Wii for all.
The Wii.
The unit is smaller than expected, about the same size as an external hard drive. Connection to the Tv is done via composite or via a scart converter depending on your telly.
The only other connections are the power cord and the sensor bar which needs to be placed level with the front of the screen if placed on top, however it does come with a little stand that means it can be placed below the screen.
The Wii also has ports on the front (hidden) to attach either the Wii classic controller or the game cube controller and a memory card.

The wand & nunchuck.
The wand is very nicely balanced with all the buttons comfortably accessible as well as very comfortable to hold. The internal vibration and speaker are fantastic additions.
After there initial issues with the wrist strap the new ones already come with a stronger version, so no more risk of Tv damage.
The nunchuck is very comfortable to hold and surprisingly natural to use.

The menu.
The opening menu system is very simple with various channels that you can access.

The disk channel: Access to your games cds.

The Mii channel: This is where you build your little representations of you, they are then used in the party games such as Wii sports etc. and build up stats, you can then upload your Mii to your wand and take it to a mates place and whop him at tennis.
They also have the ability to travel via the net to other peoples Wii's.

The shop channel: This is a direct link to the Nintendo shop where you can buy and download all the back catalogue games from the nes, snes, n64 and a selection of sega genesis games.

The forecast and news channels: Exactly as they say the weather forecast seems to be fairly accurate but the news channel is not activated as yet.

The internet browser channel: An opera internet browser, which is very easy to use. Clicking on search boxes or enterable fields brings up a keyboard, links set off a vibration in the wand and it is fairly quick at loading pages. The browser will cope with images and flash but struggles with video formats this is however a trial version at the moment so this may change.

The internet:
One of the nice aspects of the Wii is it's wi-fi ability which is very easy to set up, it detects the connection fairly well and updates it's self 24/7 (this feature can be switched off). The Wii also has it's own message board which enables you to mail other Wii users, you do need to enter there wii code into the address book (and yours in there's) before you can start chatting but once you do the messages are nice and quick.

Summary:
Design: 10/10 very compact, light and easy to set up and tuck away, the ability to place it on it's side or flat means it will fit into most spaces.
Menu system: 10/10 nice layout with everything being able to be seen and very easy to find what you are looking for.
Internet: 9.5/10 easy to set up, easy to update although can loose connection while doing so, good access but minor issues with browser.
Control: 10/10 simple to use, very accessible, incredibly efficient and back compatible options.

Overall: 10/10

Conclusion:
Nintendo have achieved what they set out to achieve, a new way of gaming.
Going away from the contemporary game pad and creating a system that is ingenious in it's design and ability was a master-stroke.
While still retaining there childish fun aspect of previous consoles they have produced something more advanced and adult than the gaming world has seen in a while. Nintendo have also, in a time where Christmas for your kids will bankrupt you, achieved all this for a great price tag. All in all The Wii has shown that Nintendo are still after all these years ahead of the competition.

keep watching as I will review the games in the next few days.
- posted by J @ 18:37