It was smaller than I expected, but the AA’s gave it some decent weight. I was worried about the wrist strap, but after five minutes of just waving my hand back and forth, watching the little hand pointer fly around and twist with my wrist movements on screen, I had forgotten all about it. So much so that I went to make a sandwich and it was hanging from my wrist like some huge, gangly Livestrong bracelet.
Feeling the pulse as I drifted over menu items was an excellent touch. Rumble is here, and it’s here to stay. It’s like breathing. I found myself going back and forth over the Apple OS X-esque tabs to see if I could trick the system into missing one. It was too smart for me. Doing that, coupled with the new age bubble music that fills the air when I was on the Main Menu screen almost put me to sleep. After four hours standing in a line, it would have normally been welcome. But not today. Today was all about Wii and its miniature Wiimote.
The buttons just worked. Even the ones I was worried about reaching, all the way at the bottom, were only a twist away. No cramps here. Even “pinching” A+B to start Wii Sports felt surreal, like I was grabbing something palatable in game. Is “squishy” too weired a word? Then there’s just looking at the A button. Clear, simple, easy to understand. Miyamoto and company were wise to borrow from the GameCube on this one.
And the speaker is certainly there too, isn’t it? Chiming in, chirping. Whoever complained about it must have been expecting a full scale symphony to pop out and perform, but not me. It’s meant to complement. It’s an unsheathed sword; a prompt to bowl. If you notice the speaker, then it’s not doing it’s job correctly.
Gotta go now though, that A button is calling again.
[Image courtesy of Nicholas.]