Review by V. S. Romero for Wii Remote MotionPlus Bundle – Black
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About a couple years ago I heard Nintendo was planning to dish out a black Wii. I told myself I’d wait and hold off the white one, but what with all the great games already out, I couldn’t resist.

As with most Wii purchasers, I added another Wii remote (or “Wiimote”) and Nunchuk. The white’s fine and all, but I really wanted the colored controllers as in the initial advertisements for Nintendo’s Wii.

Remember the lime green and red ones?

Nevertheless, with two white controllers, I really didn’t need any more. That is, until the black one finally came out.

I was initially baffled upon spotting the device because I hadn’t heard anything about its release, and just happened to stumble upon some at my local Target. I asked the nearby clerk, “When did these come out?” but he didn’t know (apparently they came out a week prior to this review). I rushed home and placed an order for the Wiimote and Nunchuk through Amazon.com (price-sensitive, I wanted the best deal; I could wait for Amazon.com to deliver).

The black Wiimote feels and functions superbly. Sure, it’s the same as the white one albeit differently colored, but the blackness just gives it a supreme look–in my opinion, at least. The front side with the majority of the buttons has a glossy finish, which emits a radiant shine, whilst the back side with the battery door has a matte look and feel. The gloss may get dirty in the long run with fingerprints and skin oil, but for now it’s staying shiny. The black rubber jackets may eventually attract dust and lint, but, again, for now they’re as clean as can be.

Also, and this may just be the fact that it’s still new, the speaker sounds louder and crisper than my other Wiimotes’ speakers. I thought I accidentally had it on a louder setting, but when I checked my Wii it was the same setting as my white ones, so I figured Nintendo improved the sound chips.

In this package you get the Wiimote, MotionPlus, batteries, wrist strap and two rubber jackets–one to hold the MotionPlus and one to hold the Wiimote without (which I’m currently using for New Super Mario Bros. Wii). Plus, you end up saving on this bundle over the white set, which can only be purchased separately as of this review. On Amazon.com, you’ll end saving $5 or so.

All in all, it’s the same ol’ Wiimote, but in black. It has that new, stiff button feel, which I personally like, but give it some time to break in.

If you like black, opt for this controller. This is my “special” one that no one but me will use; friends and family can use my other white ones.

Oh, and Nintendo has some blue and pink bundles coming in February 2010 (but with white jackets and MotionPluses).

Review by metamatt for Wii Remote MotionPlus Bundle – Black
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Nice shiny black Wiimote with motionplus — what’s not to like?

One issue though is the jacket is a little thicker than the old clear ones, and seems to block charging with the Nyko inductive charger (Wii Charge Base Induction Charger), as of December 2009 anyway. If you actually use the jackets and have an inductive charger, you might want to wait for this to get resolved.

Review by C. Boeshaar for Wii Remote MotionPlus Bundle – Black
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The Wii motionplus bundle is a good deal for two reasons: 1) It saves you money on 3 items that would cost a lot more if each one was bought separately 2) The black remote makes its white predecessor pale in comparison in the looks department.

The motionplus add-on is a must if you play games such as Wii sports resort, EA sports active, Wii fit etc. that rely almost completely on motion tracking for gameplay. Playing fitness games without them can be frustrating when you are waving your controller frantically trying to get a response, while your character is in a world of their own. However, you can easily get away without the motionplus in other games like Metroid or The Legend of Zelda, but it’s still a welcome addition nonetheless.

The controller works fine and has given me absolutely no problems so far. If you’re considering skipping the motionplus to save some money, my advice is not to do so. Most of the newer games are almost required to have the motionplus and it seems to be a trend that will continue well into the future as long as the Wii console remains viable.

Bottom line is that this is a worthwile investment if you need an extra controller for your Wii console.

Review by Lisa Shea for Wii Remote Controller
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The Wii Remote Controller is shaped like a standard TV remove, and has motion sensing ability. You wave it around, and your on-screen character waves their wand!

This isn’t an add-on controller – this is the actual, standard controller that most if not all games on the Nintendo Wii use as their primary control unit. There is also a “nunchuck” that can be used in your off hand, but many games don’t use the nunchuck.

The aim of the Wii was to make gaming as simple and intuitive as possible for the casual non gamer. Pretty much every person with a TV is comfortable using a TV remote. You point, you click. The Wii Remote Controller works in the same fashion. The motion sensors know what you are doing with the remote. If you’re playing a baseball game, you swing at the ball. If you’re playing a bowling game, you bring your arm back and swing it forward. Everything “makes sense”. A sword swing? A light saber battle? Just move your arm and the character does the same thing.

There are only two buttons that really matter. There’s an A button on the front that you push for most operations. There’s also a trigger underneath that is the B button. Depending on the game, they will have you use one or the other button. There are also a few other buttons for more complex gaming. There’s a D-pad. A “home” button lets you go instantly back to the main Wii menu if you’re tired of playing. There’s a plus and minus button, a 1 and 2 button. There’s even a power button. You don’t have to walk over to your Wii any more to turn it on or off. Just hit the power button on the remote and you’re all set.

The remote runs on two AA batteries, so there’s no USB plugging in or charging up, as with the other systems’ remotes. You do get a wrist strap, though, so the Wii remote doesn’t fly out of your hands while you’re doing a super powerful golf swing.

There’s even a speaker in the remote! This is great if you’re playing a game against another player. Say I’m boxing my boyfriend and I am the winner. *My* remote says that I triumphed, to me. Neat!

I definitely love the Wii remote controller. It’s light, it’s super easy to use, it’s intuitive and I can just pop batteries into it when it runs out, instead of having to wait for a recharge. Highly recommended. Just note that if you want to play a game that needs a nunchuck as well, that you have to buy that separately.

Review by C. Parks for Wii Remote Controller
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I have to say, the Wii remote is a great controller. Really simulates swinging you arm very realistically in baseball and the other Wii games. I had no problems with it, but over a week ago it began acting up and now the motion sensing stopped working completely. Funny thing is the cursor still works. I tried all the troubleshooting steps in the manual and nothing fixed it. Luckily I’m still under the 1 year hardware warranty so I sent it back t get a replacement controller (I’ve only had it 6 months and I only use it for about 30 min every other day). The customer support was a helpful and sent out a new one. Hopefully this one will last a bit longer! lol