Improving the Wii Remote sounds like a fool's errand. With a blocky design, a few buttons, a protective jacket and a leash, there's very little to improve, right?



Meet the Nyko Wand, a Wii Remote controller that promises a few improvements that enhance your Wii gaming experiences. At first glance, the well-known rectangular design is a carbon copy of its Nintendo cousin with larger and colored buttons for in-game actions. Bigger buttons do make it slightly easier to press during games and moving the Home button slightly north of the + and – keys seems like a better solution. The D-pad has also been designed from the classic Nintendo four-way D-pad design with a focus on the positions between left, right, up and down. Underneath, the Wand features a rubberized battery cover and a large rubberized "B" button.



One unique feature is Nyko's Trans-Port technology which allows players to use digital signals from other Trans-Port enabled devices via three metal touch areas underneath the Wand's Nunchuk plug. So while your light gun kit may work just fine, having that trigger turned digital, players would be able to shoot faster and more often. Of course, this currently means that you'd only be able to use such a feature with other Nyko devices.

Found at GameStop for $29.99, $5 less than the Nintendo Wii Remote, it's also a good way to save money for your next game. And if you're a light gun fanatic, the Nyko Action Pak ($45) adds a pistol grip attachment that uses the Trans-Port technology for faster trigger responses.



During our testing with the device over the past few weeks, we can report that there are no real flaws with the Wii Remote apart from the device powering down faster than the Wii Remote when it wasn't in use (annoying in one regard, though more energy friendly.) Encapsulated in a protective blue jacket that features more padding at the front, it even bounces off the floor just like the Wii Remote. That's not all bad considering that some third party peripherals are often plagued by cheaper plastic cases with buttons that squirm all over the place and parts that break off long before they should. Nyko's Wand might not shake up how the Wii Remote works but with bigger buttons and a lower price, it's a true contender for your living room.