Nintendo Wii Reviews

Mini Action Pak A for Nintendo Wii

This Mini Action Pak A comes with (1) Wii package: A/V Cable for Standard TV Connections, Nunchuk
Controller, Wii Stand, Wii Sports, Nintendo Wii Console, Wii Remote, (2)Red Steel, (3) Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, (4) Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, and (5) Extra Wii Nunchuck Controller and Remote.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star that alot of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i can’t believe that this amazon would let this seller rip people off like this… you could go to game stop and buy a used system with a year warranty for about $230.. you could also buy the games very cheap here on amazon… buying used games is the best in value…

5 Stars Great package at a decent price
I don’t get why the other reviewers are complaining. They must be from a time when this package was more expensive. If you add up the original prices of all the stuff in this package…a Wii, 3 games, and an extra remote and nunchuk, it’s about $500 after tax. This is about the price it is currently being sold for on Amazon. Considering that it’s often difficult to find a Wii in stores, these prices are fair.

As for the games in this package…perfect for a teen. Zelda is the best game of the bundle and takes a long time to beat. Red Steel is a little hard to control sometimes, but not a bad game. Tony Hawk is really fun if you’re into the skating games. We still play Wii Sports, included with the Wii the most though. The whole family even joins in!

1 Star What?
Good luck finding a core wii system, all the fan boys bought them all so now we all have to pay ridiculous prices for one, well i got lucky and got mine for 250

1 Star bad prices
the onyl reason im writing negitive the system it self is great but these retailers on amazon are charging murder prices i cant afford 400 dollars and i dont know any one who can right now they have to be out of there mind i hope they never sell it im going to get my system at the nintendo store in new york for the correct retail price were i can afford it dont buy it from independent sellers on amazon the;ll just rip you off its a waste of time. id recommend ebay over these third party sellers any day

1 Star This bundle is a ripoff.
You can get the 3 games at 49.99. The rest of the package is just a nintendo wii, which you can get for 250 retail.

400 is the actual retail price for this (assuming you buy all the games new, and get the wii at regular retail price.)

DO NOT BUY THIS OR ANY BUNDLE IT IS A RIPOFF>

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SpongeBob SquarePants featuring NickToons Globs of Doom

Battle it up with SpongeBob SquarePants Featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom. Travel to the familiar locations of Retroville, Amity Park, and Bikini Bottom with any of the 10 playable characters, and defeat the Morphoids in cooperative play as any of the five heroes and/or five villains. This action-packed adventure lets you fight against Globulous in the Globs of Doom. Perform a combination of attacks and combine gadgets with special abilities that are unique to your character’s specific personalities.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars My son like’s this game but …
My son really enjoys this game. The game features a number of the Nick Toon characters which he likes to watch. You and another player (either CPU or human) battle glob like aliens from space who have captured your friends and it’s up to you to free them. In the one player game you are able to switch back and forth between the two characters on screen. When two human players are participating the game runs into problems however. When the two characters get separated the game does not do a good job of handling it. It can be very frustrating to be off screen and not be able to get back to the lead character until the game eventually spawns you back on screen. Although this doesn’t seem to bother my son and his friends so this might just be the rantings of a middle aged experienced gamer. Overall I would say if your child enjoys Nick Toons they will more than likely like this game.

2 Stars Heartbreaking
My daughter received this for xmas and finally began playing this week. She got hooked and wants to play it all the time. We’ve been encountering the same data corruption issues as other reviewers. We try to exit the game after completing a level and not mid-way through, so it’s not a user issue. She’s getting really frustrated because she spends so much time trying to get to higher levels, only to have to start over everytime we try to play the next day. I hate having to tell her that she has to start all over again. THQ should issue a recall, and stop selling a product that they know is flawed.

1 Star Game flaw
I must say the reviewer who reported the game flaw was right. The same thing happened to us. We had rented the game and later bought it. My son started playing at the level he left off at with the rental. The next day when he went to play it the file was corrupt and he had to start all over. He was upset, and although he is playing it now, I am going to try and exchange it for a new disk or a different game tomorrow. I don’t know if this will help, but buyer beware. If my son didn’t love the game so much I would definitely return the game. However, he does love it and can play well by himself. It is loads of fun for him, which is why I gave 5 stars for fun level, but this game flaw made me give it only 1 star overall.

