New Wii hands-ons, plus Phoenix Wright import

by James Ransom-Wiley on Oct 26th 2006 3:20PM

Game|Life has scored some precious hands-ons with Ubisoft's Wii launch titles and also managed some time with the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS) import while traveling to and from the Ubisoft offices. Check out the coverage:

Monster Truck 4x4 and GT Pro - "...just old games with Wii controls shoehorned in, and how do you really get excited about that?"
Red Steel - "I didn't play Red Steel at E3 ... So I had no firsthand knowledge of the game until today. And what I played was great. Apparently they've made great strides between E3 and today, because the controls ... were spot-on..."
Rayman Raving Rabbids - "...this might be the best non-Zelda game of the launch, and easily a great showpiece for the controller's abilities."
Splinter Cell: Double Agent - "After spending a half an hour struggling to complete the first level of Double Agent on Wii, I went home, popped in the PS2 version, and blasted through it unscathed in minutes."

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS import) - "Not only is the game bilingual, it's actually a global product. When plugged into an American DS system, the title bar on the console's menu screen reads -- instead of Gyakuten Saiban 2 -- 'Phoenix Wright: Justice For All.'"

Source

Tags: Double Agent, DoubleAgent, DS, GT Pro, GtPro, Monster Truck 4x4, MonsterTruck4x4, Raving Rabbids, RavingRabbids, Rayman, Red Steel, RedSteel, Ubisoft, Wii

Reader Comments (35)

I want to try out Raving Rabbids more and more everytime I hear about it. Only a month now...

... I

wow... the bloging thing doesnt like the heart symbol...

but I "heart" pheonix wright..

< and 3 dont work!?

I'm really hoping that Red Steel turns out to be a winner

( . )( . )

Whew. I can still do boobs.

I like boobs!

About this...not that I want Splinter Cell but is he saying it is too hard and bad? Or something that it was hard? What is so wrong with a hard game?

What I want to know is if Red Steel or FarCry is the better pick.

GTPro looks like shit.

Raving Rabbids is a compilation of Flash games.

Splinter Cell: DA is hard cause it plays like shit.

RedSteel better work out.

the splinter cell review doesn't surprise me... it seems like the big problem with the wii controls will be with games like this that are designed around a traditional game controller.
it'll be interesting to see how many multiplatform games are given poor reviews on the wii due to the control scheme.

Thank you > for more useless, anti-Wii comments.. Why don't you just leave and go hang out with all your PS3 buddies already?

Did he have a hard time with Splinter Cell because it was his first time playing the level or what? I mean, my first time playing through some levels wold be hard regardless of the platform I play it on... but playing the same level a second time (even on a different platform) would be easier, because I would know how the level works.

The reason why ">" can't hang out with his ps3 pals is because even he's to stupid for them

im surprised that he can use just 3 braincells to type the drivel he does

to >
1 - agreed
2 - People love simple flash games, and from what I've heard about Rayman, every single hands-on that I've seen has been positive.
3 - I think all Splinter Cell games are bad, but you can't say the controls suck without actually having played with the controls yourself
4 - We can only hope. either way, I'll be passing on it myself

as an aside, what do you gain by attacking Wii in every comment thread? would you rather sony not have any competiton whatsoever?

The more I read about the Wii the more I think it's just a xbox with a motion controller.

@7. The author of article said "After spending a half an hour struggling to complete the first level of Double Agent on Wii, I went home, popped in the PS2 version, and blasted through it unscathed in minutes."

It's hard to run through a splinter cell level in minutes if you've never played the level before.

Don't be a fanboy be objective.

It just goes to reinforce my oringinal Wii controller thoughts. Yes, the controller is revolutionary in some ways but it is not the end all to be all. Just as a light gun or a track ball or a joystick is the "best" controller for a game you can add the Wii controller to that list. Nintendo and its fans make it sound like their controller will change the world and cure cancer. I won't. Its a situational controller that will excell at some games and suck at others. End of story.

"After spending a half an hour struggling to complete the first level of Double Agent on Wii, I went home, popped in the PS2 version, and blasted through it unscathed in minutes."

And they say Wii is suppost to make playing games easier. My ass!

@Omegarhino

The same can be said about Sony and the cell processor

Marty McFly:

"Thank you > for more useless, anti-Wii comments.. Why don't you just leave and go hang out with all your PS3 buddies already?"

If you have serious objections to my points, then post 'em. Otherwise, i assume you agree with them.

The haters are in full swing today. @ lex don't accuse someone of being a fanboy if youre going to open with the comment you did. As for everyone commenting on the ONE bad hands on review. try to look a little more ignorant. I don't expectall the launch games to be good and I hope developers are smart enough when to use the unique features of the controller and when to just use the analog stick and buttons for more of an old school experience. (kind of like how New Super Mario Bros barely uses the touch screen on the DS)

After reading this article I just might have to pick up Raving Rabids on launch day.

"13. Marty McFly:

"Thank you > for more useless, anti-Wii comments.. Why don't you just leave and go hang out with all your PS3 buddies already?"

