So here's the good news and the bad news (for us) from our latest hands-on with Wii Music: It's better than we thought, and we'll take a warm plate of crow with a gentle garnish of parsley.
What's gotten better about it since E3? Frankly, we attribute it to the demo itself. We won't bore you with details of E3 demo schedules, but we found out that Wii Music really isn't a game that you can show off in five minutes and appreciate its depth. Thanks to Nintendo's Steven Grimm, we got a significantly deeper play session than in LA, and we're a lot more confident in the game as a result.
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Wii Music is really onto something special. When I say this, I'm not just spouting empty hyperbole. I've been pretty critical of the game prior to last week's presentation, but I believe in it much more now. Most of that's thanks to the great demo that we all got, which was leagues ahead of the haphazard presentation at E3, which didn't serve our interests, nor (judging from feedback) spark too much interest in you, our readers.
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The real attraction from this hands-on came from the feeling of genuine discovery and learning that Wii Music encourages. I was thoroughly impressed by something that I think most of us hardcore gamers had written off as a baby's toy, because although it is most definitely a toy (as Miyamoto himself pointed out), there seems to be enough depth obscured by the simple controls to keep most gamers busy for quite awhile.