When Nintendo finally made demos a permanent reality on WiiWare, I was optimistic. But that seems to have petered out with, at the time of writing, only one demo available, that being of 2009’s NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits. WiiWare in general is hardly flying high, too, with three or four releases a month of late – not all of which you’d strictly describe as games.
(Incidentally, it’s interesting to read the thoughts of a developer releasing a title on WiiWare later this month.)
So, faced with 500 Nintendo Points sitting in my account, what to do? It doesn’t buy much: a NES game on the Virtual Console; a few scraps on WiiWare. But one game stood out: Where’s Wally? Fantastic Journey 1. It’s cheap because it’s episodic – and because, you know, it’s only Where’s Wally.
Perhaps I was swayed in that direction because I kept seeing a group of lads all dressed as Wally at Reading Festival recently. Ironically, they were a helpful landmark for navigating through the crowd, such was the ease of finding them.
I digress. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but Wally’s natural home is on the pages of a book. Scrolling around the screen with a timer counting down misses the point somewhat: it doesn’t encourage quiet enjoyment of the scene as a whole, taking in the little details; you have to find what you’re told to and get on with it.
Not that there isn’t entertainment in that. Also, repeatedly being told, “You’ve got the magic!” is a lot of fun. The spot the difference games are a welcome addition too, if you like that sort of thing. Which apparently I do.
In any case, it kept me occupied for a good hour and a bit. Which, to be fair, is more than the Wii has managed in a while.