Now that we’ve got the Wii, I’ve been looking into getting a gun shell so that I can truly enjoy shooters like Splinter Cell Double Agent. So far, these are the only ones I’ve managed to find.

The Wii Blaster

The Wii Blaster ($19.99 MSRP)  looks like a futuristic shotgun with a cheesy NES retro look to it. The Wii Remote goes in at the front of the gun, while the Nunchuk goes into the rear. The cool thing about this shell is that you break it open in the middle much like you would a real shotgun. It’s not an official Nintendo product, but it looks like it could do the job. With the longer barrel and the front weight with the Remote offset by the length of the barrel and handle/Nunchuk, it might be pretty accurate to use for games.

Gun Hazard Light Gun Cradle

This shell is the one that I’ve actually had my hands on, so to speak, as my local store (VGMX) carries these for $9.99. Like the above unit, it holds both the Remote and Nunchuk. As you can see from the picture, it’s a pretty compact unit, and it actually feels good to hold. There’ some solid weight to it, but you can easily hold it close to your body meaning that your arms don’t get too tired too quickly when using this. This is most likely the shell I’m going to pick up.

Lightgun with Nunchuk PassThrough

This shell looks and feels more like a real gun, but it suffers from the problem of not seating the Nunchuk directly into the actual unit. This means that you’re going to be unable to grip the unit with both hands and you’re still going to have to hold the Nunchuk on one hand while aiming the shell with the other. It may make things a bit easier when firing onscreen, but I think the lack of a Nunchuk cradle will make this shell a little harder to use than any others. For games that don’t require the Nunchuk, it might be something to look at.

Joytech Wii Sharp Shooter Lightgun

This shell looks like it stepped out of the 80s, but that’s probably just due to the color scheme. Like the Gun Hazard shell above, it contains both the Remote and the Nunchuk in the unit making it easy to aim and use. I’m not sold on the color scheme though. It seems that everyone wants to go with Old Skool Nintendo colors when it comes to these peripherals. I suppose the color scheme isn’t important as long as it does what it’s supposed to do at the end of the day.

Nintendo Wii Zapper

This is the official shell from Nintendo, and to be honest, I’m not exactly sure quite what to make of it. It looks as if they’ve taken the laser guns from the V miniseries and used it as the basis for the shell. Either that or someone though that a Tommy Gun knockoff would be good. In all fairness though, this probably would feel like you’re holding a submachine gun such as an MP-5, so it’s probably going to feel good playing certain games. In the pic you can see how the Nunchuk cable snakes around and under the rear handle. The irony is that Nintendo hasn’t released this yet, although many other companies have released theirs. No doubt it will sell though because it has the Nintendo name on it. Pic courtesy of Engagdet.

These are only some of the currently available shells that you can get (apart from the official Nintendo one – go figure), and I’m sure there are going to be a lot more, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see knock-offs of actual existing gun models appearing in the future. Each of these shells sells for around $10-20, but the question you’ll have to ask yourself is whether they’ll enhance your gameplay that much and whether you really need them. Having played Splinter Cell Double Agent on the Wii, I can honestly say that the controls do take some getting used to, especially when having both hands be apart from each other. Because I’m right-handed, I was holding the Remote in my right hand and the Nunchuk in my left. With one of these shells that integrate both parts of the controller I should be able to play the game a lot better because moving around and aiming will be much more natural.

Categories: Play // 382Add Comment »http://iam.tehbagder.com/2007/07/25/play-wii-game-gun-shells/Play%3A+Wii+Game+Gun+Shells2007-07-25+11%3A54%3A10Teh+Bagder