On My Wii

So I'm a little perterbed.  My mostly thankless job managed to deposit a nice bonus in my bank account; and so, being the big nerd I am I immediately went to the local game store and purchased a Wii.  That's right, Ye Old Rambler hasn't had a Wii to his name until now.  Why buy one so late in the console's life span, you ask(let's be honest, it's pretty much shuffling around with a walker and forgetting to take its pills by now)?  Well, I like games, and wanted to catch up on my Zelda's, Mario's and Metroid's, that's why.  Also, the part of me that absolutely couldn't let Xenoblade Chronicles pass me by kept tugging at the hem of my shirt like some annoying kid - I had to give in.


So why the perterbation(I think that's a word)?  The new Wii model doesn't support Gamecube games!  Okay, so I wanted a Wii to play Wii games, but this really sank my heart.  I have a small but fun Gamecube library, and part of the excitement of getting a Wii was to play them with progressive scan turned on - better picture quality, yay and all that stuff.  Not anymore, I guess.  Unless I decide to buy a cheap, refurbished Wii(I really don't see that happening), it's fuzzy Metroid Prime and Resident Evil Zero from here on out.

That said, I picked up Metroid Prime 2:Echoes along with the third Prime, which is exclusive to the Wii.  I played the first Prime years ago and then lost contact with the series as my Gamecube was buried by 360 and PS3 games.  It's great to finally get back into the series.  I'm currently about 35% through Echoes, and while the Gamecube's lack of definition and fuzzy textures was off-putting at first, the game is so fun that I've stopped sobbing over my Wii's handicap - at least that one will be in 480p.


What strikes me most about the Metroid Prime games is how tight the gameplay is.  Even the odd control scheme begins to feel second nature after a small amount of time.  I'm excited to move on to the third entry and see how well the motion controls work compared to the Gamecube titles.  As for Other M... not sure I want to sully my experience with Team Ninja's vision.


All in all, I'm glad to finally have a Wii, as lackluster as it may be.  Twilight Princess is just as great as I've heard it was, No More Heroes is a fresh blast of crude, bloody air, and Mario hasn't lost his appeal after all these years.  Thankfully, the list of must-have Wii games is slim, so it shouldn't take too long to catch up on Nintendo's best before the Wii U comes out.


P.S., Nintendo:  Here's your time to shine a little above Microsoft and Sony - ship your next console with either a component or HDMI cable!  I'm pretty sure the future has already happened, and it's a shame such a seminal company is having to play catch-up.