Nintendo Wii Review

Let's get this out of the way first: the Wii's graphics look terrible compared with the competition. But within about a half hour of playing games on Nintendo's revolutionary Wii, you won't care!

This new game console transcends visuals to deliver the most satisfying game play, for a wide range of gamers, than either the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3.

Fans of in-depth, pixel-popping twitch games will be disappointed, as will big-screen HDTV owners. But for everyone else—from kids to casual gamers to families—the Wii will deliver twice as much fun for half the price of the others. Be warned, however, that the system seems unfinished. The built-in software lacks some promised features, and the SD card slot currently will not let you back up your saved games.

The experience starts with the system's amazing new controller. Instead of the traditional two-handed device, the Wii's wireless controller is a rectangular device that looks and feels like a TV remote control. Inside is an array of sensors, wireless transmitters, and receivers that communicate with the diminutive Wii base station. The controller alone is all you need to operate many games, but an additional oblong device, about half the size of a mouse, connects to the main controller via a plug-in wire. A thumb pad and two buttons sit on this secondary controller, dubbed the Nunchuk, which houses motion sensors.

One other tremendous feature of the new controller is a tiny embedded speaker, which delivers user-specific messages, including audio cues during Twilight Princess and sound effects in Wii Sports. The sound isn't spectacular, but it's a great addition to game play. The controllers run on double-A batteries, and after about 20 hours of testing I had used up about half of the battery life. Not bad, but consider rechargeable batteries instead of disposables. The split controller will also appeal to left-handed gamers for more complex games, since you can manipulate either controller with either hand.

The Wii itself is a marvel of miniaturization. About the size of an external DVD drive, it comes with an optical drive (which doesn't play movies), a 243-MHz ATI graphics chip, a 729-MHz PowerPC processor, 64MB of GDDR3 memory, a 512MB internal flash, and an 802.11g Wi-Fi. The white box sits either on its side or on the included stand, which positions the console at a rakish angle of about 10 degrees back from the vertical. A large power brick about a quarter the size of the main console sits outside the Wii.

The disc slot, which ingests and ejects both the smaller GameCube discs and the DVD-sized Wii games, is on the front of the unit. An SD card slot and a controller sync button sit inside a small door on the unit's front. The SD card allows the Wii play back movies, music, and photos. Five ports are on the back of the unit: one for power, one to connect the horizontal IR receiver bar, two for USB, and one multifunction video/audio connector. A composite video/stereo audio cable is bundled. Users can purchase a component cable, which includes optical audio, for about $25. The system delivers a 16:9 widescreen at 480i, which added dimension and width to the Twilight Princess game during my testing. Nintendo didn't provide the component cable, so I was unable to test the Wii at 480p, which is the highest resolution the system will support.

Out of the box, the system comes together easily. The only wrinkle was setting up the thin, low-profile sensor bar, which uses infrared to connect to the controllers. Nintendo recommends that the receiver either be stuck to the top of your TV set or on the front of the TV's base. A long wire snakes down to the base unit and enables the controllers to work. Using IR is a bit of a kludge, though. Currently no wired controller options exist for the Wii, and the semi-permanent nature of the IR receiver means that it would be difficult to pack up the unit and take it on vacation, or to use it in a car. Setting up one controller is easy, since the bundled one comes already married to the base unit. I easily set up a second controller by simultaneously pressing a button on the Wii and one on the remote. The Wii supports up to four remote-controller/Nunchuk combos. Nintendo also sells a traditional game pad that plugs into the bottom of the remote controller—in place of the Nunchuk—to appease traditional gaming fans.

Software setup was equally simple. A set of menus walks you through configuring your TV—either 16:9 or 4:3—and audio options. The Wii supports a half-way version of burn-in protection: The screen dims after 5 minutes of inactivity. Nintendo might have taken it a step further by turning off the screen altogether after a half hour.

I found it simple to connect the Wii to a home wireless network using the built-in Wi-Fi. The network interface found all the local hubs and let me easily connect to my home hub. Nintendo's wireless services and hubs, however, weren't activated during my testing, so I was unable to test the features requiring Internet access, including the always-on WiiConnect24 service, which delivers messages, e-mail, news, weather, and other information from the Web directly to the console. The Wii can connect wirelessly to a DS or DS Lite handheld game console, but that service didn't work on my tests. I strongly encourage Wii owners to connect it to a broadband connection, since Nintendo will deliver system updates, older games, and other content to the system from the Web. Early Wii customers will need a Web connection to add SD support and with other features missing from the first units. If you don't have a wireless hub, you can purchase a Wii Connect USB dongle from Nintendo that attaches to your Internet-enabled PC, and then to the Wii. Nintendo also plans on making a USB-based wired Ethernet adapter available for the Wii as well.