Wii Zero-Day Hands On

Sensor Overload

Contrary to some reports, the Wii requires only a single sensor for the remote to work. It's about nine inches long, one inch deep and a half inch tall, with a long, thin grey cable to connect to the console. We placed the sensor on the top edge of the center channel speaker that sits right below our monitor; Nintendo includes a couple pieces of mounting tape, as well as small stand to accommodate the sensor. Once in place it's quite unobtrusive, and since there's already an A/V cable running to the console, the connector cable doesn't add much more clutter to the media center.

Remote Channel Control

With the sensor in place, we turned on the console for the first time, and were greeted by an instruction screen for the remote, then a warning screen similar to what we quickly scroll through on the DS.

The remote responded with only the barest calibration efforts -- we simply had to tell the Wii what hand we primarily use to control the remote, and whether the sensor bar was mounted above or below the television.

Like everything else about the console, the operating system is friendly, even inviting. The 'Wii Channels' concept seemed confusing at first, but in practice it makes perfect sense. Insert a disc, and the Disc Channel in the upper left will display the type of disc or game title.

The Mii Channel allows you to create a custom avatar for various "casual" titles, including the Wii Sports pack-in -- cartoonish and blocky, but with a surprising amount of variety and detail. There's the option to let your Mii roam the internet to other consoles (where, among other things, it can appear in games and parades) and we're curious to see how far Nintendo takes that concept.

We checked out the Photo Channel by popping our camera's SD card into the front slot. It was recognized immediately and we were able to scan, rotate, and throw effects onto photos. While we like the idea of uploading photos to the Wii message board, we'd also like to be able to save photos to the console itself.

Using the remote to navigate the OS has so far proven to be almost as natural as using a controller, and we expect that as we acclimate to using the pointer, it will feel more smooth. The only thing that bugs us about the remote so far is that, while there's an options panel containing a few tweaks, there's no way to remap the selection button, which is currently set at A. (The button below the d-pad.) It seems much more natural to use the trigger to select menu items; we'd at least like the option to change it.

Ready to Launch

So far, we've only got Nintendo's three first-party games in hand. As others trickle in we should have updates before the full reviews go live. For now, here's a tease from the final build of each. And we have to say, while a lot has been made about Nintendo's relative disinterest in graphics, the look of each game we've played from the company seems quite appropriate to the game itself.

Wii Sports
We've had a good time with Wii Sports so far, though it definitely has some quirks that must be learned. Most of the movements and game responses, when swinging a bat or tennis racket, or throwing a bowling ball, are spot on. So that makes the few things that aren't -- like the ability to master the spin of the bowling ball -- stand out. Tennis is the standout so far, though we're looking forward to playing with the Wii Fitness routine.

Excite Truck
So far, the game we've enjoyed the most in either launch has been...Excite Truck? Lord, this one is fun. Does it matter if it's just light-hearted, play for 15 minutes fun, rather than the super-immersive feel of other current games? Judging by our grins so far, nope. The graphics aren't up to Xbox 360 standards, but water and lighting look great and the frame rate blazes. And when you've leapt through hundreds of feet after grabbing a power-up to deform the landscape, only to land in the water you were aiming at to cool down your boosters to get extra speed, maybe high definition graphics really don't matter. Better music wouldn't go amiss, however.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
We've waited years for this one, so summing it up in a paragraph is absurd. Check out our hands-on preview for more in-depth coverage. The bottom line is it looks great and uses the nunchuck controller to show that there's more complexity to the Wii than just waving the remote. The special Wii actions seem a little tacked on -- swinging your sword isn't mapped to movement, it's simply activated by shaking the remote -- but they also make playing a lot more engaging;

Back in Time

We have to admit that before even popping in a new launch title, we inspected the Wii's performance with Resident Evil 4 and Eternal Darkness for the GameCube. If the Wii is standing vertically, two doors on the top open to reveal ports for GameCube controllers (4) and memory cards (2). The controller port area is large enough to accommodate a WaveBird receiver, which we appreciate. Both games loaded quickly and looked great. It was tempting to just play Resident Evil 4 again, but... all those new games...

Online...Soon (Redux)

Just like the PS3, the Wii's online component isn't quite live. We were able to configure and test our wireless connection easily (much as you would with the DS, ironically, considering the PS3/PSP interface similarity) but while trying to go online we'd be presented with a 'time for an update' notice, which lead to a timeout while contacting Nintendo's server.

So we haven't looked into the store or Virtual Console yet, and will have updates when those items go live. We also haven't yet been able to access the Weather or News channel, or let our created Miis go live on other people's consoles.