Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Wheee the Wii is HERE!

Well folks, our household has gone from NO current generations game consoles to two in a matter of weeks thanks to the arrival of our Wii yesterday (Monday for me, Sunday for most of you).

The Wii is an absolute BLAST! The toughest thing turned out to be actually finding one to buy! I mean you go online, and NO ONE will sell just the Wii console...they all force you to put this big package together, with games and extras and everything, so buying one from Walmart was going to cost me over $500, and other places like EB/Gamestop weren't much better ($470)...

So anyway, a few long-distance phone-calls, and more than a couple treks by the 'rents back in Delaware and we finally secured the objective - a plain ole Wii console.

My out-of-the-box impression: wow this sucker is small....but slick, and set-up is a breeze (the toughest thing to do is to decide if you want to place the remote sensor bar (to capture all the swingin' and flickin' you'll be doing with the Wii-mote) on top of the TV or below it. (I chose on top). The really cool feature, is geared for WiFi right out of the box (matter of fact I think it HAS to be wireless, cause I don't recall any place for a hard-wired connection (like my Xbox 360). Anyway, it found my network is a flash and within a minute I was browsing the Wii online store.

I will say this: other than a few nostalgic games I might download, Nintendo's online features are not, at present, really comparable to Microsoft's. I mean, the online XBox Live stuff is the REASON I got an Xbox (scroll down to read about that) - the reason I got the Wii, is frankly, the idea that Christina and I will be able to share some good times, play some mini-games and generally enjoy the revolutionary gaming experience that the Wii presents. I mean, criminy, its one thing for gamers to have sore thumbs from all the button-mashing, but a sore rotator cuff from playing Wii Sports Tennis? C'mon now.

Another cool aspect - your little in-game avatars, which you can create (heck I spent at least and hour creating a whole bunch yesterday). These are called (appropriately enough) Miis....I mean they're mini-version of you, and since Austin Powers ingrained the term "Mini-me" into the American lexicon, using Mii is simply marketing genius. And your Mii's can migrate! You can choose to share them, and if they're not in use (i.e. you are not using that particular Mii in a game or even if the Wii is powered down) they'll float out on the net and show up on other people's Wiis (if they choose to let other Miis appear that is). I did, just to see if any other Miis show up. You can do a Mii Parade and watch they mingle about....its neat, not necessarily funny or cool or a show-stopper, but cute.

Am waiting for Christina to return from Korea before I try out Mario Party 8 or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (and since I'm re-reading book 6 right now, I'm jonesin' to see how the Wii handles the wand-based magic of the Potter-series games).

8 comments:

The Patriot Project: One Patriot's Journey into the Roots of America said...

For starters, I am pissed you opened the thing without me... you did the same with the XBox and now I don't have an account or an avatar. So, if I cannot get an avatar with the Wii now, I will not be happy!
Two, you can do a hardwire into the internet, but you have to buy a converter.

Micc said...

What are you talking about, I created an Xbox account for you....

and you don't have to worry about getting a Mii, you can create dozens of your own if you like....there's no limit...

orangecrush007 said...

I am from Delaware orginally. Small world.

E-A-G-L-E-S

Micc said...

Delaware eh?
Where at? Grew up about 10 minutes from DE border, used to trek on down for the tax-free shopping....

orangecrush007 said...

I grew up in Claymont. Went to high school at Salesianum.

Micc said...

I had cousins who went to Salesianum, Matt and John Liss...late 80s....they were in Aston, and that where my folks moved for a few years before going to Delaware....

orangecrush007 said...

I have family in Aston. They live on Woodbrooke Way. My oldest cousin is 34.

Micc said...

My folks lived right down the street from the Acme and the Blockbuster shopping center, at the light where the Gas truck fueling station is, back in that development...used to anyway...