It's like a Zapper, only it's a Blaster (and it sucks)
by Eric Caoili 
{ Nov 9th 2007 at 8:00PM }
The Wii Game Blaster seems to get just about everything wrong with its design:
- It looks more like a handheld vacuum cleaner than a firearm. Zombies would guffaw at the sight of it in between their attempts to lunge at you and gnaw on your arm.
- The shell uses the nunchuck's buttons as the trigger, not the Wii remote's B-button. You might as well not use a Zapper at all, shooting at the screen with finger guns instead.
- Because most of the weight is in its barrel, you would need wrists of steel to hold the piece up with one hand for any longer than five minutes.
"Is this Game Blaster worth--"
"No."
Despite its faults, the Game Blaster manages to fulfill the sole requirement we have for every light gun shell: Can we act out the Terminator 2 chase scene with it? You know which one we're talking about, when Edward Furlong is on his dirt bike, trying to get away from the T-1000. Arnold Schwarzenegger rides in to rescue the kid, firing away with his shotgun. Remember that? Well, you don't have to; we've pasted it past the break!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ghen @ Nov 9th 2007 8:34PM
frigging awesome. Every post should have a terminator clip until there are none left.
HawthorneKitty @ Nov 9th 2007 9:03PM
Personally, I would rather get the Zapper.
religiousjedi @ Nov 9th 2007 10:26PM
One of the greatest parts in the movie...
And I so wanna do that with this peripheral... :D
hvnlysoldr @ Nov 9th 2007 10:35PM
I'll be back. I have detailed files.
Your parents are already dead. It's what I would have done.
Now who's the d*psh*t?
more quotes that would necessitate cutting this comment out
Fullmetal Salchemist @ Nov 9th 2007 11:46PM
"It looks more like a handheld vacuum cleaner than a firearm."
As opposed to the official Zapper that looks like a college student's shitty sculpture project?
Brello @ Nov 10th 2007 1:40AM
I love that scene! Oh right, the peripheral, no thanks.
Joe @ Nov 10th 2007 8:45AM
I have to agree with Fullmetal Salchemist. The Wii Zaper really is not great at all. I would have prefered a new item that looks and works like the old one on the NES.
Plus if I am not mistaken Arnold played the T101 in Terminator.
DaiMac79 @ Nov 10th 2007 12:13PM
@Joe: nope, Arnold is a T-800 model.
SoshiKitai @ Nov 10th 2007 11:25PM
I don't see what's so bad about the Wii Zapper. Sure, it's not a gun you can pride yourself in... it's not even a gun, it's just a sculpture-thing to turn your controls into gun. And I understand that's not really kickawesome or anything...
But you gotta admit, out of all the pseudo-zappers and 3rd party guns, the Wii Zapper is the one that most fits with the fashion of the Wii. And in the end, that's what they would've wanted.
Grant W. @ Nov 13th 2007 7:21PM
The trigger being on the nunchuck makes more sense than the Zapper using the WiiRemote's trigger. I mean, all firearms have the trigger being pulled by the BACK hand, not the one in front...
funkchild @ Nov 12th 2007 2:50PM
There's one aspect of this that trumps the zapper - if it is held like a shotgun, the wii remote buttons are accessible while the thing is in use. This gives developers many more options in terms of in-game actions.
It also looks like there's some sort of 'quick release' between the nunchuck and remote. This may allow for separate motion control functions for the two halves of the controller.
If this design became the standard, then a light gun shell would begin to make sense. in most of the other iterations of wii-light-gun design, the buttons are inaccessible when the gun shell is properly held.
the wii remote buttons are effective swapped for light gun functionality. the inclusion of both would really widen the possibilities in terms of game design. why sacrifice one for the other when both can be attained?
Mezstizo @ Dec 6th 2007 5:33PM
I disagree. I think the Dreamgear is an innovative design that tries to incorporate as many games as possible. Consider this, RE4, what gun can you use while pressing the B and A buttons? Red Steel, the gun easily detaches so that you could do the sword fights. COD3, you can tilt the barrel (wii mote) so that you can lean in the game. No other gun allows you to even attempt to play these games. Truthfully, I think the button scheme just doesn't allow for comfortable play with any gun attachment. What we really need is a true gun controller that is designed with the buttons in right places. Peace!