Update: I did exchange the game for another copy and we had the same problem. I called THQ and they said that exchanging the game won’t help, and then told me all these things to do before exiting (don’t exit in the hub and only on odd numbered levels). Well, to me it’s a waste. The game should work the way it’s supposed to. THQ would not give a refund, but offered to replace the game with another from THQ. I ended up selling it at one of those trade in stores (just easier for me). Too bad, because my son really liked it, but even he wanted to sell it and get something different. To me, the game should be recalled, but what do I know? BUYER BEWARE!

3 Stars OK game for under 10 crowd, Serious save game flaw
My 6 year old really likes this game (as well as a couple of 8 year old neighbors) and I admit I enjoy playing it sometimes as well. The difficulty level is not too high, in fact given that when you die you restart from that same point (but lose a small number of coins), the game is too easy for me at times, but I can see how it reduces the frustration for kids. The different levels are fairly interesting and varied, and the different characters add some extra variety as well.

I think I would give the game an overall 4 stars (instead of 3) where it not for a major flaw in the save game system: Just about every other time we exit the game, either powering off directly from the main game menu or first exiting back to the main Wii desktop, the save file becomes corrupt somehow. Subsequent attempts to reload it yield a corrupt save game message with the only option being to restart from the beginning. I actually emailed THQ about this, and this is the response:

“This is a known issue. We have noted that the corruption occurs more

often on the even numbered levels. So far, the test team has found that

the corrupt save data occurs when the game is exited while the player is

in the Hub. The Hub would be any portion of the game that is not

directly in a stage or level. Try exiting the game after entering the

next level in order for it to save properly.

Please try the following:

1. Complete stages 1 and 2 of the first level.

2. Upon entering the room with the portals to the other stages, enter

stage 3 and allow it to load completely.

3. Once you are in stage 3, it is safe to exit the game or turn off the

console.”

Using the above, I have not seen corruption in the last several plays, but I still think it is something that they should fix and offer replacement disks free of charge.

5 Stars Globs of Doom
Son is 8 yrs old, got for christmas, loves the different characters and levels of the game.

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Samba Maracas

Custom designed Maracas gaming controllers are perfect for Samba De Amigo. Features authentic maraca sounds, custom multi-colored LED illumination which reacts to maraca shakes and enhances all Samba games with the look and feel of actual maracas.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A Maraca Version of DDR
I purchased these for my teenage daughter, who loves her Spanish class at school. I thought it would be fun to have these to go along with the Samba de Amigo game. The maracas make the game. I don’t think it would be nearly so fun to play if you didn’t have the maracas to play along. I just purchased a second set so we can have two players at a time. Other reviewers have suggested that they are not well built, but so far, we have had no issues, and they don’t seem to be especially flimsy. I am very pleased with them. We have put batteries in, to use the lights function, but have not found that the lights particularly add to the maracas. They are fine without them.

5 Stars Best Maracas for Samba
I’m a hard-core Sambe de Amigo addict and this is the second brand of Maracas I’ve bought. The game really needs to be played with two remotes instead of one remote and one nunchuk. This set gives you three handles to attach to the maracas: two remotes and one nunchuk, so you have to option to use either configuration without having to buy two sets in order to use two remotes. These are also more compact and not as heavy as the other brand I’ve tried … a fact I appreciated after an unpleasant incident with my first pair involving fractic over the head waving and some ceiling fan lights! Have fun!!!

2 Stars Fun, but flawed
When I first got these maracas I loved that they made the game feel more realistic. The sound of the maracas, the visual of them, the flashing light… I thought they were great.

Then, when playing last night, the plastic sleeve that goes around the nunchuck snapped mid-game. Yep, with less than 2 hours of use, I was shaking away to Oye Como Va on hard, and in mid-song the left maraca head went flying across the room. After finishing the song I went and checked out the part that had snapped.

The plastic at the top of the nunchuck is pretty thin, and it had snapped on both sides. Luckily they include an extra handle (so you can play with 2 wiimotes), so I was able to change it out and continue playing, but still… it shouldn’t have snapped in under 2 hours of use.

