This page isn’t part of a traditional review, and is meant to offer advice in case you’re considering ordering a CrossFire online, or you already have one and are having problems with it.
Online ordering: Be careful about this, many online retailers are still offering the old CrossFire; you don’t want that one, since it’s pretty much a 50-50 chance as to whether it will work for you. The new one is what you’re after, so if you do order online, be sure to verify beforehand which version you’re getting. If the retailer can’t do that and you order anyway, be sure to check the back of the package before opening it. It will specifically mention that it is MotionPlus compatible, whereas the old version points out it isn’t compatible. If you got an old version, return it unopened.
Calibration troubleshooting: While the updated CrossFire has calibration of similar accuracy to the first-party Wiimote, both controllers may require a few extra steps be taken in order to get good ’point and shoot’ results in gun games. If you find that the barrel of the CrossFire and where your IR cursor actually points are two wildly different things, here are a few tips.
- First, understand that a 1:1 match is virtually impossible. This is just a limitation of the technology, so if you find that aiming down the sights gets you something very slightly off from where the pointer is, the product is working correctly and performing about as well as it can. This is just an inherent limitation in gun products on the Wii due to how the IR sensing works and there is only so much anyone can do for it. But if your results are wildly inaccurate and the gun isn’t useful for shooting games at all, then try the following solutions.
- Step back. If you’re too close to the TV (or rather, the Wii’s sensor bar), then you’re going to have problems. This is true of the regular Wiimote too; try standing really close to the TV while navigating the Wii main menu, and you’ll notice it’s pretty hard. Get further back and you should have better results. If this doesn’t work, tinker with where you place the sensor bar; perhaps putting it below the TV (if previously above) or above (if previously below) will help.
- Check your lighting conditions. Do you have any unusual types of light in the room? Remember that Wii controllers use IR (infrared) technology, so anything disrupting that will disrupt your CrossFire as well. Try turning off or moving various lights if possible, or moving any of the following: Yourself (and thus the CrossFire), the Wii sensor bar, and/or TV itself. The real important links in this are a clean connection between the CrossFire and the sensor bar, but unusual lighting conditions can prevent that from happening.
- Check your batteries. This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how easy this is to overlook. The CrossFire feeds on AA batteries just like a regular Wiimote does, so change them out for fresh ones if necessary.
- If you’re getting no response at all, and have fresh batteries, remember that this does need to be synchronized with your Wii. Open the SD Card panel (near the disc slot on the Wii), and turn the system on. Once you’re at the main menu, press the red button inside, then press the red button on your CrossFire (you may need a pencil or paper clip for this). It should work normally at that point.
MotionPlus troubleshooting: There are really only two problems that could come up when using a MotionPlus with the CrossFire. They are...
- Can’t plug the MotionPlus in at all? In this case you have an old model CrossFire. There is nothing to be done for this other than getting the updated CrossFire.
- MotionPlus plugs in insecurely, and at an oddly 90 degree turned angle from what you’d expect? This is what happens if you try to plug it in without the adapter. Fortunately there is an adapter included; it’s hidden under the package labeling talking about "intuitive button layout" in the bottom left corner. Cut above that and fish the adapter out. Once you plug that in, you can hook the MotionPlus into the adapter and it will work fine for most games. Bear in mind there are a few games this odd shape isn’t suited for, but it works with most of them once you get used to it.
