A Closer Look at the Nintendo Wii

Excite Truck: In this racing title from Nintendo, you use the Wii Remote horizontally to mimic a steering wheel. The game does a superb job of conveying a sense of speed, and it looks pretty sharp. The thing I liked best about the game, though, was the absurdly massive amounts of air the trucks get, allowing me to jump and bump my way to victory. Here's GamePro's take.

Madden NFL 07: This Electronic Arts staple looks stunning on the Wii and is comparable to the version on rival consoles. Unique to the Wii's version, however, is the control scheme, owing to the Wii's implementation of motion-sensing control. You throw passes with the Wii remote (with subtle movements akin to a real ball toss) and control your receiver with the Nunchuk's joystick. I'm having a blast refining my technique just by playing a two-player game against friends, but if you want to upgrade your skills more quickly, Wii control tutorials are available.

More Wii Specs

I've already discussed the Wii's design, but let's take a closer look at its specs. The console uses a PowerPC processor jointly developed by Nintendo and IBM and manufactured by IBM. The Wii also has an ATI graphics chip, dubbed "Hollywood."

The console comes with 512MB of built-in flash memory for storage, plus an SD card reader. GameCube fans will appreciate that the unit also has four ports for GameCube controllers and two GameCube memory card ports. Two USB 2.0 ports are available for optional accessories such as the Wii LAN (Ethernet) adapter.

The Wii's built-in DVD slot drive emits a blue light when you turn the console on or insert a disc, but the Wii currently can't play back music CDs or DVD movies. Nintendo and Sonic Solutions are working on introducing DVD playback functionality, which they hope to make available via a future software download.

Impressively, the responsive Wii controller remains satisfying to use even after the gimmick factor wears off. Your movements can become more subtle (and less energy consuming) as you learn how various games work. There's also the classic controller option, and the promise of myriad forthcoming controller shells.

The Wii's ridiculously enjoyable titles and innovative, motion-sensitive controllers help make it feel more like a toy you'll want to share with a group of players than a console you'd use strictly on your own for hours on end.

At $250, the affordable Wii is half or less of the price of the $500 and $600 versions of the PlayStation 3. True, the PS3 has superior graphics and a SixAxis motion-sensitive controller, but for casual gamers these features may be overkill--and for many more the PS3 package may be too expensive. If you have $250 and a group of friends at the ready, or if you're looking to buy an affordable, fun console for yourself or your kids, get a Wii.

Go toGamePro, our sister publication, for reviews of PlayStation 3 and Wii games.