Way back at E3 2006, months before the Wii launched that fall, Nintendo showed off a pretty cool looking prototype of a possible design for a Wii Zapper. The pistol-like design looked sexy and highly reminiscent of the original Zapper for the NES. Somewhat disappointingly however, the pistol was dropped in favor of a new tommy-gun looking design that premiered at E3 2007 to
rather under whelmed hands on reports.
Today we've finally got the hardware in the office for official review, and unfortunately, nothing has changed.
Our big complaint with the Wii Zapper has always been the fact that Nintendo pursued the tommy gun layout, which is the cause of every one of the Zapper's problems. The biggest of these is the implementation of a plastic trigger in the forward grip that presses against the Wiimote's own B trigger. In use this connection doesn't work well, as the mechanical trigger has a very squishy, imprecise throw that makes it really difficult to tell when the actual button is depressed. The issue is exacerbated in gameplay moments that require rapid shooting, as all too often the trigger doesn't fully extend in between shots, which mean you'll only end up getting about half as many bullets or cross bow bolts out of your weapon as you think you should.
To Nintendo's credit, the Zapper is by far the highest quality lightgun bracket available in terms of general build quality. The white plastic is lightly textured in grip areas and feels high quality overall. The Wiimote is secured quite well via a pair of grey plastic spring-loaded hooks that latch into it in the holes to either side of the Nunchuck connection point. The Nuncuck, too, is nicely secured in its place by plastic shivs that extend into the screw recesses. A protected wire run leads from the Nunchuck and into a space behind the forward grip where it can be coiled conveniently before jutting out the side to make the connection to the Wiimote.
Were the Zapper sold individually, we might suggest avoiding it in favor of a more adaptable third-party model. Such is not the case however, as the Zapper is bundled with Link's Crossbow Training, which is tons of fun. As such, we're pretty sure the Zapper will find its way into masses of homes. The telling issue will be how long owners will care to use it before abandoning the bracket altogether in favor of free hand shooting. We suspect not long.
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Well sucks for the Zapper so much promise and didn't live up to the expectations.
I'll still try it out, though. $20 for the Zapper and Link's Crossbow Training is a steal.
The trigger in the front would be ideal for me.
GameGrep is never going to go anywhere if this nonsense continues.
This new design looks ... odd, to say the least. I can't imagine how I could hold that comfortably.