4 Stars Shakin’ good time, despite control flaws
Those of you who remember playing Samba De Amigo for the Sega Dreamcast back around the turn of the millenium will remember how fun it was to use actual Maracas as the controller for the game, allowing you to feel totally immersed in the game experience. This time around, Sega has re-released the game for the Nintendo Wii as its motion sensitive controllers seem the perfect fit for a game built solely on controller movement.

An item of note, this review is meant to rate the overall experience of using the DreamGEAR Maraca sleeves rather than a review of the controls of the game itself, but it’s important to describe the limitations, or shall I say, the temperment of the Wii controllers (Wiimote & Nunchuck)and whether the Maraca sleeves add or detract from that experience.

The biggest plus going for the DreamGEAR controllers is that they give you a choice of control setup whereas other third party versions of the sleeves only allow for Wiimote and Nunchuck. If you feel that controls are more receptive using two wiimotes, you have the ability to use the extra wiimote sleeve for that scheme. It was THE deciding factor in choosing the DreamGEAR Maracas over any other. Another cool little feature these have is that there is a motion sensor inside the maraca itself which causes colored LED lights to respond each time you shake them. However, since you are most likely going to be focusing your attentions on the TV screen to make sure you are timing your moves right, you’re not going to be focusing on the LED’s anyway – especially if you’re playing with the lights on. However, bystanders watching you make a fool of yourself might enjoy the extra eye candy provided. Unfortunately, you’ll need to invest in – that’s right – MORE batteries (4 AAA’s to be exact).

Which brings me to the one negative of the peripheral, the weight. The maracas feel incredibly top-heavy and after a couple of songs of vigorous shaking, your forearms and wrists are gonna feel it! Not to mention if your using hustle mode and will need to swing them all around as dance combos. For some, this could be considered a good thing as the extra weight will only add to the workout, but for the younger crowd, it’s a lot to ask, unless you’re the offspring of someone like Jay “The Juiceman” Kordich or Tony Little.

To be honest, I haven’t been using the attachments at the moment as I am trying to complete the game, and as those who own the Wii-version of the game can attest, “Superhard” mode is challenging enough without any other hinderances added to the mix. I intend to use the attachments more once everything is unlocked, that way I can enjoy the game in it’s purest form on some of the more “responsive” levels.

In closing, the DreamGEAR maraca attachment is a great accessory to a classic game that will ultimately give you the most authentic experience since the Dreamcast original.

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Deal or No Deal

You have one question to answer in this videogame based on the popular trivia show: Deal or No Deal? The hit TV show comes to your favorite video game system. The premise is simple: You have 26 briefcases in front of you. Each one contains a different amount of money. Open each case one by one, and try to find the briefcase with the biggest amount of money. Deal Or No Deal?

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Don’t Expect Big Thrills, But Some Moderate Fun
I really enjoy the show so when I received this as a gift I was excited. Like other reviewers said, the first couple of times you play it’s fairly thrilling. After that you get tired of hearing the same voice “open the case” and you’ll push the “a” button to skip Howie all together. This takes away the anticipation, and therefore, the thrill. There are “mini” games and by “mini” they really mean “MINI”…there are only three. Shoot cases for money, black jack, or something else that escapes me now so it must not have been fun. All in all, it’s just okay.

2 Stars Sucks after 10 minutes
My 8 and 10 year old would not use such language as exhibited in the title of this review but clearly that is what they were thinking. The game play, graphics and the transitions all sucked – I know this is a Wii with limited capabilities but Howie this is not how we (should) do it…

5 Stars Deal or No Deal and Amazon
Deal or No DealDeal or No Deal for Wii is fun.Skill level is nice for all levels and great for all fitness groups. It takes no experience or action

A great game to have around for all ages. Im happy to have this game in

our home for company that stays the week end and just wants to hang around the house. No matter what the age there is no worry over anything

being said that would offend anyone or any blood letting zombies. It is also fun to see who has the “betting streak” and who will take the money and run. Most of all I would like to say Amazon was great to ship and take care of our order. Im so impressed with Amazon and how well they treat their customers and also the merchants that are in Amazon. Bravo!

1 Star Deal or No Deal review
This is a fun game for young and old and it came in on a timely fashion great all the way around!!

4 Stars great game for family
this is a great game for the whole family or a party. everyone gets excited and it keeps track of your total winning when you use your mii for all the games you play so we all try and beat each other even when we are playing alone.