If you have serious objections to my points, then post 'em. Otherwise, i assume you agree with them.

Posted at 4:18PM on Oct 26th 2006 by > 0 stars"

Why should they, when someone posts an honest straightforward question to you (see my comment, #9) you won't answer it?

"17. I like boobs!

Posted at 3:32PM on Oct 26th 2006 by crono141 0 stars"

I am in total agreement.

#12 Did you really think third-person stealth games were what they had in mind when they designed the Wii controller? Nintendo is trying to get new people to play games, and I hardly think that grandma is going to buy a Wii so she can snap a terrorist's neck before hiding him in the bushes.

The Wiimote will make some control schemes easier right off the bat, but you have to realize that it is new and it will take developers time to learn how to use it effectively in other cases. And like all games, some games will never control right or won't be enjoyable. It's part of any industry.

@> Damn I had no idea you played Splinter Cell DA already on the Wii. You must have some serious major hook-up to be able to play a system that's not even out yet. I must confess I wanna be just like you when I grow up. Wait a second that's just plain BULLSHIT

>, didn't I tell you to stfu earlier?

Boobs are great!

(.)(.)

( o )( . )

Yeah I can't imagine playing a Splinter Cell game with the remote. Just seems like it would be tiring and incredibly awkward. Like everyone has been saying though, that's what the Wii DOESN'T need. Ports of big games made for other systems with the motion controls thrown in. It needs games built directly for the control scheme for the most part.

@ >

"GTPro looks like ass"

If you can make idle statements about the quality of games that you have never played, and without supplying any kind of method or reason to your opinion, then I think my calling your posts "useless" or "biased" without giving a reason is fitting.

"The graphics are clearly marginally better than the PS2 version, but not by much."

. . . . oh snap

Personally, I'm disappointed that the Wii version of Double Agent isn't made ground-up. The wiimote totally lends itself to snapping people's necks, etc.

@24 Marty

You don't need to play the game to know it looks like ass.

Some developers have proven that you CAN port titles to the Wii and make them work with the Wii-mote

The oh-so-lauded(for a Madden) Madden game for the Wii, and the (apparently) more immersive Call of Duty 3 [even though it has no Online :(]

Its just that THAT particular Ubisoft team didn't do as good of a job making a Wii title (or this guy is "teh biased" as i'm sure people will claim)

Its a good idea to look at 3rd party Wii titles to figure out how well they do, as good and plentiful 3rd party games will INSURE the wii wins...
Otherwise, it WILL NOT

@ Omegarhino

Sooooooo....how is that different from a traditional controller? Dual analog sucks for RTS, FPS and some simulation based games.
------------------------------

If anyone thought UBI soft was going to take the time to build each port from the ground up to take advantage of the Wiimote you're delusion. Splinter Cell is a port with "tacked on" motion controls. Buy for the console it was intended to be played on....360.
Look at Rayman and Red Steel. These games were made with the Wiimote in mind and it shows even in the videos and trailers.

Just the fact they announced almost ten games during the launch window tells me there's going to be a lot of "me-too port-happy" garbage. I'm not surprised at all that Splinter Cell is "meh" or maybe the writer just sucks.

I'll know personally on the 19th.

12. "'After spending a half an hour struggling to complete the first level of Double Agent on Wii, I went home, popped in the PS2 version, and blasted through it unscathed in minutes.'

And they say Wii is suppost to make playing games easier. My ass!"

It's obvious you didn't even read the hands-on impressions or you would have understood the context of that quote. Splinter Cell for the Wii is a PS2 port with PS2 buttons mapped to the Wii-mote and nunchaku buttons. This is not a game that was built from the ground-up to use the Wii hardware to it's potential. If a developer takes the cheap way of putting a game on a system then expect cheap results.

@ >: Marty, jron, etc speak for a lot of us. Your wii-bashing has become quite boring. You're obviously free to post here as often as you like since you're not breaking decency rules. But I just wish you'd either refrain from the same old tired negativity or come up with some new ideas. (It would be easier if I could block your posts from my view, but alas I can't.)

on topic: rayman looks incredible, especially for its mini-game-fest gameplay. The Rabbids are hilarious, and I love how the game is seeped in pop culture.

My current list is: Zelda, Rayman, Excite Truck, Trauma Center. I wonder how many of you are doing what I'm doing to pay for it all @;)

Did anyone actually read the full review? Chris Kohler is an excellent reviewer, and on his blog he never hesistates to pan something if it deserves it.

And Splinter Cell: DA for Wii deserved it. They took the existing PS2 controls and just mapped them to the Wii in whatever way they could figure out. They didn't bother to rebuild the controls to be more natural to the new interface.

While I firmly believe the Wii control scheme is superior to existing controls schemes, and can work well for any game, it will not automatically make a game better. It still requires developers to put some thought into programming a viable control scheme. Shoehorning existing games into a new controller wouldn't work, even if the Wii remote had as many buttons as a PS2/360 controller.

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New Wii hands-ons, plus Phoenix Wright import

Reader Comments (35)

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