Rev Impresiones del Pad de IGN (ya han jugado)

Demo #1: Point and Shoot
Like a laser pointer, the main controller was used to move a simple cursor on the TV screen and shoot square blocks for points. It was simple, merely colored lines in 2D, but effective. It was easy to get a feel for just how sensitive the device is -- it responded to all the movements quickly and smoothly. We did feel the need to use two hands, however, to steady it and improve accuracy, but that only lends to the idea of just how sensitive it is.

Demo #2: Fishing
Much more advanced than just a simple cursor, this revealed how the controller can navigate a 3D space, moving an object on the TV screen not only left, right, up, and down, but also forward and backwards with depth. Players simply use the hand cursor on the screen to pick up a fishing pole and dip its line into a pond full of fish. Like nearly all of the demos, this was very crude, so don't go imagining fishing on the Ocarina of Time level just yet -- this was like a coloring book with flat fish in the water. The visual medium wasn't the point, though. It was pretty intuitive to just reach forward with our virtual hand, pick up the rod, and then dip the hook into the pond and dangle it there. When a fish finally bit, the remote rumbled, which was the cue to tug back on the controller to catch it. As it was only a prototype controller, it was wired because rumble was not in the wireless versions yet.

Demo #3: Shock Stick
Like the first, this was to show how you can point and move something. It was a bit like the board game Operation, only instead of navigating tweezers you navigated a rotating stick through a two-dimensional cave. The skill was to keep a steady hand, collect coins, and avoid hitting the walls. Small springboards on the side would change the direction of the spin of the stick, which aided in creating a strategy for navigating around things.

Demo #4: Air Hockey
This blended basic pointing with something new: twisting. As you might imagine, players hit a puck back and forth by maneuvering their "hockey sticks" with the controller. The catch was that by twisting your wrist, left or right, you could angle the stick to send the puck in another direction. Twisting, in addition to hitting was actually pretty difficult in this demo. It worked to a point, but it also lacked the intuitiveness that a real table would have. It seemed mainly aimed at familiarizing us with the notion of twisting the remote to turn things.

Demo #5: Basketball
Again, this focused on laser pointer style controls. The game was to simply move a basketball around on the court, not by bouncing it, but instead dragging it by pressing the B-trigger in back of the remote to create an indent. The ball rolled into the crevice, and you could drag it towards the hoops. Then, with the A-button, you could reverse the indent, creating a hill and pop the ball upwards toward the hoop. It was a simple two-player game, but worked to show off the sensitivity of the cursor and how it was interacting with another player in the same space. Surprisingly, it was easy to keep track of where you were on the court, allowing for blocks and steals.

Demo #6: Toy Plane
Set in the watery hub of Mario Sunshine, this demonstrated that not all controls are created equal. The remote could be held like a toy airplane, fingertips support its base, which allowed the player to tilt it forwards to dip down, back to gain elevation, and twist it left or right to turn turn. The objective was just to steer the plane through rings in the sky. Of course the first thing that came to mind was Pilotwings, so it's easy to see how these simple applications of the controller could be grown into something more complex. It was pretty intuitive to pull off dips and quick turns. Miyamoto joked that you could have a controller peripheral shaped like a toy plane to really make it interesting.

Demo #7: Where's Pikachu?
One of the crudest demos, the screen displayed a flat map with many Pokemon characters crowded together on it. It was a spoof on Where's Waldo, the famous find-the-needle-in-the-haystack illustrated book. The controller lent the ability to look left and right by just pointing the cursor across the map, but also zooming in by moving towards the screen (or zooming back out by moving away). One can imagine how a sniper rifle in a first-person shooter might take advantage of those kinds of controls.
Demo 8: First Person Shooting
So, we lied -- not all of the demonstrations were completely crude graphics. For the final demo, the one that most represented how a game might feel with the Revolution controller, Nintendo displayed what was apparently a test by the team at Retro Studios for what they could do with Metroid Prime 3. They stressed it was just a test, quickly thrown together in just a few weeks. For this, the analog control stick peripheral was used. We held it in our left hand to control the forwards, backwards, and side-strafing motions, as well as having access to triggers in back for scanning; meanwhile, the right hand used the main Revolution remote control to behave just like a mouse on a personal computer. It was a very natural application and felt pretty smooth, but since it wasn't a polished game it did feel a bit awkward at times, making us wonder what kind of things a developer could do to calibrate these kinds of controls for users. Nonetheless, the potential is absolutely huge for the FPS genre. If Nintendo can execute on that potential, Revolution could easily become the ultimate platform for shooters.

