Wii have a wii

If you asked me a few weeks ago I probably would have guess an xbox 360 would have been first to arrive at my house but my friend John got one on launch day and long story short we picked one up plus Zelda on the Saturday. I think they are just about impossible to get now so I'm glad I didn't wait. Some notes:

• When you first start to "get" the controller it's kind of mind-blowing. Believe the hype, this is an entire new level of gaming.
• A group of people (four is best) playing wii-sports for the first time is quite possibly the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
• Zelda - it's good (well, it is Zelda), definitely better than Windwaker so far, but the graphics will make your Gears of War owning mates laugh at you. This is partly because the game started as a gamecube game that was delayed for release on the wii.
• Tennis - totally cool, you have to try this.
• Baseball - at first I didn't care for it much, mostly because I sucked at it, but it's grown on me, the feeling when you crack one out of the ground is brilliant
• Bowling - it's a crowd favourite. make sure you have a lot of room in your lounge.
• Golf - totally cool, instantly better than any other golf game ever made. You take a few practice swings then step up and, whack. There is a chance this could improve your real golf game.
• Boxing - so far it seems the least cool but it's insanely hilarious a party.
• Miis - you create little cartoon versions of yourself and your friends and these characters are in the sports games. It sounds lame but actually it is super cool.
• Training - you can do little mini-games to improve your skills, three for each sport. Pretty neat.
• Fitness - you do a set course of tests and get a score to show you how good you are. Also pretty neat.
• Wii play - this is a bunch of mini-games you get almost for free when you buy a extra controller. There are a few gems on there that make it definitely worth owning. Try the cow race.
• Overall impressions - the hardware is so small and lovely you just want to pinch it on the cheeks. All the little touches are pure joy, eg the fact that you can put your Miis on your controller and take them to your friends house, the little speaker in the controller that makes tennis racket sounds, the rumble pack feedback when you mouse over buttons. Operating the menus with the pointer is literally fun. Imagine your computer with no mouse. That is every other console except the wii. Only with the wii you can twist your mouse pointer. Why? Because it's fun. The disk slot is the best I have ever seen. The top opens up and you can use your Gamecube controllers and memory cards. Of course it plays all your gamecube games.
• Internet - The wifi worked for me as soon as I entered my wep codes. It spent about 10 minutes upgrading it's operating system as soon as I got online. I was able to browse some retro games, eg Sonic 1 and Mario 64. I downloaded Gunstar Heroes to try it out. I found the wii-mote sideways doesn't work too well but the good news is you can use a gamecube controller or buy one of the retro controllers for only $29. The news and weather channels don't seem to be going yet for Australia. Also I think you can send messages from your wii to someone elses wii. Not sure why you'd want to but it can be done.
• Upcoming prospects - Well I suppose Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy and Metroid are going to be out eventually. Hopefully some surprise hits that utilise the controller but time will tell.
• Injuries? - Well it's easy to see how it could happen. I have observed a few accidental shoulder whacks and near misses of knuckles agains the edge of our glass coffee table. So be careful OK! Here are some freaks who weren't.