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Wii 4X Quad Charge Station

Dont worry about dead Nintendo Wii controllers again with this Penguin United Quad Charging Station! It includes four Li-Ion batteries that have up to 13 hour charge capacity. Recharge them quickly in less than 4 hours. LED indicator lights let you know exactly how much battery charge is left. Always know which controller is yours with the included four color coded remote straps. This Penguin United quad charging station will help you have fun with Nintendo Wii for hours, get yours today!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Finally
It was great to finally see an affordable four-way charger for the Wii since it supports four remotes having to use two different chargers was getting old. This product does great; charges fast with charge progress indicators and extremely light batteries making game play even more enjoyable.

1 Star A $46 Night Light
I bought this at a closeout price from Tanga just before Christmas, and it has been a total disappointment. As other reviewers have mentioned before me, it is simply not well made. The prongs are very flimsy, and the Wiimotes are difficult to seat correctly in the charger.

Even when the charging lights seem to indicate that I am charging the batteries properly, after hours of charging… nothing. I’ve tested three of the four batteries, and not one of them have worked, for even a single charge. I’m just going to write off the purchase as a bust and throw the whole package unit in the trash.

On a brighter note, the Nyko brand charger I bought for my inlaws is working just fine after two months. Hmmmm… guess I’ll be buying Nyko.

1 Star NOT WORTH IT
I got this for Christmas and right of the bat one of the batteries didn’t work. I emailed the company and they promptly sent a replacement. Two weeks later two more of the batteries quit charging at all, including the new one. Obviously I began to suspect the unit was the problem and again emailed the company. In the meantime I am down one more remote and expecting to have none soon. Since I have complained that the unit is the problem, I have not heard back from the company after several attempts to contact them. Getting the remotes into the charger is a pain and all the indicator lights are always on, even if there is no remote charging. This product was not well made and evidently Penguin United is unwilling to stand behind their own product as well.

1 Star Nice idea, but poorly built.
I bought this a couple of months ago–as Nyko did not (yet) offer a quad charger. Bottom line, this is not well made. The prongs are very flimsy, and the Wiimotes are difficult to seat correctly in the charger. Two months later, two of the ports do not work at all–and the unit has not been used that much. Your best bet is to stick with the Nyko brand product…it’s a superior build and will withstand a lot more abuse.

3 Stars Buy something else
This does its job… just not well. As mentioned in other reviews, sometimes the remotes don’t make contact and you have to really check to make sure they are.

There is also the most annoying blue light, both when the remotes are charging and when they are not. You will not be able to keep the charger in the same room you sleep in.

Finally, the Wii is unable to recognized how charged the remotes actually are. So, though it may say you a full battery, it may be near dying. The only way to know for sure is to place the mote back on its charger. It seems like a simple measure, but it can get rather tedious.

However, it does charge the batteries and as long as you keep it on the stand each night, you shouldn’t have too many problems. Remember, though, the batteries don’t last as long as regular energizers.

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Alvin and the Chipmunks

Right in step with their brand-new movie, here come Alvin and the Chipmunks in their videogame debut on the Nintendo Wii! The Alvin and the Chipmunks video game follows Alvin, Simon, and Theodore on their latest mission to play during the battle of the bands event “Rockathonapalooza”. As the Chipmunks perform in each of the video game’s musical levels?from school proms to Burning Man to Forest Arenas to the ultimate, Rockathonapalooza – players are challenged to keep in rhythm with the music. The combination of fun game play, a cool soundtrack and everyone’s favorite Chipmunks, creates another way for the fans of Alvin, new and old, to enjoy and expand on their movie experience.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Really a bad game
The other negative reviewers are right. This is a really crummy game, just the same motion again and again. The Chipmunks music is fun, but there isn’t any real interaction with the characters, and all you do is push a button on the wiimote or the nunchuk as a star passes a target. My 9 year old son was bored after about 2 songs and hasn’t played it again. Really just a piece of shovelware junk that I wouldn’t recommend to anybody else.

