Review: Wii - Nintendo's new videogame console

by Steven Williamson on 8 December 2006, 08:47

Tags: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo (TYO:7974), Wii

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The Nunchuck & Wii-mote are a match made in heaven



The Nunchuck contains the same motion-sensing technology that is enabled in the Wii-mote and has an analogue stick that nestles in the top half of the silky rubber surface; there are also two buttons on the back of the controller for use in-game. The sexy curve of the Nunchuck controller means that it fits snugly in your palm. It connects to the Wii-mote with a lead (approx 1 metre in length) that plugs into the proprietary port on the base of the Wii-mote. It’s extremely simple to attach and detach, it locks securely into position and feels sturdy. The Nunchuck is powered through the Wii-mote so this will be the port where other accessories will be connected, such as the retro controller. So far we’ve used the Nunchuck in Call of Duty 3 to move our characters and in boxing,as the second boxing glove, and on both occasions it’s worked in conjunction with the Wii-mote superbly.

But what about the sensor bar we hear you cry?

The rectangle sensor sits on top or under the TV. It looks fairly cheap and is made of plastic. The cord runs from the sensor into the back of the Wii and measures approximately 2.5m. The sensor sends infra red signals out to your Wii-mote and although it’s not necessary for every Wii game it claims to give you more precision in the likes of first person shooters. It works by transmitting IR signals to the Wii-mote. We moved approximately 12 foot away from the TV and the bar had no problems in picking up the signal. It fits on top of the TV securely thanks to some sticky foam pads that came with our console and doesn’t look out of place; in fact after a short while we forgot it was even there.