Hundreds of eager gamers lined up at Ontario Place on Tuesday for a chance to get an early look at Nintendo’s new Wii console, which hits store shelves this Sunday, just 48 hours after the PlayStation3 debuts on Friday.

Inside awaited dozens of Wii units loaded with games that will be released on launch day. The systems were patrolled by Nintendo officials - Wii, the cops - with orders to strictly monitor the time individual players spent with each game to ensure everyone had an opportunity to experience the innovative game console.

One of the most popular titles on display, Wii Sports, will actually be included with every Wii sold. It’s packed with more than 20 mini-games, including bowling, tennis, golf, and baseball. Combined, Wii Sports showcases the Wii’s most attention grabbing feature, the motion sensitive controller that purportedly brings a new level of intuitive control to activities such as swinging a baseball bat and throwing a bowling ball. By all indication - i.e., the smiling and laughing of people previewing - Nintendo’s claim is spot on.

However, some of the other games on display proved more challenging for attendees. A game called Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, which sees players tilting the Wii controller forwards, backwards, left, and right to guide a ball rolling through mazes suspended in mid air, flummoxed many players who had a difficult time keeping the ball from falling off ledges. A Nintendo representative explained that it’s the sort of game that requires a bit of practice. Riiiiight.

Ubisoft's Red Steel, a first-person shooter (FPS) developed exclusively for Wii, was likewise hand-cuffing at first. It requires players to point the Wii remote in the direction they wish to fire. An onscreen dot or crosshair will appear to provide a visual representation of the area being targeted. Many of the players who gave Red Steel a shot fired wildly at first, but it seemed as though most players quickly grew accustomed to the unique interface in the short time they were able to spend with it.

But it was The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess that attracted the most attention. This inventive game requires players to use the Wii remote to control boomerangs, swords, arrows, and even a fishing rod while at the same time employing the remote’s Nunchuk attachment (another device meant to be wielded by a single hand, the oppsing hand from the Wii-mote proper, connected together a wire) to move Link around and lock on to enemies.

However, while most of the players who tried it walked away beaming, it was obvious that Twilight Princess is a complex title targeted at serious gamers; casual players would be better served sticking with some of the simpler games with more universal appeal, like Excite Truck (think the classic ExciteBike, only with four wheels, much better graphics, and the Wii’s unique remote) or Cars, based on the Disney/Pixar movie of the same name.

There will only be one version of the Wii available at launch (unlike the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation3, both of which are available in basic and more expensive suped-up versions), and it retails for C$279.95 or US$249.95 - several hundred dollars cheaper than competing systems. However, the long lineup to get into the Wii preview event suggested to us that anyone interested in picking up a Wii this weekend had best get in line in front of their local big box electronics store bright and early if they want to have any hope of snagging a system for themselves come Sunday. Wii, the people.



 
 

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