Wii

After many weeks of waiting with great anticipation, we have at long last purchased a Wii, thanks in no small part to the efforts of my wife, who often searched for one and at last ended up at the right place and the right time. Not only do we have the system itself, but we’ve also got four Remotes (or Wiimotes), two Nunchucks and an assortment of games.

Of all the games that we own for the system, my favorite is The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. I enjoy the simple puzzles of the game, like figuring out how to open doors or where to find certain items, but there’s also the game-play aspect. With Zelda, you are swinging your arm to wield Link’s sword, yet the movements of the character are accomplished through the familiar turns of a small, thumb joystick on the Nunchuck controller. I don’t know if I would rank this Zelda as the best ever (though the technical achievements of this game are the most advanced) because I can still recall the days when I played the original Zelda on NES and The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past on Super NES. Both of those games were remarkable in their days, and I can’t just knock them out of contention because their graphics are less or because they’re flat, 2-D games.

The myriad of uses for the Wii controllers becomes apparent with Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. This is a game of utterly ridiculous mini-games, such as shredding a cell phone, helping Granny put her false teeth in or washing a cow. The entertainment is just as much in laughing at the overall silliness of each mini-game as it is in successfully completing it.

Another feature of the Wii is that it allows users to create cartoonish characters in their own likeness (called Miis). Users can then play as their Mii in some of the games, such as Wii Sports. This is taking “Enter your name” to the next level.

The Wii is the most innovative game system to date. When connected to the Internet, it allows for downloads of much older Nintendo games (though at the moment there are only a few titles available), displays weather forecasts and allows you to share your Miis with other Wii owners (you can even have parades of all the Miis that have come into your system). For those on the fence about getting a Wii, I highly recommend it as a fun video game system, regardless of whether or not you have any skills at playing video games. If you can move your arms, you can play the games. Some games might be too challenging for newer gamers, so use your own discretion.