The box (Only picture I could find of it)
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The controller itself
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Official website: http://www.memorex.c...o-Pack-for-Wii/
Forward:
I first saw this controller in a Fry's Electronics store. It was $40, included Wii Motion Plus and a wireless nunchuck, so I couldn't resist. It started out pretty good, and certainly feels like a good controller, but is it actually good?
In this review, I added a +, -, or = infront of the comments to quickly signify what is better, worse, or equal-to-first-party about the controller.
Firstly, what the makers claim on the website itself:
- Rubberized grips for a durable, non-slip playing surface for an enhanced gaming experience
- 360 degree rubberized directional d-pad adds a true gaming advantage
- LED backlit speakers and d-pad add an element of style
- Larger buttons allow for easier game play experience
- Built in pulsation feature allows you to feel the actions within the game
- Allows for all the functionality of a Nunchuk™ without the wires
- Built in NiMH rechargeable battery pack for the Sidekick
- LED backlit speakers and d-pad add an element of style
- Larger buttons allow for easier game play experience
- = The wiimote's weight is identicle to the official Wii's, using a digital scale that goes to a 0.001 accuracy. They were only off by 0.03, which is not feelable at all. This was using the same brand of batteries in each controller.
- - The nunchuck is noticably heavier than first-party, so much so that it feels awkward to play with if you've used any other nunchuck.
- = The wiimote's size is identicle to the official one too, right down to the millimeter, the nunchuck is larger than first-party, but not by a lot.
- - The durability is... it doesn't feel great, but it's a lot better than anything by Nyko. Definately not as good as first-party however.
- + The buttons feel more responsive than the first-party, and since they are bigger (the A button even has a curve in it to fit your thumb), they exceede first-party.
- - The B button rattled like HELL every time you shake it, even slightly. This can easily be fixed by attaching a very small amount of tape between the B button and the casing at the non-moving side.
- - The analog stick on the nunchuck feels very very cheap, there were a number of times it felt almost like I was using a cardboard thumbstick. Other than that, no feel problems on either the wiimote nor nunchuck.
- + The blue ring around the analog stick, d-pad, and speaker are very pretty, I definately like it. The problem is it's the ONLY part of the controller that's truly good in my opinion.
- - The power button on the wiimote does NOT properly turn on and off the Wii, it's truly a 50/50 if it will or not. You really need to use the Wii's power button every time to be safe.
- - The nunchuck has MAJOR MAJOR problems in some games (see number 5 in the below section.), and the motion detection is pretty flaky.
- - The nunchuck is wireless, but it has a Motion Plus-sized dongle you must attach to the bottom of the wiimote. Considering there is NOTHING stated on the box about this, and ALL the pictures lead you to think there isn't, Memorex is false advertising in my opinion.
Performance:
- + All of the buttons on the wiimote seem to work without any problems, as did the d-pad when you push it right (see number 6).
- - The motion detection in non-Motion Plus games is flaky at best. Overall it seems to work ok, and games that just require "waggling" are no issue. Any game that requires specific directional motion (Motion Plus or not), it can be a nightmare to get it to line up as you're wanting. There are a number of times I did a horizontal slash in Skyward Sword that detected as vertical.
- - Any game that uses Motion Plus has a noticable lag much worse than the official. Depending on the game, it can be up to a 3 second delay between motion and on-screen action, and on top of that, it's even questionable if it'll detect it right, with odds going to "no".
- - The IR sensing of the controller is very spotty on most games. Also, oddly, pointing the wiimote away from the sensor causes the cursor to spaz out on-screen, all over the screen.
- - The nunchuck..... oh my (religious icon), it's one of the most flaky devices I've ever used on any system. Some games (Mario Galaxy 2, Twilight Princess), it'll work fine with with absolutely no issues. But the majority of games (Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, Skyward Sword, Spongebob Truth or Square, Red Steel 2, Mario Galaxy 1, Go Vacation, Klonoa, others I forgot) have some sort of game breaking problem with it. The problem varies per game oddly enough, but the problem can be either erratic movement that prevents you from moving where you want (Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, Go Vacation, Spongebob), or flaky button detection of C or Z buttons (Skyward Sword, Red Steel 2, Klonoa). The nunchuck is great in the few games it works well on (if you can ignore the aforementioned cardboard feel of it), but considering there's no telling if it'll work right in a said game, it's not even worth $1.
- = The D-Pad is just ok. It detects fine, but there are no markings/dives in the plastic, so it can be kinda difficult to push in the exact right direction. It's easy to get use to though.
- - The wiimote seems to rumble pretty strangely. It will rumble when told to, but it won't always turn off when it's supposed to. I will leave out an obvious female joke here.
- - The rubberized grips are there, but they are crap. With even a drop of water/sweat, it'll spread all over the rubber and give it a lubricated feel (I'm NOT joking) instead of it supposedly being "non-slip". This combined with the vibration that doesn't turn off at the right time, again, I won't say an obvious female joke.
- - The nunchuck's charge time is.... unknown. You see, the light never signifies when it's low on battery, has a full charge when charging, or even it's it's truly connected to the wiimote. I can't tell when I'm overcharging it, undercharging it, etc. This is a pretty fatal mistake.
Value:
- - At $40, it's $20 cheaper than buying a Wii+ controller and a nunchuck. Or, you can buy the controller and nunchuck sperately for $30 and $20, respectively.
- + It all depends on the game you want. If all you're wanting to do for the entire Wii's lifespan is play games that requires the wiimote only, no IR sensing, and waggle-only or no motion (DK Returns, NSMBW, a few others), then in my opinion the wiimote by itself is worth it at $10 cheaper than official new.
- - However, if you are wanting to play a game that requires more specific motion (even simply up and down without left and right movements, or vice-versa), any IR precise sensing, or the nunchuck, DO NOT EVER get this wiimote.
- - The nunchuck is not even worth $1 due to number 4 in the above section, so the nunchuck by itself and the combo pack with both are also under DO NOT EVER get.
Features not said by the maker:
- None that I could find.
- D-Pad
- 7 Wii-mote buttons
- Wii-mote power button
- Motion controls
- Motion Plus
- Nunchuck analog stick
- 2 nunchuck buttons
- Wiimote rumble
Never ever buy the combo pack. Never ever buy the nunchuck. Only buy the wii-mote sperately if you NEVER intend to play any game that requires nunchuck, non-waggle motion, or IR sensing.
2/10
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