The Nintendo Wii is remembered for a lot of things – its revolutionary motion controls, family-friendly appeal, and enormous list of accessories. What doesn’t get talked about enough with the Wii is the small but fascinating collection of first-person shooters developed for the system.
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10 Best Nintendo Wii Games Of All Time
Wii’s innovation on how to play games would have been nothing if it didn’t come with fantastic titles. Fortunately, it had excellent exclusives.
In a way, the lack of FPS representation on the Wii isn’t surprising, as the more casual-leaning strategy Nintendo adopted for the system didn’t gel with the “violent” and “hardcore” nature of this particular genre. However, as this list of games proves, when the Wii’s excellent pointer controls were implemented into a well-designed FPS, the results make you wonder whether this isn’t one of the great “what if?” questions in gaming.
6
Call Of Duty: Black Ops
Not A Bad Way To Experience This Classic
Before we go any further, yes, Call of Duty: Black Ops for the Wii is a compromised version of this classic first-person shooter. Just like with all CoD games on Wii, this port lacks some of the modes and levels of the HD version while obviously operating at a lower definition.
With that said, this beloved Call of Duty game nonetheless retains much of the charm and polish that made it such a smash hit back in 2010. The pointer controls work as well as ever and when paired with the nunchuk, Call of Duty: Black Ops plays like an absolute dream on the Wii.
5
Conduit 2
Even Better Without The Definitive Article
Conduit 2 follows a pattern of Wii first-person shooter sequels that dramatically improved over the somewhat clunky execution of their original titles (more on this later). While The Conduit was an interesting proof of concept of what a Wii FPS could look like, it wasn’t until developer High Voltage Software decided to drop the “The” and add a “2” before this series really hit its stride.
Conduit 2 takes the fundamentals of a first-person shooter and mixes them in with motion controls and Sumerian Mythology of all things to craft a thrilling experience for the Wii. Almost every aspect from the first game has been polished for this sequel—from the art direction to the mechanics. The final product is a complete package first-person shooter that exemplifies why this genre could work on this system.
The House Of The Necromorph
Harkening back to the classic horror rail-gun shooters of the arcade days, Dead Space: Extraction is a highly satisfying experience that also acts as a worthy spinoff of the main series. The setting, atmosphere, and scares all line up with what you’d expect from a Dead Space game, with the on-rails action fitting the Wii’s motion controls like a glove.
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You still have to slice and dice the limbs off Necropmorphs with a variety of slick sci-fi weaponry through a story mode that acts as a prequel to the original Dead Space game. Dead Space: Extraction is proof that more mature games had a place on the Wii while elevating itself as one of the greatest on-rail shooters of all time.
3
GoldenEye 007
Back To Bond
GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 is a seminal game that paved the way for first-person shooters to thrive on home consoles. Over twenty years later, a reimagining of this iconic game launched on the Wii, switching out Brosnan for Craig and the clunky Nintendo 64 Controller for the Wii Remote and Nunchuk (or a flashy golden Pro Controller if you prefer).
While the events of the movie remain largely the same, the tone, gameplay mechanics, and graphics have all been updated to reflect both the state of the James Bond franchise and first-person shooters in 2010. And although this new version didn’t have quite the same cultural impact as it did in 1997, it’s still a highly entertaining thrill ride as everyone’s favourite member of Her Majesty’s secret service.
2
Red Steel 2
Sometimes You Need A Second Chance
Who saw this coming? After a competent, but fairly soulless, first game on the Wii, Ubisoft decided to return to the drawing board with Red Steel to see if they could realise their vision with a sequel. And boy, did they achieve that mission.
Red Steel 2’s improvements are obvious just by looking at it. Gone are the bland “realistic” graphics that were done no favours by the Wii’s standard definition, making way for gorgeous, stylised cel-shaded visuals that still pop all these years later. Throw in an interesting samurai western setting and gameplay that makes use of the Wii Motion Plus for both gun and sword play, and Red Steel 2 is one of the most idiosyncratic first-person shooters on the system.
1
Metroid Prime: Trilogy
Three Of The Very Best
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption showed just how effective the series could operate when translated from the joysticks and triggers of the GameCube controller to the motion controls of the Wii. If only developer Retro Studios could go back and make these adjustments for the first two games in the series.
Well, would you look at that: Metroid Prime Trilogy is one of the most value-rich experiences you can find on the Wii. Controlling Samus with the Wii remote and nunchuk makes these already immersive games feel even more tactile, and concrete proof that motion controls can enhance a first-person experience—at least, when implemented as well as this.
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Did it start with the Wii? Or Playstation’s EyeToy? Either way, let’s dive into some of the best games that use motion sensor controls.