80's and 90's you can think of from Sonic to Mega man to the Original Mario brothers and Castlevania. I really could harp on about how great this is all day but i really should move on to the next gen features of the Nintendo Wii.
I'll just brush over the hub/interface area of the console, it's lovely, separated into blocks, you move the Wii mote over what you want and press the A button to perform the action, it's very satisfying and very very user friendly, it's very simple and suits the motion control style perfectly, all the blocks a nice and chunky and the cursor is a big juicy hand so you won't have any problems finding anything or clicking any of the options, even the typing function has a giant keyboard for those fumbling fumblers like me, also this makes the interface suitable for children... like me.

The motion controls are very good, excellent in fact, i have a gripe though, not long ago Nintendo released the Wii mote plus, an attachment that increases the accuracy and the range of the Controller in relation to the sensor bar, what grinds me about this is the fact that essentially the Wiimote should have had those capabilities all along, it should have been that accurate in the first place, but that's in the past now...
The motion controls are great fun to play around with, the first few releases on the Wii where quite limited in terms of control, you where limited to a few token waggles and swipes, but now a myriad of attachments turns the remote into a sword and shield a steering wheel a gun and all manner of things, in fact thinking about it makes me want to play some house of the dead right now.
There are of course the token Nintendo classics like your Zelda games and Mario releases ( Mario galaxy always makes me think "it is always stars!") and there great games worth checking out, plus there are some upcoming releases for Zelda so watch this space.
I suppose it wouldn't be a Wii review if i didn't mention it's family friendliness, there's a bucket load of titles out there that are fun for all the family including some party games which i do admire the Wii for, it gets the family off the couch and bouncing round the living room, and although it seems like a bit of a fad, it's a good fad and it aims in the right direction, plus it's great to get the kids tired out without even leaving the living room! There's a number of exercise games, but i live in a basement flat so iv'e only really played those titles a little round friends houses and i can see the appeal but these types of things soon gets boring and as i don't have the room for it, it just makes me feel that these features are only for those with a larger living room, you'll be surprised how much space the Wii requires to play, so i would say take those things into consideration before you make your purchase on this console.

Overall i hope i haven't been too critical of the Wii, it's a great console but i feel it's made a few mistakes in it's time on the next gen market and it seems to struggle to compete, and now that other motion control formats are available for other console the Wii is slowly being left behind in the race for supremacy that the console market seems to run. So for the Wii i'd say do a little market research first to see if this console is right for you, but any long time fan of Nintendo should not miss out on the Wii.
©peckinpigeon