Heatseeker (Wii) - Review by skarma

Introduction

Heatseeker is what you get when you mix the fast-paced arcade racer Burnout with the likes of Ace Combat, a air combat series for the Playstation 2. Heatseeker is the Wii's first air combat game, though not entirely original as it is based off the same game on the Playstation 2. Developers Codemasters very rarely bring titles to Nintendo consoles, but with this, Micro Machines V4 and Create + Ride for the Nintendo DS, they seem to be embracing the Nintendo love. How does Codemasters' first Wii game pan out? And more importantly - does it kick ass?

Gameplay

Heatseeker is very fast paced and linear. Each mission sets you off with a seemingly innocent atmosphere, then gets you into the action by announcing that five or so enemy aircrafts are heading your way. Before each mission, you can select what aircraft you wish to choose (each with varying stats and so on) and missile set you want (some good against air, others land etc), and that's pretty much the only customization options you get. Pretty much every mission in the game is the same - kill everything that moves. Some missions (okay, alot) require you to scan an enemy beforehand, and then you can kill it. There is very little variation in gameplay, and the fact there is only one mode - Story Mode, cuts down the replay value by a whole lot. The lack of any sort of multiplayer is a real downer, and ultimately can make or break the game for you - since the main game is so repetetive.

Controls

Controls are very much as you would expect them, you aim at the screen where you want your craft to fly, which makes it possible for barrel rolls (in expert mode) and loop-de-loops. The afterburner is controller with the nunchucks analog stick, which is actually very satisfying holding it up or down to speed up your craft. The real problem comes in with more complex missions, and thanks to the lack of buttons on the Wii remote, can make controlling a real pain in the backside.

For example, you have to push one of the D-Pad directions to select an ally aircraft, and then another D-Pad direction to set it to do something. Other combinations require pushing the same direction twice to zoom in, and can get rather confusing. This is where a classic control method would have come in handy - since there are generally more buttons on them. Another not-so-effective method of control is the forced waggle. To deploy your flares or avoid missiles requires you to quickly jerk the nunchuck or Wii remote to the left or right, this can be a real hassle when in the middle of an intense dogfight. What's even worse is the fact that it sometimes can't detect a jerk, while can completely destroy your craft and make you fail the mission all together. The developers should have really worked on the Wii controls for this, or at least provided an option for classic controller support, though as previousely stated by a Shinen coder, Nintendo might have forced them to not include a classic control method to get the full use out of the Wii remote.

Graphics

Visually Heatseeker is a bit of a mixed bag. Since it was effectively ported over from the Playstation 2 we can't expect it to push the graphical power of the Wii to the maximum. While in the air, players can see enemy aircraft and distant land many miles away. The draw distance is very good, however, it doesn't exactly blow you away since there is really not a lot to see out at sea (which is where most of the battling is located). The textures on the aircraft models have a fair amount of detail on them, even when close up. However, while near the land, the graphics crash and burn. Ugly low resolution textures for houses and roads, and the trees are displayed in beautiful cardboard cut-out style 2D. This can be forgiven though as once in the air, many neat special effects come into play. When firing a missle, you can activate an 'Impact Cam', which basically follows the missile and zooms in on where it hits. Whats even cooler is occasionally, when an aircraft is destroyed, the camera spans around it and replays the aircrafts destruction with each individual part flying everywhere with realistic smoke trails which look really nice when flying through them. Another neat effect is when you shift the afterburner to maximum, the whole screen flashes for a second and everything is blurred while your cruising at a high speed. The array of blur-effects and pointless replays really makes the game shine in the graphics department.

Sound

Generic rock music plays through all of the menus, cut scenes and dogfights. Music that does ultimately go with the game but entirely forgettable. Sound is nice enough, with satisfying explosions and gunshots, but the lack of Dolby Pro-Logic is a real bugger, and the fact they didn't include this option is unforgivable. Thankfully, the game's cutscenes are fully voiced, which do a decent job of keeping you up with the action and whats going on.

Final comments

While a good attempt at a combat-sim, and the first for the Wii, it is ultimately let down by the repetetiveness of the gameplay and awkward control schemes. Worth a rent, but I can't see this game lasting you very long at all, especially due to the severe lack of gameplay modes and a multiplayer of any sort.

Pro: Nice graphical effects, action-packed and fast
Con: Ugly ground textures, linear gameplay and awkward controls.
Final score: 7.6

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