Wii lightgun pistol - 5/10
Lightgun here: ecx.images-amazon.com/
DESIGN:
There are lots of Wii gun accessories around and I couldnt find one that i liked the look off.
This one though is quite a nice looking gun and it's a realistic shape. The Wiimote slots snuggly into the top. There are plastic rails to hold it in place, plus it clicks into a nunchuck slot fitting in the back of the gun. Overall it fits securely in place. The other end of the nunchuck fitting is built into the bottom of the handle, meaning a nunchuck can be easily connected, just like you would with a normal Wiimote. The plastic itself is ok. Quite thick and wouldn't break easily, though its obliviously just two halves that have been stuck together and not a single molded piece, so that might prove a weak point.
TRIGGER:
The trigger feature is quite good. The trigger isn't entirely realistic as it actually slides backwards rather then "curls" backwards like a proper trigger would... Or more accurately, how I imagine a proper trigger would.
When it slides, it then pulls back a plastic catch that connects with the Wiimote B button and causes it to be depressed. The trigger is spring loaded, so it immediately goes back into the forward position. It feels pretty good and I have no problems firing off fast shots.
WEIGHT:
Due to the design shape , the Wiimote sits on top and to the front. This makes the gun top heavy. Its not terrible, but holding it in one hand with your arm out for a long time definitely gets a bit uncomfortable on your hand and wrist. The upside is that it does feel very solid and realistic to hold.
ACCURACY:
Well the gun itself of course doesn't do anything , its all the Wiimote. At first I had to drop the gun forward a lot to aim at anything, and I was quite disappointed. But then I found that having the sensor bar on top of the tv (and changing the Wii setting to the same) made the targeting much more realistic. Although not the same as an actual light gun, I found that in general the cursor will appear roughly in line with the top the gun, making the feeling quite realistic. You do feel like you're aiming directly at whatever you're shooting. But how accurate it feels does depend on the game.
PROBLEMS:
Well the BIG problem is the A button. Lots of shooting games use both the B and A button, this is fine if you hold the Wiimote normally. But because you are using a gun attachment, , your thumb is no longer near the A button. So you end up having to use your other hand, and if that's holding the nunchuck, it all becomes messy and awkward.
No gun accessory that I know of has yet solved this problem. They really need to design a gun that totally encases the Wiimote and allows some sort of sliding trigger setup at the back of the gun to depress the A button.
The other problem is that the Wiimote fits so snugly there is no room for the wrist strap. It cant even hang out the side. I'm actually thinking of drilling a large hole in the side of the gun so I can slide the strap out the side. Its either that or you have to remove the strap each time.
TESTING IT OUT:
First I tried Resident Evil : Umbrella Chronicles. I've only just bought this and actually I'm finding it quite hard.
I tried it with the nunchuck attached and the gun does feel good. It adds a fun realism to the game. The problem of course is the A button. Among other things, you are constantly using it to pick up extra items, health, ammo, guns etc. I eventually ditched the nunchuck and wrapped my left hand around the front of the gun barrel so I could easily access the A button. But this sort of kills the realistic feeling of having a gun in your hand. If only there was an option to map the A button to the nunchuck then the gun would work great in this game. But as it is, I went back to the plain Wiimote.
Second game I tried was Red Steel. This again needs the A button (for rifle zooming) and the crosspad for grenades. But ignoring that, I thought I'd see how the gun translates with a FPS. Sadly, not that well.
The problem here is that the perspective used in the game doesn't match the gun. You aim according to the *onscreen* gun , not where you are pointing at the tv. So the aim of the gun doesn't match up that well to the onscreen action, plus it feel weird to "steer" with the gun. Overall, you feel more in control when using the Wiimote directly.
Then I tried the shooting games in Rayman Raving Rabbids (the first one). You use the nunchuck to reload so there's no problem with the A button. Overall Its not bad with this. The onscreen target is a bit lower then your guns aim, so it feels better to shoot from the hip rather then try and aim down the barrel. Overall its pretty good, I think my accuracy went up, though I didn't play it enough to be sure.
Lastly was the shooting game in Wii Play.
Finally! The gun rocks with this! I was blasting ducks and targets left right and center, it feels really good to actually aim with a gun and by holding it in two hands (one hand wrapped over the other, Dirty Harry style!) my accuracy was much better than usual. The onscreen target aims nearly perfectly inline with the gun. But .... the game itself is over in a few minutes! 
CONCLUSION:
This gun accessory does have potential. It just needs a specific type of game to work well. Basically a very simple arcade type shooter that uses the B button only. Hopefully the upcoming Ghost Squad will suit it, and also the arcade section of Medal of Honor Heroes.
As it is , it's hit and miss, depending on the game.
Submitted by AbeFroman
22/12/2007
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