by Vinny (Rick's son)

As many know, about a year and a half ago, Nintendo released their new gaming console, the Wii. It features motion sensing controllers, the internet, a weather channel, a news channel, and loads of cool games. The Wii has also hit a new crowd of gamers, the elderly. Many nursing homes have bought Wii's since they aren't your average games. But is it really that good?

We just got one about a week ago (thanks to a kind listener of my Dad's show), and its already impressing me. The easy setup took around 10-15 minutes to get up and running, while there were about 10 more minutes getting the information on it, like its name, and what time it is. We also chose to hook up to the Internet, which will take 20 minutes to get the update and to get connected. After all this was done I made a Mii, which is a character that you can play as in a few games like Wii sports. The tools worked great, and the sensing was a lot easier than I expected.

After all that was setup, it was time to start playing some games. The first one I tried was Wii sports, which is a collection of 5 games that involve moving around. Here are the sports in my order from favorite to least favorite, boxing, tennis, baseball, bowling, and golf. Now, that ranking is just my opinion since I do like more action based games. They are all fun, but sometimes the controller doesn't pick up your movements, so your punch doesn't go through. Wii sports also has a fitness tool that lets you play 3 mini-games that are supposed to work you out. This is a great idea, but they don't really do a good job of giving you a sweat, since the only sport that has made me get sore was boxing after playing 4 or so matches in a row. This game is pretty good, and seeing as it comes with the console, it is a great deal.

Well, the day after we got the Wii, I decided to pick up a copy of Zelda Twilight Princess. This is an action game that involves going into dungeons, killing foes with a sword, and those kind of things. I must say that the graphics are very good, but nowhere near the Xbox 360. The gameplay is excellent, and the story is very good. Now, there are only two small concerns I have with this game. For one, the camera sometimes gets in the way so I can't see what I'm doing, and its very challenging at times. Sometimes, it is unclear what you need to do next, and I just get stuck. Luckily, ign.com offers a walk through that goes through the whole game, letting you know where to go.

Overall, the Wii itself has no problems. It doesn't have the graphics like the 360 or PS3, but the game play makes up for that. I think that people of all ages would enjoy it, and I would recommend it to anyone who has free time on their hands.

Thanks again NOAMike!

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