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Nintendo Wii 2 Touchscreen Controller Confirmed [REPORT]
Nintendo already announced it will roll out the next Wii gaming console at the E3 2011 conference in L.A. this week, and now a reliable source confirms much-rumored details of the new Wii’s unique controller, depicted in the graphic mockup above. [From Nintendo Wii 2 Touchscreen Controller Confirmed [REPORT]]
I was just about to post about a “new Wii to be announced at E3 in LA this week” when this popped up. I can’t say I’m really jazzed about this new controller. We like the Wii because it’s communal and bringing it back down to the controller, like PSP and XBOX means less time watching the same screen. We’ll have to wait and see how it works.
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Wii update scheduled in 2012 FINALLY!
It’s a very vague launch date given that they plan to have a working prototype to show at the E3 Expo in LA in June 2011.
The update, though still a long way off, is none to soon, with the xBox Kinect fast on the Wii’s on the Wii’s heels. Wii still owns the mindshare for interactive, family-friendly games, but Kinect looks like it still has a year before Nintendo can come back with a response.
We love the Wii, and it’s still a hit in our house for games we can play together and for Wii Fit, but technology moves so fast that’s it’s surprising that an update is still so far away, not too mention, apparently after the holiday season.
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Review: Wii Party
Take Mario Party 8 and remove the tedium of waiting between mini-games and use your own avatar rather than playing as Mario and you have a good idea whatWii Party is all about.It’s big, big collection of mini-games that gives a fun play option for everyone.
We loved it. It’s simple to play. People can move in and out, and games are short enough that no one gets bored.
I count 46 games that can be played with four people, including five that are three against one. Add on another 40 or so two-player games and there are a lot of games to choose from.
There are also five other “House Party Games,” that use the remotes beyond interaction with the screen. In one, for example, a player hides the remotes and it’s up to the other players to find them within a given time based on their sounds. In another, players have to grab the remote making an animal sound corresponding to the one the screen.
We really like that a lot of the games are label on screen and in the instructions book how long they will take. Many are just five minutes, but some take 60 minutes and that’s the kind of info that’s helpful before dad makes a long term commitment.
Pros:
1. Lots and lots of mini-games, most for four players (or fewer).
2. Use your own avatar!
3. Inventive party games using Wii remotes
4. Easy to play lots of games with little waiting between games.
Cons:
Really didn’t see any cons for this game. There are many games to choose from and it’s a good value for the money.
GreatDad.com Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.
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Review: Wii Family Game Night 3
Wii Family Game Night 3 from EA is the ultimate game for city-dwellers who can’t store lots of boxes, or for harried parents who are tired of keeping track of lots of games pieces. Packed into a simple Wii package are Wii versions of old-time family favorites Clue, MouseTrap, The Game of Life, and Yahtzee. Dads who haven’t played these games in 20 years will recognize familiar rules and playing strategies for all of them, except Twister which resembles the down-on-the-floor human tangle in no way whatsoever.
Wii Family Night 3 will also appeal to dads who no longer have the energy to sit upright and roll the dice and move their playing piece along. Dad can lean back in a nice chair and just press the A button to roll the dice. His avatar happily moves the required number of spaces for him.
I may be missing something, but this is the first non-Nintendo game I’ve played I think where our Wii avatars were integrated into the game rather than having us create new characters or use ones already in the game. We all liked that since it was clear who was who in each game we played.
Our kids and I had a fun time with CLUE. I enjoyed reliving old memories of Colonel Mustard in the Library with a Knife. The game does exercise logic through the process of elimination and kept us interested for most of the 20 minute “short game.”
Mousetrap was fun one time through, mostly to see how Wii would replicate the building experience. The game moved quickly up until the end when, as adults will remember, the finale takes forever as you wait for a player to land inside the “cheese wheel” (and under the cage” while simultaneously another player lands on the crank. At this point, the game went on five minutes too long. Unfortunately, for an adult, with all luck and no skill, loses its magic once you see the “contraption” in action a few times. Luckily, there is a remix that allows variations on this theme.
Twister is not the Twister you remember. It is a version of other “Tap Tap” games that have you hit different buttons on the remote in specified patterns in time with the beat. As it turns out, this is a game that is far easier for younger minds and fingers. After two tries at it, I vowed never to play again.
The other two games are Yahtzee and The Game of Life which are more true to the originals.
We also liked that all the games had a “remix” option with new variations on the original rules, but also allow players to choose a short version of a game so you can have a good play experience without staying up way past bedtime.
Family Game Night 3 has good playing value, especially for younger kids who have the patience to play games with spinners and dice for long periods of time. AFamily Game Night 1 and 2 bundle is available fro $49.00 on Amazon. It includes Wii versions of Connect Four, Battleship, Yahtzee, Boggle, Sorry, Sorry, Sliders, Operation, Jenga, Connect 4×4, Bop-it and Pictureka.
All games are available for up to 4 players, which is what we look for in family games.
Pros:
1. Fun and nostalgic
2. You can throw out all those boxes of games and lost pieces
3. “Remixes” of old games, especially Mousetrap add interest for players and dads curious to see a new spin on an old favorite.
4. Good for up to 4 players.
5. Allows “short game” options for faster game play (ex. In Clue, some possibilities pre-eliminated).
Cons
1. Something is lost without the family looking at each other across a table playing games. We talked and had fun, but I wondered whether something was missing versus a traditional board game.
2. Mini games are pretty lame, but not really needed given the other game play.
Wii Family Game Night 3 is $39.95 at Amazon.
GreatDad.com Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.
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New Wii games announced for holidays
We have not tried ANY of the following, but here are new Wii options this fall. Please comment if you’ve tried any. I’d love to see the 007 series, but if it’s anything like the Daniel Craig-as-Bond movies, it will be way too dark and gritty for my kids.
Wii games available this fall and holiday season include:
Disney Epic Mickey for the Wii has amazing graphics and gameplay and allows you to draw and erase elements of the cartoon world known as ‘Wasteland.’
Mickey Mouse is the main character in this game, and he shares the action with memorable and forgotten Disney characters from the past 80 years in a game that has some role-playing elements. The choices that you make as a player – to create or erase – have wide-ranging implications on how the game unfolds.
The game launches Nov. 30. (ESRB Rating: Everyone).
Just Dance® 2, The sequel to the hit original includes more than 40 new music tracks, plus dance moves choreographed by experts in all types of music.
Just Dance 2 launched on Oct. 12. (ESRB Rating: Everyone 10 and Older)
GoldenEye 007™ for Wii is based on the legendary GoldenEye movie. The game stars Daniel Craig’s James Bond and lets you take charge of the gritty action as you try to outwit, outmaneuver and overtake an arms syndicate that threatens the world.
GoldenEye 007 supports classic four-player split-screen modes and up to eight players can play together online. The game launches Nov. 2 and is also available in a special bundle with an ultra-cool gold-colored Classic Controller Pro™. (ESRB Rating: Teen)
GoldenEye 007, also comes in a Nintendo DS version which offers all of the epic action in both single- and multiplayer modes ( available on Nov. 2)(ESRB Rating: Teen)
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