Let dogfights and naval battles comence in the Wii's first hgih quality action game.
User Rating: 8.1 | Heatseeker WII
Good games often fall into one of three categories. Fun, innovative, “party games” like (Wii sports) “Arty games” (Okami) or the more traditional filmic and arcade games. Broad though these groups maybe, they are useful when describing what the Wii is lacking. By which I mean, anything from the last two. When Heatseeker soared into my Wii, launching missiles - and the odd flare - with wanton aplomb, its not surprising I raised an eyebrow with suspicion. It has been a doubt in many gamers minds - mine included - that the Wii could ever stand shoulder to shoulder with its home bound console brethren , with superior graphics, enemy numbers and all the other potentials offered by the PS3 and 360’s raw power. …And don’t get your hopes up. Its with a heavy Nintendo loving heart that I write for the sheer thrill of pure action, the big boys will always come out on top. But the emergence of Heatseeker heralds nothing but good news for those lacking in funds to afford the astronomical prices banded about by the heavy pixel pushing alternatives. Whilst a real pain to begin with, Heatseeker controls are simply (with the correct configuration) sublime. You twist and tilt the nunchuk to manoeuvre your plane and buttons take care of the rest of the normal requirements - guns, targeting, weapon cycling and camera. Dead simple it would seem, but in fact you’ll be spinning all over the screen trying to locate the ever elusive “bandits”. It takes a good few missions before you able to fly in an acceptable manner, making your order-able wingman (divot)‘s comments of “ooh scratch one” and “you make it look easy” painfully ironic. Progress in the game is very linear. You simply complete objectives to complete a mission, which unlocks the next mission with its own objectives to complete, until you eventually complete the game. In addition, you have the option to hunt out bonus objectives for each mission. By completing bonus objectives you unlock faster, stronger ships capable of carrying more advanced weapons, and weapon packs (different combinations of the numerous missiles rockets and bombs). In addition, which bonus objectives you get is dependent on the difficulty you are playing, so to get the best combinations of plane and weapon packs, you need to replay missions on harder difficulties. Towards the end of the campaign, it becomes imperative that you unlock the best ships you can to deal with the task at hand, as even with great skill you need the more powerful weapons to take out the never ending stream of boats, planes, tanks and what not. Although this system is effective, it may have been better if you gained experience and cash to unlock and buy weapons, jets and upgrades for each. As it stands, you don’t gain any great pull to any of the ships in your arsenal, as modified versions are constantly being made available. Gradually the game begins to push forward “manoeuvres” to dodge missiles, which are performed by moving the nunchuk in one of 5 ways. By the climax of the game, your abilities will have risen to such a level that you’ll be dodging missiles with less than a second’s warning, and launching volleys of bullets as you do so. Visually Heatseeker has some great touches. When breaking the sound barrier, the camera shudders and blurs, a great crack of lightning booms out of the speakers and the whole screen is streaked with blue. This effect is particularly impressive when flying through clouds in the rain. Air craft models are also nicely detailed and along with impressive explosions and smoke trails the game has some very pleasing scenes all enhanced fantastically by the impact cam (similar to ones from the burnout series). Sadly the lack of multiplayer (online or locally) shortens any lasting appeal the game could have offered. In addition, the game glitches quite frequently, with sounds cutting out or your countermeasure gestures going un-noticed. In addition, the palette is often drab and a bit muddy, and clouds have a shocking draw distance. All problems that would not pervade more graphically capable consoles. That said, Heatseeker has some wonderful action sequences to offer, and the varied missions help flesh out the campaign, as replays become a pleasure rather than a chore. Heatseeker is by no means a reason to by a Wii on its own, but it’s a welcome addition to our blue eyed friends library, and comes highly recommended.