A Bold Move
This concluded the demonstrations. At which point a mix of excitement and confusion set in. This is a bold step for Nintendo. Games tailor made for Revolution will be fundamentally different from anything on the market, which seems to be a goal of this impressive new device. The other is to enhance the gameplay exprience.

It's easy to believe that third parties could be alienated by this device. However, the good news is that Nintendo has thought of that potential drawback and taken measures to address it. The Big N has developed a conventional controller shell that, according to executives, looks more like a Wave Bird. The "pointer" remote can be inserted into this shell so that more traditional games can be enjoyed as they always have. Obviously, it will be this shell that enables players to experience Super NES and N64 games on the platform. The even better news is that because the sensory functionality of the device remains operational even when it's in the shell, games like Madden could actually be expanded. Imagine, for instance, having access to all of the controls of a standard controller plus 3D movement options. Icon passing just got a whole lot easier.

Nintendo will have a lot to prove when it finally chooses to reveal real, polished software that's supposed to represent how Revolution will play. That is going to be the crux of Revolution entirely, because without a consistently fluid experience, this could also easily be a flash in the pan or something altogether frustrating. We have to wonder how it might be holding your arm in the air for an hour or more, and if that will cause any frustration.

On the flipside, though, the demos set our minds abuzz. It's easy to imagine why Nintendo is so heavily invested in the idea. There is such great potential to do so many unique things. Playing a real-time strategy game like Starcraft would be extremely fluid and intuitive. Mario Party, we're sure you can guess, will finally be a completely new experience. What of Zelda or Mario? No word yet, but imagine swinging your sword in Zelda instead of pressing buttons. Or, in Mario, imagine having to grab blocks and build platforms. Also, since the controller flips on its side to work very much like a NES pad, it would be interesting to mix up gameplay and throw in an old-school challenge.

This doesn't even explore the possibility of accessories. Nintendo wasn't making any announcement, but as an example Miyamoto commented you could hook it up to bongo drums or something else. Everyone agreed a Samba de Amigo would be perfect as well, to which Miyamoto-san confirmed, "Mr. Naka [at Sega] really likes this controller." What if you could use two controllers at once for Fight Night or a new Punch Out? How about if Namco release a gun peripheral for a new Time Crisis, where you moved with the left analog and lifted, aimed, and reloaded your gun as if it was real? The list could go on and on, but we're sure you're already starting to gather your own ideas.

Finally, you'll want to take some time to examine the main remote. We got to handle this prototype, which Nintendo says is pretty close to the final design. It feels very comfortable and, as you can see, looks sleek too. Nintendo was unwilling to comment on what the "Home" button does, but it's likely a place to manage classic games you've downloaded, online games, and hopefully much more. Also, if you're wondering, there's no set limit on the distance one can use the remote yet, but Nintendo has tested it on up to 80"-100" screens and says it works fantastically. It can be used on tubes, LCDs, plasma, projection or any kind of screen because the sensor is connected like a flat antenna under the display. They are still working on the details of what kinds of options users will have for placement. So, there's also no reason HDTV wouldn't work with this technology -- here's hoping Nintendo decides to support it in the final system.

It's all about real games, though. Nintendo itself has always said that it's the software that's most important. We'll take the optimistic side and assume that Nintendo has really nailed the technology. If it has, playing Revolution should be unlike anything else out there. Mario will never be the same. But it's going to be up to these real games -- like Super Smash Bros. -- to prove why this is a revolutionary step and not just a way of being different. At the very least, starting right now, the development community is going to have a lot to think about. Whatever games are on Revolution, they are basically guaranteed to provide a totally different experience. And for that, we're beaming with anticipation.