The only hands on with a Wii I had in the 2000's was via my then girlfriend's(now wife's) console. As original a Wii as you can get. White Wii, balance board etc etc.... Wii Sports bowling being my favorite game; Yet I was never in any need of my own Wii console and I never embraced it for it's other games or gameplay. I didn't look down on it in any way, I was just an Xbox console and game gamer. OG Xbox to 360 etc, etc, PC gaming all the while. Wii on release was and still is a game changer of note, but was never enough to 'make' me get into it's ecosystem. Roll on nearly a couple decades(ish plus) and I felt a need to play bowling again....
The original console had resided under the sitting room TV for years unused till it was put away in a container in the back of a wardrobe of an unused bedroom/place where everything gets put temporarily short term(longterm) as a Storeroom with a bed..... One of those rooms..... My need to Wii Bowl got the Wii out of storage only to discover/rediscover parts that were loaned out..... My wife had loaned both of the controllers and nunchucks to her brother; So in the wait to get them back I'd too much time to ponder the Wii listings on Amazon and Temu etc...... So in the background of the last six or so months I've been fully embracing the Wii gaming lifestyle. With my need to play bowling, looking at the 3rd party cheaper(than back in the day) items/games, I decided to 'be all about the Wii'. Both my wife and I kind of crossed over in online searches and purchases, she had more success with the
motion plus modules than I did.....I just got the motion plus 2 pack, she got the motion plus 2 pack with silicon sleeves.....
Wii to HDMI converters seemed to be a more practical buy (2 pack was cheaper than one standalone).....
A spare sensor bar (just in case) because I own a cat that has been known to take interest in 'vulnerable' cables..... Even if the cable has been in place for years, ignored by him, then suddenly appear in his visuals(leads to butt wiggle, pounce, attack, chew....). Cat is cat.
I also picked up 20 Blank White DVD cases as second hand games tend not to have the best case condition.... Which leads me onto, pondering the second hand games market. More on that in a mo....
Also in the wait for the controllers to return back from the brother-in-law I was very tempted to buy 2 'replacement' controllers but before I could the OG controllers made a return appearance. With those back it was time to get the Wii out of storage, which was good bar one exception; The Wii
Sports Disc was not in the Wii Sports case..... The one game I really
liked from the before times..... The only game I really had an urge to
play.... Typical. We have no idea where it could have 'gone'......
Looking up the second hand markets and the game is beyond the price it
should be. As the main second hand shop chain is looking for €38+ for it
and second hand solo sellers see it as just as expensive... Even if the
game was with everything back in the day......Talk about price gouging.
Of the games and hardware already part of the collection or bought in, some were looked at via nostalgia for a moment then put back into the storage box....... The Wii Fit disc and Balance Board never made it out of the box! Science Pappa had been a game for a niece back in the day so it went back in the box as well.
Second hand games are for the most part either really cheap or really expensive. Wii Sports despite it's numerous discs given away back in the day is one of the most expensive games..... I like the game and I really want to play Bowling but I'm not gonna pay €38+ for the disk......
So with the original White Wii console(software version 4.3e) and 2 Official Controllers and Nunchucks; We also now had(needless to say all 3rd party) 2 x Wii to HDMI converters (I'm all about the spares) 2 new Sensor Bars(wired), wired classic Controller, 2 x Motion Plus Controller addons and 2 x Motion Plus Controller addons with longer silicone grip sleeves... Not a bad bundling.
The games already owned from the OG days were
already the most of interest to her. Even if, as I said, some already
went back in the box. Those kept out included.....
Wii Sports(just need to find the disc to put in the case)
Numerous Just Dance games
Numerous Rabbids games
Monopoly / Monopoly Streets
Second hand games picked up that were of interest include:
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed Undercover
Rouge Trooper (Quartz Zone Massacre)
Tomb Raider Anniversary
Red Steel
Red Steel 2
Wall-E
Splinter Cell Double Agent
Trauma Center Second Opinion
Carnival Funfair Games
Of that last list, the top 9 were of interest to me and the bottom 2 were of interest to 'herself'.... Of those some where not as expected, some better. All played but none 'completed'. This is all about fun in doing for short game-play sessions.