4 Stars Fun Game
My 2 year old son LOVES the chipmunks movie so I got this for him and his sister (and me too), The first time playing it was a little confusing. I tried it again and did the instructional part. That was hard. When I went into the story game, I figured it out. It DOES go on the beat for about 90% of the time. The songs are cute and up to date. I can’t stop playing it cause it’s cute and fun!! I think I may get guitar hero for my husband for V-day or something. This is like a beginner/introduction to guitar hero I think.

3 Stars Okay game but not what I was expecting
I bought this game when it was on sale several weeks ago for[...] I bought it as a Christmas present for my 4-year-old who LOVES Alvin and the Chipmunks. Unfortunately, it is a little advanced for him. I had a hard enough time trying to figure it out … and I’m still on the easy level which only involves matching 2 of the 4 stars.

Unfortunately, I am finding that many Wii games I would think should be on a young enough level for my 4-year-old are too difficult.

It REALLY bugs me that the stars don’t hit their target on beat a lot of the time. So it can be a bit a frustrating when you’re getting into the rhythm of the song and the stars don’t match.

I do, however, enjoy playing this game. And my husband and I love the Chipmunks singing and the songs they sing. So it’s not annoying to us.

It’s definitely worth the [...] I paid for it. And is a nice way to start our Wii game collection (we just got a Wii for Christmas).

I don’t think I’d pay [...] or more for it though.

*** Edited to add that although my son can’t play, he enjoys watching us play. He picks up his guitar and strums along with the music while dancing to the beat. On several ocassions he’s asked me or my husband to play the game so he can dance and sing along too!

2 Stars A little disappointed
I would have to say that I was a little disappointed with this game. I bought it for my 4 1/2 year old who can’t seem to stay on the stage. I guess for the amount that I paid it’s OK. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone, if they want to try it, rent it first! Listening to them sing the songs is cute at first but very annoying after a while! I was really disappointed with the repetative and weak graphics. I would say that this game is good for a child’s hand/eye coordination and that’s about it.

2 Stars Too hard
I bought this for a 4 year old, he gets very frustrated with it and no longer wants to play. I was thinking this was more on the lines of the Hannah Montana game, you just have to do the arm moves no buttons to push with certain shapes. This game you have to hold buttons for the top and release for the bottom. I’m sure with practice my son would get the hang of it but if you miss the beat the game ends and you have to start over. He just doen’t have the patience. Looks like alot of fun, but I would say it’s for older kids with more hand eye control.

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Kawasaki Jet Ski

Jet around the world with Kawasaki Jet Ski for Nintendo Wii. This game offers entry to the exciting world of the high adrenaline water sport in a wide range of locales including London and the Canadian Rockies. So grab your wetsuit and open the throttle.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star JetSKI
I bought this game looking for something like HYDRO THUNDER for the old playstation. I was not impressed.

4 Stars Fun!
We have had alot of fun with this game. One of the courses is kind of dark so it’s hard to tell the water from the shore but its still a ton of fun.

1 Star Simple and not in the good way
This game is basic. The controls are simple, like a real jet ski, and the options are almost nonexistant. I bought the game for someone completely obsessed with jetskiiing, he liked it but almost no one else would. After playing for about five minutes you have done almost all there is to do, or all there is that you care to do. There is no reason to keep playing the game.

This game is as mediocre as they come.

4 Stars Great game for those of us “non-gamers”
The Nintendo Wii is the first gaming system I’ve ever owned and I’m almost 50. So this is one of the first games I purchased. I have not been disappointed. The controls are very simple to use and the courses are challenging. Other reviewers have noted that it is difficult to control and you get stuck and ultimately lose the game. I’ve found that if you keep taping the 2 it unsticks you from an area reasonably fast to rejoin the game. The graphics are adequate, providing water splash and the sun in your eyes as you attempt to navigate the courses. I only wish I could use my Mii instead of the characters given. Kids under 10 playing who get frustrated easily give up on it quickly. But for teens and us older folks its a fun ride on a boring day.

1 Star You get what you pay for
Now I know why the average wii game costs $50…they are actuall really good. This game, which costs only $20, is incredibly difficult to handle. The controls are very hard to control so it makes the game frustrating rather than fun. The graphics are also pretty weak so if your jetski gets stuck in a corner you end up losing the game because it takes that long to get unstuck. Basically, don’t buy this unless you have no intention of buying anything better. This game was so bad I returned it the day after I bought it. Like I said, you get what you pay for!

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