Hello, developer studios? Yes, the Wii remote is motion sensitive. It's pretty nifty and I know some of you are super excited about he MotionPlus add-on. However, did you know the Wii-mote also has a pointer function? Yeah, that sensor bar thing with the infrared light. Oh? You keep forgetting about that function eh? Keep getting distracted by the wiggle waggle hmm? Well wake the hell up already because you're missing some golden opportunities!
Maybe I'm a touch off base here, but it seems to me that the pointer functionality is a little bit neglected within the Wii library. Considering how superior an experience the pointer offers over the analogue stick when it comes to aiming, you'd think, you'd really think, the Wii library would abound with quality titles that take advantage of that function, and you'd be wrong.
With that in mind, I'd like to see some third person shooters on the Wii. Many people focus on first person shooters when talking about how natural a match the pointer is, but I believe, and have for a long time, that the pointer would benefit third person shooters even more.
I am really not a fan of the FPS, the lack of peripheral vision bugs me especially if the action gets intense. Plus, I like to see the character I'm playing. Third person shooters are a lot more fun for me. I can see what's behind my character and the pulled out camera invites more usage of platforming and adventure elements. On the down side, actually aiming your weapons can be problematic.
Various solutions to the issue of aiming include auto aiming, lock-on systems, and even switching to FPS mode for precision shooting at the expense of movement, all of which see use in the Ratchet and Clank series. While convenient, they do remove most of the skill involved in actually aiming, as the game does the work for you. The weapons in the Jak games mostly rely on the auto aim feature. It works pretty well but only because the guns either have wide ranges of effect or spray bullets machine gun style. Even though you have little control over your aim, you're going to hit something.
Oh but would it not be fantastic to just point and shoot? To sweep the reticule across multiple enemies leaving a trail of lock-ons to fire off a missile massacre all while skillfully running and leaping? To do it all without having to hold down multiple buttons to strafe or relying on the game to do it all for you?
It's a perfect match I fantasize about. I dream of remakes or new entries into the Mega Man Legends series; a pair of games that suffered from some clunky controls. Or, holiest of holies, a third person Metroid game.
Where are the TPS games? Anything buried in a mini-game collection doesn't count. C'mon devs, this should be an obvious choice!
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