Wii in KL now, and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz review

I am very sure that is is old news, but I was too busy to post it in here. But better late than never.

Nintendo's Wii had arrived on our shores, and appeared in shops (yeah... at my regular place, Wega Enterprise in Sungei Wang Complex) late Friday evening, last week!

Sold at RM2200++, comprises of US version of the Wii console, adapter power brick, one Wii-Mote, one Nunchuk attachment, sensor bar, composite cables, and two games, Wii Sports and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. The Wii-mote has built in movement sensors and accelerator sensors, so it can send movement signals back to the Wii. This folks, is the key to Wii, which claims innovative gameplay over graphics.

The sensor bar is to be placed on top or bottom of the TV screen, and acts as guide to the Wii-mote to sense the location of the TV screen. While this may sound as technical mumbo jumbo, its rather simple. The sensor actually sends out IR (infra-red) rays from its two sides. The Wii-mote, having a camera at its head, will read the IR rays and the Wii will calculate the position the Wii-mote is pointing. This is used mainly in games that require precision aiming (like Call of Duty 3).

There are some reports of the Wii-mote behaving erratically if you stand further than 10ft from the sensor bar, coz that the distance the IR beams will reach. So, to be as accurate as possible, stand within 10 ft of the sensor bar. Also, ensure your hands are dry and can grip the Wii-mote firmly, as there have been reports of the Wii-mote flying out of hands and goes crashing into the TV screens (horrors!!). Nintendo have a wrist attachment accessory to counter this, but I doubt its available in MY now.

Wii's Super Monkey Ball is a blast to pay with. Similar to the previous incarnations of the game, the objective is to roll a monkey in a clear ball (don't ask why he is there) to the end zone without falling off the board. Movement is by tilting the board so the ball roll in the direction of the decline. This is also similar to Mercury Meltdown on PSP and PS2.

While past versions have you tilting the board by using the analog stick, the Wii version have you tilting it using the Wii-mote. The difference is that using the Wii-mote, the board is tilted by movements of the wrist instead of the thumb. After a while of getting used to the control, moving the monkey ball (the game's titular reference) seems like a breeze and much more natural and intuitive using the Wii-mote than the analog stick.

The game's graphics is simplistic, with cel-shading, but nothing impressive. The graphics will remind you of the Gamecube version, or even the PS2 version, its that simple. But remember, the Wii is more about innovative gameplay than graphic prowess (Nintendo's own marketing hype). And in this aspect, Super Monkey Ball have demonstrated Wii's difference. Its fun to play, easy and natural to control. Only the graphics look dated, but if you can see beyond this, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is a great Wii game that shows what the console can do.

My ratings for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - 8/10