Game space columnist connects his Wii to the Net
Published Thursday June 19th, 2008
Welcome to the World Wide Wii Web.
My Nintendo Wii is no longer lonely. After much procrastinating and sheer incompetence when it comes to computers, my Wii is now online. Many props to my friend Don who got my wireless network up and running. To be honest, I'd have eventually brought my Wii online but the impending arrival of my Playstaion 3 (I'm writing this on the eve of Metal Gear Solid 4's release... SO EXCITED!) made me want to get all my systems online and ready for some downloadable goodness.
Granted, I've been "online" before with my Xbox. However, the online infrastructure of even a few years ago isn't comparable to what it is now. I used to enjoy the simple life: put in the disc, find a match to play in, and away we go. Now, upon getting my Wii onto my network, I had to deal with a variety of things: WiiWare, Virtual Console, news updates, weather reports -- a buffet of options compared to the bare offerings of yesteryear.
Of course, the feature I was most looking forward to was the Virtual Console. For the uninitiated, the Virtual Console allows you to download old NES, SNES, Genesis, NEO GEO, and Turbografx 16 games. I can be somewhat of a nostalgia nut at times to I was pretty excited about reliving some memories.
What they did have to offer was an interesting mix to say the least: you have the obvious classics like Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3, the Ninja Gaiden series, even oldies like Balloon Fight. However, there were a couple of obvious stinkers like Urban Champion and obscure games which I'd never heard of.
My advice would be this: be careful about certain games just because you remember it being fun when you were a kid.
We tend to make the past a little rosy (games are no exception) and what may have been fun when you were 10 years old may not be too fun now due to refined skills and a finer gaming palate.
Each game can cost anywhere from $5 - $10 -- not exactly cheap by any standard. I think a good remedy for this would be to have to access to a demo of each game. Some of the titles can be pretty old/obscure so having a demo would be great in allowing you to see if the game is right for you.
Also, a big pet peeve I have with Virtual Console is the fact you have to buy "points" in order to purchase a Virtual Console title. Why can't I just link up my credit card to my Wii account and go to town? The point system has you guessing how much you're really paying for a game but I can at least be thankful that one point roughly equals one dollar CDN. Still, if I don't want to be stuck with a bundle of Wii points then it would be in my best interest to buy a limited amount of points. The only annoying thing is that if there is a big purchase to be made, I'll have input all of my credit card data again.
The money issue brings up another interesting phenomenon: the money sink. I mentioned this before and I'll say it again: I was completely caught off guard on how much you have to put into the Wii in order to have a complete system. The nunchuk attachment, batteries, etc... are bad enough - now you're telling me there are certain Virtual Console games I can't play because I don't a Game Cube or Classic controller. I don't know about you but that seriously irked me. I can understand how most SNES and Genesis games require more than two buttons but man, it just seems like one cash grab after another.
Still, despite my somewhat negative ranting, it was great to have that level of connectivity with my system and to be able to play some classics. I'm looking forward to the releases down the line -- and the charges on my credit card.
Send your questions or comments to: the_big_n_@hotmail.com
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