From the moment I first took my Wii out of its box, I knew there was one thing I didn't like about it – the sensor bar. When I looked at it, the sensor bar looked fairly small and cheap, the sticky stuff on the bottom didn't work right, and overall I hated it. Thankfully, third party manufacturers like Nyko come along and fix everything. Thank you Nyko…thank you.

Obviously, the intended target for the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar was not yours truly. Instead, the Wireless Sensor Bar was made for those whose televisions and Wii system weren't in the same place, as the original Nintendo one is bound by wires, which means that if your system and entertainment setup (say a wall mounted plasma television) aren't within reach of each other, well, no Wii for you. With Nyko's Wireless Sensor Bar, however, now that issue is a thing of the past.

As for the actual bullet points of the product, it works up to 25 feet away, the bar works on four AA batteries (included with the product), and then to top things all off you get 30 hours of battery life. I can't really give a great estimate of the 25 feet away reliability, mainly because I don't have a single room that is even that long or wide, but I can tell you that we didn't notice any problems with the system being unable to read the remote movements, and there wasn't any jerkiness either during play (we tested it with Red Steel, where precision aiming is an important factor, and the only time our play messed up was because of the game and not the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar).

As mentioned, I wasn't a fan of the original Nintendo sensor bar. My problem with the original was that the sticky stuff that was supposed to keep the unit held firmly in check, peeled off and failed to remain stuck to the surface, which is a makeshift shelf that my television sits on. Directly underneath my television, on another portion of the stand, is where my Wii sits. Now, two and two means that my sensor bar was connected by a wire that went straight up – the problem with this scenario was that the wire itself was actually heavier than the sensor bar, so if my wire wasn't draped over the edge just perfectly, it would turn my sensor bar, completely screwing up the effectiveness of my sensor bar to recognize my proper controller movements. With Nyko's Wireless Sensor Bar, however, that problem has been lifted indefinitely, as there are no wires to hang down, forcing the bar to turn, plus, though there are sticky tabs on the bottom of the Nyko unit as well, for the purposes I need the weight added to the system by the four AA batteries weighs it down enough so that it sits firmly in place and hasn't budged an inch since I received it.

One potential drawback of the system is the battery life, where you'll have to put four batteries into the product after every 30 hours, which can add up to a lot of batteries, what with the battery zappage of the Wii remotes themselves. The thing about the batteries for me is that A) if you need this product to play the Wii, you'll gladly fork them over, and B) the product is so well made, I'll gladly cash in some dollars for a pack of batteries, if it will eliminate the hassle my original sensor bar has given. Now the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar must be turned on manually, which is easily done by the press of a button. Once you're done playing, the same button will easily turn the product off by holding it down for a little. Another nice feature is that should you forget after using the sensor bar to turn it off, by flicking a switch on the back ahead of time, the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar will make an audible noise at either one or two hour intervals to remind you to turn it off. Hey, you're already worried about spending money on those batteries to supply the sensor bar, at least it has the courtesy to try and help your pocketbook.

Another thing about the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar – and you can call me shallow if you want – is that it is just a sexy unit, making the original one from Nintendo the cousin you take to the prom because you can't get a real date – the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar is that proverbial captain of the football team or head cheerleader on the other hand. I mean, there isn't much difference, other than the dimensions as the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar is thicker, longer, and wider (we're talking about a sensor bar people…sensor bar!), because the color scheme is perfectly exact, with the same gray top and black front (with a bit of small Nyko branding on the far left). Plus, when powered on, a bright blue light like that on the Wii lights up, showing just how much it belongs to be working side-by-side with the Wii console. We say again, the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar is just sexy.

Look, if you have to buy it because that is the only way you'll be able to get your game on, then go out there and buy it, because this bad boy works great. However, besides that market, if you found yourself like me, having problems with the original sensor bar and cursing it in frustration, then you should 100% be proud in a purchase of the Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar as well. Listen to me when I say this – I love this product. When I heard the idea of the product, I shrugged my shoulders because I didn't think it was for me, seeing as how my entertainment rig is less than fancy or sophisticatedly high tec. However, since getting the unit, I can honestly say I can never see myself ever going back to the original Nintendo sensor bar. The Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar is functional and sexy – what more could you want?

RATING:
Our Scoring System