Dolphin Emulator

There are many great games out there, but not all of them can be played on the same platform. You may see an ad or trailer for a certain game, but you may find out that it is available only for the Nintendo Wii or other consoles. If you are not sure about buying a console, using an emulator on your PC is a good way to see what you can expect from certain consoles. This is the case with Dolphin Emulator. It gives you the possibility of playing games intended for the Nintendo Wii and GameCube on your computer. The application brings a few enhancements as well, like compatibility with PC controllers, increased speed and support for network multiplayer.

Dolphin Emulator is an open source project, so you can use it free of charge. The software doesn't need to be installed, so all you have to do is extract its files and run an executable. Also, Dolphin Emulator works straight out of the box, so there is no need to install any additional tools or services.

On the surface, the software looks quite simple, but you can find numerous configuration options, in several menus. The main user interface is kept clean and simple, so you can start importing and playing ROMs right away. You can either browse for a ROM, on a standard Open dialog and play it immediately or you can import several ROMs onto the interface and keep track of them.

Imported games are displayed in a list, along with their banners and other details, like size or state. You can start playing a listed game just by selecting its entry and clicking a Play button, located on a toolbar. While the game is running, you can switch to full screen mode, take snapshots or stop the game, with options from the same toolbar. The games themselves can be played on a separate window, with a keyboard, GameCube pad or with a Wiimote.

On a modern-day computer, you can try out Wii and GameCube games without noticing any significant impact on your computer's performance. Furthermore, the program allows you to make all sorts of settings, on several tabbed menus. You can make sound and video tweaks, set up different devices in each GameCube slot or port, reconfigure the controls for the GameCube pad or the Wiimote and much more.