Recreation

Wii! Nintendo console makes gaming fun, simply

Here's a new way to play video games: Punch at the air as if you're having an Evander Holyfield daydream. Swing your arm in an Andre Agassi power serve. Or just sit on the couch and wiggle a controller that looks like a small, white remote.

Nintendo, the Japanese video-game juggernaut, had become a bit of an also-ran in the console wars, losing to flashier competitors Sony and Microsoft, whose PlayStation2 and Xbox systems, respectively, roundly spanked Nintendo's small, purple, slightly underpowered GameCube.

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About the Wii

• Price: $250
• What is it? Nintendo's entry into the 'next-generation' game console war, priced lower than rivals Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 and aimed at a broader range of players.
• Availability: Nintendo plans to ship 4 million Nintendo Wii systems worldwide, including 1 million in North America. Many game stores are sold out based on high demand for pre-orders, but you might have luck at large retailers such as Target, Circuit City, Wal-Mart or Costco.
• Some launch titles: 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,' 'Madden NFL 07,' 'Red Steel,' 'Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz.'
• More infomation: www.nintendo.com/channel/wii

Read more about the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation3 at Omar Gallaga's blog.

Nintendo, now battling high-definition monster machines like the Xbox 360 and the just-released PlayStation3, decided it couldn't compete against cutting-edge graphics and increasing horsepower.

So it changed the rules entirely. The Wii (pronounced "We," or if you're French, "Oui") forgoes next-gen graphics and adds a motion-sensing controller that operates like a mix between a laser pointer and something out of the "Star Trek" holodeck.

Using a small, black sensor bar that can sit on top of the TV, the so-called Wiimote responds incredibly well, detecting movement, distance and height with almost supernatural accuracy. There are gyroscopes at work here, and probably tiny gnomes.

Nintendo sent the Austin American-Statesman a review Wii system ahead of its Sunday launch. We also received an extra controller and three games: the bundled "Wii Sports" that comes with every Wii, as well as two launch-day games, "Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "Excite Truck."

After less than a week of gameplay, we can say that the Wii transcends its hype. This is a system with a refreshingly simple interface that tries hard to simply be fun.

The console is the size of a small hardback book. It's white and unobtrusive; it could be the iPod's larger cousin. Hooking it up to a TV is simple. In about 10 minutes, you can be up and running.

Using the Wiimote like a laser pointer, you pick options in each menu. Subtle and effective vibration helps you select buttons on screen, which give off a bumpy feel as you move over them.

The main menu is a set of channels, some of which are only accessible with an Internet connection (you can connect using its built-in WiFi with no extra fuss or via Ethernet cable with a separate adapter). Nintendo had yet to launch its online service, so "Weather Channel," "News Channel," an online message board and area for downloading retro games were unavailable to review.

Using the "Mii" feature, you create a cartoony approximation of yourself to play in games and keep track of your scores. On-screen messages remind you when it's time to plug in or unplug the "Nunchuck" accessory, a funky, ergonomic secondary controller that plugs into the Wiimote for some games.

You can view digital photos from an SD memory card if your camera uses that format. The included "Wii Sports" game features simple versions of baseball, golf, tennis, boxing and bowling. For golf, you hold the Wiimote vertically and swing it like a golf club. In bowling, keeping your wrist straight keeps the bowling ball from spinning to the left or right. In boxing, the Wiimote-Nunchuck combo functions as your hands for blocking and punching.

While the animations are basic, the effect is immersing. A tiny speaker in the Wiimote blasts the crack of the bat in baseball or the sound of a racket hitting a tennis ball.

"Wii Sports" is a great demo for the Wii's capabilities. It's also a great group game — we found doubles tennis and one-on-one boxing to be exponentially more fun with playmates.

The off-road racing game "Excite Truck" is played by using the Wiimote like a steering wheel. The adventure game "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" finds many uses for the Wiimote — moving around a fantasy village, aiming a slingshot and riding a horse around town.

The simplicity of the console will make it a hit with kids and parents. The Wii even reminds you to take a break and go outside. Casual gamers who are exhausted by the constant parade of shoot-'em-ups and the race for better graphics will be wooed by the Wii's tight design philosophy and its price tag.

But the trade-off is that some of the games, say "Zelda," feature graphics that look last-generation and sound that can't compete with the console's competitors.

Also, unlike the PS3 or Xbox 360, the Wii can't play high-definition DVDs. Or any DVD, for that matter.

But it's a console that reminds us why video games are fun, a throwback that with its brilliant control scheme also feels futuristic. If great games keep coming, Nintendo just might score a coup.

Which is only fitting: The Wii's original name was to be "The Revolution."

ogallaga@statesman.com; 445-3672