Wii, first reactions...

I will not post on ministry while on vacation, I will not post on ministry while on vacation....

Back in August I finally located a Wii at a local Target and purchased one. I'd been keeping my eyes open since the spring, knowing that there was a shortage of units and that this was going to be our big family present this Christmas, so when I found one I got on the phone with my wife right away.

For the last several months the Wii's been sitting in our basement as my wife and I gradually completed the package of controllers, games, and a charging station. It's not seen the light of day, and that's where it was going to stay until Christmas Eve (we were going to set it up on Christmas Eve and unveil it to the kids Christmas morning). What I have found, however, is that I have a cool wife.

I'm on vacation this week but, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we really don't have the funds to do any "big splash" activities that wouldn't be on the calendar this week anyway. So my wife thought it would be a nice treat for me to unpack the Wii and get it set up. How awesome is that?

So last night I unpacked the tiny system and got it set up and ready to play. My wife and I must have been on the thing for an hour and a half checking out the channels, creating our mii's, and generally playing around. Then we popped in Wii Sports and had a blast. Here's some thoughts:
  • Whoever thought of bundling Wii Sports with the Wii is an absolute genius.
  • I'm as frustrated with Wii bowling as I am with real bowling.
  • Hitting home runs is freaking awesome.
  • Playing Tennis with someone else will have you laughing so hard your stomach will hurt.
  • The interface of the system is very well thought out (but the photo's channel is a big oddly designed).
  • Always use the strap on the wiimote.
  • My arms hurt!
It's been out for a year, and it's really only now that 3rd-party developers are getting the hang of not using the motion sensing simply as a poorly thought-out gimmick - but man oh man this was a system designed to be played with other people. Tons of fun!

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Comments

Calvin Park said…
I love the Wii! I can highly recommend Mario Strikers Charged, as up to four players can have a blast with it. You will be laughing like crazy playing that game. I've also heard very, very good things about Super Mario Galaxy.
wezlo said…
Boxing is a blast - I just got the Metroid Prime demo from the download channel, I'm off the play...SMB Galaxy is goign to be under the tree...
wezlo said…
You need to e-mail me your wii number too so we can get into each other's address books...
JimG said…
You're post is causing me to stumble...
wezlo said…
Yes, well...sorry. You can come over some night and beat the crap out of me in boxing if it'll make you feel better...
CoffeeZombie said…
Dude, send me your Wii number! Now that I've got Internet access in the apartment, I can get the Wii back online again!

Also, Wii Sports is too much fun for a free, bundled game. I've also really enjoyed the SSX game they have for it. Super Swing Golf is a lot of fun, too. Sigh...I need to play more often.

BTW, I've not used the photos channel at all; I don't really get the point, honestly. I got the Internet channel when it was free (I think you have to pay for it, now?); it's alright, but seems more like a gimmick to me; not too useful.

The "Everybody Votes" channel is nice, as is the weather channel (I fell asleep one night with the Wii Weather channel on...pretty music). Back at the house, when I had roommates, we had a lot of fun creating Mii's. We have one called "Scary Barry," that's a female that totally looks like a huge dude.

I am hoping for more over-the-Internet multiplayer and online community stuff, though; that's been the main disappointment I've had (comparing it to my friend's XBox 360 with XBox Live).

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