Wii Gamers' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Video Game Review

Introducing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for the Wii

We have been combarded with less than stellar Wii video games based on a successful movie in the last year, after seeing entertaining movies like Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We were offered video games based on these titles that had a few good moments but no where near the potential witnessed in the original movie. The Wii version of G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra is the latest Wii action adventure video game based on a popular and financially successful movie. If you have seen G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra the movie then you realize the potential of a video game based on the action in this outstanding action adventure movie.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Game Play (2 out of 5)

The Wii version of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is the latest Wii video game based on a popular and entertaining action adventure movie with game play that has obvious inadequacies. The idea is sound enough but the desecration of this popular 80’s children’s cartoon turned movie starts with a camera set up that’s so bad that at times your character and the characters you’re battling won’t even be on the screen. In addition, the targeting mechanic is a hit or miss affair that appears to be random. You’ll have to repeatedly point and shoot to hit anything, and when you do hit something, you can’t repeat the motion and expect to consistently hit your target. They did include vehicles for you to drive around the environments in but they’re no fun to drive. The cover system included didn’t always consider me covered when I thought I was completely protected from fire. This was annoying; especially since this system wasn’t consistent, and it made playing this Wii title no fun at times. Overall, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra had the potential to be a title with game play as good as any video game on the list of the 5 best Wii games for hardcore gamers. After playing the video game, I am not sure what happened?

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: Game Graphics (2 out of 5)

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for the Wii has Playstation quality cut scenes with very poor rendering. The detail included in the environments of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is average. All the environments are unique enough but the lighting effects and shadow effects are a little bright. You’ll come across power-ups and other items in the environments that are unreachable and hover just out of your reach.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Sound Quality (2 out of 5)

G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra for the Wii doesn’t include the music score from the movie, instead they included a generic score of barely entertaining songs that occasionally match the action occurring on screen. They also stayed consistent with their choice for the sound effects by including gunfire and explosive effects that are dull and boring.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Wii Controls (2 out of 5)

G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra has a control system that just doesn’t work very well, which is game over for most action adventure titles. Be prepared to deal with several Wii remote accidents due to frustration. The camera system included becomes totally uncontrollable if you play this game on a difficulty setting above the default setting. Playing a video game with a static camera that you have no control over is no fun. The aiming mechanism has a lock-on feature but the target that you lock onto is usually determined by the game. You do get to make the motions using a flick of your wrist left or right but prepared for the lock on to target the explosive barrels next to your target or another object in the environment. The control system for the vehicles you drive only works in two directions efficiently, either up or down and it doesn’t always respond when you make a motion. They could have implemented the Wii MotionPlus accessory in this video game but they would have to fix the control system first.

One Last Word on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for the Wii (2 out of 5)

G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra for the Wii is another video game based on an entertaining movie that appears to have been developed in order to take advantage of the popularity of the movie and make a few quick bucks. A below average production that isn’t recommended for anybody to play. If you had never played a video game, you would probably think it was fun and entertaining.