Wii First Impressions

I told you we got a Wii, and here are my initial thoughts:

1. Everything about it is gorgeous. The box itself, the wiimote, the nunchuk, the menus, the sounds, everything. It’s one of the best designed consumer electronic thingies I’ve ever used.
2. It’s usable. I didn’t have to look anything up to get it hooked up, play my first round of bowling or get connected to the internet. It all just worked. Better yet, it’s very easy to get started playing. Including Wii Sports was a great move, because it gives you an easy introduction into totally changing how you play video games.
3. It’s a workout. Yeah, you can fairly easily do everything you need to while relaxing in a chair, but it’s not as much fun as really going at it (see the video in the original Wii post).
4. It makes watching people play video games fun (finally!). We had a great time laughing at each other box, bowl and golf last night.
5. The controller takes some getting used to. When I say it totally changes how you play video games, I’m not kidding. Everything is based on motion, and you have to figure out the best way to keep the controller pointed at the screen.
6. Everyone can play. We still have to convince Jen of it, but Max, my 24 year-old brother, my over-50 dad, and I were all able to pick up Wii Sports and be relatively successful with it (Max is the king of nut-shots in boxing… I’m scared for all the little Wii boxers’ hopes of having children).\
   In short, it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun. If you get one, Rayman Raving Rabbids is a great first game. Lots of crazy minigames, easy to pick up, and funny. The first-person shooter bits could be a game all by themselves. If you can find a Wii, get it. I can’t wait to see what other crazy games come out for it.