I had some doubts I had some doubts if the way Nintendo is heading with its Wii is the right one. Sure, the games I played thus far were nice, but nothing more. Playing tennis with your arms instead of your fingers is fun, but how long will the excitement last? Is it comfortable using the remote for the big ones? Is the Wiimote really more than a gimmick?

And what about graphics? Sure, the Wii delivers nice looks; however, nowhere does it comes close to the likes of Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Splinter Cell: Double Agent looked so extremely well on the Xbox demopods, it's just amazing. Everything was so detailed, like the body of Sam Fisher with all his scratches visible and sweat dripping down. I'm sure that the Wii isn't capable of producing these graphics, if only for the lack of HD support.

I heard a CNN anchorwoman talked about the Wii the other day. A guy in the studio said he liked Nintendo because of the retro look and the childish looking graphics. The woman in the studio agreed, saying 'I'm sure kids don't mind these kinds of graphics. I mean, like eight year olds. They actually don't care how it looks.'

How is the Nintendo Wii going to succeed when they cannot hold up with the technology fight of the competitors? And is the Wiimote really a revolution in gaming?

All these doubts vanished today. This time with the right contacts I didn't have to wait in the never-ending waiting line in front of the Wii booth. I had more time to spend on AAA titles like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy. After a couple of minutes I got used to the controls of Zelda and was running and smashing around like I'd always played the games using the remote. Using the shield and sword by moving your right and left hand is something you need to play a while more to totally get into.

Super Mario Galaxy, however, just needs seconds literally before you move around freely and comfortably in the game. The controls work amazingly well, and you don't have to worry about the camera position anymore. The remote is used to interact with the environment; like use it to point at star shards to collect them. Also you can shake Mario by shaking the remote. It looks like even beginning gamers can get the hang of this control system quickly, just like Nintendo wants to with the Wii.

The E3 ended great for me with a private play session of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Finally I had the change to play the Wii as it is meant to be: with surround sound, a big flatscreen TV, a couch and without thousands of other expo-visitors. My final play with the Wii was an experience never to forget. Controlling Samus worked incredibly natural and accurate with the remote. The looks were very nice, even on the big flatscreen, while the surround sound added some extra juice to the total experience. This play session proved to me that playing the Wii is very comfortable. You can easily relax on a couch while playing and it sure isn't uneasy for your hands at all. More impressions on Metroid Prime 3 soon.

The hands-on time I had with the Wii today totally convinced me. What do I care about the visual level not matching the Xbox360 or PS3? Playing the Wii is great. Not only do the new controls work just for party titles, it also suits the big titles conveniently well. I wish I took a Wii with me, because going back to playing games on the GameCube now feels old-fashioned. Is it November 2006 already?

Nik Wouters
[email protected]