Between, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Need for Speed Undercover I expected the newer of the games to be better but Hot Pursuit was much better then Undercover. I know Wii versions/ports are not regarded as 'good' by gamers overall, but for the Wii and what it is.... Hot Pursuit is the better of the two and plays well considering it's limitations by comparison to oter platforms. The games fun is there. Undercover plays like your in a fair ground bumper car... Disappointing. Pursuit was fine, no great shakes but fine for (not to do it a disservice) what is is.
Rouge Trooper (Quartz Zone Massacre); a joy of a game, plays relay well, not a game that's fussy with Wii controls or too busy being a Wii game(game mechanics for the sake of using Wii specific actions).
Tomb Raider Anniversary was not like Rouge Trooper, I couldn't play it. It was very fussy with it's mechanics/controls, too busy being a Wii game to let gamplay break through. The grapple/nunchuck motion/action was a pain to use. To be kind it felt unintuitive. I didn't even try it with the controller but may have to reattempt it with that at some stage....
Red Steel was interesting and while it was a little all over the place with it's controls and what it wanted to be(fps or sword fighter). The middle ground of both felt like being unbalanced on a tightrope but there was enough momentum in it to carry me through the gameplay.....
But!
Red Steel 2 is a game where it knew what it wanted to be and is super fun to play in a world that knew what it was. Swords all the way! Very fun to play.
Wall-E while being a platform puzzler(not my favorite style/genre), has the movies looks and charm to bring Wall-E to life. And with that the gameplay felt good.... Another enjoyable title.
After trying numerous versions of Splinter Cell Double Agent, the Wii version is a surprise in how faithful it is(imho). From what I remember of the Xbox versions (OG/360), the
Wii version does hold up. If this was the only way a gamer had to play the game it wasn't a bad experience.
Trauma Center Second Opinion was of interest to my wife who it turns out via an old save seems to have had the game in the past and obviously traded it in! She'd no recollection of it but this time round she played the game and came to probably the same conclusion, half decent till the Manga elements became too much to go on with....
Carnival Funfair Games, just for a quick look and it's half decent for some mini games for a brief moment. A game put down quickly....
for me was the star of the show. I've played many versions of the game over the years, PC and Xbox, but this
Wii version was a jaw dropper of a surprise due to it's character and ship having customization. Actual real customization!! I couldn't believe it. A game I'd known so well for so long and here was a 'better version'.... The Wii controls are good and the game is fun to play as it should be! I'll post about it separately....
With a great working setup, good games overall there was that 'one thing' still missing. A game of bowling. I liked this OG Wii original setup, I'd not even suggest anything re modding the console etc... You'd think I'd bite the bullet and just get the second hand overly expensive disc and call it quits.....
But no, in the end I just could not swallow the second hand prices..... I'd not mod the console but in the searches online I did look into such modded consoles..... Which lead to the 'why pay €30' for a game when I could pay €250 for a whole lot more.... Lots of hardware and games, too say I was already down the rabbit hole would be an understatement. So what caught my eye the most....
This vid a while back from
Wicked Gamer & Collector about a modded Wii from
https://sumoshopstore.com/product/nintendo-wii/
Needless to say I got one.... And I've been enjoying it a lot. As many games as there are on it some are missing, which I already had physically for the most part, second hand for the OG Wii. I kind of like that, both Wii's are now setup and working for their own niche. All working well for me. Am very happy..... I've since been playing a bunch of games across multiple emulation systems from the modded console. No complaints. Been bowling away goodo.
Of the 2 Gamecube controllers I received one was transparent Green( my inner Xbox fan was happy) and a solid silver. Good stuff. The console itself had one minor scratch by the controller ports on top so was well hidden; And the modded shell was great looking.
But it doesn't end there.....
The old problem of not having a long enough cable from console to couch was real. In looking online to buy extender cables there was a two pack that was sold out.... Which made me look into the wireless Gamecube controller. As I said before I fully embracing the ecosystem, this looking was real and not just research. As other posts in this blog can attest I'm also nostalgic, so no wonder I went with more 3rd party 'stuff'..... Just as I'd ordered the wireless pad.... The extender cables became available.... So yea I ordered them....
But low, behold no point not popping for a 4th controller..... Would be a shame to not have a 4th controller for those party games maximum players etc..... Right..... Right....... So I picked up another. But no extender cable.... I have my limits, finally; Plus that 4th person on the floor can be the focus of fun camaraderie! The gaming does go on......
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