In yesterday’s article, I talked about Nintendo’s latest service, WiiWare, which is letting developers explore new game concepts and pass them on to consumers in the form of (relatively) inexpensive games. Now I’ve had some hands-on time with the new service and can say without hesitation that it definitely holds promise.
When you go to the Wii Shop Channel, you’ll now notice that the layout is a bit different than before. Now, at the top of the screen, there are three large buttons titled, “Virtual Console”, “WiiWare” and “Wii Channels”. Clicking on the “WiiWare” button will present you with a variety of options for finding the WiiWare title you’re looking for. You can click on “Popular Titles”, “Newest Additions”, “Search by Publisher”, “Search by Genre” or “Search by Game Title”. The process of purchasing a WiiWare game is identical to that of a Virtual Console game. You can click on “More Details” to learn more about the game and can even read the entire instruction manual before purchasing, something which I find to be quite advantageous over traditional retail games.
I decided to purchase a title called LostWinds, one of the most anticipated WiiWare titles. After about four minutes, I had downloaded LostWinds and was ready to start playing.
Just like with any Wii title, an icon for the game appears as its own channel in the Wii’s main menu. Clicking on the title will bring you to the game’s title screen and music from the game will start playing, again, just like any Wii game.
The first thing that jumped out at me in LostWinds was its style. The main menu is interactive (you can control the wind and manipulate the objects on screen) and has a very soothing melody. LostWinds provides you with three save files and once you start a new file, the game begins right from the main menu (a neat touch).
LostWinds is very stylized and features very attractive graphics. The entire game is like a breath of fresh air. From the music, to the art, to the simple controls, LostWinds is a very refreshing experience indeed. Speaking of controls, in LostWinds, you actually control two characters, the main character, Toku, and the wind Spirit, Enril. Toku is controlled with the Nunchuck, while Enril is controlled with the Wii Remote. The gameplay slightly reminded me of games like Kirby Canvas Curse since you must “draw” wind patterns using the Wii Remote to help Toku progress through the game’s environments. However, as I stated earlier, you can use the wind to manipulate the environment around you. From blowing out fires, to creating a gyser of water, Enril and his various powers play an integral role in the game.
I’ve only invested about 15 minutes into the game so far, but even in that short period of time I was very impressed. From its unique gameplay to its stylistic presentation, LostWinds is certainly an innovative title, the likes of which probably would not be seen were it not for WiiWare. If LostWinds is any indication, WiiWare will prove to be an excellent source for fun and original games that break away from the stale concepts found in many retail games. If you own a Wii, be sure to head over to the Wii Shop Channel and give WiiWare a look, you won’t be disappointed.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Kirby Canvas Curse, LostWinds, Nintendo, Virtual Console, WiiWare
