I posted a long review to someone on Tribe and thought I'd let everyone else know what my experience with the Wii has been like:

This is what I think of the Wii so far. The controller scheme seems very odd. When I first saw it, I thought the same thing a lot of other gamers out there thought, "How the hell am I supposed to play games on this??". But when I actually got to use the thing and play a few games on it (Trauma Center, Rayman, Wii Sports, Excite Truck) I realized how natural the controls felt (best way I can describe it is like a standard controller cut in half if you include the "nunchuck" portion of the controller). I also realized how much more fun every day games like platformers and racing became with just changing the controller scheme. It really does feel like a whole different experience playing game on the Wii.

I am not a big platformer gamer anymore, but playing a little bit of Rayman, I was having a lot of fun using the controller in different ways for different parts of the game. One in particular that I thought was very fun to play was using the Wii-mote to aim my plunger gun and shoot rabbits by pulling the "B" button trigger all while moving around with my nunchuck (just like a standard controller would have but seperated from the directional pad and with motion sensoring added) and reloading with a motion when needed.

This is just one example of the innovative way to use the remote control scheme of the Wii. Excite Truck feels like a whole different experience using the remote sideways and tilting up, down, left, right, or forward to move your truck.

Is it harder to play games this way? Well, yes and no. Yes because you really have to get used to using the remote in which ever way the game permits, and no because in certain games, you can be quicker and more accurate than if you just used a standard controller (Trauma Center).

Of course I am not a Nintendo fanboy and one thing I will admit off the bat is that the games out right now are really not all that involving. Yes, there's Splinter Cell. Yes, there's CoD3 (ordered but haven't gotten it yet). Yes there is Red Steel (seems to be a very bad game). But what is wrong with this is that the learning curve for these games require a lot of patience. I have only played SC, so you could take that statement with a grain of salt if you wish. I will say though that because SC needs to be played so preciscely (and I have played the first and third game on PC), I don't think the Wii is the best console for it to be on. It may not be as involving to play SC with just a standard controller or keyboard, but atleast it's pin-point accurate, which the Wii-mote at this moment is not (unless you really really practiced).

So basically what this boils down to is Nintendo is doing what they said they were going to do. They innovated on game-play instead of just updating their system, and leaving the gaming masses to play the same games but with better graphics. They also said they would bring the non-gamer to their console. That they CERTAINLY did! My game-hating mom wants to buy a Wii and played 2 hours on mine which in itself is an insane miracle. There are countless other stories to back this statement. Graphics-wise, they are pretty much DoA (pretty much GC graphics atm). Nintendo stated from the beginning though that that wasn't going to be their aim so, you can't say you were dissapointed if they never promised it.

Online wise, I'd say they got 50/100. They gave us the opportunity to download old games but at the moment, the selection is really small. Adding friends is really implimented poorly. You have a 16 digit code that you need to tell someone and they need to tell you theirs. You both must have eachother added to be able to connect with one another. The least they could have done is send you some kind of message when someone adds you. That way you could say "Yes, add this person to my console" or "No, do not add them". I can say the online friends feature is not my favorite. So far there is no online play with any of the games, but I think that is coming in the future. I believe a Pickachu game is going to be one of the first to offer it sometime in early 2007. Creating a Mii is very fun but very limited in choices you can use to make them. Mii's are characters you can create, or share with other Wii friends of yours and use in playing the games in Wii Sports. That is about all you can do with them at the moment though. Besides showing up in the BG of the Wii Sports game, trading them, and playing as them in the Wii Sports game, there is not much else left to do with them. Making celeb Mii's though is really fun. There is also the standard sending messages and sharing pictures. As for hooking your Wii up online, for me it was pretty painless. I have Wi-Fi. Currently there is no way to hardwire you Wii up to the internet but the ethernet adapter is coming soon. It should have been a standard included "feature" if you ask me. Why give the option to connect to the internet and only include Wi-Fi out of the box? Makes no sense.

Hardware failure? So far there have been a few problems with people's Wiis especially during software/firmware updates. I personally have not experienced any malfuntioning. But for the people who have, Nintendo has been great with customer service. They will send you a brand new Wii if yours ends up an expensive paper weight not from your own doing, within 3-4 days. They pay shipping. You get your new Wii and send your dead one in to them in the same box. They pay shipping back to them. Seems like you can't go wrong with Nintendo customer service.

Availabilty? They pretty much sell out every time they're available. There are the standard gamers hunting for it and there are the "soccer moms". It seems a lot of kids want this for Christmas. The remotes, nunchucks and classic controlers (you use for old games and some new ones) are pretty much sold out. They trickle in stock every now and then. You'd probably have better luck locally than online. Same goes for the Wii. The component cables which do not come with the Wii (it comes with the standard composite cable which doesn't do much for the already not so great graphics) are sold out as well. You can pre-order them on Nintendo's own website. I am not sure about shipping dates though. I have heard it definitely has a noticable improvement to the graphics when you get the component cables, especially when involving text. Remember though that the Wii only displays at 480p, not high def.

Backwards compatibility? Well seing as how I stupidly sold all my GC games along with my console (wasn't planning on getting a Wii), I cannot comment on the actual expereince of that. So far though, I haven't heard any complaints except that it's better to use the standard GC controller than the Wii classic controller for those games. And yes, the ever popular Wavebird (wireless GC controller) is compatible with the Wii (I sold those too damnit!).

The future? Well, there are rumors that the Wii will eventually be able to play DVD's. There are also rumors that the online gaming will be implimented as the norm with next years games. Then, of course there is the whole "games will only get better" and "graphics will only get better" statements. I think they are right, the question is, how much will they get better? That question is still left up in the air. And as for 3rd party support from other game companies, that is also left up in the air. It will really depend on how well the Wii will sell AFTER the holiday season. Since now, things seem to be going smoothly, the future looks bright. But when the PS3's availability is high, and the Christmas rush has died down, that will be the only teller of the truth of whether or not this console will succeed.

Here is how I would score the Wii:

Price: good but lots of added accesories make the price not such a great selling point (extra remote AND nunchuck, Wii Points card, classic controller). Only console and games priced fairly (games $50 each instead of the standard $60 this gen)

Fun Factor: great! Plenty of people will be interested in it that you didn't expect

Games: Limited selection right now, but two games continually getting good reviews are Zelda and Wii Sports (gotta love that it's free)

Future Prospects: Good, but mostly depends of 3rd party game developer interest
Online: Ok. Old game selection will be huge, but adding friends sucks.

Overall: Worth the price, but don't expect Nintendo to cater to the "hardcore gamer" crowd.